TOPIC: Kylo Ren Scratchbuild

I'd started this build back when the Force FX hilt was near-impossible to find at MSRP and the US Flamberge was the only ready-to-ship crossguard design. Figured I'd knock out a PVC crossguard for MegaCon.

Aaand then life hit.

Only a little over a week to go, so knocking this build out while I wait for my replacement Graflex grips to arrive.


Here's where things started. A single piece of 1" conduit running from bottom, through the coupler, through to the emitter end. Didn't want to split the pipe - I wanted at least the main blade to be duel ready. Here the thinner side blades were taken from a cheap knockoff Crossguard saber.

Knock-off Electronics Test [Instagram Video Link]
Testing the KO saber board with a P4 Red main blade and DX RGB side blades with just the red wired.


Have a lit-up selfie



Slowly been making time to detail the hilt. Carving a thick shroud for most of the emitter detailing. A thinner piece of shroud for the handle. Some machined bits for the pommel.

After a fair bit of back and forth, I've sorted out a design that sacrifices some hilt strength to make room for a Hasbro Blade Builder Kylo Ren board and a quick-change 18650 battery. Main blade will be a Tri-Cree Red with Single Cree Red side blades.


Bottom shroud slid off. Bottom window will *just* fit the BladeBuilder board. Darn thing's going to run the full-width of the pipe, so it'll be screwed in place. For anyone else wanting to use the board, I'd steer clear, since the only metal hilts it'll fit into are the larger 1 3/8" ID Force FX hilts. Bit of red bladestock's just to represent the in-pommel detailing I'll be working on later.

Top window will house the 18650 battery holder. No recharge port in this setup, since I want to be able to swap batteries quickly if the saber dies half-way through the day.

I'll be modifiying the design of the hilt with a Covertec thumbscrew that will secure the handle-shroud in place, covering the electronics.


And here's where the build sits now. Machined a few bits to detail up the handle. Going to clean up the emitter shroud and prep some screws and a switch hole. Tri-Cree Red's already wired up. Single Crees arriving Thursday. Hoping to get this thing lit up again over the weekend.

Wow man, it's coming along great! You have quite a talent there. I look forward seeing how this project progresses!

the detail on the bottom of the hilt is killer... cant wait to see this thing finished

Getting pics up later, but here's a video with the saber all wired up.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFuwkzlsnjQ/

The staggered ignition and the sound font are KILLER! Excellent build.

Progress report on the Kylo hilt!

Here are the side LEDs being installed:



Heatsink is a 3/4" copper endcap. 7/8" ID, 1" OD. Single-Cree Red star. 20mm lens and holder slide right in. C-clip made from some leftover bladestock. Clip stays pretty well on its own, but added a touch of hot glue to keep things locked in place.



Main LED is a Tri-Cree Red in an LED Supply heatsink.



Hilt with most of the detailing complete:



Handle shell slid off exposing the electronics. Funny enough, battery winds up about where the canon power cell is located:



And a quick shot of everything lit up:



Gluing on a few more details and then getting a base coat of black sprayed on. Also going to lower main blade resistance since the transistor's not providing full power as-is.

Kouri your creativity is superb. Have you ever considered the icicles side blades? I've seen a few people modify them for the side blades and they look fantastic.

I think I've got an eBay listing for those bookmarked somewhere...

Either way, I'm prepping a set of bullet-tip red day-blades for the hilt to make it photo-friendly at the con.

Had sprayed a base coat of black earlier in the week. Spent last night on detailing:



Just need to glue on the red wire and make some day blades.

Edit: This shot was taken mid-paint, but shows off the circuit detailing I added to the rear window:

Looks fantastic Kouri,
You have such a gift for saber crafting!

Those scorch/burn marks one the side blades are wicked...

Awesome detailing job. That's turning out to be one slick hilt.

Thanks a bunch, guys! Just got the faux wires installed:



Onto the day blades~

I personally feel this is turning out to be better than the actual movie prop. Kudos! Look forward to seeing it with blades.

It's definitely better than that brick Hasbro put out for $300.

And it may even be more accurate than the one Korbanth made, since his is based on the prop shown at D23 that had the angled side emitters, but the version in both the film and the official prop on display in the Star Wars exhibit in Disneyland has them straight.

Thanks guys, in a rush for con, not gonna go too in depth replying to the previous comments, but I'm proud of this next bit.

Made some custom blade plugs to get rid of that dim-tip-with-bright-point issue on Bullet Tips.

Custom tip on the left, standard bullet tip on the right.

Kouri, I've said it before but you are really gifted. So when are you going to start a commission log for electronic installation services? Kidding, but seriously if you ever decide to do it, please let us know. Looks really great. You will get a lot of attention at your con with this.

You made that? Out of PVC pipe?

Holy hell, man.

That is beyond impressive. That is edging into straight up "work of art" territory.

Your creativity, and technical prowess is awe inspiring! I could not build something that looked that good if it came in an easy to assemble kit!

Kouri wrote: