Champagne Cork Luke Skywalker
This is my third Corky with a lightsaber and my fourth Star Wars corky, Luke Skywalker, the protagonist of the original Star Wars trilogy.
Supplies
- Champagne cork
- Heat shrink tubing
- Solder
- Soldering iron
- Lighter or heat gun
- UHU glue
- Scissors
- Craft knife
- Clamp
- Needle nosed pliers
- Pencil
- Black and red permanent markers
- Thin insulated wire
- Wood glue
- Thin steel wire
- Battery contacts
- Blue 3mm LED
- Mini slide switch
- 2-3 button cells, depending on the LED
- Dark brown, beige, and white fabric
- Light brown fur or hair
- Metal foil (from food container)
- Sand paper (50-300 grit)
- Hotglue
Lightsaber
I used the same process for this lightsaber as I did for Yoda's and Vader's lightsabers.
Find a transparent plastic stirrer (most bars and restaurants should have them) and start to sand it down to a round rod with some sandpaper. Try to get it to a diameter of about 3-4mm. It doesn't matter if you can't get it back to its original transparency -- translucent or slightly opaque rods work best. Round off one end of the rod, and use a Dremel rotary tool (or something similar) to cut off about 5cm of the stirrer. I used a Dremel sanding disc because it gave me a nice smooth surface that was almost transparent (this is due to the fact that the Dremel actually melted the plastic, rather than just cutting it). The cut end should be as transparent as possible so that lots of light can pass through.
This will be the blade of the lightsaber.
For the hilt I used some metal foil that I got from a food container. Cut out a small piece in the shape as shown above, and glue the top portion of it around the bottom of the blade, allowing there to be enough space inside the foil for the LED.
To add some detail, use a fine black permanent marker to add some stripes to the bottom of the hilt, and glue on a small bead as a button, as shown above.
Find a transparent plastic stirrer (most bars and restaurants should have them) and start to sand it down to a round rod with some sandpaper. Try to get it to a diameter of about 3-4mm. It doesn't matter if you can't get it back to its original transparency -- translucent or slightly opaque rods work best. Round off one end of the rod, and use a Dremel rotary tool (or something similar) to cut off about 5cm of the stirrer. I used a Dremel sanding disc because it gave me a nice smooth surface that was almost transparent (this is due to the fact that the Dremel actually melted the plastic, rather than just cutting it). The cut end should be as transparent as possible so that lots of light can pass through.
This will be the blade of the lightsaber.
For the hilt I used some metal foil that I got from a food container. Cut out a small piece in the shape as shown above, and glue the top portion of it around the bottom of the blade, allowing there to be enough space inside the foil for the LED.
To add some detail, use a fine black permanent marker to add some stripes to the bottom of the hilt, and glue on a small bead as a button, as shown above.
Face
Recreating young Mark Hamill's face was a surprisingly difficult thing to do. I don't think it's perfect, but I'm satisfied with the result. I used a fine black permanent marker for the eyes, nose, and mouth, and a brown Sharpie for the eyebrows.
Surgery
Like the lightsaber, this process was almost identical to the process I went through with Vader and Yoda.
To start creating the LED wiring, first cut your cork in half with a craft knife, hacksaw, bread knife, or whatever works best.
Then start to carve out the compartments for the batteries and the switch as shown above. For the batteries, you will probably have to carve both sides unless you use very small button cells. Otherwise everything can be contained in one side of the cork.
Solder all the parts together as shown below. Always check that the polarity of the LED is correct; the flat side is always negative. I would also connect the spring so that it will be in contact with the positive side, as it could easily short a button cell if the spring is in contact with the negative side.
Also, remember to always properly insulate your wires. I used some heat shrink tubing for the LED and the switch.
To secure all the parts in the cork I used hot glue, applying it to all the parts. This fastened everything well and also provided some more insulation.
Finally, reconnect the two halves of the cork. After adding all the components and the hot glue the other side of the cork may no longer fit on, so you might have to carve it out a little more. I used wood glue to fasten the two sides together, keeping them in place with a clamp and some wire.
To start creating the LED wiring, first cut your cork in half with a craft knife, hacksaw, bread knife, or whatever works best.
Then start to carve out the compartments for the batteries and the switch as shown above. For the batteries, you will probably have to carve both sides unless you use very small button cells. Otherwise everything can be contained in one side of the cork.
Solder all the parts together as shown below. Always check that the polarity of the LED is correct; the flat side is always negative. I would also connect the spring so that it will be in contact with the positive side, as it could easily short a button cell if the spring is in contact with the negative side.
Also, remember to always properly insulate your wires. I used some heat shrink tubing for the LED and the switch.
To secure all the parts in the cork I used hot glue, applying it to all the parts. This fastened everything well and also provided some more insulation.
Finally, reconnect the two halves of the cork. After adding all the components and the hot glue the other side of the cork may no longer fit on, so you might have to carve it out a little more. I used wood glue to fasten the two sides together, keeping them in place with a clamp and some wire.
Hair
I used some light brown fur for Luke's hair.
Cut off wads of fur/hair, and start to glue them on to the head. Always glue them at the top only, and in a natural direction, so that it looks fairly realistic. Add more wads until the entire head is covered, then cut away unnecessarily long parts.
Cut off wads of fur/hair, and start to glue them on to the head. Always glue them at the top only, and in a natural direction, so that it looks fairly realistic. Add more wads until the entire head is covered, then cut away unnecessarily long parts.
Clothes
Cut a thin strip of white fabric and another strip of beige fabric that will fit around the cork. Make some small cuts for the switch and the LED to poke through. Use UHU glue to glue the two strips of fabric, doing the pants first.
Cut another strip of dark brown fabric, about 3mm wide, and glue it around the white fabric to make it look like a belt. If you want to add some detail you can add a small rectangle of metal foil to act as the buckle and a small folded piece of felt as a pouch.
Cut another strip of dark brown fabric, about 3mm wide, and glue it around the white fabric to make it look like a belt. If you want to add some detail you can add a small rectangle of metal foil to act as the buckle and a small folded piece of felt as a pouch.
Battery Compartment Lid
Finally, find a piece of plastic such as the lid of a can, and cut out a piece the diameter of the cork. Punch a nail or pin through it as shown above, and press it into the bottom of the cork, creating a neat cover for the battery compartment.
Done
Is there a Star Wars Corky that you want to see me make next? Post suggestions, comments, questions, and pictures of your own Corkies in the comments below!