FF:NZ NZ-made lightsabers

Star Wars weapons made in New Zealand

21.07.2003 8.01 am

Some of the most feared weapons in film history have been built by Rotorua's Kilwell Fibretube.

It made about 200 carbon-fibre tubes for the producers of Star Wars: Episode Three, the last instalment in the trilogy.

The fibreglass tubes are being used in the movie as lightsabres.




I assume these are the standin blades, not the hilts?

 

I'm not sure. The way they described it in the stuff.co.nz article TFN linked to, it sounded like they were talking about the standin blades.

But then they were saying 'we can't wait to see them on screen', so maybe it is the handles as well.

 

Ahh. I hadn't seen the stuff article. It's definitely just the stand-in blades!

The aluminium rods actors had been using for lightsabers kept breaking, creating headaches for director George Lucas.

Producers spotted Kilwell Sports' carbon- fibre fishing rods in Australia and contacted one of the company's Brisbane-based agents to supply them with a similar product.

The fibreglass tubes, coated in texalium (a silver aluminium-based coating) were considered the perfect weight and strength to hold up to the challenge of physical battle scenes...

It is understood the lightsabers' "glow" will be added to the tubes by digital editors in post-production.


Hey, look there's where our blade was digitally replaced by something else. Woohoo!

 

Fishing rods? lol.

At least we'll see them blades in the "Behind the Scenes" features.