Hey guys, I wanted to share with you my Legion Luke/Vader models. I can't think of any reason why the same thing can't be done to IA models, and figured I'd put my lightsaber mods out there as inspiration to others. The main "issue" might be that the battery doesn't fit under the base, but my understanding of IA is that it's on a grid-based system anyways, so altering the base wouldn't be a big deal.

Super cool! Do you have a step by step? Or a rough manual?

20 hours ago, aermet69 said:

Super cool! Do you have a step by step? Or a rough manual?

I haven't put one together yet, but it's a pretty easy process to follow. The hardest part is soldering the 0402 smd LEDs since they're so small.

1) Cut off the old lightsaber
2) Sand the edges of a 1/16'' clear acrylic rod until it's all hazy
3) Cut the acrylic rod to length. Shape the top of it to be a smooth round end cap
4) Drill out the other end of the rod to make space for the LED
5) Solder 40AWG piano wire onto a 0402 SMD LED (hardest step)
6) Glue the LED in place, ensuring that the light is pointing in the direction of the yet-to-be installed Lightsaber. (second hardest step)
7) Glue the acrylic rod in place, ensuring that it stays in line with the hilt.
8 Drill a hole in the base
9) Route the wires along the figure, using a dab of glue where appropriate to hold them in place. It is best if the model is primed but not painted, but it can be done to a new or fully painted model if need be
10) Fish the wires through the hole you drilled
11) For a red LED (or any other 2V) solder the positive wire onto the appropriate resistor - make sure that the resistor is small enough to fit under the base (1/4W work, 1/2W do not)
12) Solder some wire to the other end of the resistor, I prefer using 24AWG and then spreading the wire out in a fan to maximize the contact with the battery
13) Apply double sided tape to the bottom of the base, place your positive wire there, and then the battery
14) Tape the negative battery to the bottom of the battery, and enjoy how awesome it looks!

Khyros, I love your stuff. To be honest, I thought about this idea 18 months ago but didn't pick it up since I was afraid it would keep me from getting my minis painted. But I was always wondering whether someone would ever do something like this. And then you came along...

And looking at the pictures, I regret that I put this idea aside. They look stunning!

Maybe I will try it one day. Until then I hope to see more lightsabers from you and that somebody is brave enough to try this on IA minis

Great work!

Hi Khyros,

I know it's been a while (18 months to be precise). But your lightened minis are still spinning around in my mind. I was pretty busy last year. I hope that one day I will find the passion and time to try this on my IA minis (still have a lot to paint though). I was wondering if you could share 1-2 pictures of you final version of Luke. So curious to see (you are invited to share more - but I think there are no more Jedis in Legion).

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thomas

54 minutes ago, Whitebubble said:

Hi Khyros,

I know it's been a while (18 months to be precise). But your lightened minis are still spinning around in my mind. I was pretty busy last year. I hope that one day I will find the passion and time to try this on my IA minis (still have a lot to paint though). I was wondering if you could share 1-2 pictures of you final version of Luke. So curious to see (you are invited to share more - but I think there are no more Jedis in Legion).

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thomas

Hey man, I didn't really do many of these, as I was having longevity issues with the Vader saber staying attached, and didn't really feel like debugging it to come up with a better solution (though I think I have one now if I ever get into the game myself) seeing as I primarily light X Wing and Armada stuff. But that said, the guy I did the Luke for did end up sending me a picture of him all painted up:

Wow...what can I say. It's awesome. Looks as if I have to give it a try. Thanks for the pics! Very inspiring. It's sad that we can't see Luke next to Vader

I saw on your instagram account that you put lights on every space ship you can get hold of Wow! Very impressive too. I can swing a brush but what you do...I think I have to go back to university and study engineering before I can step into this

Anyway, thanks a lot for sharing this!