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The S.A.B.E.R. GUILD: Saber Manufacturers => Force Relics => Force Relics Portfolio/Gallery => Topic started by: BOBA FETT on April 18, 2013, 12:20:26 PM

Title: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: BOBA FETT on April 18, 2013, 12:20:26 PM
Hi everyone!

It's time to show you guys another one of our newest creations. Ever since the Clone Wars episode aired where padawan Gungi puts together his very unique saberhilt, we at Force Relics have been trying to find an affortable and screen accurate way to replicate what we saw on screen.

And today we are proud to present our 90 % finished prototype.

The hilt main body is completely made out of wood (beech wood to be precise) which was colored to mimic the blylark wood seen in the CW cartoon.
The top shroud around the emitter is made out of "Alumide", a 3D printed material that combined plastic with aluminium powdre. We choose this material because it's an affortable method and it looks pritty darn close to what we see in the cartoon.
When you look closely at some screen caps, you can see it's not made out of "plain aluminium" and looks much more textured than bare metal. Hence our choice for the Alumide.

The blade holder and pommel you see in the pics, are prototypes for now (in painted plastic). We are having these 2 parts machined in aluminium because, franky, if you want to build a saber that is duelworthy, you need to add some strenght to these 2 parts.
Depending on how they turn out, we might leave them as they are, or maybe powdercoat them in a similar look as the Alumide parts.

The 2 holes you see in the alumide shroud part, will contain 2 thumb screws (ordered from TCSS). One will keep a custom machined heatsink in place, the other will function as a blade retention screw.

The 3 and lowest hole, will contain a tactile activator switch.

The hilt itself has an inner diameter of 28 mm. So there is room for light AND sound.

What do you guys think of our progress so far?
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-quqDbU6SiWg/UXBDhYwPfGI/AAAAAAAABBM/ECX2kzkp0Hw/s720/Gungi%252001.jpg) (https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-quqDbU6SiWg/UXBDhYwPfGI/AAAAAAAABBM/ECX2kzkp0Hw/s720/Gungi%252001.jpg)

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jd1v-u113WM/UXBDhYmvPFI/AAAAAAAABBU/LrnR3k8M-U0/s720/Gungi%252002.jpg) (https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jd1v-u113WM/UXBDhYmvPFI/AAAAAAAABBU/LrnR3k8M-U0/s720/Gungi%252002.jpg)

(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rHi_K4ydNe0/UXBDhRYNyUI/AAAAAAAABBQ/goiA3Ee52_I/s720/Gungi%252003.jpg) (https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rHi_K4ydNe0/UXBDhRYNyUI/AAAAAAAABBQ/goiA3Ee52_I/s720/Gungi%252003.jpg)
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: Lord Bane on April 18, 2013, 12:27:52 PM
Wow!! Very nice concept of that saber. I like the Alumide idea too. Looks really nice, can't wait to see the whole thing finished.

Bane
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: LordBlako on April 18, 2013, 12:42:12 PM
it looks really cool! :) great work! how long is the hilt...? it looks quite short, if i get it right!  :)
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: Arryck Corso on April 18, 2013, 01:12:43 PM
Nice work so far guys!!  I never ceased to be amazed by the 3D printed parts you use on your sabers.   I was thinking the same thing Lord Blako was....that hilt looks short....but also very comfortable.  I'm also excited to see how this turns out as well. 
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: BOBA FETT on April 18, 2013, 01:28:53 PM
Thanks for the kind words everyone.

To answer some questions: yes, the hilt has an overall length of 28cm. Not one of the longest out there :) I wanted to keep it small enough, Gungi is a padawan afterall! And yes, I think this will be a very comfortable dueler when finished.
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: LordBlako on April 18, 2013, 01:32:19 PM
that's longer than expected, to be honest!  ;D

will it be a run or just for your own purposes?

3d printing is really amazing...
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: amwolf on April 18, 2013, 01:47:05 PM
Looks great! How is the workability and durability of the Alumide? The one part I used out of 3D "stainless steel" was a real PIA to modify, and it was heavy...
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: parfaitlumiere on April 18, 2013, 02:46:37 PM

I'm actually working on a first wookie saber,to train for the gungi saber.
I'm planning to make a 2" large emitter,or 50mm
then the entire saber would be 30 or 33mm long the nerrowest section of hilt will be 34mm,the inside is drilled to 32mm and it will have full internal structure,including cristal chamber.
of course,it leaves only 1mm wall at some areas,but it won't be for duelling,and if it's really dangerous,I will increase to 35 or 36mm.
the emitter will be very diffiult,due to the thickness near the wood,especially on a traditionnal lathe machine....
Then,the main problem will be adjustments between emitter,activation plate and the wood.

cartoons are not funny,lots of impossible quests...
This saber is really difficult,I
The main problem are the proportions,and some thickness,it's impossible to have some details(sharp emitter end,with a 1" blade,very narrow body with thick internal structure)


I think this prototype is good,but a little bit short,or "fat".
What I would change:
-adding 1" in lengh,probably only on the wood,not the "metal"
-reduce "metal"thickness for a more delicate look,closer to original design
-change the pommel design too proeminent.
-replace colored white wood for exotic wood as they use for windows,no more expensive,and no need to change color,better look.
exotic natural wood will look better than easy-to-recognise tinted white wood.

Then,there is a problem in the cartoon,is the conical emitter visible or not,during assembly,when saber is finished,it's not,and on the "group saber" photo(from facebook page),it is,not easy to know.
I'm more trusting the "group" photo so Iwill add the conical part of emitter,makes extra blade retainment...
Seems you too!
good job,and...good luck!

Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: Deke on April 18, 2013, 06:26:16 PM
Respectfully disagree.

Even at 28cm I think it's still fairly big, keeping in mind that a canon saber for an adult human was around 26-27cm (ie graflex, obi tpm et al), and Gungi, despite being a wookie, was no more than 5ft tall as a padawan, so wouldn't be using a full-sized hilt yet...

Sounds like you're making more of an adult wookie lightsaber parfaitlumiere, I imagine Lowbacca's hilt ended up being around that size when he was fully grown...

Anyway, I think this looks really good, and will be interested in it pending price...
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: BOBA FETT on April 18, 2013, 11:01:43 PM
Thaks for all the feedback. Some answers and replies:

LordBlako: Thanks for the kind words. We do plan on doing a small run of these if there is enough interest in it. We plan on making this as budget friendly as possible.
So keep an eye out for these when interested!

parfiatlumiere:
I saw your first attempt. Not bad! Keep it up. But trying to machine a wooden hilt with only 1 mm material, will be 1) VERY hard to achieve 2) very brittle to handle. And using tropical hardwood is a complete no for us. I talked about it with some specialist wood turners and they claim it's impossible to do the shape we are using in hardwood. The whole "structure" would just break. So we decided to go with beech. This way we can manipulate the final color as much as we want too.
Regarding the length, I think Deke just hit the nail on the head. I compared our prototype to some other hilts I have (sidous, vader, qui-gon, etc) and the gungi is FAR from the shortest. Keep in mind, Gungi was a Padawan wookiee, and when you look at the group pics, he's smaller than Obi-Wan. Just a child really.
Regarding the blade holder:
I decided to use the official Star Wars images found online. The blade holder helps quite bit in making this a sturdy dueler + it will be made out of aluminium and will help cool the main LED since it will be in direct contact with the LED module. I'm talking about this image.
(https://www.fx-sabers.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages1.wikia.nocookie.net%2F__cb20121125183353%2Fstarwars%2Fimages%2F1%2F11%2FYoung-Jedi-Lightsabers.jpg&hash=eb4d4518a8d317f6fa0eea900d46e1b37d0a88f8) (http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121125183353/starwars/images/1/11/Young-Jedi-Lightsabers.jpg)
And if you look closely at the cartoon, when Gungi puts together his hild with force power, you clearly SEE the conical emitter slide into the hilt. Agreed, later on you don't see it in the action shots. But still I think it gives some extra depth to the design.

amwolf: "Looks great! How is the workability and durability of the Alumide? The one part I used out of 3D "stainless steel" was a real PIA to modify, and it was heavy..."
Alumide is an "enforced" type of plastic./ Very durable, very sturdy and it's fairly easy to thread in it. We originally wanted to print the part in "stainless steel" but 3 factors made us decide otherwise: 1) price: WAAAAY to expensive 2) Indeed, as you allreday stated, very hard to mod or even thread in 3) It just doesn't capture the look from the series the way the Alumide does

Deke: Thanks, I agree on the length. It took me several hours to measure, rescale and calculate all of the dimensions looking at screen captures and episode fragments.
We will have a final price for these very soon.

If we do a run of these, it will be a KIT ONLY run. No installs unless someone wants to commission us for it. We want to make this run a "budget friendly" run. I know funds are low and we want to share this hilt with as many Star Wars fans and saber enthousiasts as possible.

Who of you would be interested in a hilt like this?
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: Deke on April 19, 2013, 12:04:29 AM
I'm in, pending affordability of course, but it sounds like we're on the same page.
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: Goodman on April 19, 2013, 12:45:40 AM
Quite an intriguing project, and the most accurate I've seen so far!  Some of the proportions concern me, primarily the relative girth of the front shrouded section, but I would still be interested in buying one to support your project depending on price.

Regarding duelability, how will the aluminum blade holder mate to the wooden hilt core? I'm wary if the foot as shown would be rigid enough...it seems more surface area against the wood ID is needed. And I'm sure you've already considered that achieving a tight physical tolerance between aluminum and wood wouldn't pose the only challenge. Wood at those thin widths are susceptible to flexing, compression under load, shrinkage (imposed or natural)...

I'm excited to see the finished project! I admire and commend your innovation!
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: parfaitlumiere on April 19, 2013, 12:51:34 AM
Yes,that's the photo I was talkig about,I use it as a reference too.

Deke is not totally wrong for me,and you are not wrong too.
My first idea was to make a 36cm long saber because of the ration between lengh and thickness,ad the matter of minimal required wall on wood,especially because of my inner core...
But it can be a quality too,where the matter of wood thickness brings problems,with a core it doesn't matter anymore...


goodman is right too.
When I made the blancks,I created internal diameter,I made a 2 points contact area on saber:front,for blade holder and a partial area of the core,and back for the core centering and mainai,then I enlarged the middle section,to remove a bit of wood,it permits the wood to curve if necessary.
Then I let the wood dry.

This saber is very difficult,it needs lots of skill and patience to make by hand,or it needs lots of study and serious production stuff for serial made...
Hope you will produce them and sell a bunch!
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: BOBA FETT on April 19, 2013, 02:00:12 AM
Again, thanks for the feedback people! To answer some questions:

Quite an intriguing project, and the most accurate I've seen so far!  Some of the proportions concern me, primarily the relative girth of the front shrouded section, but I would still be interested in buying one to support your project depending on price.

That's great to hear Goodman. I'll update this topic with prices as soon as we have figured out the numbers.

Quote
Regarding duelability, how will the aluminum blade holder mate to the wooden hilt core? I'm wary if the foot as shown would be rigid enough...it seems more surface area against the wood ID is needed. And I'm sure you've already considered that achieving a tight physical tolerance between aluminum and wood wouldn't pose the only challenge. Wood at those thin widths are susceptible to flexing, compression under load, shrinkage (imposed or natural)...

The foot is 4 cm long and fits snugly into the wooden piece. The wood has a wall thickness of approx. 4.5 to 5 mm. So this makes a very rigid connection. It will be kept in place with 2 set screws.

Quote
I'm excited to see the finished project! I admire and commend your innovation!
Thanks for the kind words. It means a lot coming from you.

Quote from: parfaitlumiere
This saber is very difficult,it needs lots of skill and patience to make by hand,or it needs lots of study and serious production stuff for serial made...
Hope you will produce them and sell a bunch!
Quote

You are right about that! Thanks for the support.
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: evilmonkey4 on April 19, 2013, 01:43:24 PM
If you did do a run I would definitely be on it!
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: BOBA FETT on April 25, 2013, 04:26:11 AM
Time for an update:

We've received word from our machinist. The aluminium parts are in production!

This also means we were able to figure out what these kits would cost if we decide to do a run:

One kit including: wooden hilt (drilled, colored and waxed) all the alumide parts (installed onto the wooden hilt), a tactile switch with custom cap and custom switch ring, aluminium heatsink (designed for tri-rebels and luxeons), aluminium blade holder (tapped for blade retention), aluminium pommel, 2 special 8/32 thumb screws (one for blade retention, one to secure the led module)

Price: 192 € (250 USD)

This is not an official interest thread of any kind, but if you would be in for a kit, please post it here. This way we know if there's enough interest to even do a little run of these hilts.
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: Turgon on April 26, 2013, 12:59:34 AM
I would take a kit.
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: Deke on April 26, 2013, 01:07:54 AM
Yep
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: BOBA FETT on April 26, 2013, 02:57:02 AM
That's great to hear guys!

We will set things in motion soon and as soon as kits are available, we'll let you know

Any other takers?
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: COUNT DOOKU on April 26, 2013, 05:01:02 AM
I'd take one.
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: IndustrialAction on April 26, 2013, 05:46:16 AM
I'd take one too depending on timing

Since you're using Shapeways, have you priced out gold or bronze parts? I think the gold could look really good instead of the alumide
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: Bruce Wayne on April 26, 2013, 05:56:07 AM
I'd probably take one too.  :)
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: BOBA FETT on April 26, 2013, 06:08:20 AM
I'd take one too depending on timing

Since you're using Shapeways, have you priced out gold or bronze parts? I think the gold could look really good instead of the alumide

Yeah, our original plan was to have the alumide parts printed in metal.
This is still possible but this would add a whopping 210 USD to the kit price!

That would make the total for this kit 460 USD! I'm willing to make a few of these kits in metal if someone prefers this, but the standard kits will be in alumide

Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: BOBA FETT on May 21, 2013, 08:02:34 AM
We finally have all of the parts back from the machinist and will be putting together a few kits this week. The hilt is turning out great! Pics soon!
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: lgtsbr on May 21, 2013, 01:02:17 PM
just want to make sure I am reading it right, $250 is assembled?  And Is shipping included or extra?

I'm interested, this is a neat piece

Dave
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: hedgehog1 on May 21, 2013, 05:03:27 PM
I would be interested in a kit as well.  Will you be doing an official run thread on these?
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: Forgetful Jedi Knight on May 21, 2013, 05:06:55 PM
just want to make sure I am reading it right, $250 is assembled?  And Is shipping included or extra?

I'm interested, this is a neat piece

Dave

I believe it is for a KIT, which is unassembled. ::)

One kit including: wooden hilt (drilled, colored and waxed) all the alumide parts (installed onto the wooden hilt), a tactile switch with custom cap and custom switch ring, aluminium heatsink (designed for tri-rebels and luxeons), aluminium blade holder (tapped for blade retention), aluminium pommel, 2 special 8/32 thumb screws (one for blade retention, one to secure the led module)

Price: 192 € (250 USD)
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: Turgon on May 21, 2013, 05:53:43 PM

I believe it is for a KIT, which is unassembled. ::)

But there is a big difference between a kit and a KIT.   :o

I have gotten kits that required assembly.  I have gotten kits that needed modifications and additional items to work.  And finally, I have gotten kits that are little more than raw materials and a vague picture as to what it is.   

The description sounds to be the middle variety. So very little needs to be done to turn it into a wall hanger. I just want to get ahold of one. :)
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: Forgetful Jedi Knight on May 21, 2013, 07:15:55 PM

I believe it is for a KIT, which is unassembled. ::)

But there is a big difference between a kit and a KIT.   :o

I have gotten kits that required assembly.  I have gotten kits that needed modifications and additional items to work.  And finally, I have gotten kits that are little more than raw materials and a vague picture as to what it is.   

The description sounds to be the middle variety. So very little needs to be done to turn it into a wall hanger. I just want to get ahold of one. :)

No, what you described are:
1. A kit
2. A very involved project
3. A hot mess or a near disaster - your choice.
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: lgtsbr on May 21, 2013, 07:52:27 PM
I believe it is for a KIT, which is unassembled. ::)

One kit including: wooden hilt (drilled, colored and waxed) all the alumide parts (installed onto the wooden hilt), a tactile switch with custom cap and custom switch ring, aluminium heatsink (designed for tri-rebels and luxeons), aluminium blade holder (tapped for blade retention), aluminium pommel, 2 special 8/32 thumb screws (one for blade retention, one to secure the led module)

Price: 192 € (250 USD)

Hey, it's just a question as in the description it states "all the alumide parts (installed onto the wooden hilt)" - I'm just looking to clarify what the price is including.  I'm perfectly fine with whatever answer Master Jevaho gives.  I could form an opinion based on the description but I would rather clarify details before I part with money, that's all.  Know what I mean?

Dave
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: BOBA FETT on May 21, 2013, 11:34:51 PM
Hi guys,

It seems we need to clear some stuff up:

This hilt will be in kit form, meaning:
All of the alumide parts will be allready installed onto the hilt,
The blade holder will be drilled, tapped AND secured with a custom set screw,
Same thing with the custom heatsink: secured with a set screw,
Same deal for the custom pommel,
You receive a tactile switch + custom switch ring so you can install the switch rather easily after soldering your wires to it,

So all in all, you will receive a hilt, ready for display and easy to install electronics into it.

I hope to have a finished product by the end of the week to show you guys.
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: lgtsbr on May 22, 2013, 04:25:35 AM
Awesome!  Thank you for the answer.   :D

I am interested!

Dave
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: BOBA FETT on May 26, 2013, 10:58:18 AM
Hi everyone,

It took a bit longer than I had anticipated, but I was able to finish the first 5 kits this weekend.

Here are some pics, I'll soon open a sales thread in the appropriate topic.

The glams:

(https://www.fx-sabers.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffc03.deviantart.net%2Ffs70%2Ff%2F2013%2F146%2Ff%2F0%2Fgungi_lightsaber_group_picture_by_forcerelics-d66nnog.jpg&hash=b6f252a2c6f31f791fe663179126766031247abf) (http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/146/f/0/gungi_lightsaber_group_picture_by_forcerelics-d66nnog.jpg)

(https://www.fx-sabers.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffc02.deviantart.net%2Ffs71%2Ff%2F2013%2F146%2F2%2F0%2Fgungi_lightsaber_by_forcerelics-d66no2n.jpg&hash=8051236a8da88473a411e92c223b000d2827b4b3) (http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/146/2/0/gungi_lightsaber_by_forcerelics-d66no2n.jpg)

The kit you'll be getting:

(https://www.fx-sabers.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffc02.deviantart.net%2Ffs70%2Ff%2F2013%2F146%2F6%2F8%2Fgungi_lightsaber_kit_by_forcerelics-d66nogs.jpg&hash=e805c8b795f53179f73db5a9ffc4a2cdf85c0f27) (http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/146/6/8/gungi_lightsaber_kit_by_forcerelics-d66nogs.jpg)
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: IndustrialAction on May 26, 2013, 12:05:52 PM
Nice. I'm definitely going to have to pick one up
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: BOBA FETT on May 26, 2013, 11:11:16 PM
Thanks  :D

The first 5 kits have been sold, I'll hope to make some more the next few weeks.
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: Ratven on June 02, 2013, 02:07:32 PM
They look very nice, great job on them.
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: Turgon on June 03, 2013, 07:50:51 PM
I received mine today.  Great saber.  I may have to find an installed who does CS installs, because I'm not sure if I can take having this saber without clash effects.
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: BOBA FETT on June 03, 2013, 10:15:34 PM
I received mine today.  Great saber.  I may have to find an installed who does CS installs, because I'm not sure if I can take having this saber without clash effects.

That's great to hear!

Good luck with the install.

I hope to finish a few more kits by the end of the week.
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: BOBA FETT on June 16, 2013, 11:16:21 AM
Just wanted to bump this topic and let you guys know I have 3 more kits up for sale here:

http://www.fx-sabers.com/forum/index.php?topic=40460.0 (http://www.fx-sabers.com/forum/index.php?topic=40460.0)
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: lgtsbr on August 12, 2013, 03:54:37 PM
Got mine today, Fantastic job Jeffrey!

(https://www.fx-sabers.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.saberbelt.com%2Fimages%2FIMAG0437.jpg&hash=c4058e1610fe1883234c9471d1b02fa4f7109455)
The Glams (http://www.saberbelt.com/GungiSaber.html)

Awesome!

Dave
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: BOBA FETT on August 13, 2013, 01:54:36 AM
Thanks for posting this Dave!

I'm glad you like your purchase.

I have supplies to make 4 more and then it's over and out! On to something new.

So if anyone wants one, please let me know and we'll see what we can do.
Title: Re: Force Relics presents: Gungi, a wookiee lightsaber
Post by: BOBA FETT on September 05, 2013, 11:55:51 AM
BUMP!

The final 2 hilts are up for sale in the lightsaber sales section./ After these 2, we won't be making any more. So here's your last chance!