Original ESB/ROTJ stunt Vader saber going up for auction...

love you too buddy, thank you for this. really thoughtful message, im so glad my wild theories help move us forward!

last night I realized they did NOT chamfer the set screw area on the tang of this saber! The DV6 has a groove. We'll never know if the V3/V2 had one.
V2 has one
 
love you too buddy, thank you for this. really thoughtful message, im so glad my wild theories help move us forward!

last night I realized they did NOT chamfer the set screw area on the tang of this saber! The DV6 has a groove. We'll never know if the V3/V2 had one.

Get a room, you guys ;)

Are you referring to the “channel” machined into the tang of the DV6 that is missing on the Vader ESB/ROTJ stunt hilt?

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Get a room, you guys ;)

Are you referring to the “channel” machined into the tang of the DV6 that is missing on the Vader ESB/ROTJ stunt hilt?

View attachment 1950292
View attachment 1950293
haha yes, exactly. I should add photos, I know, I've been so excited that I jump at observations. There DOES appear to be a slight reduction, like from a metal file on a lathe just after the core about 1mm. Then I see two set screw marks.

Screenshot 2025-07-18 at 11.25.48 AM.png
 
haha yes, exactly. I should add photos, I know, I've been so excited that I jump at observations. There DOES appear to be a slight reduction, like from a metal file on a lathe just after the core about 1mm. Then I see two set screw marks.

View attachment 1950295

I could see this “lack of set screw channel” on the tang causing the blade to not be held on very securely, in actual simulated combat.

(I recall the behind the scenes footage of Hamill “chopping wood” with the V3 and the blade flying off of the hilt as he was raining down blows on Vader…)

Here is some behind the scenes footage of the hilt in-action…

 
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Dumb question... but where does the Barbican saber fit into all of this?

The Barbican was originally the ANH motor/fx stunt for Vader, the one that could spin the blade to create the strobing effect for later rotoscoping, but the motor was scrapped during production of the first movie and cobbled to a static fencing stunt blade for the later two movies. It then went under further refurbishment over time for promotional spots, tours, exhibits, etc. At least, that's what I've managed to get a grasp of. Paging thd9791 for a fuller explanation.
 
^ that's right. It was refurbished at some point for ESB/ROTJ into the configuration that was resin cast for Vader's severed hand prop. It was then further modified into the state it's in now, with the black bolt caps and the fat trace clamp card and the endcap, et cetera. Was it also the one that was thrown in Jedi, or was that the DV6? Either way, it became the basis for the Vader Saber in Ep 3 and displayed for a while as "the" Vader Saber, because that's just how it was.
 
The Barbican was
- ANH: square shroud motorized saber
Saber1.jpg

- ESB: motor removed, bolts added to the tube to hold a static ESB style blade
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- ROTJ: modified more, square shroud rounded to look more like MPP, cast in resin to be the saber for the severed hand scenes of Vader
cast.jpg

- post production or some unknown time before: modified more, for what reason, I don't know, but later displayed in the Barbican museum as we know it today.
barb35.jpg
 
Yep, eethan has it listed out well! The only thing I’ll add is it was brought to the set of the energizer bunny commercial as a bladed prop option. I’m not 100% sure if it was fully used but it was a reference for the energizer bunny saber when Don built it.

The ESB conversion was a big thing for it. And then the shroud being trimmed for casting in Jedi.
 
Yep, eethan has it listed out well! The only thing I’ll add is it was brought to the set of the energizer bunny commercial as a bladed prop option. I’m not 100% sure if it was fully used but it was a reference for the energizer bunny saber when Don built it.

The ESB conversion was a big thing for it. And then the shroud being trimmed for casting in Jedi.

Thanks... I did NOT know that the shroud was modified for ROTJ!

If the Barbican was used a a dueling saber in TESB, then why does this other Propstore ESB "dueling hero" exist? As a back-up? Or, was the Barbican the backup? We know that the hero ESB belt hanger (also POSSIBLY used in ROTJ, although I've heard there are no good screen shots to prove it) ended up in a Pennsylvania casino, SOMEHOW.

Do I have this correct? There were (at least) 3 Vader sabers used for TESB:
1) The casino hero
2) The current Propstore dueling hero
4) the Barbican saber, later used in ROTJ (possibly with the ESB hero as well, although still unconfirmed)
 
Thanks... I did NOT know that the shroud was modified for ROTJ!

If the Barbican was used a a dueling saber in TESB, then why does this other Propstore ESB "dueling hero" exist? As a back-up? Or, was the Barbican the backup? We know that the hero ESB belt hanger (also POSSIBLY used in ROTJ, although I've heard there are no good screen shots to prove it) ended up in a Pennsylvania casino, SOMEHOW.

Do I have this correct? There were (at least) 3 Vader sabers used for TESB:
1) The casino hero
2) The current Propstore dueling hero
4) the Barbican saber, later used in ROTJ (possibly with the ESB hero as well, although still unconfirmed)

My current theoretical list of bladed lightsabers:

ANH:
Luke - Motorized Gx #1 with white switch and wire hole
Luke - Motorized Gx #2 without switch and wire hole
Vader - Motorized Square Shroud
Vader - (Gx #2 with black tip)
Obi Wan - V2 with switch and wire hole
Obi Wan - V3 + others without switch or wire hole

Rehearsal:
Motorized Gx #1 with holes
Obi Wan cast (not V3 but other)


ESB:
Luke - Gx Hard Dueling
Vader - MPP Hard Dueling
Backup - Motorized Gx #1 and #2 converted to Hard Dueling
Backup - Motorized Square Shroud converted to Hard Dueling
Backup - V2, V3, others

Jedi:
Luke - V3
Luke - New Hero (Yuma)
Vader - MPP Hard Dueling
Vader - Gx Hard Dueling converted to DV6
Backup - Motorized Gx #2 converted to Hard Dueling

Costume Dept: Rotocast Motorized Square Shroud with the square cut down to a D shape to resemble MPP. Original saber was cut, not the cast.
SFX: Graflex style lightsaber hilt with foil covered front used for chin throw
 
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