Operation Yin-Yang

[Seano]

Last year I had an idea for dual wielding, a Prophecy in AB, and a Dark Prophecy in BR, but alas, the Dark Prophecies were on back-order, and it was unknown when they'd be back in stock. So I bought 2 Prophecies, the AB with AS FOC, and BR with FO FOC (there was a special on FOC at the time, so wanted to make the most of the price drop!)

Now I've had a bit more practice with soldering and painting, I'm game enough to experiment with the BR Prophecy, and have a go with painting it black, but leaving the cut outs silver - I'll also paint the cut outs on the AB black, to go with the theme!

In a couple of weeks, I'll have 5 days off in a row (just a lucky run with my roster, as well as the Australia Day Public Holiday chucked in for good measure!), leaving me with plenty of time to get it right!

Below is a pic of the 2 Prophecies (the black part is an experiment with some Plasti-Dip, which didn't really work out)



Updates and pics to follow!

[scifidude79]

Why does the AB one look bigger?  Is it just an optical illusion due to it being closer to the camera?

[hazard502]

Why does the AB one look bigger?  Is it just an optical illusion due to it being closer to the camera?

Yeah it's just the camera angle - I think the pic was taken horizontally with the blue Prophecy at the bottom and then Seano spun the pic vertically.  Am I right Seano? 

Last year I had an idea for dual wielding, a Prophecy in AB, and a Dark Prophecy in BR, but alas, the Dark Prophecies were on back-order, and it was unknown when they'd be back in stock. So I bought 2 Prophecies, the AB with AS FOC, and BR with FO FOC (there was a special on FOC at the time, so wanted to make the most of the price drop!)

Now I've had a bit more practice with soldering and painting, I'm game enough to experiment with the BR Prophecy, and have a go with painting it black, but leaving the cut outs silver - I'll also paint the cut outs on the AB black, to go with the theme!

In a couple of weeks, I'll have 5 days off in a row (just a lucky run with my roster, as well as the Australia Day Public Holiday chucked in for good measure!), leaving me with plenty of time to get it right!

Below is a pic of the 2 Prophecies (the black part is an experiment with some Plasti-Dip, which didn't really work out)



Updates and pics to follow!

I'm looking fwd to this project as your mods and themes are a lot of fun and well thought out.

Loving the two Prophecy sabers and they sure do make an amazing duel wielding pair.

[Seano]

Yeah it's just the camera angle - I think the pic was taken horizontally with the blue Prophecy at the bottom and then Seano spun the pic vertically.  Am I right Seano? 

You have the right of it, Hazard, pic taken horizontally, and and rotated when edited! Thanks for the kind words, too, hopefully this project lives up to your expectations!

[Isola815]

Hey Seano,

This would be super easy to do with Plasti-dip. If you get yourself a can of black, and a can of glossifier just do the following:


4 dust coats of black. Should be about 5 minutes dry time for each dust coat.
8 - 10 slightly heavier coats over the "hard to reach spots" but not TOO heavy. Plasti-dip self levels, but not when it pools and runs give it 15-20 minutes dry time.
4 solid coats over the whole saber top to toe  - try and give it 20-30 minutes between each coat.

BEFORE YOU DO THE GLOSS, get yourself a PLASTIC razor blade, and because you have a nice thick coating on there now instead of the very thin coats people usually do, you will be able to cut it cleanly without getting tears. The plastic blade also won't scratch up the metal finish. Cut out the choke point, the grip dips or whatever else you want silver and peel away. Just don't tape anything. Taping Plasti-dip projects is a world of hurt.

Then do about 5 or so coats of glossifier, focusing on your "hard to reach" spots quite well, but again don't let it pool or run. Let it dry for about 12 hours and you'll be all set So you can do it in a day really. Then reassemble the next day!


However that IS $60 worth of Plasti-dip. So I can totally understand wanting to paint it instead. It will just take a lot longer to get a flawless black finish just remember to stock up on lots of 1200 and 2000 grit sandpaper for between each coat if you want a mirror black as gloss black is not very forgiving. Plasti-dip would also have the grippier advantage.

No matter what direction you go I'm looking forward to seeing the design style you wind up with. Point to you for a thread to keep watching! Cheers!

[Corwyn VonBeck]

Gah... I'm doing the same thing! a dark prophecy & a regular, turning them both into takes on the LE version, but coming from 2 different directions... yours is probably gonna kick mines ass! lol

[RevanReborn]

What the?!  I swear I already commented on this thread!!  Dang it!

Wicked idea Seano . 

[Seano]

Stage 1 complete - damn, they like to use a lot of glue to hold the A/V switch in place! I'll be using a half-bolt to hold my silver A/V switch in place when it arrives.



I saw a YouTube video of someone deconstructing their Standard Issue, which is where I got the idea to unscrew the LED module from its casing, then passing it through the hilt with the wiring intact, therefore negating the issue of cutting the wires.

Also, got the idea of switching the bezels and A/V switches from JediXIX to stay in the theme - http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=26110.0

Next step, cleaning down the hilt, and the first coat!

[JayMeezy]

I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

[Corwyn VonBeck]

Hehe, thats why I ended up going empty hilts... didnt relish the idea of having to take it apart without breaking something.

[Seano]

Some bad, but also good news - after trying to get the painting right for this, I've decided to just buy a stunt Dark Prophecy, and work on that instead.
On my first attempt, the painting came out looking quite good, but the paint itself still felt tacky, even after curing it in the oven (I bought a cheap small portable oven just for this kind of work, so as not to kill myself with toxic fumes!). I even covered the sabre with a clear top coat, but it still felt tacky after curing. 
So then I stripped the paint back completely, bought myself some black gloss enamel, and after 3 coats, including curing, the paint keeps chipping off. 
That's when I decided, bugger it, I'll just buy a stunt Dark Prophecy, strip the electronics out of it, and replace it with the electronics from my BR Prophecy with FOC. The electronics from the stunt I'll put into the Prophecy I was working on once I've stripped the paint off, and gift it to a friend of mine.

[hazard502]

A Jedi is capable of adapting and reformulating strategies in the midst of the battle which is what you're doing Seano
Good on you for coming up with something new, to still enjoy making those Prophecies your own.

[doomblade0]

Some bad, but also good news - after trying to get the painting right for this, I've decided to just buy a stunt Dark Prophecy, and work on that instead.
On my first attempt, the painting came out looking quite good, but the paint itself still felt tacky, even after curing it in the oven (I bought a cheap small portable oven just for this kind of work, so as not to kill myself with toxic fumes!). I even covered the sabre with a clear top coat, but it still felt tacky after curing. 
So then I stripped the paint back completely, bought myself some black gloss enamel, and after 3 coats, including curing, the paint keeps chipping off. 
That's when I decided, bugger it, I'll just buy a stunt Dark Prophecy, strip the electronics out of it, and replace it with the electronics from my BR Prophecy with FOC. The electronics from the stunt I'll put into the Prophecy I was working on once I've stripped the paint off, and gift it to a friend of mine.

I recently asked a question about painting...I realize I worded it horribly. I was wondering if painting would make the hilt feel odd too. It's too bad that it does...

What will you do with the old prophecy??

[Seano]

Finally, I have finished Op. Yin Yang - disappointed it didn't turn out how I wanted (black cutouts on the Prophecy, silver cutouts on the Dark Prophecy), but the painting on the cutouts, to my eyes, just wasn't turning out right. So I decided to cut my losses, and just have black and silver contrasting highlights on the 2 sabres -













I think managing to get the light to shine out both of the side holes is due to removing all the glue from around the A/V switch before doing all the prep/painting, then when re-installing all the wiring/LED module, there's a bit more room for the LED module to sit a little bit further down the hilt - I think it looks great with the light shining through both holes!

[hazard502]

Great photos and your two Prophecy's look fantastic. Points Seano!