TOPIC: ASP "Interceptor"

Interceptor
Noun

• a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft
• a type of military vessel designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy ships or submarines

Saberparts.com 1.0 Render:


Saberparts 2.0 Render:


Actual Hilt:


Backstory
I pledged $350 (plus $20 shipping) for a Champion saber during the ASP IndieGoGo pre-order campaign on December 29th, 2015. Design-wise, I wanted something that was aggressive but not evil, utilized my favorite lightsaber elements (grenade grip and the Obi-Wan TPM pommel), and had a "balanced" look and weight between the emitter and pommel, as well as a yellow blade. I settled on the name Interceptor, as I felt it fit the skill set and job of a Jedi Sentinel.

The Arrival
At around 3 in the morning on June 16th, 2016, I receive a notification that the saber had arrived in town a day early. The sudden rush of excitement combined with the preexisting insomnia caused me to decide to stay up until the UPS man showed up. He (or on weekends, she) usually swings by between 8 and noon, so I didn't want to oversleep and miss the delivery if it was early.

I set up in the front room with the blinds open, eyes and ears peeled for the squeaky braked mail truck, with lightsabers review videos and Star Wars Rebels episodes streaming on my phone. And I swear every white vehicle and loud delivery truck in the tri-county area came through that morning, causing me to jump every 30 seconds. Finally, a little after 2 PM, after 5 and a half months of waiting and 36 hours without sleep it arrived. And to my surprise, it didn't come in the new SF branded box, but a Toblerone of Joy! My gift certificates from the Memorial Day sale also arrived (that's the yellow envelope).


I made a shaky one handed unboxing video on my phone in case something was missing but I won't post that. Everything was packaged pretty well (especially around the emitter of the hilt). The package was missing the stand, the belt clip, the covertec knob and the socket head screw that goes with it, but SF will be sending me them as soon as the stands and clips are back in stock.


A drink after a long wait

Note: I forgot to take measurements of most of the parts; I'll update the review with them later.
EDIT: Measurements
My order list (interestingly enough, I was order #859 on SF's end but 880 on IGG's.


Let's start at the top:
Blade Plug 4, Black

The entire thing measures to a little over 2 1/4". Looks good when it's flush with the emitter, but with the LED installed it sticks out too far and doesn't fit with the rest of the hilt. I may cut it down to fit, but I'll probably just leave it and order a V2 brass round reactor plug from LazerForge.

Flush


LED installed

EDIT:blade plug update

Emitter: Sorcerer, Weathered

LED/blade retention screw locations


Despite all the claws, this emitter isn't too heavy. The only sharp portions are the corners on the "boxes" at the bottom, which is where your hand falls for spinning. A quick filing did the trick (and took off a bit more of the black anodizing, which extended the weathering effect), and is now very comfortable to hold.

I'm very happy with how the weathering on the claws turned out. It looks like the heat from the lightsaber blade has worn off whatever black coating people in the Star Wars universe use on metal.


SF uses 1" 8-32 screws to attach the claws, but they appear to have been ground down a bit to be flush with the inside of the emitter. Despite having the same thread pitch as the retention screws, they do require a size larger Allen key (which I already had).



The blade retention screw hole and the claw holes are almost on the same level.


One strange thing I did notice was that the slots for the claws aren't all milled to the same length, 3 are longer on one side than the other 3. Since they mirror each other I don't know whether it was a machining mistake or a design element.

Switch 10, Weathered
I am absolutely in love with how SF did the weathering for this part. I'm not sure if it was done in a lathe or by hand, but it looks really natural.




Venom Body, Weathered
Despite all the little rectangles of the grenade grip, they aren't sharp at all and feels great in hand. I can't speak to how it feels with the covertec knob, but I'll report back when it gets in. [EDIT: Covertec knob update HERE]



Avenger Pommel, Weathered
When I first looked at the pommel, I wondered if I hadn't received a Templar one instead, since the builder made it appear that there was going to be a sharp edge that hangs over where the pommel meets the body. In reality it squares off nicely and is a nice catch for you hand. I was also pleasantly surprised to see the cogs were weathered as well in a similar fashion to the boxes on the emitter. The pommel is actually 3 different pieces; a lower part, the cogs, and an end cap that screws on. Because of this, you can loosen the end and align the cogs however you want and then tighten it back up.



Unfortunately, the speaker grill was glued on off center. It's not too big of a deal, but it's worth noting.

Electronics Install
I was able to get everything installed without too much trouble by working slowly when getting the wires to go exactly where I wanted them. The Velcro that helps keep the battery in also keeps the sound unit in place with no rattling, but with a few shakes I can get it out the bottom of the hilt to access the battery.
12mm Momentary Switch, Black
Nothing much to say here. It works as intended, and I can get it tight enough using the nut I don't need any glue. It does stick up a bit on the hilt, so my hand will accidentally trigger the aux sound when spinning the saber.


12w+ Yellow LED


SF seems to have switched to a different style of heatsink module than the one shown on the website. This one can screw all the way in instead of a set distance, so it could be used for a tri-LED if needed (the tri-optics are shorter). SF yellow is made using 2 amber and 2 green dies* [READ UPDATE HERE].And it appears that each of the like colors share a resistor, instead of the 3 amber ones being resistored individually and the green left alone. I can't check what size resistors were used without cutting the heat shrink off, so I can't say if the greens have a small one to protect them or a larger one for color mixing (my guess is the latter) [UPDATE: HERE.

^no blade or plug, shined on wall


^In the dark, full battery.

^This is the LED in broad daylight, and is closest to how it appears to the naked eye.

^In the dark, next to my B/B/W Graflex 2.0
Overall, I'm am very happy with the LED's color.
Sabercore 2.0 sound unit, Crimson

-Comments on the soundboard in general:
First off, I really like the Crimson soundfont. It's has a nice dark side sound, but still works with this non-Sith blade color. One could say it is a characteristic of the yellow crystal inside it, or perhaps the lightsaber has a more powerful power cell (It's my lightsaber; this is what I'm going with ). The hum, swings, and clashes are nice and powerful, and the force lightning is a nice aux sound (which works for me, since my Jedi character uses Emerald Lightning). I do wish there was more variety with each of these sounds though. Another thing that is slightly annoying is that it takes almost 3 seconds of holding the switch down before it starts to turn off. It also stops the flickering when it begins to turn off, which can be a bit jarring if you are using the slower flicker setting.

The in hilt menu is very convenient, though it would be nice if it didn't reset all the settings every time you enter it. On a side note, the menu voice is still the Viridian one, and not the deep voice that speaks on boot up. I have the flicker on 5, sound on low (which is still plenty loud), and the clash a bit more sensitive than the swings.

The speaker sounds good (it appears to be a bass speaker), and works well with the deeper sounds of the Crimson soundfont.

-Comments on the soundboard unit in an ASP application.
The soundboard would really benefit from a deep sleep mode, or recharge ports being added to the ASP lineup. I encountered a few blips and glitches with the soundboard, but all of them were fixed by simply reinserting the battery. So it seems the board doesn't like to be on and in standby for long periods of time (longer than a few hours). The board does appear to draw a significant amount of power while in standby, as after two days the board starts to act squirrelly and requires the battery to be recharged. So I now take the battery out whenever I am done with the saber.

Speaking of taking the battery out, that is a bit difficult to do due to its tight fit. I have to push from underneath in the empty space between the board and the speaker to get it out.

EDIT: Another thing to mention: with the sound on high, there is enough vibrations that the board will trigger swings if it has the sensitivity on a more sensitive setting.

37" V4 Infinity Blade
After coming from the 7/8" thin walled blade of my Graflex 2.0, this full 1" thick walled blade is surprisingly heavy! Though after getting used to it it's not bad at all, and feels like a good fit for the hilt as well as my height (I'm 6'3"+). The balance point is right at the end of the claws. The LED unit is as deep as it can be and still be held in place by a retention screw.


Unfortunately it seems like my blade tip was installed crooked. It's not noticeable when I'm swinging the saber around, but again, I feel it should be noted.


Panasonic 18650 Protected Cell and Charger
The battery is good, but the charger is a bit flimsy. The battery will fit slightly off center and the charger will still act like its charging, and can give a false full battery light.



Timing Shims
I received 4 of them in different thicknesses. I used the second thinnest one between the emitter and the switch section.
Cosplay prints
These were a nice addition, but if they had been forgotten to be packed with my order, I wouldn't have emailed SF about them. They were half rolled and half folded in the box, leaving some deep creases. I'm not sure if these people are well known in the cosplay scene, or just modeled for SF.

^My favorite of the 3 (partially because I'm a Starkiller fan).

^A nice Quinlan Vos, but the picture came out really blury.

I'm not sure if she is supposed be a certain Star Wars character, or just a generic Sith Lord. I'm sure this print will make some lonely nerds very happy (then again I have no room to talk; I don't exactly have a gaggle of Twi'leks following me wherever I go ).
Stand, Belt Clip
Will update this when they arrive.
[EDIT: stand and belt clip update HERE]

In Closing
Overall, I am extremely happy with my SF saber. I may upgrade the electronics down the line, but I don't regret the wait a single bit.

In the box I made for it back in February

Coming up next: Non warranty voiding modifications!

Customizations
I wanted to add some brass/gold accents to the hilt. I picked up some 3/4" brass thumbscrews and 1" brass slot screws from Lowes, and a gold thumbscrew from TCSS (all the above are 8-32).

^1" Brass screws verses SF's modified 1" screws.

^How far the brass screws go into the hilt. Ground them down a bit with my dremel and now they work great. I also cut down a 3/4" screw to replace the LED retention screw. I replaced the blade retention screw with the gold TCSS one.


The TCSS thumbscrew also fits inside the switch holes, should you want a fancier hole cover


For those interested, the retention screws on the Sorcerer emitter are 2 different lengths. The shorter one is for the LED, and the longer one is for the blade.


Before the hilt arrived I also ordered some black 12mm momentary switches off eBay (I didn't know if I'd get a silver one or not). It works in the hilt, and sits a bit taller in the switch hole, but can't be accidentally depressed. When I get some more free time I'll add a micro dean to it and swap it with the SF one. [EDIT: ended up going with a brass one, as seen in this thread]




I also tried out my photo red tri-Cree I wired up some time ago.


Compared to a MR Vader (with admittedly low batteries):



Until my covertec knob arrives, I tried out the ANH D-ring from my Graflex 2.0 kit. A little big for my tastes.





"Cutting" my birthday cake

Saved for future updates

WOW!! what a a formidable saber. well balanced, lover the weathering. Oh, and very well written review and tutorial. Love the pictures and descriptions. very detailed. Thank you for sharing.

Review is finally done!
golgo13 wrote:
Yeah it's a bit crazy at the house at the moment (carpet people are over tearing stuff up) and I was doing this from my phone, so I was writing the review intermittently and I wanted to make sure I didn't run out of space.

Jaden I really like the brass accents. The fasteners you used on the claws are slotted? Luv the brass thumb screws from TCSS. Does the center portion of the AV switch just pop out to thread in the thumbscrew? I'd luv to see a close up of the emitter with the brass hardware. Cool display box also, nice job all around.

Great looking hilt, Jaden! And I really like the customizations. It's interesting that the momentary switch you got from SF has that sort of protruding button. The button in the one I got is flush with the housing, like the switch you got from eBay. Can I ask what type of grinder you used for those screws? I've got a handful of extra thumbscrews I want to use, but I'm hesitant because I haven't used my dremel on metal before, and I'm not sure what works best.

Amazing review and saber there Jaden! Like on my own hilt I really like the weathered finish with brass accents. I almost went with that body but questioned how it would feel with the covertech knob placement.

The Interceptor! Great name...and I like the emitter. Glad to hear it's not too heavy. Great looking hilt!

That's a bad-ass hilt there. I like it! Congrats!

Thanks for the comprehensive report! Happy to see you got what you ordered and it all works just fine.

Interceptor is an awesome looking saber, great design!

Great Review Tutorial and writeup Jaden, very comprehensive and aided well with combination of images. What's not to love and Yellow, awesome choice. As a recent recipient of (what appears to be a slightly longer) Hilt, how generous are the wires for the electronics to/from battery and LED Module? Consistent to several designs mocked-up in Hilt Design Gallery I have an intention to configure a longer Hilt (when I eventually get an ASP) by use of strategically positioned Couplers. If I were proficient at DIY-ing with electronics I could splice and extend but as I'm not, wonder if default wire length would accommodate say up to two Couplers into the Body.

Jaden no reply needed about my query of the switch hole thumb screw. I've realized what you were implying.

Thanks guys! I'll have some more pictures ready once the flooring people are done and the house goes back to normal (we've got pretty much everything crammed into one tiny room, so the saber is out of my reach at the moment).
=Ottomatix= wrote: Yes. The claws used these screws from Lowes. I had originally gotten these thumbscrews, but they ended up being too short, though I was able to use one for LED retention after cutting it down. The original plan was for the entire hilt to be able to be serviced without needing an Allen key, though I now like the slot screws because I can get them tighter with a screwdriver than I would be able to get thumbscrews with my fingers.
Borommakot wrote: Im sure I'm probably using these attachments incorrectly, but for grinding screws I switch between Dremel part #8193, 932, and 83142 (grinding stones), and then sanding drum (#407) to smooth them out. And for cutting I used one of the included cut off wheels.

Don't push too hard (don't want to break the mandible), and watch out for sparks!
OvrcAHst wrote:
The hilt is a longer one, but in terms of electronics space I only have the body and switch section to work with, as the bottom of the LED unit ends up where the switch section threads end in order for the blade to be seated deep enough for my tastes. As such, I have a TON of excess wire length from the soundboard unit to the LED to have to coil inside. The wires for the board to the switch are a bit shorter, but if one of the couplers goes above the switch section or if the switch is installed in the bottom hole I don't foresee any issues.

I've bought all of mine from McMaster Carr which has the Amazon.com order fulfillment strategy. They actually have UPS warehouse some items so the shipping info comes minutes after the order is placed usually takes 1-2 days to receive. Use them all the time at work.

cool saber and good write up.

looking at the size of it, while the emitter is shorter than mine, the body looks longer so you should have room for the recharge socket in the second hole with additional wiring.

It is the wiring for the led momentary switch with resistor that takes up the room in the hilt