Light Saber

[jwinges]

OK, I've got my Windu saber completely taken down, and put back together again.

I can post instructions w/pics if anyone is interested.

344822[/snapback]

Yes! please post instructions Mechamaniac!

Also...So what's the final word on the power up/down on the converted models...you lost that feature correct?

[Chowser]

Yes! please post instructions Mechamaniac!

Also...So what's the final word on the power up/down on the converted models...you lost that feature correct?

344824[/snapback]

yes, the power up and down of the blade feature is gone.

[Hikuro]

which isn't that bad of a lose considering you still got all the sound effects and sensor readings.

[Uxi]

These things are addicting. I told myself I wasn't getting these, but I lasted about 2 days after getting the Windu Force FX before I had to get the Luke from Borders, through my hookup ($90 bucks woot!).

Since the power up feature is only done through turning the LED's on and off sequentially, it makes sense that the featured isn't retained after conversion to LED.

Nice pics Chowser... uh... did you say the original is the on the RIGHT? That one looks brighter in near every pic...

What I'm actually thinking I want to do is get a stock LED blade removable. Keep the LED's in the blade but have it be removable. The key is in getting up some male/female connector and having the blade be sturdy enough as normal when attached (most likely necessitating metal brackets to either the electronic core or metal hilt)...

So can anyone tell me where the screw access is on the Windu? Reading the forums at fx-sabers.com seems to indicate I need to go the hex screws under the pleather covering the handle opposite the electronics... but I don't want to peel it off and worry about reattaching it if that's a dead end... and does the gold emitter ring on the top just unscrew or are there little screws inside those tiny holes?

[Chowser]

yes, the original MR is brighter, but then again, all the LEDs are in the blade, so I assumed it would be this way.

still, I'm pretty happy with it, my buddies and I can actually goof around at work on night shift now. hopefully no one with a night vision camera is watching.

can you imagine, cops in full uniform chasing each other through a cemetary at 3 in the morning waving lightsabers around?

[Mechamaniac]

So can anyone tell me where the screw access is on the Windu?  Reading the forums at fx-sabers.com seems to indicate I need to go the hex screws under the pleather covering the handle opposite the electronics...  but I don't want to peel it off and worry about reattaching it if that's a dead end...  and does the gold emitter ring on the top just unscrew or are there little screws inside those tiny holes?

344880[/snapback]

OK, here's the deal with taking apart the Windu Saber...

You will need...

A phillips head screwdriver (small)

A 1.5 mm allen wrench

A 2 mm allen wrench

An Xacto knife

Step 1...

Remove the battery cover and battery caddy.

Step 2...

Locate the countersunk set screw opposite the hanging fob on the pommel end of the grip. Remove it with the 1.5 mm allen wrench, and loosen (do not remove) the hanging fob with the 2mm allen wrench.

Edited November 15, 2005 by Mechamaniac

[Mechamaniac]

Step 3...

At the blade end, the hex screws in the gold rim are misleading. If you remove them, you will be able to remove the golden ring, and you will find a rubber o-ring in there. The o-ring is probably just there for shock absorption.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO REMOVE THE GOLD RING.

Simply unscrew the end piece, and it will thread off. You can then remove it down the length of the blade. NOTE - There will be some resistance as (if you have followed the instructions) the O-Ring will still be present inside the gold ring, and therefore, there will be a little drag as it goes down the blade.

[Mechamaniac]

Step 4... Here's where it gets tricky.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO REMOVE THE PLEATHER!. I did, but I did not have to. There is one screw underneath the pleather. It is directly in the center, and about a half inch from the pommel end of the pleather. If you feel around with your finger, you should be able to feel it.

You can either carefully peel back the pleather (but it is rubber cemented on) or, once you have located the screw, cut an X over it with the xacto, and remove the screw.

[Mechamaniac]

Step 5...

Again, tricky.

In my case, I removed all the gold buttons on the top of the hilt thinking there would be screws under them. There were not. You can leave all but the middle (power) switch in place before you proceed.

Now, again, this is a little tricky. The gold power button is rubber cemented onto a plastic underpiece that actually clips onto the power switch inside the saber hilt.

VERY CAREFULLY pry upward on the power switch, and you should be able to remove the gold part from the plastic underpiece.

Once this is done, you will have to again VERY CAREFULLY remove the power switch, but remember, it is clipped on, so go slowly. There are two small rectangular holes in the top of the switch.

Take a very small screwdriver, and insert it into the hole, and apply outward pressure to release the clip. Repeat this on the other side, and remove the switch completely.

I would take pics of mine, but I broke one end of my switch in the process, so I don't want to set a bad example.

[Mechamaniac]

Step 6...

Now, here's where it REALLY gets tricky.

On the 05 Sabers, you can slide out the whole electronics housing intact, but on the Windu, you can't do that since the inside of the hilt is varying degrees of circumfrence.

Locate the middle section of the hilt, just forward of the gold rings (see pic)

The Saber threads apart here. However, there is a small tab in between them. This is where the battery sleeve meets the electronics housing.

When you unscrew this, it will break the plastic shroud that covers the tab on the electronics housing. THIS WILL NOT AFFECT THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE SABER, so don't worry.

Completely thread off the rear portion of the Saber hilt, and remove it.

[Mechamaniac]

Once you get to this point, you should be able to slide the middle portion of the metal sleeve forward, and off of the blade/electronics assembly.

Here's a shot of the disassambled Saber components...

[KiriK]

wow.... that's a pretty sweet conversion to the EL blade Chowser..... i can see the pros and cons of doing a conversion... but i dunno if i could do that to such an expensive toy..... just like i don't put stickers on my Valks or customize them in any way.....

just too rich for my blood to F*ck up....haha......

[Mechamaniac]

Here's a shot of the battery sleeve / electronics housing, and where the plastic will break when you unscrew the hilt in Step 6.

The piece that breaks is only a cover for the tab on the electronics housing. This is only to make sure the battery is aligned properly as it follows the same line as the yellow indicator.

It didn't hurt anything at all in my case, when I reassemble my Saber it works fine...

[Mechamaniac]

Here's a pic of the re-assembled saber hilt...

[Mechamaniac]

And finally, here's a pic looking down the maw of the saber.

I'm no expert, but looking at the conversion sleeves they make and sell at TheCustomSaberShop.Com, I think there's plenty of room in there to make this blade removeable. I think the main reason for not being able to do it on the Windu is that there are no screws near the blade like there are on the Anakin and the Vader. I for one, won't mind if I have to add a thumb screw somewhere to allow me to remove the blade. We'll see though, as soon as I get done being BROKE, I'm going to order a Vader conversion kit and experiment with the Windu for size etc.

[Chowser]

how much space do you have in the Mace before the it stops?

there's actually like 6 or 7 inches on the Anakin, after I removed the screw and took the blade off, I haven't bothered to put the blade back on, I just swing it around as is, it seems to stay in there pretty tight.

[Uxi]

Ah, great walkthrough. I knew someone had to have tackled this already. I should be able to proceed with a minimum amount of experimentation. One of my buddy's has the older Windu. Maybe I'll see if he wants to part with his so I can dissect that one first.

[KiriK]

I've had my FX sabers for awhile and i've been reading everywhere that the MR stands cause the blades to warp..... is this really true??? is there any pics or proof of this??

[Uxi]

I have read about bent blades, but I'm skeptical that the included stand is the problem. Nearly all of the weight of my Windu on the stand (mounted on the wall) is on the hilt and the blade just very lightly rests on the other end.

I think a more likely suspect is dueling.

[Hikuro]

I haven't even really had my Windu saber a month and I'm seeing where the blade IS starting to bend.

In the future I will have to invest in some FX Verticle stands.

[Mechamaniac]

how much space do you have in the Mace before the it stops?

there's actually like 6 or 7 inches on the Anakin, after I removed the screw and took the blade off, I haven't bothered to put the blade back on, I just swing it around as is, it seems to stay in there pretty tight.

344908[/snapback]

Well, the base of the blade sits about a half inch forward of the power switch when the saber is put together. So, there's probably about 4 or 5 inches of embedded blade, more than enough in my opinion for making the blade removable.

Edited November 15, 2005 by Mechamaniac

[Chowser]

in the Anakin, there is approx 4" of blade that goes in the hilt.

It's pretty sturdy so I don't bother to put the screw back in.

It is still a tight fit, i have to work the blade in and work it out, so it's not a snap in affair. I like having a blue light showing there anyway.

[KiriK]

I haven't even really had my Windu saber a month and I'm seeing where the blade IS starting to bend. 

In the future I will have to invest in some FX Verticle stands.

344935[/snapback]

can u show me some pics??? i'm really curious... i haven't seen anything bend from my FX sabers that i've had for quite some time.....

[Mechamaniac]

OK, I took apart the electronics on the Windu saber, and measured. The blade on the Windu saber descends into the hilt 2 1/4 inches.

I think that would be fine for removeable blade with a set screw.

[Zeta Otaku]

I have a first edition ROTJ Green Luke saber that's snapped... I gotta look into getting a conversion kit done on it since there's no way to repair it as is

[Chowser]

whew, it's cold outside today. think i need a 3rd coat on. or i should go buy some long johns...

ok, i'll try to stop posting supersize pics.

we just finished a building search today and we were being goofy, so my partner took some pics of the saber outside, approx 8pm EST.

left one is with flash, right one is w/o flash.

this is the converted saber with luxeon led.

[Stamen0083]

Luxeon LED's light up a blade all the way from one end to the other?? Amazing!

Maybe it's worth it to look into these after all.

[baronv]

Just saw the ROTJ Luke green saber at Barnes & Noble, they still have a few of them at $119.99. So is it suppose to be hard to find?

[Sumdumgai]

It depends on where you live baronv.

Some people can't find them at the local borders and such sellers of books and merchandise.

I saw them being sold at a local shop here in Paris for something like €150. Screw that. Fat neck leading to the emitter. I don't even like Luke's ROTJ lightsaber.

Obi-wan ROTS on the other hand, I like that saber. I'm not picking up the Obi ROTS FX, fat neck syndrome as well.

Hey, the Master Replicas 2006 product plan should be coming out wednesday. Just a heads up for those who are interested.

edit: MR changed the date of when the product plan will be released. It'll be later, damn.

Edited November 23, 2005 by Sumdumgai

[Chowser]

2006 sneak peek out at the MR Blog,

MR 2006 SNEAK PEEK

I'll post pics of my red Luxeon Anakin ROTS FX next to the blue Luxeon when I buy a new digicam after payday next week. argh.

Limited Editions still on sale, and I still have coupons to use before 2005 ends, oh well, guess i'll lose out.

Hey, BSU_Legato, don't know if you're still looking for blasters, Han Solo Ep. V blaster on sale for $449, I have a $50 coupon, but the problem would be getting it to you in Canada, i don't think I'm making any trips into Canada till next spring and probably only as far north as Toronto, I was just in Windsor for a day on Thursday.

would it be illegal for me to drive blaster replicas into Canada? haha.

[bsu legato]

Hey Chowser,

I'd love the MR DL-44 but money is way too tight right now to even consider it. I'm hoping that in the new year I can add a new replica to the collection, but that'll be in the spring at the earliest. (not to mention that I have to find the cash for the Fine Molds Falcon, Chronicles II, 1/60 VF-0 and the GBP-1 ) Not to mention I plan on buying myself a surplus Mosin Nagant 91/30 from the local dealer for my Xmas present to myself.

As for the legality of it, I think the DL-44 might be ok. If a customs agent wanted to be really anal, its a modded C96 Mauser, which would be one of the few legal replica firearms (since its pre-1898). I've read about people getting the E-11s into Kanada, but that just seems wayyyy too risky for me. But if its properly labeled something non-descriptive like "Star Wars Blaster Movie Prop Replica" or something I think most customs knuckle draggers wouldn't be inclined to look further.

[Sumdumgai]

Well at least the Qui-gon Jin LE lightsaber will be coming out in 2006. A guy on the rebelscum forums visited MR and got to handle one of the prototypes.

There's going to be .33 scale mini blasters. So if you can't a full size blaster up in Canada, maybe you can at least pick up a mini blaster.

[bsu legato]

It's been a while since I've browsed the Rebel Scum forums, so I'll just take some edjumacated guesses at what MR is planning for '06...

Star Wars

Luke Skywalker - ANH saber (the only one MR hasn't done yet)

Qui-Gon Jinn - TPM saber (a near certainty)

Darth Maul - FX Saber (I've seen pics of the prototype)

Darth Vader - since the ROTS mask was announced long ago, maybe a ROTJ saber? (icky poo)

Obi-Wan Kenobi - TPM EE saber (isn't it already shipping though?)

Anakin Skywalker - umm....I'm stumped. Maybe the rumored costume line?

Han Solo - ROTJ blaster, perhaps?

Boba Fett - EE-3 blaster (saw a blurry pic of one)

Imperial Stormtrooper - not counting the already announced clone helmets, maybe OT trooper helmets?

Late edit: The "Han Solo" item is probably the Studio Scale 32" Falcon!!

Edited December 2, 2005 by bsu legato

[Hikuro]

They've already done Luke Skywalker ANH, its virtually identicle to ESB isn't it? Luke shouldn't of known squat on how to repair one of those things since he had very little knowledge of the force and didn't really start his training until ESB........bah!

I'd like to see a QuiGon Saber as much as anyone else.....I hope for that day very soon.

Darth Maul would be leget since we've all seen the prototype pictures.

And I'd kill to have a Vader ROTS saber!

[bsu legato]

They did do the ANH saber as an Elite Edition, but those are so limited and sold out so quickly that its hard to count them as legitimate variants. If they do another one, it would likely be the "run of the mill" Limited Edition that us peons settle for. As for the actual differences, welll...that's where things start to depend on how much of a collector you are. There are legitmate differences between the two props (seven grips vs six, the calculator bubble vs circuit board, d-ring configurations and knobs) but only the diehards seem to collect both. After all, they were supposed to be the same saber in-universe even though they were different props. I'm happy with my ESB version, and in my mind its even the same as the ROTS version. In theory.