lightsabre

POSTED BY: boris
UPDATED: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 10:50
VIEWED: 9155
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BORIS

Monday, March 28, 2011 10:19 AM

Does anyone know how to make a reasonable non lethal lightsabre? I have some time on my hands (while I wait for my thesis results to be finalised so I can get on with my life) and would like to do all those things I always mean to do but never get around to such as make my own lightsabre, learn to surf, go snowboarding and for once not spend most of my time with my face in the snow (which is what usually happens but its so much fun anyway and the closest I've come to flying...actually there is some flying involved before I land)
so any instructions or tips re the lightsabre would be great...even if its a high tech torch with a great looking beam.

Rose S

THESOMNAMBULIST

Monday, March 28, 2011 11:28 AM

Here's a rather good example:

http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Build-a-Lightsaber-for-a-Fan-Film-393
05077

Oh and thumbs up on the snowboarding. I love snowboarding and you're right it can feel like you're flying. It's an awesome sport. I'm not one for speeding down the mountain though - I just like zig-zagging and doing the odd trick along the way.

WISHIMAY

Monday, March 28, 2011 1:15 PM

Hey Rosie!
STILL waitin', huh... Gone crazy yet? I'm almost there...

If it were me, I'd go to a hardware store and and ask the help, there's always one old guy that does that kinda thing...Ya got costume stores? Bet you could take a close look at one or buy a cheapie and deck it out. Have ya done searches? Figured there'd be a dozen sites for that...

Heh, adds by google on the side has two adverts for lightsabers and one for traveling in Australia...

LWAVES

Monday, March 28, 2011 1:46 PM

Master Replicas do a range of collectable hilts and Force FX lightsabers (that have the correct lights and sounds) but you couldn't fight with either, they are just for show.

I'd suggest trying here as well:

www.therpf.com
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/content.php

A search should give you plenty of information but it depends exactly what type of lightsaber you want to build and how much time and money you want to invest.
The basic versions are these:

1. A Hilt. Just the hilt, nothing else. Good for showing off or wearing as part of a costume.

2. Hilt with a plain blade. No lights but if the blade was strong enough you could fight with them and add VFX later through software. Similar to how they did it for the actual films.

3. Glowing blade. Not suitable for fighting as the blade is usually a series of LEDs that light up. They look cool though.

4. I've read stories of people building sabers that light up and can be fought with as they use a highly strengthened tube. I heard some used plasma for the blades (don't know how true this is). But you also hear horror stories of what happens when they do break. Think Two-Face meets Freddy Krueger and you get the picture.
I've also read about ones that use lasers but these are just as bad as the laser can cause blindness.

Hope this helps.

"The greatest invention ever is not the wheel. It's the second wheel." - Rich Hall

STEGASAURUS

Monday, March 28, 2011 3:04 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by lwaves:
Master Replicas do a range of collectable hilts and Force FX lightsabers (that have the correct lights and sounds) but you couldn't fight with either, they are just for show.

Bite your tongue! I duel with all of my MR lightsabers! They actually hold up quite well, even if they are a bit on the expensive side. :D

Also, there are conversion kits via www.ultrasabers.com that help enhance the lighting in the ForceFX sabers.

There is also a site out there, www.parksabers.com they specialize in more semi-custom sabers - and the blades are detachable for wearing on your belt. Used to be that they charged $400+ for their sabers, but I believe the price has diminished. Their sabers (at least at the time) didn't have sound, they just lit up, and they are all handmade. I have to say that my saber is pretty gorram shiny and has held up quite well over the last 6 years. I think I have a picture of it on this site somewhere in one of the picture threads.

The reason I'm leaning heavily on *purchasing* a saber instead of the full on *making* of one is that the process in and of itself is VERY time consuming and quite aggrivating to say the least. You might get more milage with your money in buying one than getting the parts and making from scratch. BUT... I'm also a Dark Jedi. I don't mind picking up the pieces from the fallen rather than "completing my training by building my own." Hey, it's just who I am. :P

EDIT: I just checked and Parks Sabers prices have dropped a bit. Looks like you can get some pretty sabers at around $250.00.

-Steg

BYTEMITE

Monday, March 28, 2011 3:18 PM

I've heard of using welding torches somehow to make the blade. No, you can't fight with them (well you could, but you'd be arrested for manslaughter), but they look cool.

LWAVES

Monday, March 28, 2011 4:55 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Stegasaurus:
Bite your tongue! I duel with all of my MR lightsabers! They actually hold up quite well, even if they are a bit on the expensive side. :D

Really??
I'm not doubting a fellow Browncoat but footage I'd seen and reports I'd read/heard showed that they broke relatively easily or the strikes were pretty weak and unrealistic. Of course this depends on exactly how hard you are striking at each other.

Quote:

The reason I'm leaning heavily on *purchasing* a saber instead of the full on *making* of one is that the process in and of itself is VERY time consuming and quite aggrivating to say the least.

Completely agree with this. Especially if you don't have the metalworking equipment to hand. Even if it's a case of getting all the bits and then just putting them together.

"The greatest invention ever is not the wheel. It's the second wheel." - Rich Hall

STEGASAURUS

Monday, March 28, 2011 5:09 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by lwaves:
Quote:
Originally posted by Stegasaurus:
Bite your tongue! I duel with all of my MR lightsabers! They actually hold up quite well, even if they are a bit on the expensive side. :D

Really??
I'm not doubting a fellow Browncoat but footage I'd seen and reports I'd read/heard showed that they broke relatively easily or the strikes were pretty weak and unrealistic. Of course this depends on exactly how hard you are striking at each other.

Many of the earlier ForceFX sabers were fragile enough to break with one whack. Also, alot of the earlier handmade sabers were made with fluorescent lights, making them impossible to use for dueling without potentially causing harm to yourself or others. Today's ForceFX sabers are made with much heavier blade stock, and allow for quite a bit of abuse. Last year during our BBQ, I let some of the kids play with my sabers in the back yard. I have 3 ForceFX sabers - Vader's, Anakin's and the ForceFX "Construction Set" where you can build your own. Those kids beat the everlivin crap out of each other with no damage (except some light scuffing on the blades). Then one of the kids let her father hold the Anakin saber and within 30 seconds he had broken off a knob (which I fixed with superglue). Other than that, they operate quite nicely and still have very bright blades.

Now, if you get the blades replaced with custome blades from Ultra Sabers, I don't think they are as durable, because you lose a little of the saber's integrity with how the new, brighter blades are attached.

And the Parks Sabers? Not that anyone would want to, but you could literally kill a horse with those things. They are amazingly sturdy.

Quote:
Originally posted by lwaves:
Quote:

The reason I'm leaning heavily on *purchasing* a saber instead of the full on *making* of one is that the process in and of itself is VERY time consuming and quite aggrivating to say the least.

Completely agree with this. Especially if you don't have the metalworking equipment to hand. Even if it's a case of getting all the bits and then just putting them together.

I tried. I really did. But eventually, time and sanity forced me to buy instead of build.

-Steg

FREMDFIRMA

Monday, March 28, 2011 5:32 PM

Okay smart people, help me out on something a wee bit trickier than a lightsabre then...

Where might I get my hands on a copy of Raising Heart without paying downright extortion for a cheap hunk of flimsy plastic ?
http://nanoha.wikia.com/wiki/Raising_Heart

Bear in mind that the lady who wants it might very well hit someone with it, as the middle management of the corporation she works for seems to have the notion she's an indentured servant...
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BewareTheNiceOnes

Any ideas ?

-Frem

STEGASAURUS

Monday, March 28, 2011 5:52 PM

Ack. I did a cursory search, and I'm not familiar with that series, let alone the weapons it offers. What's also confusing is that there appears to be an "upgraded" version of that particular weapon. Given the pictures I found, I couldn't begin to tell you how to make it, let alone find any companies that offer replicas.

Sorry, Frem. :(

-Steg

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