K3GR2 Entry
Cù SìthFirst let me explain the name. I always try to have some sort of connection with the name and this time I went with a mythical scottish creature called a Cù Sìth.
According to Scottish folklore, the Cù-Sìth is said to be the size of a young bull with the appearance of a wolf. Its fur is shaggy, and usually cited as being dark green though sometimes white. Its tail is described as being long and either coiled up or plaited (braided). Its paws are described as being the width of a man's hand.
The Cù-Sìth is thought to make its home in the clefts of rocks in the Highlands, and also to roam the moors and highlands.
The Cù-Sìth was feared as a harbinger of death and would appear to bear away the soul of a person to the afterlife, similar to the manner of the Grim Reaper. In this role the Cù-Sìth holds in Scottish folklore a function similar to that of the Bean Sidhe, or banshee, in Irish folklore.
According to legend, the creature was capable of hunting silently, but would occasionally let out three terrifying bays, and only three, that could be heard for miles by those listening for it, even far out at sea. Those who hear the baying of the Cù-Sìth must reach safety by the third bark or be overcome with terror to the point of death.
As soon as the design for the K3GR2 was finalised, i began working on my interpritation. First of all I knew its was going to be a sith saber and I wanted to have some sort of crystal chamber, infact a fully exposed chamber. When we got the hilts I knew staight away I wanted to have several rear grips, with it being a sith saber I thought, that would be fitting. I could imagine a sith being a sort of person to changing his hilt around when he liked. So i decided to have several rear grips, the original one, a bone/horn one, a leather one and a wood one. Unfortunitly the wood one didn't work out. I had Jeffrey make me a wooden grip, when i got it, it fitted fine but after a few months it had shrunk then when I tried to put it on it split. I thought the different grips would have come from the siths different adventures, like the bone/horn and leather came from a bull ranchor he had to defeat. The brass spine on the upper part of the hilt with the red crystal was also done in solidworks and printed. The crystal is ment to be his old masters lightsaber crystal that he kept when he killed him.
I had the crystal chamber designed before I even got the hilt. This is how I envisioned it.
I used parts from old pc HDs and then made up other parts in solidworks and had them printed. Heres how they looked when I got them.
The bottom of the chamber would also hold the 20mm speaker so the sound would come through the chamber itself. I was going to create a rear chassis in solidworks but when my pc died I lost my only copy of solidworks. I did manage to get the rear bone/horn sleeve done before this so that was fine.
Anyway, after a little paint and some apoxy the chamber was together. The only problem was space, I didn't have enough for the switches up near the emitter. So i got Daren at JQ sabers to cut the blade holder down at the threaded section and had him make me a new led module. I also got them to do the anodising. I had them media blast it then anodise the parts black.
Next was the sleeves, I wanted to try out the acid etching technique. So i came up with a design that was inspired by the 2014 commonwealth games queens baton. It was a lattice design. First time I did it and it worked perfectly.
So onto the pics.
I love the way each rear grip changes the look and feel of the saber.
and the video
K3GR2 - YouTubeSo this was my very first CF saber, both owning and wiring one up. I'm pretty poud of myself apart from the FoC, its not as bright as I would hope. I think I may need to change the resistor.
Thanks to everyone involved in this, its been a privilage.
Only one wiring pic I'm afraid