Scratch-built metal Dooku Lightsaber

[PoopaPapaPalps]

I have a feeling that the original Ep II Hero is made of tubes. If you can get it to bend right, I reckon the foregrip is two curved tubes over one another, the outer tube having the grips cut into it and the one inside creating the recess. I don't know exactly how the knuckle was done but, for me, the easiest route was to cast it in metal from a sculpt with the bend already. That had its own troubles but I think a series of bent tubes would work, too.

 

[thd9791]

The Ep II Anakin was very obviously aluminum stock: tubes and solid round bar machined to shape and fit together. I think the Mace Windu was lots of machined tubes as well. It would not surprise me if the Dooku was made similarly!

 

[Johannes]

I have a feeling that the original Ep II Hero is made of tubes. If you can get it to bend right, I reckon the foregrip is two curved tubes over one another, the outer tube having the grips cut into it and the one inside creating the recess. I don't know exactly how the knuckle was done but, for me, the easiest route was to cast it in metal from a sculpt with the bend already. That had its own troubles but I think a series of bent tubes would work, too.

Not so sure about that. The indents in the neck are quite clearly cut with a ballnose mill bit (before bending, that's where the weird irregularities come from) which makes a 2nd tube inside unnecessary. Also bending two tubes at the same time would probably not go very well and you couldn't fit them together once they were bent if you bend them seperatly.

 

[Johannes]

Salvaged it. A bit scared of cutting it in two, that's gonna be quite easy to **** up.

 

[PoopaPapaPalps]

The indents in the neck are quite clearly cut with a ballnose mill bit (before bending, that's where the weird irregularities come from)

Would love to see if this replicates the same results on the prop! I figured it was engraved with a ballnose bit and that was why it was irregular (that's how I opted to go about it on my scratch build). Until the hero pops up in auction in the future, I suppose any way is valid as long as it gets the job done.

 

[Johannes]

Yeah, super interesting. I wonder if the guy that made those knows we are sitting here 15 years later wondering how he did it