The Complicated Story of Luke’s Return of the Jedi Lightsaber Prop

[@josephroxursox]

Dang that is an insanely accurate replica

[@PianosAndLightsabers]

Thank you! It takes some mindful research which can be slow but it’s so worth it

[@LizardMan8675309]

2 things. 1) is that other hilt supposed to be a v2 while it's in production (aka as seen on set instead of the shape we see it in today that's more popular)? 2) the reason why they rebuilt the stunt hilt for Luke is because most of the beater hilts were fragile (especially the motor stunts) and were constantly falling apart to the point where the V2 and V3 were really the only 2 that survived to ROTJ, but they had already cut the blade off the V2 and the V3's blade was much too long for the sail barge scene where it'd risk hitting the other actors, so they built the Yuma with a very short blade. I'm also a lightsaber prop nerd lol.

[@PianosAndLightsabers]

Lizard Man, 1) Yes, the way we see it today has SO much paint removed, there was no way I'd be able to handle it without more paint coming off, and I handle my props a lot. Also, I believe the V2's emitter is a lathed stock aluminum replacement, as all cast aluminum cracks when its dented. 2) The Obi Stunts were way more durable than you're describing. a fellow RPF member was able to cast exact copies out of the same material and was able to report back on their durability. There's a reason they used them for rehearsal on ESB and Jedi. They used the V3 and V2 in California shoots, so the new saber wasn't a replacement, they were still viable. It's true the duel blades were long, however the Yuma blade was the same item, just cut shorter.

[@LizardMan8675309]

@@PianosAndLightsabers love how the paint job looks dude! And I meant the spinning components specifically being fragile more than the actual hilts, but the hilts themselves did break as you can see the V3 has a different emitter during filming than the post production version (the filming version is dented like the v2 is, though not in the same locations). And yeah they could have cut the blade down in the V3, but they still needed a dueling prop for the throne room fight, so they kept the V3 with its long blade since it wasn’t the easily removable set-up and made the Yuma very quickly

[@PianosAndLightsabers]

@@LizardMan8675309 that’s an interesting topic, I’m pretty sure the V3 finally gave out after 3 films when Luke was hammering on the prop railing in Jedi. They weren’t infallible and the thinner the material the more risk of cracking. The issue with the spinning stuff was torque on the motor when it was moving, the steel and set screws were totally okay. Thank you for the compliments! I used gaff tape for the weathering after applying TS lacquer, to give it that abused chipped paint look.