New padawan, trying to figure out what to get as second saber

[darthmurmur]

Greetings council,

I have been thinking about a lightsaber for years; but money were an issue at that time, so I had to build my own with the hardware store parts and instructions on a very old site in the 90s. Don't even think about having sounds, or even a lamp or blade.

Now things are better; so I did go back to my old passion, and decided to get a blade. My first purchase has been a Force FX from the black series (HAsbro). Did have that for a bit; nice piece of hardware but too fragile; it did slip from my hand, hit the stairs and RIP to 200 dollars (sadly it was the model that does not have the plug to remove the blade.

So, I did go for a more expensive model, and ended up with an ultrasaber Graflex SE; which seems to be a nice product, especially due to the fact that if you break the blade you can get another easily; although it is not even close to the real Graflex.

So now, as my second legit saber, I am not sure what to get; since the prices for certain models are way above 1K, and I am planning to spend probably not more than 400-600 dollars at most.

I have my eyes on the Graflex 2.0 kit from Parks; although that one is basically just the shell, no sound or lights. They sell a version with lights, but it has the downside of having the LED in the blade, so same issue that the FX model has.

So after searching, I came here following the fame of Yoda and his amazing craftsmanship. And on top of that, there are plenty of DIY and saber masters here that I hope to be able to get some hints about what is actually possible, with the amount of money that I have available.

Ideally I would like:

- A Graflex replica (either Luke's or Obi Wan)
- With sounds and removable blade
- that can withstand the occasional fight with my 9 year old
- With a crystal chamber
- can afford anything up to ~$500

Now, I am aware that can't have them all; unless I build it on my own; and this is where the problems start, and why I am here.

I can get the empty Graflex, I may get lucky doing some soldering, since I use arduino and microcontrollers, so I am not a stranger to electronics; but I do not have the skill to get all of this together, unless they are sold as kit.

I did see a crystal chamber kit on the forum, which looks very nice, but I am not sure if it is a slide in mod, with a Graflex 2.0 from Parks, beside wiring the button for power I assume...can anyone clarify if this is the only option for a crystal chamber?

Also how do you convert the hilt to accept a polycarb blade, so the LED is emitting from the hilt into the blade? Is there a kit for that?
Same for the sounds; they sell microcontrollers with 9 DOF devices on board; I did program some myself, using arduino IDE or Atmel studio; so that should not be that complex; although I did not find sketch for repurpose one of the standard IMU on the market, to work as lightsaber soundboard.

Sorry for the many questions; the amount of info here is staggering, and while I see a lot of people crafting their own version of the sabers; it is hard to get a feel for the prices.
I would be happy even to have a display piece only, so I am not looking for all the features in one sword; but having the knowledge about how each part cost, and how hard is to actually integrate it in the hilt, helps a lot to figure out what I can actually get :)

Thanks in advance!

[WEDGE ANTILLES]

what exactly did you do to the Hasbro?  is the hilt intact?  you just broke the blade?

it might be possible to have the Hasbro 'converted' -- ie: remove the existing blade and electronics from the Hasbro, and install an LED into the hilt -- like your ultrasaber.

your $500 would go a long way if you already had a hilt to work with.

 


I think the Parks kit would be a good choice, even though the electronics are in the blade -- the blade is removable on those, and replacement blades cost $125.  so if you break the blade, then it's not a total loss -- it would be easily fixed, (at an acceptable cost).

[darthmurmur]

Thanks for your reply

The led started to dim in the blade; then the whole thing went off. I did try to fix it but then I just gave up and sold it on craigslist for 100 bucks. I wish I knew I could convert it... T_T

At the moment I have ordered a Parks G2 kit as empty shell; which I believe are the same as the one referred as "Korbanth" (I apologize but there are so many names and things that are new to me :) ); I was looking at their pre-made kit, but it won't have a crystal chamber and no sounds; so my concern was that it would be more complex to adapt that, instead than start from scratch).

After a bit of search on the forum, I did find these parts, although I am not sure it is all that I need

- Tri Cree LED base with heatsink and optics (was thinking to use a white+Red+Green combination to get 2 colors and flash on clash, but I guess with just one LED active at time, it won't be that bright

- Nano Biscotte card for the electronics

- Chamber for the crystal using the 3d print design from Goth (although I am not sure what to use as LED for the crystal)

- 2W speaker

- 3.7V 2600mAh rechargeable battery

- 7/8 blade from vader's vault or a 1 inch blade with adapter (could not find exact info about convert 7/8 to 1 blade on the G2.0 kit)

This seems to be all that is needed for the build; I was wondering if anyone sell the whole assembly (internal case, LED, soundcard, battery) as whole, so I can just slide that in and connect the switches. I did a brief search but got no luck in finding the whole assembly done, which would fit in the G2.0 kit.

I am excited to begin the build; it is daunting but I see the amazing results here on the forum, and hope to be able to make one like these :)

[Morannon]

Plenty of great options in that price range! Vader vault, and Genesis Custom sabers are in that range and their quality can't be beat. If you have your heart set on a graflex then I would keep an eye on the sales section! they usually fall around the upper end of your range.