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[ Back ] Obi-Wan Kenobi - A New Hope (Weathered) Limited Edition Lightsaber Released : 2003 Edition Size : 2,500 Display Case : Included (old style case) Retail Price : $349.00 Part Number : SW-109 Towards the beginning of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope Obi-Wan 'Ben' Kenobi gave Luke Skywalker his fathers lightsaber. Whilst this hand-me-down was slightly battered and damaged, this paled into insignificance when Obi-Wan finally revealed the condition of his own lightsaber in the bar in Mos Eisley. His deft stroke to remove the arm of 'Dr. Evazan' who was attempting to pick a fight with Luke, revealed his aged saber for the first time. This lightsaber had an antiquated look to it, and somehow gave the impression that it had once been a very elegant weapon, however it was now scratched, dented, charred, and just plain dirty. This represented what Lucas termed the 'used future' where the universe had a lived in feel. Up until the first Star Wars film in 1977 the technology presented in science fiction movies was clean and clinical. Lucas turned this on its head, and he suggested instead that everything should be used, dirty, broken, then fixed, then broken and fixed again. This lead directly to plot points, such as the notoriously unreliable Millenium Falcon, but also to props that were either made from antique items, or made new and then deliberately aged. When making the lightsabers for A New Hope the prop makers resorted largely to antique parts. For Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader the sabers were made mostly from a single component, an antique flashgun. However when it came to the lightsaber that Obi-Wan used to battle Darth Vader, and that would ultimately fall onto his lifeless and body-less cloak, the prop makers pulled together a number of parts from diverse elements. From the Emitter on down the parts used were: Emitter – Balance pipe from a Rolls-Royce Derwent Mk.8/Mk.9 jet engine Neck and upper grip - World War I era British rifle No.3 Mk.1 Grenade with the wind vane Activation box - Graflex clamp from an antique Graflex Flashgun from the 1930s (as used on several of the other original trilogy sabers) with a calculator 'bubble' strip and two transistors (at least one of which with a washer) Rear grip - Browning ANM2 machine gun booster Pommel - Armitage Shanks sink knob When Master Replicas came to produce their version of this iconic prop they were presented with several problems. Firstly the original props were lost. It seems most likely that they were returned to the prop makers where they were disassembled and the parts re-used on subsequent projects. Secondly whilst over the years a large number of the source parts had been identified there remained three important gaps at the time they were designing this replica: The emitter and rear grip were not positively identified, and whilst it was known to be a European sink knob, the exact type used for the pommel was still unclear. These remaining real-world components were subsequently identified after the production of the replica. To further cloud the issue the reference pictures contained a large number of contradictions. For example in some pictures both the transistors on the clamp had washers, in others only one, and in some pictures the cubes on the pommel faced one way, and in others they were reversed. It seems that these differences were either due to a number of slightly differently constructed filming props being used, or down to the re-construction of a prop for some of the pictures. Whilst the designers at Master Replicas are used to being presented with multiple props, this time they only had access to a diverse and incomplete set of real world components, and multiple reference pictures. From this melting pot of information they had to produce a single definitive saber that was replicated as far as possible from original parts, and for those parts and variations that were unclear make an idealised version that was as close as possible to what the prop represented within the film. Master Replicas took up this challenge, and produced what is arguably one of their finest pieces. When opening the packaging, the outer cardboard box reveals two inner boxes. One contains the padded box with the saber inside it, and the other contains the old style display case. This was amongst the last of the old style acrylic display cases, and is one of the best. Soon after this Master Replicas moved on to taller display cases that give the saber a bit more room. Unlike many of the earlier replicas the acrylic display case was not optional, and despite it being an old style case, this lightsaber looks stunning inside it. Also included are the usual plaque with the individual number and the edition size of 2500 listed, as well as an acrylic plaque holder, Certificate of Authenticity with the prop story, and additional paperwork. Opening the padded box it feels like you have been allowed into the archives of a museum where the curator has allowed you the privilege of viewing an ancient relic, placed in a modern case for safekeeping. The weathering on this replica is simply amazing, no pictures can do it justice. To produce two and half thousand of these, each with this level of detailed weathering is in itself an achievement. It is difficult to describe the amount of detail that is present on every part. This does not look like an item that has been weathered and made to look old, rather it looks like an item that truly is old. The pommel has a brushed chrome appearance as if it has seen a number of years of use. The end of the pommel is flat, this is similar to The Revenge Of The Sith pommel which is also flat in this way, however the actual sink knob is domed. The cubes on the pommel are the way round such that the sharper angle is facing the lower grip which is nicely attached to the pommel and is chipped and scratched appropriately. Two wires help grip the clamp to the lower grip. The clamp itself has a huge level of detailing. There is both dirt and scratching, as well as two gold screws, and a large number of dents and scuffs. Even the transistors are dirtied up, and Master Replicas chose to go with the single washer version. The upper grip is weathered similarly to the lower grip with a very slightly lighter color. The outside of the wind vane is black and dented, with the inside vanes remaining a bright brass color which makes a nice contrast. The last neck piece is subtly weathered, and finally the emitter is crushed around the neck end with lots of little dents, and carefully charred and weathered at the top with a very nice black rimmed emitter. Master replicas also produced an As First Built By (AFBB) version of this saber which was essentially identical but chromed and shiny, with no weathering whatsoever. This was meant to represent what the saber might have looked like when it was first made. The AFBB version was a Limited Edition (with an edition size of 500), and only available to Collectors Society members on its release. In 2005, with the release of Revenge Of The Sith, Limited Edition replicas of the lightsabers used by Anakin and Obi-Wan in the final climactic duel were released by Master Replicas. With the design of both of these sabers, the prop makers took the original designs for these sabers as seen in A New Hope, and modified them to be more in keeping with the Prequel Trilogy look. In the case of the Obi-Wan saber the overall look is slimmer, with a smaller grenade section and a longer neck. The clamp is similarly changed, reduced in size, and where the transistors would go on the original two different styles of 'button' replace them. The Revenge Of The Sith version of this saber maintains the overall look of the A New Hope version, although when placed side by side the actual design changes are quite large. Both the AFBB and weathered versions were released in 2003 for $349, and the weathered version was available for far less than this as part of Master Replicas 'test drive' program, and also on the secondary market. Due to the extremely limited nature of the AFBB version it currently commands a very high price on the secondary market. The weathered version, whilst also sometimes fetching more than double its original retail, can still occasionally be obtained for a reasonable price. Arguably this is one of the finest replicas that Master Replicas have produced thus far, and it certainly warrants consideration even if it means paying current Elite Edition prices for it. For those that want 100% accuracy the fact that some of the original parts were not available to Master Replicas at the time of production may make this replica less desirable. There is no doubt that if you want to own exactly what Alec Guinness had on his belt during the filming then the Master Replicas version may not be for you. Also if weathered items do not interest you then a fan made replica, or the AFBB version if you can afford it, may be the way to go. If, however, you want to own a stunning version of what Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber looked like after many years on Tattoine then this is the replica you are looking for. Review By : MikeyX - 1st February 2006 All images ©2006 MikeyX. Unauthorized copying is prohibited. [ Back ]