The Centurion, my Aeon LE complete Do Over

[RadeFox]

So yea... not even two weeks since I posted my new saber here http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=42414.0.

And so it goes, I still wasn't happy with the over all blandness of new look, so out came the paint stripper, and out came the wallet. Funny now, when I look back to having paid extra for the LE, then within a month its all painted over. Doh! 

I thought about it and wanted to go for something older looking, like a saber left over from Era just past the Fall of the Old Republic. A saber that was probably built during the waning golden years of the Jedi of that time, and then lost to the annals of time, and then found in a duracrate full of spare parts bought from some Bothan trader on a distant backwater of a planet.

What resulted after many layers of paint, washing, and highlighting ended up looking well, rather like a piece of Roman centurions gear so I decided to name it 'Centurion'.



I painted it all with Black Dupli-Color Wheel paint- that stuff is supposed to be heat, chemical, and chip resistant... so I am thinking it should hold up to some use and wear. A little dusting here and there with some Krylon to add some aged metal highlights (I used Oiled Bronze for some rings and Hammered Pewter as a dust.)

Here is the Emitter section, showing some heat marring and its age; and hinting at its former golden glory.





Some texturing I gave to the body really gives it a good feel and look.



And of course, the weathered hilt, with fresh grips added by the new owner. The O-Rings are VERY tight (7/8" stretched) providing amazing grip...AND they elevate your hold just off the paint, to help protect it. Double bonus!



Then the pommel, with the sweet little mesh trick I came up with.



And lastly the obligatory pretty light show!



I think it turned out pretty good. To me looks like something you might see in a Knights of the Old Republic comic style of lightsaber. The coloring really looks nice, and from arms length all the little "imperfections" of the paint blend into a suitable artifact effect. I feel it also has a nice 'warm and earthy' feel to it, a weapon an old nature protector Jedi might have wielded.

Hope you all enjoy it, and thanks for taking the time to look it over. May the Force be with you!

[ScificommodoreJones]

Looks Great, thanks for sharing keep us informed how well it holds up

[Malik Thanewulf]

Very nice work. Point for creativity.

[Therion Jinn]

Some excellent results there.
Very nice work

[RadeFox]

Some excellent results there.
Very nice work

Thanks!  As I look over my other sabers,  I just see a lot of silver , black,  and shiny.  This one will really look nice in comparison,  and make the others look good too.

[Cyclops942]

Wow... this looks FANTASTIC!  I am so hesitant to modify anything, it's not funny.  My vehicle is over a decade old (I bought it brand new), and I still have "new-car-itis," and am unwilling to customize it by adding anything that will damage the paint or pierce the metal.  All my emergency lights are magnet-mount, and I have refused to install the 100W horn/PA that I had on my previous vehicle.

I should take heart from your results, and worry less about "perfection" and more about "suitability," I think.  What you have shown here is not "machine-shop perfect" in appearance, but it is completely suitable for its purpose, and the imperfections, whether they were actually deliberate or accidental, all look as if they belong.

Well done!  I've given you a point for this.

[Karmack]

Radefox, that's a great looking saber mod!   Far more ambitious than the one I did and it looks absolutely fabulous!   Nicely done!

Do you have more detail on the mesh install?  I'd love to see how you did that.   My main beef with all of the lower-end sound pommels is a lack of any kind of grid.

Thanks!

[Cyclops942]

Radefox, that's a great looking saber mod!   Far more ambitious than the one I did and it looks absolutely fabulous!   Nicely done!

Do you have more detail on the mesh install?  I'd love to see how you did that.   My main beef with all of the lower-end sound pommels is a lack of any kind of grid.

Thanks!

+1 on the request for details regarding the mesh install.

[TR-77477]

Point for grabbing the reigns and customizing your saber.

[RadeFox]

The mesh was crazy easy.  I took a 1/2" ring of heavy blade material I had just cut from a blade plug so it would fit this emitter.  I then sanded it,  and painted one side black.

Next I took about a 1.75" circle of Pet Screen,  this is a nylon coated and reinforced screen for windows you can get at most hardware stores. The ring was just a bit larger then the diameter of the pommel.  Then using an extra blade plug (though any tool of 1" diameter will work),  I forced the ring into the screen and down into the pommel from the scew top down towards the base. I did trim any excess screen from around the ring once it was flush with the top of the ppmmel. Then I kept on tapping,  eventually stopping about 1/8" from the end.  It took some banging with a mallet to get it going in initially,  but then it was just tapping it down till it was where I wanted it.

A bonus for Pet Screen is it does come various colors too,  so you could get green,  blue,  white,  etc.  But you would likely have to order those online.

Hope this was helpful!

[RadeFox]

Oh yea, forgot to add you want to sand down the outer bottom edge of the plug ring,  so it's a bit rounded and won't bite through the pet screen as it's being forced into the pommel.

[Karmack]

The mesh was crazy easy.  I took a 1/2" ring of heavy blade material I had just cut from a blade plug so it would fit this emitter.  I then sanded it,  and painted one side black.

Next I took about a 1.75" circle of Pet Screen,  this is a nylon coated and reinforced screen for windows you can get at most hardware stores. The ring was just a bit larger then the diameter of the pommel.  Then using an extra blade plug (though any tool of 1" diameter will work),  I forced the ring into the screen and down into the pommel from the scew top down towards the base. I did trim any excess screen from around the ring once it was flush with the top of the ppmmel. Then I kept on tapping,  eventually stopping about 1/8" from the end.  It took some banging with a mallet to get it going in initially,  but then it was just tapping it down till it was where I wanted it.

A bonus for Pet Screen is it does come various colors too,  so you could get green,  blue,  white,  etc.  But you would likely have to order those online.

Hope this was helpful!

Very!  Point incoming!

[StarWars_and_Guitars]

Fantastic. I'm getting ready to paint Nerf and Rubies blasters and this is very inspiring.

[PsychoSith]

So yea... not even two weeks since I posted my new saber here http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=42414.0.

And so it goes, I still wasn't happy with the over all blandness of new look, so out came the paint stripper, and out came the wallet. Funny now, when I look back to having paid extra for the LE, then within a month its all painted over. Doh! 

I thought about it and wanted to go for something older looking, like a saber left over from Era just past the Fall of the Old Republic. A saber that was probably built during the waning golden years of the Jedi of that time, and then lost to the annals of time, and then found in a duracrate full of spare parts bought from some Bothan trader on a distant backwater of a planet.

What resulted after many layers of paint, washing, and highlighting ended up looking well, rather like a piece of Roman centurions gear so I decided to name it 'Centurion'.



I painted it all with Black Dupli-Color Wheel paint- that stuff is supposed to be heat, chemical, and chip resistant... so I am thinking it should hold up to some use and wear. A little dusting here and there with some Krylon to add some aged metal highlights (I used Oiled Bronze for some rings and Hammered Pewter as a dust.)

Here is the Emitter section, showing some heat marring and its age; and hinting at its former golden glory.





Some texturing I gave to the body really gives it a good feel and look.



And of course, the weathered hilt, with fresh grips added by the new owner. The O-Rings are VERY tight (7/8" stretched) providing amazing grip...AND they elevate your hold just off the paint, to help protect it. Double bonus!



Then the pommel, with the sweet little mesh trick I came up with.



And lastly the obligatory pretty light show!



I think it turned out pretty good. To me looks like something you might see in a Knights of the Old Republic comic style of lightsaber. The coloring really looks nice, and from arms length all the little "imperfections" of the paint blend into a suitable artifact effect. I feel it also has a nice 'warm and earthy' feel to it, a weapon an old nature protector Jedi might have wielded.

Hope you all enjoy it, and thanks for taking the time to look it over. May the Force be with you!

Love the look, love the name! Point!