Just got my pommel/booster/spacer assembly in the mail today and got right to work on "seasoning" it. It looks, feels, and smells incredible. Just got it in after some rusting-n-dusting for these pics:
The top half of my Hero Kenobi is all Russrep; steel and brass. They're not as accurate as Roman's current batches or DaveP's, but they hold great sentimental value to me. This hilt was the first that got me into more "serious" collecting when I started making enough disposable income and, at the time, I had to scrounge and hunt these parts down. Russ was fading out of making these pieces, Roman was semi-retired, and all that was left were disparate, older parts on the second hand market. Parts like the clamp here (which I bought from another board member who weathered directly onto the surface) is the older, slightly smaller sized version Roman offered years ago based on the clamp he had at the time.
I've been updating some pieces on this over time with more accurate pieces, and my own mods, but my aim is not to get super-accurate replication with this hilt; it carries a great deal more meaning to me. DaveP's parts scratched the itch that I've had for a while, wanting to replace my aluminium booster and a chromed-steel pommel (looked and felt great but the details weren't there), but as this was the inaugural replica of my more "serious" steps into this hobby, I want to keep it as a reminder of where I started out and where I am now.
Russrep's grenades had a fat bottom ring, something when I first started I figured I could never remedy. Well, today I did. Fixed the bottom so it's more accurate to size and would accept Dave's booster spacer. I also remedied the washer to sit flush to the clamp on the bottom transistor (inaccurate Motorola part, but I keep it for the reasons I've laid out), and finally built the whole thing to sit on a 5/16 threaded rod rather than relying on the strengths of glue alone (though I did use a few drops of CA and epoxy) to help secure everything. A carriage bolt seats in the pommel, runs up through the booster and spacer, where a joiner connects that and a threaded rod seated in the grenade.
Like my PKD build; it's not accurate, but it's mine. It is a catalog of my growth throughout the years. It doesn't get any clearer when it's laid next to my stunt hilts that the original piece spawned.
Thank you, Dave, for these parts.
The top half of my Hero Kenobi is all Russrep; steel and brass. They're not as accurate as Roman's current batches or DaveP's, but they hold great sentimental value to me. This hilt was the first that got me into more "serious" collecting when I started making enough disposable income and, at the time, I had to scrounge and hunt these parts down. Russ was fading out of making these pieces, Roman was semi-retired, and all that was left were disparate, older parts on the second hand market. Parts like the clamp here (which I bought from another board member who weathered directly onto the surface) is the older, slightly smaller sized version Roman offered years ago based on the clamp he had at the time.
I've been updating some pieces on this over time with more accurate pieces, and my own mods, but my aim is not to get super-accurate replication with this hilt; it carries a great deal more meaning to me. DaveP's parts scratched the itch that I've had for a while, wanting to replace my aluminium booster and a chromed-steel pommel (looked and felt great but the details weren't there), but as this was the inaugural replica of my more "serious" steps into this hobby, I want to keep it as a reminder of where I started out and where I am now.
Russrep's grenades had a fat bottom ring, something when I first started I figured I could never remedy. Well, today I did. Fixed the bottom so it's more accurate to size and would accept Dave's booster spacer. I also remedied the washer to sit flush to the clamp on the bottom transistor (inaccurate Motorola part, but I keep it for the reasons I've laid out), and finally built the whole thing to sit on a 5/16 threaded rod rather than relying on the strengths of glue alone (though I did use a few drops of CA and epoxy) to help secure everything. A carriage bolt seats in the pommel, runs up through the booster and spacer, where a joiner connects that and a threaded rod seated in the grenade.
Like my PKD build; it's not accurate, but it's mine. It is a catalog of my growth throughout the years. It doesn't get any clearer when it's laid next to my stunt hilts that the original piece spawned.
Thank you, Dave, for these parts.
