Kyber Crystal Display Stand

The first time I went to Disney's Galaxy's Edge to visit it, Batuu was incredible. In classic Disney fashion, I was transported into a different world. One of the best experiences was in Savi's Workshop, where I turned pieces of scrape into my own Lightsaber. Mesmerized by the lights and sounds, I proceeded to Dok Ondar's Den of antiquities to see what else I could purchase. Upon arrival, I decided to pick up a couple of Kyber Crystal, which can be swapped out to change the Lightsaber's blade and sound behavior. I decided to pick one red crystal and one yellow crystal.

Back at the Hotel room, I was shocked and stunned that my red crystal was the rare and elusive Black Kyber Chrystal! It was at that moment that I knew I had to begin my collection. Fast forward a few months, I had the opportunity to go back to Batuu for a visit.

I purchased all the remaining crystals that I needed to complete the set. While they were nice to set up and look at, I knew I would need a stand with lights to truly showcase this part of my collection. Shortly after my return from Batuu, COVID-19 shut down America. With that shutdown went my job.

Now Furloughed and at home with no expectation of returning to full-time work, I had time, Lots of Time. When could there be a better opportunity to build my stand!
I started out with simple sketches of how I wanted it to look on paper. I knew I wanted to have a tiered stand, to allow a good view of all the crystals from different angles. I had to have the crystals lit from the bottom and have the light color correspond to the crystal's color, really highlighting the various colors. I also wanted to showcase my rare black crystal and have the light under it flicker and flash with menace. I needed each crystal to appear as if it is floating while on display. I also wanted to have a place to display the containers as well. I began designing.

I do not have experience designing a project such as this, so it was a first for me. I used some simple "easy-to-work-with" materials: wood, epoxy, microprocessor, wire, and neopixel lights. I must give a big shout-out to Lady ADA and the ADAfruit team. Thank you for making easy to use small circuit products! As you can see, I wired all the neopixels together and controlled them with a microprocessor. Since the crystals will be at different levels, I pre-bent the wires to get a better sense of spacing. There were many trial and error points throughout this process. I made a stand out of wood (a couple of 4x4s from home depot). I cut them down and glued them together. I drilled out the areas where the lights would go to recess them into the wooden tiers. Once set up, I placed the lights and wires into their respective homes and used epoxy to secure them in place. This gave me a lovely flat, even tier to place the crystal holders on. Then I designed, molded, and created 17 crystal holders. I used silicon to make molds of a handmade model of a crystal holder. The model I used was made with the end cap of one of the Crystal containers. A modified plastic thimble (to make the crystal appear to float). As well as some popsicle sticks and a cut-down scotch tape roll.

Once this was built, I used silicon to make molds of these holders. I used epoxy resin to cast all the holders individually. Once those were dried and complete, I was able to glue them into place. At this point, I was ready to paint. Once I masked off all the areas I wanted the light to pass through, I spray painted the whole thing outside.

When I was done, I finally had my stand!

What do you think of my Kyber Crystal Display Stand?. Leave me a comment on what you think!