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TOPIC: Master Replica Force FX Conversion

Master Replica Force FX Conversion 8 months 3 weeks ago #63090

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Hi everyone!
Just wanted to share with you all my Master Replica Force FX Anakin & Vader sabers I just recently converted to an LED with removable blade. Both of these sabers are from 2005. I've had these for quite some time and I've been wanting to get them converted since this past spring but the conversion kits from The Custom Saber Shop weren't available until a few weeks ago.

Let me just say I had a blast doing these conversions! I have little to no experience in building or customizing sabers but now I am hooked! I used TCSS's conversion kits for both sabers (they both can be used for dueling now!). Both sabers have their original sound boards & battery packs. I installed Saberforge's 6w LEDs in both sabers (Red for the Vader and Medium Blue for the Anakin hilt). And both sabers have Saberforge blade plugs.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how bright the 6w LEDs are. I was expecting them to be much dimmer than the 12w sabers I have (Prodigal Son & Avenger) but they really hold their own. I do however want to pick up a red day blade for the Vader hilt.

I ordered the LEDs & blade plugs from Saberforge's Etsy page and I received them within 3 days!.....Here's the pics, thanks for looking!
















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Master Replica Force FX Conversion 8 months 3 weeks ago #63092

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Master Replica Force FX Conversion 8 months 3 weeks ago #63095

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Very nice! I have that Vader saber as well; I've considered converting it, but I've held off since the all the LEDs in the string blade are still functional.
2005 MR Vader
B/B/W Graflex 2.0
yellow SF ASP Interceptor
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Master Replica Force FX Conversion 8 months 3 weeks ago #63096

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Those are both sweet in the extreme! :woohoo:
Imagine what you will know tomorrow....
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Master Replica Force FX Conversion 8 months 3 weeks ago #63107

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That is so awesome! I have an ESB FX saber I've really been wanting to convert and I was afraid to try it. So were there any snafu's or did you find this to be pretty straight forward? I've only got two installs under my belt so far (and the most complicated thing I've done is install a recharge port in a pommel). I was thinking of tackling installing a soundboard too, but I bet that would be much harder.


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Master Replica Force FX Conversion 8 months 3 weeks ago #63120

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HotRod wrote:
That is so awesome! I have an ESB FX saber I've really been wanting to convert and I was afraid to try it. So were there any snafu's or did you find this to be pretty straight forward? I've only got two installs under my belt so far (and the most complicated thing I've done is install a recharge port in a pommel). I was thinking of tackling installing a soundboard too, but I bet that would be much harder.

HotRod you should definitely go for it...These were a lot of fun to do. I followed the tutorials that are stickied on TCSS's forum and overall both conversions went smooth! The Vader hilt was a little more difficult than the Anakin one but its not bad. The hardest part was putting back on the clamp where the activation switch is on the Vader one. There is a very small pin that you have to put back in that gave me a headache---also resoldering the wires to the activation switch on the Vader one was a little tricky only because its so small. Other than that everything went smooth!
Last Edit: 8 months 3 weeks ago by DK44.
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Master Replica Force FX Conversion 8 months 3 weeks ago #63121

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Depends which ESB hilt Roddy's wanting to convert. Vader's as simple as dropping the TCSS Vader kit into. ESB Luke poses problems since there's no kit available yet and no other bladeholder fits right (though I'm thinking the ANH Luke kit that TCSS is prototyping should fit fine once it's released).

Back to OP, nice job with the conversions. Did you paint the exposed flash ports on the Vader or re-use the sticker from the plastic bladeholder?

Also, if you feel like tinkering with your Anakin a bit more, a trick I do with my conversions is replacing the thumbscrew with a short 8-32 button-head screw to better secure the bladeholder and provide a bit more accuracy. Then I re-drill the GraflexButton screw hole and tap it with 8-32 threads, and glue an 8-32 screw inside the GraflexButton for a discreet thumbscrew. You could also use a 10-32 tap if you wanted to replace it with a replica Graflex Button - I'm in the middle of an in-between Episode 3.5 Graflex that adds some of the ANH bits to the ROTS hilt.
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Master Replica Force FX Conversion 8 months 3 weeks ago #63135

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Thanks Kouri!
Excellent tips for the Anakin hilt, i'll have to look into that--thanks! On the Vader hilt I painted the exposed flash ports---I forgot to mention I accidentally broke one of the plastic orange & white wire things when i was trying to pry them off. Those things were so brittle to begin with. Painting the flash ports instead of leaving them silver gave the hilt a better look I thought.
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Master Replica Force FX Conversion 8 months 3 weeks ago #63209

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I saw that when I went looking for the ESB version. Yeah, I'll have to wait. I had been tempted to send it off to a smith for customization, but wanted to see if something came along where I could do this myself. Thanks, guys!


- RGBA+ Monarch, FW Epoch, Juggernaut, Exhalted
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Master Replica Force FX Conversion 8 months 1 week ago #63811

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Can you do this conversion without having to use the custom saber shop kit? I want to use the plug and play parts from saber forge, but have seen in places that the led unit doesn't fit inside the custom saber shop blade holder part without taking unit apart.
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Master Replica Force FX Conversion 8 months 1 week ago #63831

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Hollywood1975 wrote:
Can you do this conversion without having to use the custom saber shop kit? I want to use the plug and play parts from saber forge, but have seen in places that the led unit doesn't fit inside the custom saber shop blade holder part without taking unit apart.

I'm not sure if you can do the conversion without the TCSS kit or not, however, in both the conversions i did, the Saberforge LED units (LED heat sink module) fit into the kits with no problems at all--I didn't have to take apart the LED like I thought i was going to have to do. That being said the LED's i used were not plug and play..i'm not sure if those are different than the regular 6w LED that i used....hope this helps
Last Edit: 8 months 1 week ago by DK44.
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Master Replica Force FX Conversion 8 months 1 week ago #63833

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Haven't tested this myself yet, but the ASP shop sells the LED stars standalone along with the required focusing lens.

https://www.shopsaberparts.com/collections/do-it-yourself-electronics

The LED star itself will fit into a TCSS heatsink no problem, but I'm not sure if the lens will work as-is or if it needs a lens holder.

Either way, I wouldn't recommend using a 12W+ LED without a metal bladeholder like the TCSS kits. The LED could get hot enough to damage the stock ABS emitter or any PVC replacement.
Last Edit: 8 months 1 week ago by Kouri.
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Master Replica Force FX Conversion 8 months 1 week ago #64125

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I need to convert my Anakin

Any idea as to what the maximum output the onboard electronics will handle? I was thinking about going with a Tri-Cree but I'm not sure if it will drive the LEDs fully.
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Master Replica Force FX Conversion 8 months 1 week ago #64127

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It's a constant current LED driver - imagine a 1200mA buck puck (the exact may be 1280mA).

Any Single Cree will overdrive just fine. Avoid any 700mA single stars, as MR boards have burnt out their share of Red Rebels and P4s.

Two LEDs from a TriStar will run at about 600mA+ each.

Using all three diodes on a TriStar will net about 420mA each. It'll technically be brighter than one LED at 1280mA, but nowhere near as bright as three at 1000mA each.
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Master Replica Force FX Conversion 8 months 1 week ago #64133

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Kouri wrote:
It's a constant current LED driver - imagine a 1200mA buck puck (the exact may be 1280mA).

Any Single Cree will overdrive just fine. Avoid any 700mA single stars, as MR boards have burnt out their share of Red Rebels and P4s.

Two LEDs from a TriStar will run at about 600mA+ each.

Using all three diodes on a TriStar will net about 420mA each. It'll technically be brighter than one LED at 1280mA, but nowhere near as bright as three at 1000mA each.

The question then becomes, what would give better full blade illumination, the TriCree with it's Lens, or the Dual Cree 6W from SF with the 5 degree lens?
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Master Replica Force FX Conversion 8 months 1 week ago #64139

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The Crees usually win out, mainly because the individual diodes are larger/brighter and are designed to work with the specific lens, whereas SF LEDs don't have a matching lens and just use the closest fit.

Blade size also plays a part though. The thinner the blade ID, the smaller the angle you want on the lens, and SF LEDs can use 5-8° lenses, while the smallest Tri-lens is 10°.
Last Edit: 8 months 1 week ago by Kouri.
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