The Vintage Lightsabers come in three main versions: The telescoping version that 'telescopes' out of the arm of Luke (yellow), Ben (blue) and Darth (red), the hand-held
version that comes with Luke Bespin (yellow) and Luke Jedi (green and
blue), and last the loose green saber that came with R2D2 'with pop-up saber'
in the Power of the Force line (Last 17) and later the Droids series.

The telescoping version has two sub versions: The rare double-telecoping (also
called DT) version and the single telescoping version. The first version was
the DT version of which the thin inner saber telescopes out of the thicker
outer saber shaft which, on it's turn, telescopes out of the arm. Due to cost
reduction these were quickly replaced with the single telescoping sabers that
only have a thin tip sticking out of the thick shaft. The DT versions are very
rare and only came with the first issues of Luke Farmboy, Ben and Darth Vader.
The DT version of Luke is the most common since next to the limited carded
versions, is also came in the first versions of the Early-Bird kit. The Ben
and Darth very rare and hard to find, especially in good condition. Carded
versions are very rare, especially for the Ben and Darth versions and would
set you back many thousands of dollars.

There are also prototype 'mushroom-tip' double-telescoping sabers that have, as the
name suggests, a mushroom tip opposed to a normal bent tip. As these are proto-
types, these are very hard to obtain.

The hand-held version, as mentioned, was made in three main colors: yellow,
green and blue. The yellow version, which comes with different mold
variations, came only with the Luke Bespin figure. The green and blue came
with the Luke Jedi figure, and of the two the blue is the rarer version
that was replaced by the green version in later runs. All of these are always
produced in platic with the corresponding colour.

The R2D2 pop-up saber is much shorter than the other hand held sabers and has
a bulb-like tip. This tip made it easier for the saber to slide on the inner
ramp in R2D2 which made is 'pop-up'. The handle is almost square opposed to
the more flat hand-held sabers.

Repro detections:
-----------------
Of the DT sabers, many fakes exist due to the fact they are worth a lot of
money. In the past bad people have tried to fool genuine collectors to disclose
exact measurements and colours to make reproductions. The most famous are the
RevalveIT repros. The creator of these was fooled by seasoned collectors because
he was given modified pictures on which he based his reproductions. Due to this
history the genuine collectors are very protective about disclosing information
on these sabers to protect the community. To be absolutely sure you have a real
DT saber only a trained eye can help you out. Sabers with markings (dots) and
letters on the handle part of the outer saber are less likely to be repro, but
this is not a guarantee. Also, genuine DT sabers without markings also exist
making recognition even harder. Just keep in mind that finding a perfect loose version
is very unlikely due to the frail inner saber that usually is bent or is missing
pieces. Also people with vague stories that are posting vague pictures are not
to be trusted. A general rule-of-thumb is: If you want to be sure you are
paying for the real thing, only buy from an official vintage dealer or make
sure the item is graded by a professional grading company.

The hand-held sabers, which are far less valuable that their DT counterparts,
also come in many reproduced versions. Most are very obviously painted over
which is clearly visible by closely looking at the handle. The dots should be
standing out sharply. Also a small scratch would reveal the underlying plastic
colour. Also, the original sabers are pretty flexible while reproductions tend
to be made from a more rigid plastic.

The R2D2 pop-up saber is also reproduced on a large scale and has the same
points of reference as the other hand-held sabers. An additional feature that
also points to reproduction is sharp cast lines along the sides of the saber.
And due to the rigid platic of reproductions, the saber does not slide as
smoothly out of R2D2 as the original.

Darth Vader Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 1

Flat Tip Transition, Thin Tip,

Darth Vader Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 2

Flat Tip Transition, Normal Ti, GG Letters on the hilt,

Darth Vader Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 3

Rounded Tip Transition, Rough Texture,

Darth Vader Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 4

Rounded Tip Transition, Smooth Texture,

Darth Vader Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 5

Smooth Tip Transition, Taiwan Issue,

Darth Vader Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 6

Top Toys Variant,Thick Tip,

Darth Vader Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 7

Lili Ledy Variant, Thick Tip,

Darth Vader Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 8

 Glassite Variant, Thick Tip,

Darth Vader Telescoping Lightsaber REPRO Variant 1

This REPRO is Painted,

Darth Vader Telescoping Lightsaber Painted REPRO and Original Colour Comparison Shot

Darth Vader Telescoping Lightsaber REPRO Variant 2

ReValveiT REPRO, Cast in Blue Plastic, Floats in Water,

Note better pictures are needed can you help?

Ben Kenobi Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 1

Flat Tip Transition, Thin Tip,

Ben Kenobi Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 2

Flat Tip Transition, Normal Tip,

Ben Kenobi Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 3

Rounded Tip Transition, Rough Texture,

Ben Kenobi Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 4

Lili Ledy Variant, Thick Tip,

Ben Kenobi Telescoping Lightsaber REPRO Variant 1

This REPRO is Painted,

Ben Kenobi Telescoping Lightsaber REPRO Variant 2

ReValveiT REPRO, Cast in Blue Plastic, Floats in Water,

Luke Skywalker Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 1

Flat Tip Transition, Thin Tip, Translucent,

Luke Skywalker Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 1

Luke Skywalker Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 2

Flat Tip Transition, Normal Tip,

Luke Skywalker Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 3

Flat Tip Transition, Normal Tip, Rough Texture,

Luke Skywalker Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 4

Rounded Tip Transition, Smooth Texture,

Luke Skywalker Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 5

Smooth Tip Transition, Taiwan Issue,

Luke Skywalker Telescoping Lightsaber Original Variant 6

Glassite Variant, Thick Tip, 

Luke Skywalker Telescoping Lightsaber REPRO Variant 1

REPRO Painted, Mass Produced,

Luke Skywalker Telescoping Lightsaber REPRO Variant 2

ReValveiT REPRO, Cast in Blue Plastic, Floats in Water,

If you feel you can contribute to the DT Saber the section then please contact us at admin@imperialgunneryforum.com

Darth Vader Double Telescoping Lightsaber REPRO Variant 1

RevalveiT REPRO, Cast in Red Plastic

Darth Vader Double Telescoping Lightsaber REPRO Variant 2

Cast in Red Plastic, poor quality, Bright Red, short inner saber, rough finish, inner piece slides in & out easily (it will fallout)

Pictures Coming Soon!

Ben Kenobi Double Telescoping Lightsaber REPRO Variant 1

RevalveiT REPRO, Cast in Red Plastic

Luke Skywalker Double Telescoping Lightsaber REPRO Variant 1

RevalveiT REPRO, Cast in Red Plastic

Luke Bespin Lightsaber V1 - V5 Mold Comparison

Luke Bespin Lightsaber Original Variant 1

Lili Ledy Variant,

Luke Bespin Lightsaber Original Variant 2

PBP / European Variant,

Luke Bespin Lightsaber Original Variant 3

Luke Bespin Lightsaber Original Variant 4

Palitoy Variant (can be found with other issues)

Luke Bespin Lightsaber Original Variant 5

Additional Circle Present on the Handle,

Luke Bespin Lightsaber REPRO

Painted REPRO, Mass Produced, Mustard Colour,

Luke Jedi Knight Green Lightsaber V1 - V4 Mold Comparison

Luke Jedi Knight Green Lightsaber Original Variant 1

 Lili Ledy Variant,

Luke Jedi Knight Green Lightsaber Original Variant 2

Luke Jedi Knight Green Lightsaber Original Variant 3

Luke Jedi Knight Green Lightsaber Original Variant 4

Additional Circle Present on the Handle,

Luke Jedi Knight Green Lightsaber Original Variant 5 Top Toys Issue

Note this Weapon is extremely rare!

Luke Jedi Knight Green Lightsaber REPRO Variant 1

Painted REPRO, Mass Produced,

Luke Jedi Knight Blue Lightsaber Original Variant 1

Luke Jedi Knight Blue Lightsaber REPRO

Painted REPRO, Mass Produced, 

Luke Jedi Knight Blue Lightsaber REPRO and Original Colour Comparison Shot

R2-D2 Pop Up Lightsaber Original Variant 1

Standard Issue,

R2-D2 Pop Up Lightsaber Original Variant 2

Glassite Variant,

R2-D2 Pop Up Lightsaber REPRO Variant 1

Painted REPRO, Mass Produced,