Hey guys, some of you may know me from other places (armada or X Wing from the FFG forums, LEDHangar on Instagram, Facebook, and Etsy, or Jeff from the FB repaint group), but I'm new to the Legion forums. And I figured I'd start out by sharing my Luke that I just modified last night. Apparently the lightsaber it supposed to be blue based on the sculpt. I guess that's what I get for working on the lightsaber before painting him. Vader should be joining him with a red one either later today or tomorrow.

it would be interesting to know how you did your Luke.

On 5/5/2018 at 4:18 PM, Bohemian73 said:

it would be interesting to know how you did your Luke.

There aren't that many steps to it, but they're not the easiest steps to do. There are some WIP pictures as you scroll through the photos.

1) Cut the original lightsaber off.

2) Solder 40awg piano wire to a 0402 SMD LED.

3) glue the LED in place, making sure it faces upwards.

4) Drill a small hole in the base.

5) Route the wires along Luke's body and through the hole in the base. Tap them in place with dabs of glue along the way.

6) Cut some 1/16'' acrylic rod to length. Then using a dremel and sand paper, shape the top of the lightsaber and scuff the sides. And then with a pin vise drill, hollow out the other end to fit over the LED.

7) Glue the rod in place, ensuring it's straight.

? Solder some 24awg wire onto the 40awg under the base to provide a better contact with the battery.

9) Use double sided tape to hold the CR2016 battery in place up against the positive wires. Then use regular tape to attach the negative wire to the battery.

I just think this is cool. Great job. Would love to have the talent and tools to do this myself.

This is amazing. The green lightsaber is not going to phase anyone.

Since I have an extra Luke and Vader from my second core set, I’m going to pretend for a moment that I might actually do this. Where do you get the acrylic rods?

I wonder if old Warhammer 40k Necron things would do the trick...

19 minutes ago, BigBadAndy said:

This is amazing. The green lightsaber is not going to phase anyone.

Since I have an extra Luke and Vader from my second core set, I’m going to pretend for a moment that I might actually do this. Where do you get the acrylic rods?

I picked up a bunch of them on Amazon.

And here is Lord Vader:

That Vader looks even better than Luke.

I'm never going to do this, but I'm so happy that there are people out there who are.

41 minutes ago, Albertese said:

That Vader looks even better than Luke.

I'm never going to do this, but I'm so happy that there are people out there who are.

Thanks man. I ended up using a bit of sandpaper on Vader's saber that I didn't do with Luke's. It helped give it a more even glow, so I'll definitely be doing that from now on for any commissions on those guys.

Maybe I need to use a coarser grit for my sandpaper as my don't glow as much. Sanding them some does help.

26 minutes ago, Bohemian73 said:

Maybe I need to use a coarser grit for my sandpaper as my don't glow as much. Sanding them some does help.

What are you using for your light source? And what about the lightsaber itself?

1/16 inch acrylic rod and 1.6 mm nano LED. there I very small gap so maybe I need to drill a small hole in the end of the rod like you did and attach (glue) them.

Hey @Khyros, Vader’s lightsaber looks incredible here. How are you planning to prime and paint him after this? Just tape the acrylic rod?

@Bohemian73 I might suggest a smaller LED - that one is technically larger than your rod, so you won't be able to drill it and set it inside.

@BigBadAndy Yeah, I'll have to tape it off. If I was smart, I would have primed them both first, but I'm not a painter, so that didn't cross my mind.

On 5/7/2018 at 9:35 AM, Khyros said:

And here is Lord Vader:

THAT...is amazing. Great job.

On 5/7/2018 at 9:35 PM, Khyros said:

And here is Lord Vader

A great "life study" for OSL!

9 minutes ago, ABXY said:

A great "life study" for OSL!

True! Here is a Vader that's painted, which should be an even better OSL model.

Dang.

How much do you charge? I'm sorely tempted to commission one of these myself....

On 5/11/2018 at 9:14 AM, Albertese said:

Dang.

How much do you charge? I'm sorely tempted to commission one of these myself....

You can take a look at my Etsy store for my pricing, https://www.etsy.com/shop/LEDHangar

Sweet. I think I might hit you up on Etsy next paycheck.

Come to think of it, I wonder if it's kosher to conduct such business as this on FFG's forum. They may have a "terms of use" issue and I would rather not step on anyone's toes. So I'll definitely go through Etsy.

Thanks!

These are really awesome! Great work! I'm looking forward to see Boba Fett with lit jets....

Here's what Luke looks like with a blue lightsaber.