So.. you want to make an "ignited" 1/6 scale lightsaber?

[wampachow]

Gotcha - I've been trying to figure out a good solution myself, and being not-so electrically inclined, I'll be following this thread closely!

 

[foolkiller]

Thanks for this!

 

[Eryq]

Not to rain on the Neon String parade, but wouldn't using those little cathode lights solve the rigidity problem? Are they more expensive or power hungry?

Yes, the cold cathode tubes (while brighter and already rigid) do require a lot more power, plus I think the longest they come in is 15". You can power 30' of EL wire with a 9 volt battery. And in addition to a greater range of colors with EL wire, the colors tend to be much richer than those available in cold cathode tubes, from what I have seen anyway.

If you don't mind the spiralled effect, there is also this option:

https://www.zapwizard.com/guides/Lightsaber/Version2/index.html

 

[hurricane]

great tutorial mate, i tried this stuff ages back and found it ok, but prefer the cathodes now, and having invested huge amount of time and £ into R&D i can power them from within a sideshow body,and they are fully detachable,no connecting wires....but the EL offers some advantages, like size of invertor and lower current drain.The Invertors i use for the figures to power the cathode tubes have to be built from parts to make them small enought to fit a sideshow body...time consuming to say the least..for the EL i use some tubing i found on ebay, whilst not entirely transparent it did have a small enough internal bore to straighten the EL out nicely.One of the EL sabers was this Luke hoth pilot,which too had a cordless saber.

 

[The Ringer]

Nice shot Hurricane!

 

[uc7]

That's a great picture of Hoth Luke.

I really like the look of the cathode tube style. It would be nice if you or someone else could give a step by step thread on making this type of saber too. That would give people even more options to consider for their own collection.

 

[jstep13]

I will commission someone to make some cathode sabers for me if someone wants to earn some extra money! PM me if interested!

 

[Eryq]

Flipping awesome, Hurricane! What is the size of that figure, and the cathode?
Very cool pic!

-Eric

 

[DarthNeil]

Flipping awesome, Hurricane! What is the size of that figure, and the cathode?
Very cool pic!

-Eric

That figs 1/6... as is this one-- a Hurricane original.

 

[uc7]

I do like the cathode set-up, but I believe keeping the saber "wireless" may be beyond many folks here (at least in cost).

I would assume that it is done by "machining" a tiny metal lightsaber hilt, using the external "shell" of the hilt as one of the power leads. The other lead would be done possibly through the "power switch" on the saber itself, keeping the two separate (possibly through a tiny rubber gasket.)

I would guess that the inverter is hidden within the figure itself, which is nice, but it does present a danger (as the inverter could theoretically overheat).
The wires would be run through the arm to the hand, which would be configured to have two power leads that would come into contact with the saber hilt at different positions.
All you would need is a 12v power source, and there you would have it (either by battery or wall plug in).

The machining aspect would likely be the hardest thing to accomplish, as most of us don't own a Mini-lathe for metal. I looked at these lathes, but the cost is way too much for the little amount of use it would get from someone like me. I do like the concept of creating tiny precise hilts though.

I ordered a couple of cathodes and will try to post the image against the EL-wire to show the difference in brightness once I get them.

The more options for members, the better.

 

[OSCORP]

I will commission someone to make some cathode sabers for me if someone wants to earn some extra money! PM me if interested!

I will also, i want my ANH kenobi with one.

 

[pixletwin]

If I had the time to do this I would do it to all my SW figures. Thanks for posting that... Maybe someday soon I will give it a whirl.

 

[Puay]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[MISFIT]

Sir i think i speak for everyone wen i say THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,
now my starkiller shall have a ignited lightsaber!!!!!!!!...
once again great tutorial.

 

[[email protected]]

pretty cool idea too but wouldn't neon look better, just wondered.

 

[lerath666]

NECROMANCY!

While neon might look better, it's also EXTREMELY HOT and might melt your plastic collectable. Cold cathodes, are, as the name implies, cold.

 

[SSC EX Hunter]

This stuff could make a great Balrog whip if you were to make one in 1/6 scale. Or maybe a custom Lumiya

 

[nathan.never]

This stuff could make a great Balrog whip if you were to make one in 1/6 scale. Or maybe a custom Lumiya

Or an Iron man whiplash!

 

[bwh1990]

So can somebody make a tutorial on how to make the cathode sabers?