Figure Lightsaber design...why?

[gba88]

Ok Guys,
Why do the lightsabers have the flare/flame part at the hilt? IMO these would look SO much better if the saber shaft was just uniformly cylindrical. This is a huge pet peeve of mine, and I'm almost half tempted to just grind/sand them all down, but it would drive me nuts since there would be SO MANY to do.

[pbarnard]

Really? Are there more than a dozen like that? Generally not an issue.

Actually there is a reason, it has to do with making sure there is a relatively strong joint so the blade wouldn't break off at the hilt. The sculpts are pretty little delicate things, and if you've ever used a lathe, the narrower you make one point on a turned object, the more likely it is to fail at that point.

[gba88]

Really? Are there more than a dozen like that? Generally not an issue.

Actually there is a reason, it has to do with making sure there is a relatively strong joint so the blade wouldn't break off at the hilt. The sculpts are pretty little delicate things, and if you've ever used a lathe, the narrower you make one point on a turned object, the more likely it is to fail at that point.

All the figures I've bought recently are like that. I remember some were 2 parts, and they had the flame bulge thing too. I thought that some of the newer ones were solid pieces with painted handles/grips? I haven't tried removing the paint though to test that theory, it just seemed that they were really solid. I just think they look really bad for some reason. You're reasoning makes sense though.

[Daryl VayDar]

Ok Guys,
Why do the lightsabers have the flare/flame part at the hilt?

uhhhh- that might be my fault.

I don't know if there is really any way to know for sure, but most of my friends are convinced the lightsaber flare came from my custom figure work.

Let's hear a story, yes?

OK- I'm pretty sure that Luke Skywalker in Bespin Fatigues circa 1980 was the first figure that has a separate lightsaber (not housed in the figures' arm), and it was round with a small hilt. When the line was revived in 1995, all of the figures came with round, single-piece lightsabers. These were (and largely still are) cast from a single mold in the color of the blade, then they add paint detail to the hilt area. The round blade style was released with every Jedi/Sith figure from 1995 until 2001, when they released Eeth Koth.

http://www.rebelscum.com/POTJeethkoth.asp

This was the first figure to ever feature the flare effect at the hilt, and came out in the Power of the Jedi line. Since that release, nearly every Jedi/Sith figure has featured the flare effect at the hilt, and only recently have they started including the old round style with some of their figures.

So, lightsaber history lesson over- how could it be my fault?

Well, starting in 2000, I sold custom Star Wars figures on ebay. The customizing community was pretty small back then, and the line itself was pretty small, only being about 6 years old. (They did NOT release 50-75 figures a year back then!) People were willing to pay good money for figures not yet made, and even better money for figures that were perceived as having "a snowball's chance..." of being made. I was(am) a huge fan of the Tales of the Jedi comic series, and made quite a few different custom versions of Ulic, Exar, Nomi and the crew. These figures were very popular on ebay, selling for $40-$50 each on average, and racking up 500 or more views.

So, my history lesson over- and the reason it may be my fault is that about 6 months before our friend Eeth Koth was released, I posted another Ulic figure I had done for sale on ebay. It was probably the third version of him that I had made, and in an attempt to do something fresh, I made the figure pictured below. The response to the lightsaber floored me, I got dozens of questions from other customizers on the technique that I used, and I think the auction itself had something like 800 viewings.

So basically, from 1980-2001 the style of the lightsaber was relatively unchanged, and six months after my version "went public", the official design was changed to include the flare...

[DarkArtist]

i have no issue with the flamed end of the blade, i think it looks cool with it actually. i'm guessing the flame end is to simulate the most intense part of the blade perhaps.

[gba88]

i have no issue with the flamed end of the blade, i think it looks cool with it actually. i'm guessing the flame end is to simulate the most intense part of the blade perhaps.

Yeah, I figured that it was supposed to be the most powerful part of the saber since it would be brighter right at the source that it was emitting from.

Daryl VayDar: you son of a!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUST KIDDING great story.... and, I wouldn't doubt if that is exactly how it happened.

Idk...I have tried to get used to it, but my eyes go directly to the hilt when I see the sabers, and IMO it makes them look more sword like rather than energy like. I guess I'm just too old school or too much of a purist. Prob the old school thing though... I cannot STAND the alien-like transformers that came out of the TF movies...(not to mention how ROYALLY ROTF sucked). Oh, and I pretty much hate TF animated and don't care for the art style or figures from clone wars so.... yeah.

[Tycho]

Daryl VayDar: I wanted to chime in that I am also a huge fan of Tales of the Jedi!

I can't wait for the Ulic / Exar comic 2-pack we've seen pictures of, but I know all the characters too and want Sylvar, Tott Doneeta, Cay Qel Droma, Nomi Sunrider of course, the Sith War Droid, Warb Null, the Onderron Soldiers, Queen Amonoa, the Spirit of Freedon Nadd - I could name all the characters as I know you could.

Tales of the Jedi / The Sith War / Redemption - all were incredible. Today's comics like Legacy are trying to recapture that, but falling short IMO, inspite of how much I like Legacy. KOTOR would be much better if it would reference TOTJ because the era so obviously influenced KOTOR, and perhaps Nomi or Vima Sunrider are still alive in the KOTOR era (we haven't seen who comprises the entire Jedi High Council in Zayne Carrick's time - just those under suspicion in The Covenant).

Ulic's era was the ultimate!

Anyway, I don't mind the flares on the figures' lightsabers. They're kind of exciting-looking if you ask me. I prefer 2 lightsabers (a hilt, and a lit-blade) offered up with each Jedi figure. The separables can break too easily, though I've been very careful with mine.

The best way to do lightsabers were demonstrated by TPM "Naboo Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan figures." True they didn't have the flares on their blades, but the 2 sabers with each figure was the way to offer 'em!

[LTBasker]

The flare was an attempt to add an exciting look to the figures' accessories for AOTC's debut. Blasters got blast effects, the Jedi got force effects, etc.. POTJ Koth was probably a preview to see how people took to it. They did away with the other effects as they all failed horribly due to causing the gummy accessories to bend rather than making them "exciting," and the force effects were pretty much as bland as possible. The flare on the lightsaber was kept, though, probably due to it being mostly non-intrusive.

Personally, I've never cared for it, especially since it looks like a cheesy anime effect, but oh well. It's easy to ignore.

[TheDarthVader]

I never cared too much for the flares either. I like the regular smooth lightsabers.

[gba88]

I never cared too much for the flares either. I like the regular smooth lightsabers.

I'm glad I'm not the only one Yeah the "cheap anime" effect comment seems very appropriate... anime or not, the style just looks de-valuing or hokey for lack of a better word. I'll probably take a couple and experiment to see if I can find a way to easily, quickly round them down without messing them up.