October 18, 2025
Description
These lightsabers were built to very closely replicate Luke and Vader's lightsabers from the original trilogy. Small details on the sabers change from film to film, so these represent a blending of the films' common features. The lightsabers are 6.5-7 inches long, and the standard blades are about 9 inches long, which (to me) is an ideal size for children (shorter sabers means fewer household items inadvertently knocked over). However, I am also including an XL blade in the print profiles for a version that is approximately 12 inches long. The sabers are illuminated with 3.5 inch pen lights that slide in through the bottom of the saber.
The design was built and tested with the following 3.5 inch pen lights (nonaffiliate links):
Other pen lights up to about 16mm diameter may work but have not been tested.
Update 11/6/25: I heard from a user who was having occasional adhesion issues with the blades when printing in translucent PLA. I have added a new print profile with the blade parts separated, external brims, and a slower, consistent speed.
I have tested most parts in both PLA and PETG. I highly recommend glow PLA for the blades, but they will illuminate fine with any light or translucent filament. The main print profile uses a small brim for the blades just in case, but my prints have been fine without it. Please make sure your print surface is clean, and please do not blame the print profile for adhesion issues.
I recommend hybrid tree supports with "support critical regions only" activated. I have also added a couple custom painted supports, which I recommend for quality, but the prints work fine without them.
I recommend 3 walls, 0.2 layer height, and 15% gyroid infill. Scarf seams (at least on the blades) help the saber deploy and retract smoothly.
The sabers as they appear in the model pictures are printed with just a few layer filament changes. This allows users who do not have an AMS to print these sabers with programmed pauses and manual filament changes. These pauses are already programmed into the non-AMS print profiles. If you are slicing on your own and using a 0.2 mm layer height, the pauses should be inserted at the following points:
Before using the non-AMS print profiles, please read the following instructions. The non-AMS print profiles have pauses programmed where a color change should occur. You can get the same effect has an AMS print by manually changing the filament from silver to black at these points.
On an A1 series, when the printer pauses, you can select unload, change the silver filament, and reload with black filament. Then resume the print. This YouTube video is helpful.
On P1 and X1 series, you have to do the following:
This YouTube video (starting at 6:49) may be helpful.
You may also choose to ignore the pause and press continue in order to print them as a single color and then paint details on.
Assembly is straightforward: blades are placed inside the hilt, the top and bottom of the hilts are screwed together, and the end cap and emitter snap on with some force. Please by very cautious removing and handling the end caps before assembly; the ribs snap easily until they are assembled onto the hilt. It is best to hold this piece from the circle on the bottom (the silver part in a multicolor print) After assembly, the ribs are held tightly and are no longer fragile.
There are grooves to assist the emitter and the end cap in snapping together, but it still takes a fair amount of force to get them fully into place. I found this was preferable to having pieces that assembled more easily but loosened too much over time.
The end caps on the Luke and Vader Sabers are unique to the Luke and Vader bottom hilts, but many of the other pieces should be interchangeable.
License:
Standard Digital File License
dialed in
