Interest DaveP's 40th Anniversary Luke Hero (Interest Thread)

This arrived a few days after Christmas and now that the holidays have died down I finally got the chance to do a little test assembly and WOW. It’s an absolutely gorgeous piece, and all of the parts fit together perfectly. I’m dying to get back into the shop and to fixture this to my Hero saber. Thanks so much DaveP this has exceeded all my expectations.


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Wait. I think I missed too many posts. So, we can buy the new hero’s via Dave’s site when he restocks again?
I’m in the same boat, although I now may have to wait before making a purchase, as I’ve just committed to a Creepy Uncle. …I would so love a finished Hero, though.
 
Hello everyone!

Wishing you all a very happy May 4th!!!

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It's no secret that I've been working on an updated version of my Luke V1 Hero for quite some time now...

It was always my intention to kick this run off today to celebrate what is a very special May 4th! I've been planning to revisit this iconic prop to mark the 40th anniversary of ROTJ (my personal favourite!) for over a year now.

I announced my current run this time last year on the assumption that it would be completed by now. It is still very much ongoing though! The research and development of the Obi Static ended up being a VERY long and in-depth process and as you may know, there were a few hurdles to overcome before it finally went in to production at the beginning of this year!

Work has now begun on fulfilling orders for that run, now that the majority of the parts have arrived, and my time is very much focussed on that for the time being!

I just thought I'd give a little preview of what's coming next (later this year):

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A LOT of research and discussion has gone on relating to this particular prop over the course of this last year! Most notably around the reveal board discovery (credit goes to BRRogers for that of course!). The work that Poikilotherm has done on this is incredible too! I've been lucky enough to get my hands on a couple of these now myself, and have successfully reconstructed the layout of the board. I've completely overhauled the interior or my control box too, and with the help of 3251bimmer have identified some of the brass parts based on his genuine Death Star brass. Where it's not been possible to match to real world examples, I've referred back to the prop references. The switch has been modelled on an Exactra 20 switch too, which fits perfectly and sits at the perfect height, matching the few references where it can be seen...

There is so, so much to discuss and share about this project, and the various rabbit holes I've found myself going down over the course of the last year or two! I look forward to sharing more later in the year! There may be the odd tweak here and there but the vast majority of the work is done, with models and drawings pretty much finalised.

I could write a lengthy post about each and every minute detail, but for now I'll leave you with this very brief taster, and will go in to greater detail when my time isn't quite so stretched!

My main priority right now is my current Obi Run of course, which I'll be returning to now.

Please feel free to express your interest though. I'm VERY excited to announce that I'll be doing things a little differently with this run, and all future runs going forward.

I'll no longer be requesting payments until I have the parts in hand.

The patience and trust that has been shown to me over the course of my previous runs is absolutely phenomenal (particularly this latest one)! The responsibility does weigh heavily on me though. Especially when problems arise and delays occur.

Going forward, I'll be ordering lower quantities up front and out of my own pocket. So you can expect smaller, shorter (repeat) runs of these, as well as some of my other hilts.

So, please feel free to express an interest, so that I know who to inform of any updates. Or feel free to follow the thread to be updated that way when the time comes to move forward with things.

I hope you're as excited as I am to be revisiting this one! It's where it all started for me, so it holds a very special place in my heart. :)

I hope you're all having a great May 4th, however you're celebrating the occasion!

All the best, and MTFBWY!

Dave
Hi Dave! Not sure if I'm too late to this party but hoping to join the waiting list for your new Hero run. Happy to put a deposit down as well. Hope I can squeeze in there.

Thanks and keep up the amazing work!
Nelson
 
**UPDATE**

Hello everyone.

Hope your 2024 has gotten off to a good start!

Just a very quick post to say that another round of DIY kits and fully weathered commissions will be added to the store today as planned.

**February 1st @ Midday (UK time)**

It’s been an incredibly busy month trying to catch up! Decembers orders shipped out much later than expected, so I took on a very limited number of weathering commissions for January.

It has still been a push to get everything done in time, but we are very nearly there. I would never compromise on standards, so it's been a case of putting in a LOT of additional hours of work.

I should be just about finished on this months commissions later today and will then be taking some beauty shots later this afternoon.

These will then be shipping out tomorrow! (y)

Please bear in mind that orders placed on the site this week will not be started until Monday Morning.

As with January, a limited (manageable) number of orders will be listed so as to ensure that ALL orders can be fulfilled before the end of the month.

December’s were shipped two weeks late... January’s are shipping two days late... This is an improvement, but this month I’m determined to get orders out to people within the 28 days as promised. (y)

Smaller orders will ship out much sooner obviously, followed by DIK (full hilt) kits, and then fully weathered commissions.

I’ll do my best to add the stock as close to midday as possible. I do have to go in and do this manually for each item though, so please bare this in mind if an item is “out of stock” at 1 minute past. I may still be working my way through them.

I’m really very happy with this month’s round of commissions, and it looks like it’s actually a good day for taking pictures too. I’ll get some posted over the next couple of days.

Thanks again for following this run(s) and for all of your kind words of support. I’m loving seeing these arrive in their new homes. It’s always an honour to have my work as part of your fabulous collections!

Here’s to another productive month!

All the best, and MTFBWY!

Dave
 
Snagged a V1 commission and couldn't be more excited! I purchased a control box and reveal card last month for another project and all I can say is 'WOW'!
 
With patience I was able to grab a ISYCANL DIY kit. My personal favorite and can’t wait to have my first ROTJ Luke hilt. Very excited to build it as well :)

Thanks Dave
 
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