Yes folks, I finally got around to compiling a "how I made it" section for the Star Wars artifacts I have created and posted photos of on my website. So for all of you that were dying to know, but hadn't emailed me, here you go. Enjoy.
Thermal Detonator
Here is a brief run-down of how I made my thermal detonator. You
can, of course, make it however is easiest for you and with whatever materials
are readily available. The working switch and blinking lights are optional,
depending on your needs.
The main shell of the thermal detonator (TD) is a plastic ornament ball that I
picked up at a crafts store. It was already in two halves to allow you to fill
it with whatever festive decorations you want, but I filled it with electronics.
The equator of the ball was modified to give it the interlocking block pattern,
and the surface was inscribed with the longitudinal lines. between the two
halves I added a ring to set the halves apart. The external "switch"
was a piece of wood that I shaped to conform to the curve of the ball. The
"switch" was attached to a post that pivoted from the very center of
the ball. This allowed the "switch" to slide smoothly across the
curved surface. This post is what was connected to the REAL electronic switch
that was hidden inside the TD. The exact geometry of the internal pieces is up
to whatever type of switches you can get a hold of and what materials you are
using for the support structure. In the bottom half of the TD I places my
battery. Also in the bottom is a screw and nut that allows me to pull the two
halves apart to replace the battery. Then for the electronics, I just used a
combination of LEDs, resistors, the switch, and a battery. You can get LEDs that
blink all on their own, so you don't need to mess with timing circuits, and you
can adjust the blink rate by varying the voltage. I hooked up two yellow and one
red LED in a combination of parallel and series circuits with resistors in
various places to set the voltages across each LED. The whole circuit I hooked
up to my one 9volt battery. If you choose to use a high-volt battery source like
a 9v, then you need to be careful about what resistors you use. A 9v hooked
straight to an LED will fry it. The LED packaging should say what the maximum
voltage rating is for it. In my case, the resistors were necessary to bring the
voltages down for the LEDs. And finally, the outside is simply painted with a
silvery color, and dirtied up with various red, brown, black colors. You will
probably want to locate all the electronics and holes for LEDs, and temporarily
remove them while you paint the TD, then put them back in afterwards.
Holocron
I made it out of plastic polystyrene sheets (you can pick them up
at most hobby stores). I actually made it our of 6 squares put together in the
cube shape, but you can build it around an existing cube if you have one of the
right size handy. All the trim work around the corners is more strips of styrene
of varying thickness that I just layered and built up to form the fancy frame.
Then of course it is painted. The design on the side panel I took directly from
a "Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi" comic (by Dark Horse Comics). I think
it was "SW: TOTJ: Dark Lords of the Sith" issue #1 on the prologue
page, but don't quote me on that. I put the design on my Holocron with a black
permanent marker. I made a template for the larger designs (to stay consistent
on all 4 sides), and did the detail work by hand. It is tedious, but it worked.
I clear-coated the whole cube so the ink wouldn't rub off over time.
Sith Amulet
The main form of the Sith amulet was sculpted out of Sculpy
Modeling Compound (a common modeling clay that you can bake in your home oven to
harden it). I took the design from a "Tales of the Jedi" comic. The
"jewels" and the chain you can pick up at most craft stores, as well
as the Sculpy. And then, of course, paint.
Lightsaber
The lightsaber was built around a section of a random wood tool
handle I had laying around. It had an oval cross-section, so it was a little
more interesting than a generic round dowel. The grip is just a fancy
small-diameter rope wound around the handle. The organic-looking stuff at the
ends is more Sculpy and some styrene strips. The focusing crystals are natural
rocks/crystals that just looked the part. The "prongs" at the ends are
made of aluminum sheet, but they can be made of most anything rigid.
Last updated 7/26/04