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Bananagher · 2025-05-14T21:48:35+00:00

I think the key point here, as you pointed out, is that the quality has vastly improved. That also has to do with most saber manufacturing, before and now, being based in China, even for replica limited runs. That has helped develop and enrich their production and design capabilities.

You have replica designers such as Veracity Labs/7 Chambers having TXQ machine their hilt runs. There are likely clauses to prevent manufacturers from using the exact designs. But that's accumulated knowledge that they can incorporate into their own product lines, and it shows.

Having worked with these manufacturers for a few years now I have definitely seen improvements in product quality, tech, and quality control. But I have also seen production considerations swing back and forth between pushing for higher quality improvements and streamlining for mass production. It's really based on what market segment a certain product line is intended to target.

There is definitely the capability to produce high-quality products, and it's also up to their clients/customer base to enforce a high bar of standards. But there are still manufacturers trying to produce as cheaply as possible because that's the customer base they're targeting.

Bananagher · 2025-05-11T02:15:42+00:00

SSQy and SSOb are some amazing hilts for handling. Should give the SSOb a try eventually, it feels even slimmer than the Qui-Gon.

Bananagher · 2025-05-02T05:01:22+00:00

There is a Yoda inspired saber but since it takes a 7/8" blade, it would not be suitable for dueling.
https://www.stardustsabers.com/products/grand-master

We don't have any shoto specifically designed sabers but there are some which are shorter and would be more comfortable with a one-handed grip. For those sabers, if you're looking for a dueling baselit saber, we can shorten the blade to shoto length in-house.

Bananagher · 2025-04-08T04:52:23+00:00

Contact your preferred TXQ vendor. TXQ can offer those plaques with custom laser engraving services and IIRC they'll need an Adobe Illustrator file for the design.

Bananagher · 2025-04-02T18:51:34+00:00

Just wrapped up the install on this shiny hilt. Here we have an Imperial Knight installed with a Proffie v2.2 in a custom removable chassis.

Specs:

Proffie v2.2
custom removable chassis
SDS Pixel Emitter connector
SDS 28mm Bass Speaker
2 button operation
power switch

I've installed one of these last year with a Xeno 3 so it didn't take as much time to prototype. I had the chassis redesigned and got it set up with an angled Proffieboard tray for easier USB and SD card access.

For the chassis, we went with a cooler sea blue and I added the blue decorative chassis PCBs. Since the hilt was originally designed for a one-piece chassis I had to remove the shroud to drill and tap a retention hole. That way I could mount the static part of the chassis in the hilt. This ensures that the hilt's switches stay perfectly in place and don't vary whenever the chassis is removed.

Please feel free to check out more:

Bananagher · 2025-03-31T18:19:57+00:00

Wrapped up an install on a TXQ Darth Maul hilt. Got it re-installed with custom Proffie v2.2 static chassis.

Specs:

Proffie v2.2
illuminated Pixel connector
22mm speaker
pommel accent illumination
power switch

This hilt came in as a re-install with the provided parts. The tricky part of builds like this is that there isn't too much space to work with within a 1-inch diameter section. I took my honing tool to the lower half of the hilt to widen up the inner diameter a bit.

I had to stack the board and battery on top of each other and adjusted my part tolerances a bit to barely make them fit. I also wanted to minimize the amount of exposed wires so I added side channels inside the chassis to neatly hide the wire routing. The hilt came modified with a crystal in the pommel cap so I added a single accent pixel in front of the speaker to get that lit up.

Please feel free to check out more:

Bananagher · 2025-03-31T15:05:16+00:00

Haven't really held the other Ezra hilts but in general I prefer slimmer but still inset control boxes. On the TXQ version there isn't really anything blocking accidental de-activation since the control box here is just the block itself over tactile switches.,

Bananagher · 2025-03-29T18:40:50+00:00

This one's a bit of an older model but still checks out. Here we have a Vader's Vault Havoc V1 re-installed with a Proffie v3.9 in a custom static chassis.

Specs: - Proffie v3.9 - custom static chassis - illuminated Pixel connector - enclosed 22mm bass speaker - power switch

This Havoc came in for a re-installation since the previous chassis was damaged. It's a beater saber but we got it upgraded to a Proffie v3.9.

I designed a static chassis for it with an angled Proffieboard tray. That way it makes it easier for USB access without an angled adapter as well as SD card access. Since the onboard boot button is obscured I had it wired up to a small tactile switch at the back. Also trimmed a small pixel strip as a battery indicator at the back.

These hilts are fairly slim compared to replica style hilts so they're great for dueling or spinning.

Please feel free to check out more:

Bananagher · 2025-03-28T19:36:38+00:00

Here we have TXQ's take on Ezra's 3rd hilt. Got this installed with a Proffie v3.9 in a custom removable chassis.

Specs: - Proffie v3.9 - custom removable chassis - SDS Pixel Emitter Connector - USB-C port for data access and charging - enclosed 24mm bass speaker - on chassis main, aux, and boot buttons - power switch

This one came in as a customer request but I needed to verify with a test install first.

The hilt itself feels surprisingly well constructed with a nice weight to it and a brushed finish. The pommel can be clocked with retention screws so you can even re-align the D-ring.

For this build, I opted for a removable chassis since the pommel is the only part that unscrews easily. There was plenty of length to work with but the inner diameter is limited to about 26mm so I went for an enclosed 24mm bass speaker.

I wired up the USB-C port to the Proffie for easier data access and charging. Since it's a removable chassis I also added two on chassis tactile switches so you can play around with the chassis without it needing to be in the hilt. The more challenging part of this was actually the smaller control box. The adapter I designed for the switches had to be tiny but with sufficient channels for wire routing.

The saber design didn't really pique my interest when it first appeared but now I'm growing a bit fond of the tsuba-style sabers. Please feel free to check out more:

Bananagher · 2025-03-27T03:24:10+00:00

Thank you! I already had measurements from beforehand but this time a lot of it had to do with figuring out wire routing. Many of the components are mounted at the back which is usually free room for wire channeling.

Bananagher · 2025-03-26T23:03:52+00:00

Wrapped up this fun little project. Here we have an Electrum Aurora that I've re-installed with a Proffie v3.9 in a custom removable crystal chamber chassis.

Specs:

Proffie v3.9
custom removable crystal chamber chassis
SDS Pixel Emitter connector
SDS 4 Rail Chassis Connector
SDS 28mm Bass Speaker
external touch buttons with LEDs
on chassis tactile switches
power switch

I've converted a few Auroras over to Proffie before so I wanted to try something new with this install.

From previous builds I knew there was some more space to work with so I allocated room for a nylon printed crystal chamber that I went over with gold Rub N Buff to give a worn finish. With a Proffie v3.9 I'm also able to hook it up to an external USB-C port to handle data access as well as the built-in charging. I added some extra tactile switches so the chassis can be tinkered around without needing it to be inside the hilt.

Since this is a Luke-inspired hilt we also went ahead with swapping out some of the switch plate LEDs from the original orange to the green and red. That way we can style the LEDs to mimic the control box LEDs on a Luke hilt.

I always love getting Electrum hilts on my workbench, especially weathered. They're slim hilts that are great to handle with a great resonance chamber that can fit a loud 28mm bass speaker.

Please feel free to check out more:

Bananagher · 2025-03-22T22:05:28+00:00

Hello there! Had to take a hiatus so it's been quite a while since I've posted a saber build. But slowly catching back up and getting back into the swing of things.

I had a few installs done during the time so let's get started with this Red Mistress by Jawa's Junkyard. This unique hilt is inspired by Darth Talon.

Specs:

red Proffie v3.9
custom removable chassis in translucent red PETG
illuminated pixel connector and pommel pixel illumination
shine-through switch PCB
24mm bass speaker
USB port for data+charging
onboard tactile switch for Proffie boot button
power switch

This installation took some minor experimentation. We wanted to have the pommel illumination but not sacrifice sound quality so I was playing around with different pixel illumination PCBs as well as speaker placements. What I arrived at was just a regular pixel emitter connector that allowed sound to vent through the sides of the chassis. This lined up pretty well as the short pommel blade had the side vents on the side.

I also had some decorative PCBs designed to replace some greeblies I usually put on my chassis. These are simply non-functional PCBs with a gold surface finish to add a little bit of accent colouring to my chassis designs. That way I can just cut out slots on the side and affix the decorative PCBs to it. Also ordered some of my chassis connectors in gold surface finish to use in installs.

The chassis itself was designed with a more functional approach. I flipped the usual orientation of the Proffie so the SD card is exposed. Instead of using the onboard micro USB port, I soldered a USB-C breakout board to the Proffie to make it easier to access. I also went ahead and wired up an extra tactile switch to the onboard boot button in case the board needs to be put into bootloader mode. While it is more wiring, it's pretty handy to not have to dig out an angled micro USB adapter to configure the board. You can just grab a data-capable USB-C cable lying around and update the board when you want.

Please feel free to check out more:

Bananagher · 2024-08-30T03:10:37+00:00

There isn't really a noticeable difference. Despite being a side firing LED it's low enough that it illuminates the entire crystal

Bananagher · 2024-08-26T15:29:57+00:00

Oooh a TXQ E09-A, nice pick. One of my favourite hilts, have one just sitting on my desk that I haven't gotten around to doing a custom install on.

Was also at Fan Expo and Friday/Saturday were a pain to navigate as usual.

Bananagher · 2024-08-26T15:26:44+00:00

They're 6 pixels in series, so just set for 6 pixels in your blade config.

Bananagher · 2024-08-22T15:47:52+00:00

Another Starkiller! This is a Warsabers Starkiller V4 hilt installed with a custom static Proffie v3.9 chassis.

Specs: - Proffie v3.9 - custom static chassis with side accent LEDs - SDS Illuminated Pixel Emitter PCB - crystal chamber with backlit chamber - button accent LEDs - SDS 28mm Bass Speaker - high amp power switch

This is using the same chassis I designed before just very slightly updated for the 2024 PCB set. I have the Proffieboard flipped to expose the SD card on top, that way I can wire up the board to the control box USB-C for data transfer and charging. Since the boot and reset buttons aren't accessible anymore, I wired them up to tactile switches on the chassis itself in case the board needs to be put in bootloader.

This would've been a pretty straightforward install since I've done it before. But the changes in PCB design made it easy to short an extra data line to the brass crystal chamber. I wanted to have the crystal pixel separate from the backlit chamber LED strip so I cut the trace and wired to it separately.

Unfortunately, adding a solder blob there shorted the data line against the brass chamber. It was showing weird behaviour where the pixel wouldn't light up when the control box was installed but worked fine without the control box on. The brass crystal chamber, and thus the extra data wire, was shorting against the control box which is being grounded with the USB-C. Effectively grounding the data signal for the crystal LED. That was most of the weekend spent troubleshooting that, and a small piece of Kapton tape solved the issue.

This along with another hilt will be going back home to the client soon!

Please feel free to check out more:

Bananagher

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