May 19th saw the end of Anakin Skywalker (at least until that fateful day nearly 30 years later on the Death Star) and the rest of the Jedi (or so the Empire would like to think ;) ). But was it the end of Star Wars? I say a resounding NO! As long as there are fans like us still watching, enjoying, and further exploring the films, they will not fade. Not as long as George Lucas continues to push the boundaries and formats in which films are delivered, using his flagship franchise to help win acceptance. Not as long as the universe lives on in novels, comics, and fan films. And especially not as long as we continue to find fellowship with other fans!

      As the flyer you might have received on May 18th says, "the saga may be over, but the fun is just beginning!"

      I would also like to thank everyone who helped in putting the Episode III premiere event together, including Brad and Valerie and the many other HotA members and the management and staff of the Palazzo 16. Because of your efforts, we not only had a great time, but raised $250 for Harvesters and Children's Mercy Charities ($125 each)!!!

      My first time was everything I expected. It was big, it was exciting, it was intense, and I loved every minute of it! It was so loud and I was so excited and tense that I was shaking for the first ten minutes of it with my eyes wide open and unblinking that entire time because I was afraid that if I closed them I would miss something. Then it happened; there were explosions and I felt like I was soaring into space with my toes curled, never wanting to come back down. Yes, I did it for the first time in front of a big screen in a theater filled with a hundred other people cheering along with me. There's a first time for everything and my first time was on May 19, 2005 at 12:01am. After it was over, I just wanted to do it all over again! I had waited so long and all my friends had done it before and told me how great it was. Twenty-four years old and I had never done it, it was about time. I went to the theater and saw a Star Wars movie on the big screen.

      I had no idea how many people were into the Star Wars saga. There were costumes, lightsabers, Wookie Cookies, and caricatures. Big kids, little kids and everyone in between were waiting in line. I stood in line for seven hours and it couldn't have gone faster. How could I get bored with the Clone Wars on television, an artist, lightsaber fights and one-hundred and twenty other die hard Star Wars fans to entertain me?

      I admired several different Jedi costumes and an imperial officer that was quite imposing. There was even a Darth Vader and a Stormtrooper! Gotta love a man in uniform! I had a catered dinner from a restaurant in the surrounding area and nibbled, ok ok, STUFFED myself with Wookie Cookies while chatting it up with my fellow HotA members. I tried my hand at fencing with my new Darth Vader Force FX lightsaber and I was thoroughly trounced by a boy half my age! I had my head drawn on a Slave Leia body and saw the Star Wars Holiday Special, which, I believe I could have gone my whole life without ever knowing that particular piece of material existed.

      Seeing the Midnight Premiere of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith at the Palazzo 16 with the HotA group was an awesome event and I want to thank everyone for being there and contributing. Everyone involved made it a memorable evening, ok morning, for me and a big thanks to those who made it possible. I will treasure the memory of "my first time" forever.

      This will be one of I hope many topics on costuming or prop building that I will be doing. I know little, but I can help out on items in one form or another. For my first subject, it will be how to make a lightsaber for under $35 dollars.

      In order to make a lightsaber that you can wear on your belt, you need to acquire a few items first. I will give you a little information on the length that lightsabers are in the movies, and below is a list that you can get; but it is not necessary and you can always substitute items if you are unable to find these.

      Lightsabers measure anywhere from 22 cm to about 30 cm, and weigh about 10 or so pounds. Granted, this length varies if you do a Maul style or not. If you plan on doing a Maul style, the hilt will be about 44 cm to 60 cm, and weigh possibly about 20 pounds. You can make a lightsaber prop out of a number of items depending on what you want. They can be made out of machined aluminum, PVC, or sheet metal (items used on sinks). I will explain how to make one using metal, as you can get these items at any hardware store.

      The first thing to do is to design a pattern for the handle template and a style of how you want your saber to look. You can look online at various sabers done, and I will provide links to some. Or you can go at it blind and "trust your feelings."

      Once you have the pattern, you need to take the dowel rod, and cut it to a length that will fill most if not all of the tailpipe. The dowel rod needs to be big enough to fill some or all of the inside of the tailpipe. This gives you the weight of the saber. If you add electronics, you need to design the case to hold these, and adjust the dowel rod accordingly by cutting it with a saw or something.

      After you have done this, you need to seal one end of the tailpipe so that you have the bottom. This plug can be anything you want. A gas cap, a screw on cover (good for adding and removing batteries), a plug that goes into the foot of a chair, etc. Use your imagination. You can use either epoxy, superglue, JB Weld, or screws to keep this plug in place. Just remember, if you use epoxy, superglue, or JB Weld, you need to be in the open.

      Put the sink pipe aside and move onto the shower head. This is the fun and the tricky part; as you need to take the shower head apart, and reassemble it into a style that you want the blade emitter to look like. Depending on the shower head, once you have it apart, you can feed the sink pipe through the opening and glue that into place. However, you will have to assemble the body of the saber before putting the head on.

      It is also good to let anything that is glued to dry and set for a day to two days. You should not rush the making of your saber, since it normally takes Padawans three weeks to months to do one according to books. This also gives you a chance to work on new ideas, and to give your saber a detailed look, and not make it look like Joe Bob's saber. The saber is a part of you, and you must be happy with the design, so place your self in the position of a Padawan who is making his or her saber for the first time.

      Once you have a design and the hilt is dry, you can cut the tailpipe, or wrap the handlebar tape around for the grip. This is another area where you can have fun with detail. take your time on this part, since you will not be able to go back and correct any cuts you made. Once you have the grip done. You can move onto the next part, the dowel rod or the electronic inside.

      If you cut into the hilt, you will have to wrap the dowel rod with something to give it the look of texture. You can use tape, foam, paint, plastic tubing or anything else. You will need to glue or screw what you use to the dowel rood and then place the dow rod into the hilt, line it up and set the rod with screws or glues. Be warned, that most dowel rods do not fully fill the inside of a tailpipe, you will have to work around this some how. I am still working on this problem.

      Once this is in, you can add other parts to the outer hilt. The activator button(s), the belt clip, and anything else you want to add. Once you let these items dry (if they were glued), you can add the emitter and set that. Once the emitter is set, you then can paint the saber or parts of it. If you want to work more on detail, then do so. If you got the plastic washers, these can be painted black and glued to various places to add some bumps and alter the appearance some. Or make it flow and be smooth. Your best tool that you have is your mind and what you can dream up.

      I hope this helps those who want to do their own saber. Once you have created your saber, post your pictures so we can see. As stated at the beginning, here are a few links you can see various sabers.