Phew, that's a mouthful.
Last week I bought a Parks Obi TPM saber from Kurosawa. Apparently this one is an "artist proof" of sorts, made by Jeff Parks himself (I'm still trying to identify it's clear history). ***Edit...I've been informed by Eastern that this is a Phaseblade version of Parks' Obi TPM. This one is, as I suspected, even narrower than the wider Obi TPMs that others have converted in the past. Jeez how delicate can these sabers get?!?!**
I've always liked the Parks Obi TPM, even though to some it has certain inaccuracies. It's certainly no AceRocket/Zenkai, but I love it, and I'm all that matters on this one :). I've never seen a Parks Obi TPM with sound AND a 1" blade (only xwingband's without sound and a 3//4" blade), and when I received the saber, I discovered why: There is only a 3/4" ID in the saber, which is less than the 1" width of, say, a USv2.0. I was determined to reengineer the saber to fit a soundboard without marring the outer finish, and while also maintaining durable-worthy structural integrity. If anything, I thought I would be the first to pull off all four on a Parks 8). I'm a big proponent of dueling with my sabers, so this one will probably never see the inside of an acrylic case in its life.
Within two hours of receiving the saber, I set about converting it. About seven hours later, I was done. Basically reengineered the entire interior of the saber to fit everything --makes me respect Yoda even MORE for his amazing Negotiators (which I still want to buy, btw). I've been playing with this saber ever since and haven't had time to post pictures. No matter, since I have since decided to "re"-convert it with certain upgrades from its current version. I'll post pics of this process the second time around. Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks...
For now, a teaser of its current state:
Parks Obi Wan TPM
USv2.0
LedEngin 5W Blue
Rechargeable Li-ion In Hilt
TCSS Premium speaker
1" UltraBlade
Planned upgrades:
Steel core for added strength
Integrated copper heatsink
USv2.1
QD LED system for either a LedEngin 5W or a CCW Tri-Rebel with momentary clash (buck/AAA li-ion for W)
3W titanium cone speaker in new custom machined pommel
1" UltraEdge
And a picture of it next to a few others on my workbench, which shows its scale size against typical MHS sabers:
Any questions, feedback, requests... just shoot.