Introducing Mustafar: A Drahcir Custom Graflex

[RevanReborn]

Wow man, another one knocked out of the park!!  Love the concept, and you executed it breathtakingly.  That looks phenomenal, I've always thought the graflex would look amazing dark side, and now I know .  Another masterpiece Drahcir, and I mean that with full weight of the words- you are a true master of these US customizations- just take it to whole other level.  Keep up the great work, and keep sharing- it's inspiring   points awarded

[darth tratus]

That is some awesome weathering done there. Great job with that graflex Drahcir! Ur weathering is giving me an urge to get my saber weathered in the future. Point for u!

[Drahcir]

Wow man, another one knocked out of the park!!  Love the concept, and you executed it breathtakingly.  That looks phenomenal, I've always thought the graflex would look amazing dark side, and now I know .  Another masterpiece Drahcir, and I mean that with full weight of the words- you are a true master of these US customizations- just take it to whole other level.  Keep up the great work, and keep sharing- it's inspiring   points awarded

Thanks!
OH trust me, I'll keep sharing.
I've already started my next personal project.
The beauty of so many of US's hilts is they're so great to personalize and modify to whatever you can imagine.

That is some awesome weathering done there. Great job with that graflex Drahcir! Ur weathering is giving me an urge to get my saber weathered in the future. Point for u!

Thanks Tratus!

[Darth Logos]

Love it. Points.

Surprised that Nox hasn't asked yet, so on her behalf _{as well as other potentially interested parties who shall remain nameless} ...

Would you consider replicating this on commission?

[Drahcir]

Love it. Points.

Surprised that Nox hasn't asked yet, so on her behalf _{as well as other potentially interested parties who shall remain nameless} ...

Would you consider replicating this on commission?

An exact replication? No.
Something similar, definitely.

All my customs are more or less one-of-a-kind, so things like damage locations would be changed and I might alter the paint scheme some - I likely won't do any dual toned version.

[Lord Canterbury]

OK, well - to be totally honest, I'm mortified anyone would actually do this to a Graflex.

But you managed to somehow mortify with dignity & class - so I gave you a point. 

[Drahcir]

OK, well - to be totally honest, I'm mortified anyone would actually do this to a Graflex.

But you managed to somehow mortify with dignity & class - so I gave you a point. 

No hilt is safe from customization.
 

[Roband]

Are you sure you are not a professional prop-maker?

This level of customization, and the story added to it is ILM level stuff. You could probably take a couple of pictures, put them together in a portfolio and walk right into Disney's studios to put together their props with the quality of these works.

[hazard502]

Are you sure you are not a professional prop-maker?

This level of customization, and the story added to it is ILM level stuff. You could probably take a couple of pictures, put them together in a portfolio and walk right into Disney's studios to put together their props with the quality of these works.

Fun idea Roband!

Drahcir, I heard Disney's making a few films in a galaxy far away so...

[Drahcir]

Are you sure you are not a professional prop-maker?

This level of customization, and the story added to it is ILM level stuff. You could probably take a couple of pictures, put them together in a portfolio and walk right into Disney's studios to put together their props with the quality of these works.

Talk about a major compliment - thanks man!

Fun idea Roband!

Drahcir, I heard Disney's making a few films in a galaxy far away so...

Let me just build a portfolio.

[Kouri]

Curious about your reasoning with the grips. I'd have figured they'd be the same graphite as the clamp/emitter to keep the Vader theme going. Also wondering about perhaps darkening up the copper "buttons". I can see marks on them, but they're still so bright and shiny that it kind of detracts from the rest of the dragged-through-hell-and-shot-out-of-a-volcano look you put so much effort in establishing on the rest of the saber. Or might that just be the camera playing tricks?

[Drahcir]

Curious about your reasoning with the grips. I'd have figured they'd be the same graphite as the clamp/emitter to keep the Vader theme going. Also wondering about perhaps darkening up the copper "buttons". I can see marks on them, but they're still so bright and shiny that it kind of detracts from the rest of the dragged-through-hell-and-shot-out-of-a-volcano look you put so much effort in establishing on the rest of the saber. Or might that just be the camera playing tricks?

The grips take up so much space that when they were a solid color with slight weathering the whole hilt looked horribly lopsided and bad - they are actually the graphite color because I tried it first and wasn't happy with it. I actually removed every grip piece from the hilt and painted them individually to do that - only to find it didn't look right.  
It just looked way too clean before I took to doing more to them.

The buttons are the result of the flash from the camera, just as you suggested.
There is actually quite a bit of black on them.
Maybe a bit later I'll take a picture of them with less flash just to show how dirty they actually are.

Edit:
Went ahead and just took a picture with my phone (so excuse quality), dirtier than they appear.

[Kouri]

Oh, yeah, that's a whole lot better. I hadn't noticed the rabbit ears being the same graphite, either. *thumbs up*

As for the grips, I'm completely with you that they should appear worn and abused to match the rest of the hilt - heck, they're going to be one of the most handled spots. I just think the wear should be different to represent the change of material between polymer grips and metal hilt, but perhaps that too is already more apparent when viewed without flash.

If I may, I think putting a bit more work in the setup for your photos would make for a *huge* boost in presentation. Doesn't even need to be anything complicated or expensive.

Next time you get a chance, head down to the office section of whatever retailer you like shopping at, and pick up a sheet of white, black, and maybe gray posterboard. You want to always have something on hand to contrast the piece you're shooting - so in this case, a white or light-gray backdrop would've been ace.

Find a wall that's getting some nice sunlight, and just tape the board to the wall so that the posterboard curves onto the floor, giving you a seamless backdrop. Found this pic online showing what I mean:



Then just snap a photo without flash.

Personal example: Left was taken inside the house early evening. Right was taken out on the patio late afternoon with a scrap of black fleece as a backdrop. Same cruddy cellphone camera each time.

[Dauntless Seven]

Hi Kouri.  Don't think that Drahcir needs much help with photos of his customized sabers but I certainly do.  So thanks for the tips.  Here's a point. 

[Drahcir]

Oh, yeah, that's a whole lot better. I hadn't noticed the rabbit ears being the same graphite, either. *thumbs up*

As for the grips, I'm completely with you that they should appear worn and abused to match the rest of the hilt - heck, they're going to be one of the most handled spots. I just think the wear should be different to represent the change of material between polymer grips and metal hilt, but perhaps that too is already more apparent when viewed without flash.

If I may, I think putting a bit more work in the setup for your photos would make for a *huge* boost in presentation. Doesn't even need to be anything complicated or expensive.

Next time you get a chance, head down to the office section of whatever retailer you like shopping at, and pick up a sheet of white, black, and maybe gray posterboard. You want to always have something on hand to contrast the piece you're shooting - so in this case, a white or light-gray backdrop would've been ace.

Find a wall that's getting some nice sunlight, and just tape the board to the wall so that the posterboard curves onto the floor, giving you a seamless backdrop. Found this pic online showing what I mean:



Then just snap a photo without flash.

Personal example: Left was taken inside the house early evening. Right was taken out on the patio late afternoon with a scrap of black fleece as a backdrop. Same cruddy cellphone camera each time.

Yeah, the rabbit ears are graphite as well! I like the way they tied into the emitter portion.

There's definitely a more noticeable difference between the grips and the body than is readily apparent in the photo.
I did end up deciding to treat them like they were machined metal though - I just couldn't get a balance I was actually happy with otherwise.
I played with grays, blacks, and lighter colors on them before this final decision and it all just felt out of place to me.
I tried many things on them, they're actually what delayed this hilt more than anything else. I may go back and mess with them again, but for now I'm done with them.

As far as photos - yes, yes, yes.
I've been slowly working on improving my setup. Given those examples that seems like the next logical step - so thanks for that!