Moving right along with the ILC Minifigs, the first thing on the agenda is to do something about Moff Gideon's Darksaber.
The set rendition of this weapon is horrendous, being merely a black bar element stuck into a light saber handle.
Methinks this can be done much better.
After a quick search through my minifig weapons, tools, and accessories box, I found the perfect substitute - a Samurai sword from a Ninjago set.
NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL LEGO PURISTS TO TURN THEIR HEADS AND LOOK AWAY!
Yep, the rest of the post involves using modeling tools to convert a stock piece into a custom part, which I understand is taboo in some LEGO-building circles.
First part of the process is to remove the rectangular-shaped hand guard from the weapon. This is done with the careful application of a Dremel sanding drum. The idea is to produce an extension of the round sword hilt.
Next, the hilt itself is cut off so that only the short section that will fit into the light saber hilt is left. A hobby knife attachment for a wood-burning pen is a great tool for this. Slices through ABS like butter.
Since the prototype Darksaber has a straight blade, I use a fine grit sanding block to remove most of the curvature from the Samurai sword.
The last modification is to form a longer, sharper angle on the tip of the sword. The Samurai piece was a little too blunt. Again the hot hobby knife took care of this nicely.
The final step:
"THE KRAGLE !!"
That's right, Kiddies....Glue !!
No worries though. A drop of plastic model cement into the saber hilt is just enough to permanently secure the custom blade.
There, that wasn't so bad now, was it?
It is very much more satisfying to have a realistic looking Darksaber.
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| "Din Djarin - would you prefer to be killed by a Darksaber or by a black gas pipe from Home Depot?" |
At a later date, I hope to revisit this Darksaber and try to figure out a way to simulate the luminous energy edges of the blade, but that's not until much tinkering and another post....
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