TOPIC: SF Vengeance - Prizm - RGB? - FINISHED

Some builds you just get excited about, and this is one of them.

Details:

SF Vengeance hilt (literally the very last non ASP SF sold)
Prizm Sound board
Tri-Cree pR/G/rB
18650 Panasonic Li-Ion 3400 mah battery
Recharge port
Lit Primary 12mm AV switch (white)
Secondary Tactile switch install
3D Printed Chassis from Darth Ryo
Etching
Polishing

Kelborn and I tossed this one back and forth for a while and decided on what I think will be a VERY cool saber and one I'm very excited to do. Two big highlights for this hilt will be an abbreviated Sith code and Sith empire emblem between the grips on the lower body and an RGB LED featuring a Deep Red, Green, and Royal Blue Tri-Cree for what should be some really gorgeous color mixing. This is going to be one pimped out saber.



I received the hilt over a month ago, and it's been patiently waiting its turn in the build queue. Having just finished up another build for Kelborn, it's now this one's turn.

All the parts are in, and its ready to get started....

RESERVED for pics

First up on the build is the etching.

I will be going with an acid etch on this one rather than an electrolytic etch like my last one. I'm looking for a crisper etch this time around, so the acid etching will work better. Etching will be done using a Copper Sulfate Mordent (mixture of Copper Sulfate, Sodium Chloride and water).

Etch will consist of the abbreviated Sith code in Sith lettering along with the Sith empire emblem.



This is the first test print of the stencil and I will be fitting the patterns over the next day or two and making adjustments to the vector drawing for final stencil which will then be transferred to the hilt.

Following because I cant wait to see the finished saber...

Super stoked for this.

The etching should match perfectly with the saber stand I got from TCSS with "Peace is a lie" engraved in that same Sith Prophecy font.

And I can't wait to see what oranges and purples I can mix using the Deep Red.

KelbornX wrote:
Planning on pre-setting a couple colors for you, one of them being a blood orange.

Prizm is my favorite single battery two button card, looking forward to seeing the end result.

The Vengeance is a cool hilt, much better in real life than pictures might suggest.

Jas-Ot wrote:
Nice, thanks! I saved those RGB charts from one of the other forums that were made with R/G/rB so at least I have a general visual reference of what values to try out, even though any red values will need to altered to compensate for the pR die.

These are the 10 colors I was thinking of mixing:

• Deep Indigo / Sapphire Blue (200,0,1023)
• Indigo (400,400,1023)
• Purple (700,400,1023)
• Magenta (800,0,1023)
• Deep Red (1023,0,0)
• Red Orange / Blood Orange (1023,500,0)
• "Fire" Orange (900,1023,0)
• Yellow/Gold (400,1023,0)
• Lime (200,1023,0)
• Silver (400,1023,400)

Those colors all look good with a standard RGrB setup (at least from the photos), so I'm excited to see how the pR die mixes in.

I'll play around with the color wheel in RICE and see how the colors match up with the expected mix.

UPDATE:

Unfortunately we had to ditch the etching. The PNP transfer paper I ordered turned out to be crap and was not transferring the stencils. I also don't have a good Vinyl printer in the area who can do decals, so rather than deal with trying some different transfer paper we decided to weather the hilt instead.

The Prizm also proves to be VERY tight in fitting into this hilt, and I had to sand down one side of the ID of the hilt to get the chassis to fit in.

But, working through problems is part of the fun.

I added a Tactile switch to the underside of the switch section, similar to a VV install. Right now the hilt is nearing final wiring. Once fully wired I will do some touch ups to the weathering, add some extra detail (rust) and give it a polish.

Some pics of the recent work:

The chassis is painted, and the Prism is wired so all but the switch LEDs are hidden. Power and LED LEADs are hidden underside



This is the first round of weathering:
















Weathering consisted of course and fine Steel wool along sections of the hilt, and my special blend of enamels for that "dirty carbon scoring" look.

Mmm... deliciously dirty!

UPDATE

Well, the fun continues - What should have been a pR/G/rB LED is actually a RO/G/rB - I didn't realize the Red wasn't a deep red when I tested the LED initially (I dark glasses and didn't look directly at it). My supplier got a nasty email this morning, this was the second one they screwed up...

That being said, we are going with the LED arrangement - it does make for some pretty gorgeous colors, even if there is no true red.

I finished the hilt up Last night.

I had some initial issues with the Chassis, because the fit was tight and had to sand down a groove along one side of the hilt. The initial wiring I did was a little too tight for my liking (The Chassis wouldn't pull out how I wanted it to), so I pulled everything out and wired with more slack, and the end result is much better.

Quick overview:

-- Prizm V4 in a Goth chassis from Darth Ryo - holds battery, soundboard and speaker. 4-40 end threaded rods hold the speaker to the main chassis along with some E6000.
-- Primary Switch is a White ring AV 12mm switch wired to Accent pad1 - idle blinking when saber is ignited.
-- Secondary switch is a small tactile switch installed underside of the switch section - (Similar to VV install)
-- Recharge port is a 12mm SF styled port (I get them from a different supplier)
-- Ro/G/rB Tri-Cree XP-E2 LED in a TCSS copper heatsink and aluminum housing
-- Hidden wiring - Prism is wired so that only the switch leads are visible top side - all other wiring is hidden.

When I first fired it up I was presented with some lovely blues and purples and eventually cycled into some fantastic orange and yellow mixes on the default settings.
I set the colors this morning and fired it back up and was greeted with a nice orange in place of what should have been the Deep Red. After some communication with Kelborn, chalk it up as a happy accident.

On to the Pics...

Fun with Colors:

Blade:

Fine job, I really dig the weathering. Not over done at all and looks just right. I also am a fan of the Prizm, I think sound is a lot clearer than other cards, but that could just be me.
It seems weird that you had a hard time fitting the Prizm, went in perfectly on my Jade, maybe they over size it a little more because of the screws they do in the finish.

Thanks, I got a good 4-5 hours into getting that weathering just right.

I think the ID of the hilt might be slightly smaller than the typical SF hilt. It was just a hair too tight in there. Not sure the exact component it is, but that yellow rectangular piece on the rear brushed the inside of the hilt just enough to not fit. so sanded a groove down the side and everything fits, very tightly.

That weathering turned out great!

Since the Sith Code etch was ditched in favor of the weathering, I figured the RO would make it a more unique saber, since I mostly planned on using yellows, oranges, and purples anyway. A "happy accident" as Bob Ross would say! It can be an... ummm.... a Grey Jedi saber! Because, we ALL love those guys, right?

There's a sort of mint green/cyanish color in there that is just spectacular. Really wonderful, I think the RO LED makes for a kind of lime green combo on the green led and when mixed with the blue has some really nice cyan colors.

And the purples... I'll have to play with it some more, but something like 940,0,1023 makes for the prettiest purple I've ever seen.

That weathering is beautiful. It looks real.