So I've been rather bored as of late, and have missed that sweet feeling of working on a lightsaber--the smell of solder, the stress and frustration of making silly mistakes, the triumph of finding some way to fix it that makes the finished product even better... You guys know what I mean. So I've been playing with a gutted Initiate V3 and leftover Mantis CE parts from when I made my wife's curved saber (
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=33349.msg519300#msg519300 ), and for some reason I really liked the look of the longer hilt (though it's still not as long as my wife's Reaper!), and a gold covertec for accent. Let's just say the Force called out to me on it.
So last night while my wife was putting our son to bed, I got my spare parts and electronics and got to work--something quick and fun, non-committal, and unlikely to be permanent. Soon, I had forged a new saber:
(Ignore my son's toys strewn about.)
A better look at the color, though just as a standard Initiate.
And I liked it better than I expected. It was fun, it was new, and it was mine. However, I found myself in a dilemma--I didn't do the best wiring job since I didn't plan on keeping it (and the wires weren't even long enough for the battery pack to be fully accessible, so changing batteries would be a pain), and in that same vein, I had wired it with a momentary switch instead of a latching switch, as that's all I had that would fit the hole. (Which is a real shame, as I really liked the look of that switch) Resolved, I looked on Amazon for whatever latching AV switch I could find and had one-day shippping, and bought the cheapest one, which was an illuminated switch, but I didn't want to get into that for what was still to be an impermanent project. So tonight, I got back to work. The end result:
(Not the best photo, I know.)
Notice I swapped the Mantis pommel for the Initiate one, so it won't be quite as bottom-heavy and, well, ridiculous. I may further alter this to be a completely flat pommel.
And here's a good look at the new switch!
If you'll notice, I left the nut on the switch, as it had a really long stem, and I didn't want to risk any possible contact of wires and the hilt--someone could be in for a shock! So to keep a little extra length out, it resulted in my greatest frustration: the nut does not align with the 'power' symbol, and something, alas, had to remain crooked, so I left the symbol as is. Pity.
Reignited and it feels so good!
And one in the dark to show off that lovely green!
And anyone who's dealt with a stunt saber with basic wiring and no chassis knows the frustration of the battery pack sliding around in the saber, which is, of course, not good on the wires in addition to being annoying. To counteract that, I placed an MLS housing unit upside down at the end of the Initiate hilt, which holds the batteries [more] still, and gives the other half of the saber more threading from the gender changer from the Mantis.
Anyway, thanks for reading my long-winded post! Let me know what you think!
