Custom Saber Ideas & Help

[JukeLake777]

Hi! My name is Jake, and there's a Comicon coming up in the fall that I'd like to cosplay at as a force-wielder. I recently got a Sentinel v4, with a guarded switch, and with a silver blade, and was looking to spice it up a bit and make it my own. I was thinking of adding a leather wrap around the grooves at the bottom of the hilt, and maybe some Rub 'n Buff all over to make it look more weathered. I was wondering if anyone had any tips or tutorials to make my lightsaber a little more beaten up, and if there were any design suggestions. Thanks!
(Also, if someone could remind me how to post pictures on here for reference, that would be greatly appreciated.)

[Karmack]

Hey JukeLake777!

For customization, I have to say that I like using ... paint.   Yup, just plain old paint.  :-)   Paint, plus a custom pommel goes from this:  (which looks pretty cool)



To this: (which is really cool)




As for pictures: there's a sticky post in the "gallery" forum that explains the process, but the best way is to open a free account at imgur and upload the picture there.   Then when you click on the picture you'll get a set of links to the image.   Copy the BBCode link (fifth one down) and paste it.

Or, if you have a link to another place that allows hot-linking, type a "bracket" ( [ ) img "close bracket" ( ] )   then the hyper link, then ( [ )/img ( ] )" and it should appear.   (just use the brackets, not the prenthasis.  I had to add them to keep the code from working)

[JukeLake777]

Thanks Karmack! I actually really like that suggestion! I'll definitely be getting a new pommel. As far as painting, what kind of paint would you suggest? I talked with my uncle, and he already had some spare leather that he said I could use, and I'm looking into some Aluminum Black to dirty up my hilt a bit.

[JukeLake777]

I'm still trying to figure everything out on this website, while doing it on my phone, but here's the links to some current pictures of my lightsaber.

https://imgur.com/ypfKCbc

https://imgur.com/jQWJGEy

[Infinit01]

Hey Juke,

I embedded the pictures for you





You can find out how to embed pictures here:

6. EMBEDDING VIDEOS

You may notice that some people have YouTube videos embedded in their posts. The following steps will help you embed videos into your post, but will only work if you are on a computer or laptop. It will not work if you are using a YouTube app, since you will require the proper URL.

Find the YouTube video you want to post
Copy the URL link from the menu bar
Post the link in the comment box on the form
Delete the "s" in "https://"
When you post your comment, the video will auto-embed itself


http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=30873.0

[Karmack]

Thanks Karmack! I actually really like that suggestion! I'll definitely be getting a new pommel. As far as painting, what kind of paint would you suggest? I talked with my uncle, and he already had some spare leather that he said I could use, and I'm looking into some Aluminum Black to dirty up my hilt a bit.

Aluminum black works really well.  I just used simple Rustoleum spray paint.  It looks great, but it will eventually wear down.

[janx]

That is really monochromatic.  I find making things appear like they made of different materials (especially on boundaries) tends to look better.

Don't go rushing off to do anything I suggest here, it's just brainstorm.

painting on metal usually needs a primer.  Some paints include primer.  Check the details on the can (and what materials it works on

After removing the blade, I'd tape up any ports/switches, etc (blue tape).

then spray paint coats of primer on (remember to start the spray before the object and pass the nozzle over, releasing after the pass)

lightly sanding on edges/corners will reveal the underlying layer, can give a look of wear & tear.  You can use that trick with the underlying aluminum, or primer layer and top layer.

[janx]

Some other threads to look at:

this is on drybrushing
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=7716.0

also check the pinned threads on leather wrapping and saber shrouds for ideas.

And google up on washes, the opposite of dry-brushing.  It's the watery wet paint version of that buffing stuff.

[Karmack]

Another thing to look at: there are some threads floating around where people have experimented with using Lee Swatch books to cut small LED filters for AS sabers to create custom colors.  The most prominent is stickied, the link is below.   You should check that out for ideas on color swapping the blade color as well, if you're into that.   Though I find the AS to be a very pleasing and awesome color in its own right!  :-)



http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=38175.0

[JukeLake777]

Thank you all for the awesome suggestions! I will definitely have to look into the LED filters a bit and see if that's something I'd like to pursue. I really like the dry brush idea. For the time being, I think I'm just going to do spray paint since I already had some at home, and then maybe upgrade to aluminum black or some kind of model paint like he used in the video. As for the different materials idea, I also really like that, and I plan on dealing with that a little bit by staining my leather a brown color to help diversify it a bit, and I am considering to maybe paint some of the ribs using a gold paint to also help make it not look so monochromatic. Thanks again!

[tx_tuff]

I be a tri cree silver LED and bought Lee filters. You can make any color you want but it will not be as bright as a colored LED. Because of this I don't even use them.

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

[Illyiss]

There are some great threads on weathering, and if you wanna really weather and show battle damage, fire up a dremel!