Here is a Photoshopped rendition of a BLACK prototype VIP (which will be - *ahem* - the Only Color available, just in case you didn't know), kindly provided by our very own Aten_Imago to give you an idea of what the light will look like:

One more thing -- the machine shop has informed me that the actual finish will be less glossy than depicted here, a semi-matte texture like that of most products from a particular major tactical flashlight manufacturer.

Aten, Thank You for this very classy presentation.

3.17.04

Well, talk about inspiring dreams...

Not by me, nor by Aten either. Someone (who shall remain nameless, unless he cares to identify himself) e-mailed me this one.

3.19.04

The FA (First Article proof) arrived today, made on the actual autofeed CNC machinery that will be sculpting all VIPs. There will be a few minor adjustments to the CNC programming as I strive for as-close-to-perfection as I can get (lining up some holes for better appearance, a few ease-of-production spacing changes of a few thousandths of an inch, that kind of thing), but it will pretty much look like the pictures below.

However, in rushing the CNC house to crank this baby out, they didn't knurl it (much to my chagrin -- more on this point later).

Here are the original and FA protos side by side:

As you can see, the all-metal knob is "bladed" so not only can you see it, you can also feel it in pitch black darkness to determine beforehand which brightness level it is at.

Notice the "cutouts" around the King's Crown, I made the sides go down straight a little more before curving inward to enhance comfort of the clickie finger. Here's a close up:

And finally, in the original hand-machined prototype the tiny setscrew that holds the switch in place happened to be positioned halfway into one of the fins, so I had the finning pattern widened so the screw hole would be situated in between them:

The hole would be near-invisible when the body is anodized black, which brings me to the point mentioned above -- after seeing it this way I kinda LIKE the look of the smooth fins now (dang it!). Still grippy to the hand because of the fins, although if you hold the tube at the middle of its circumference between your thumb and forefinger and squeeze hard, you Can get it to sort of pop out because there is no lateral traction (the direction the fins go around the body). But then the semi-matte finish of the HA3 should serve to provide some friction, and anyway the real tension and direction of movement will be back and forth as you operate the tailswitch.

Which brings me to this question: what do you think about leaving the fins smooth? (hey Aten don't feel obligated to answer, I already know what You think!)

3.19.04

In all likelihood we will still go with knurled fins, just wanted to see initial reactions. But the switch screw is of a certain size and positioning on the body that cannot be changed, thus if the fins were much closer the screw hole would compromise the strength of the fins in that area (making them too thin-walled). I guess we could mill out that whole area so there would be no fins around the screw, but the whole intent was to Hide it. People fussing with it (causing the switch to become misaligned with the rest of the internals) would not be a good thing...

As for the King's Crown cutouts, you really have to get it in your hands and operate it to see why the wider cutouts are significantly better. Please keep in mind the body starts life as just 1" wide aluminum stock which limits total circumference length, thus we can't make the legs Too skinny due to structural integrity considerations, and thus the wider straight-in cutout was developed. Makes a world of difference in operative feel, especially for those with wider fingers/thumbs which will get slightly "squeezed" as they depress the switch.

Let's see what additional discussion pops up about these subjects; I gotta go get some sleep (work another 6a to 6p shift tomorrow). G'Night...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

3.20.04

I just now went over the posts and kept a rough count of the six basic choices (dilemmas?):

New Fins vs. Old Fins:
5 to 7

Functional K/Crown vs. Aesthetic K/Crown (and BTW, I happen to think the Functional K/Crown is also more aesthetically pleasing with its straighter lines):

9 to 5

So about the same or slightly leaning towards one or the other (New K/Crown and Old Fin), although this is not an official poll and there will be none since as some have already pointed out both here and in e-mails, DBC (Design By Committee) can result in a CF (Cluster F*ck), especially for the guy in the middle, and thus the designer (yours truly) has to hold final sway.

But the significant difference was in the knurling - 15 people were in favor of knurling with just two against.

So we will go with knurling; in handling various lights with and without knurling (something I've been doing a Lot of these past hours), I found you have to have some "fairly" rough knurl to actually create the result required from knurling in the first place - grip:

The thin, scribed lines of the Maglites, et al, serve to do little more than dress up the surface. There is minimal frictive purchase, if any.

Conversely the knurling on the dozen or so Surefires I personally had on hand were actually Flat, diamond-shaped plateaus (take a look at some under a good magnifier) with a small, ragged, raised edge on only one side, with all plateaus featuring this on the Same Side. As if the knurling tool was forcefully slid off in a deliberate direction. This creates the extremely grippy, although somewhat abrasive, surface some have experienced.

The knurling on the first VIP proto is comprise of raised diamond Points, like that seen in the checkering on fine rifle stocks - and this will be the knurling coming on the VIP.

A valid point brought up about the finning is that the wider fins will allow integration of new accessories more smoothly. And dropping the light to land on its side will be less prone to damage with thicker, stronger fins. And knurling the tops of these wider fins should promote the same "look" as the original proto. Also bear in mind that the pictures here are close ups that make the fins look huge, when in reality the light is only like 4 inches or less in length. The fins of the FA proof are actually quite thin and narrow in person, and on the original proto the area where the half-cut fin was created by the screw hole is paper-thin. Short of boring out the finned area around it, a little drop or nick there would keep the screw in for good, thereby precluding the easy removal/replacement of the dimmer switch if ever there was a need.

In fact from my local Flashoholic friends who have seen the original proto with the knurling, the overall comment was that it "looks like jewelry", all sparkling and shimmering while the body is rotated slowly under strong light. But this is when UN-anodized. You would likely not notice the same effect after it is all coated black.

3.20.04

Here is the switch on Low:

On High:

And finally, on the ever-elusive Medium:

Hopefully that helps clear things up. The switch is a done deal, including the positions. And yes, there is a very strong, clear, and silent detent stop at each position in the 90-degree total arc swing of the switch's action.

I just got off the phone with the machine shop about increasing the number of fins (by narrowing them as well as the spaces between, and yes, the owner now hates me for calling his personal cell on weekends, do it all the time), and there will likely be a price increase, but if not exorbitant, I will absorb the cost (and will probably now work at slightly Below minimum wage building the VIPs, where at least it was only At minimum wage before...).

And finally here's a little pic I took recently (to document the inaugural build of these lights), just to provide a sense of the magnitude on this whole project for one man. And this is only One Part (well, two if ya count the teflon wires, plus there are still three other reels of different colors laying around somewhere; all six colors will be used to differentiate between connection points in the rather complex wiring scheme of this converter):

Back to the salt mines...

3.20.04

Okay, narrower fins (if we can get the spacing exactly right to still "hide" the switch's tensioning screwhole and the price change is not crazy), knurling on the fins, New King's Crown design (I just Want it that way -- there, I've said it!) and you will all thank me for it later when you are operating the VIP; everything else will remain the same as on the FA proof shown, especially the switch knob.

So now we wait...

3.21.04

Hey actually I recently found out there are a bunch of products already acronym'd with the "VIP" moniker (even a couple of production LED lights!), so although VIP will still be the easy-to-type nickname for ours, I'd like to state here and now that it is simply a set of initials for the Real Name, which is Var-I-Pin, although I do like Psychomodo's Variable Intensity Powerlite (note trick spelling amendment) too...

3.23.04

Inch by inch, bit by bit, board by board, parts are arriving as we strive to make the VIP a reality for everyone:

Back to the salt mines...

3.25.04 Update

MR Bulky not feel too good all yesterday/this morning, he come down with strepthroat, take Amoxicillin 3x day for 10 days. Cannot swallow much without big pain, but can type pretty alright as you can see (hey can you guys tell that my wife likes to baby me when I'm sick? "Poor MR Bulky!" Oh Yeah, heh heh.)

Anyway the bright side is that I can wait around all day at home (no kidding?) for those incoming bulky packages that require signatures. Also I am feeling better than yesterday for sure, after I started on the antibiotics.

The VIP converter boards are being soldered up as we speak, with the first hundred (all tested and 100% guaranteed to work) reaching my hands in a week or two.

The body parts should be here by mid-April, and although this will be the first batch of VIP lights we build ("we" as in me and my small local team of handpicked electronics buddies), I should be able to streamline the soldering/epoxying/assembly sequences to a point where I am confidently sticking to my end-of-April estimate for people to begin receiving their lights. And then two weeks for each subsequent batch until they're all gone.

And then building/shipping the rest to the multiple-unit buyers until they're all gone (and the way things look at this time, it appears I may once again have to drag out the ol', "Sold Out" sign...).

Then work on the BulkHeads/BigBulkHeads will start.

3.26.04

Hi Gang,

I am BACK at work! Dying on my feet, but back nonetheless. Thanks for the well-wishes; they must be working because actually the Amox has made a huge difference, and I am popping one 500mg capsule every eight hours per doc's orders.

As for the brightness comparisons or whatever, I did some earlier already and will let the initial VIP recipients make their own cases and comparisons and post here when they finally get the lights in and pla - er - evaluate them. I could probably do it, but cannot for the following reasons:

1) It takes time to do one right; time I don't really have right now. In fact just stopping home from work today I found three e-mails from two component vendors and I had to get on the phone with them right away. And with at least 15 separate parts (counting things like the tiny 1-72, 2-56 and 3-48 setscrews, etc.) comprising each VIP, this kind of time- (and hair-) consuming stuff happens almost daily.

2) There are at least NINE possible test combinations (stock Fraen head, BulkHead, BigBulkHead - times three brightness settings), which must then be multiplied yet again by the various "comparable" lights a proper comparison should include in order to properly evaluate it. So just doing this comparison thing is a full-on project in itself. And so far none of the well-known reviewers have offered to buy one, however being this is the Most expensive (just in parts costs alone!) light mod I have ever done, I cannot really afford to give one away at this time (I already had to increase the selling price slightly just to cover things, as most of you know). Maybe after the smoke finally clears, if I even have any left...

3) speaking of comparisons to other known flashlight products -- I like to think my stuff speaks for itself, so I'll let You guys make the comparisons. I was already called on why I did a comparison of one of my other lights against somebody else's, so to avoid future hurt feelings, will not do this with the VIP. Like I said, it will indeed speak for itself.

Back to the salt mines...

4.04.04

Finally got the only other VIP in the whole world assembled now. I used the CNC's FA prototype body with wide fins and no knurling and silver color bare aluminum (and before anyone asks let me again clarify that this is a PROTO, the rest will NOT look like this so ya CAN'T have it this way, we are NOT Burger King!!!) - *ahem* - but I digress.

Anyway I realized that although it was exactly the same size and height and everything as the other one, it still looked quite different cosmetically. So I posed them with their alien brother Experiment 626, here in Hawaii garb masquerading as The Pelvis:

Then the VIPs did a quick costume change for the grand finale number:

So anyway as I was building this second one, I realized I am already Really Darn Good at it since when even building just two, the ol' fingers develop a little repetitive motion memory and take on minds of their own, especially the part where all six of those little wires have to be soldered to twelve separate connections and then carefully packed into the tiny cavity that is The PowerPack Module (and hey, you Know you're really into it when you start naming the individual parts).

And so I already began planning how to best optimize efficiency once those three hundred separate little piles o' parts are staring us in the face.

Sooo...EVERYthing is here except that most important of all components, the CNC bodies...

Da-yum!!! This is worse than being the waiting end-user -- I am the waiting builder!

Thank You for your continued patience...

4.06.04

Last post for me, going to bed right after this and will address some of the recent posts from tonight later on, but the first batch of regular production converters are here and being worked on:

And here's the relative size:

But truth be told - see the metal circle buried in the green board? Actually That is the real footprint of the VIP converter, within which all the components are mounted (about .50" or so) meaning it can go into some Really tiny lights later (I'll be selling just the boards quite soon - hear that, tvodrd?), but we had the additional pcb edging left on to facilitate and strengthen the way the board mounts in the VIP.

Good night all...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

4.09.04

The narrowest these could go is about a half-inch, simply by grinding away at the edge of the non-populated portion of the silicon board:

The height of the tallest component on the converter plus the thickness of the pcb board itself is about a quarter-inch:

Dan, yeah sorry about that, I offered to do it for him because he struck us a helluva deal on the UCLs - the thing is we are simply prepping the sub-assemblies so that the actual construction time is reduced when the bodies finally get here, which is/are the only component/s missing. Everything else that makes the VIP light up and do its dimming dance is right here, right now. Just nuthin' ta mount'em in...

Bernie - not to split hair(y word)s or nothing, but using words like "around" the end of April and "thereabouts", was a limp attempt at buying me a week or two of grace period in a worst case scenario. Hopefully my clean record of always delivering stuff before the stated deadlines will remain unblemished, but we'll see. Never had to make a light from scratch before...

And I did learn (and am still learning) a heckuva lot from this experience, meaning the next custom-bodied light will be better orchestrated (yes, there already is another something-or-other comin' up after the VIP)...

4.12.04

I have some late-breaking news on build progress - I've completed about 80 of the VIP converters, now wired up and ready to go (hey, only 220 more), but I need to put a halt to building more from now until the coming weekend (probably Sunday) because at work we are now attending ART (Annual Recall Training). That's when us old fellers get to run a timed 1.5 miles, sprint a timed 300 meters, bench press our body weight (minimum), and do situps and pushups along with our young officers (sometimes I think they make us go just to keep the young bucks in line since I and my team of sergeants/corporals are their direct supervisors and our entire watch attends as a group), plus we requalify with all our different firearms (Smith 9mm sidearm, Remington 870, AR-15, supplemental off-duty weapons), perform tactical driving course maneuvers, self-defense in the dojo, CPR recertification, sexual harassment classes, and there are more blocks of training/retraining I can't remember right now, etc. And these are done over four consecutive 12-hours days (Mon-Thur), after which I return to my regularly scheduled programming of 12-hour shifts on the road Friday.

So needless to say, when I stumble in through (uh, make that "into" after some of the more strenuous days) the doorway like just now, I am plain bushed. Can't build the actual lights anyways until I receive those 300, 5-piece sets of the actual CNC'd VIP bodies (1,500 separate pieces in all). Plus there is the prewiring of the 3-position dimmer switches to complete as well. And then we still have to build'em!

So - Thank You kindly for your continued patience...

4-15-04

Got done with my last day of work and, tired as I am, came home to diligently build VIPs -- or more specifically, to pre-wire the converters. Got a hundred done now and prepping the next hundred boards:

What this means to the VIP faithful is that, should the CNC'd bodies show up, then at a moment's notice I can at least have enough ready converters on hand to go into one hundred lights which comprise the First Batch...oops, waitaminute, the dang Switches aren't wired yet...but that is a much simpler process and I can do those as I need them.

Off to get a haircut since I return to "real" work tomorrow (we can look as grungy as we want during training, we were all sweating like hell each day anyway), then will answer the new posts I already see here.

Stay tuned...

4.16.04

LITHIUM AA's cannot be used. Well, I shouldn't say CAN-not, but you will lose the dimmest two levels since the liths tend to run on a rather flat output, thus maintaining their over-amperage (as well as over-voltage at 1.7V nominal each for a total of 3.4V, at least on fresh ones) over most of their useful life.

As to which is the best converter in the latest build picture, you guys really have no idea, do ya? Lemme clue you in -- it's the fifth one from the left, not the fourth!

KingSmono, I already waved a hundred-dollar bill in front of the platers (where the bodies are presumably at now) as a "bonus", but we'll see if it does any good. There are at least six areas on each set of machined bodies which will need to be masked off, so 300 bodies x 6 masks = 1800 separate masking operations which include not only the application of the masking compound, but the removal of same after the anodizing is completed.

I sure hope they get here by the end of the month; it's beginning to look like delivery of the first batch of completed VIPs will be compromised by a week or two...dang.

A most sincere Thank You for your continued patience...

4.20.04

Here is the latest update as of 4-20-04:

The bodies have completed the CNC process. They have now gone to the platers for the Final Step, the black HAIII anodizing.

HOWEVER, this is not as joyful as it sounds, because there are multiple masked areas required of each body. In fact parts like the PowerPack, battery tube and King's Crown each have two separate areas that require masking, and this Final Step may take as long as several weeks.

Originally the plan was to simply cut the threads after the anodizing, but we did not take into consideration the very real Rockwell Hardness of true HAIII anodizing which approximates that of case-hardened steel (like a lock hasp), which destroys the cutting edges of lathe tool bits very quickly. The machine shop would go through multiple sets of bits in order to do all 2,100 separate thread sets (this is not a typo, each VIP body will have seven different threaded areas times 300 bodies), so it was decided to mask instead, much less expensive than buying new tool bits, but unfortunately much more time consuming.

Not masking would mean no electrical conductivity between adjoining parts (light no workee!), as well as assembly fitment problems because the anodize builds up the contact surfaces between the two mating threads by approx. ~.004" (.002" per side) which must be taken into account in order for the parts to screw together.

I have already offered to sweeten the deal by telling the machine shop to wave a couple of hundred dollar bills in front of the masking workers (bills provided at my own expense when I settle up with them after the parts are ready to ship), so we'll see if this has any effect...

Thank God I'm gainfully employed at my Real Job. I sure would hate to try and make a living doing mods. Too little money, too much stress...

4.20.04

As the Bartles and James wine cooler guys said, "...and Thank Yew fer yore support..."

Thanks guys. I have a feeling that once you get them, it will all be worth it...

4.22.04

Sometimes when you're in a rhythm carrying out a set of fine motor skills tasks (like soldering up circuit boards), you tend to not let little things disturb your stride - such as where to neatly stack each board when moving on to the next.

Here's a molehill:

And here's the Mountain:

Yup, no neat stacks (or neat ANYthing on my workbench these days) - 'cause ah's IN da groove!

Now BACK ta woik...

4.24.04

The Jellyfish finally found some mates and with each half of the pairs using their three "protuberances" apiece (they're Asexual Jellyfish, see?) they *come* together, and then each of these six 28AWG 7-strand teflon wires find their way into their respective holes where they are pulled through tight and soldered up...

I already know what some will ask, but please hold your questions till the end.

Now BACK ta woik...

4.25.04

There were a handful of "special" VIP bodies (such as those to which the PowerPacks shown above belong) that were predestined for certain "special" people as I alluded to in another post on this thread. As with any large run of anything (not just lights, but Anything) there will be *mistakes* or *fallout* from the production run that are unique and different, as is the case here. The machinist made a handful of *mistake* bodies of different configurations (some knurled and finned but not making it to the anodizers, some unknurled but inadvertently now in process at the anodizers, a few more of the exact same wide-finned CNC protos as shown earlier) that I had promised to people who either helped us in ways we ourselves could not, or bought an inordinately large number of VIPs, or were so giving of free stuff to me personally (Hi Britt!), or some other qualifiers, that I allowed them to buy these unusual examples without offering them to the general membership, as was my prerogative.

In fact one individual will have the entire "set" of all anamolous VIP bodies ever made (of course they are all functionally identical to the "regular" units) and will become the only other person in the world (besides me) to own all - FOUR of them. Come to think of it, counting the Original Original hand-machined-by-Otokoyama VIP prototype, I will have Five...

Anyone who has ever ordered a large quantity of custom made units of anything will know there are always a few oddball ones that fall through the cracks, as well as experiencing exactly what I went through and the quandaries I faced coming to decisions as to their ultimate disposition.

So there. And please, no more questions...

4.27.04

Just a lil' insight on what I'm looking at daily:

This is what's inside each VIP PowerPack, the complete workings, all you add is battery below and LED above. A'course, it's not possible to wire it all up like this, the switch has to be installed inside the PowerPack first with the shaft sticking out a hole on the side, and then the converter is pushed in from below, inching it up while simultaneously feeding the six wires together. Three from the switch through the thru-holes of the board, and the other three from the board snaked around the switch and to go up and through the holes beneath the LED's mounting platform/heatsink plate -- whew, just typing this makes me tired...that's it, enough for one day, gotta sleep Some time...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

4.27.04

Actually I'm about Done building the Specials and they begin shipping tomorrow. As a final farewell to my babies, I fired'em up all at the same time...

Let's just say it was a near-religious experience:

*Note - terrified of setting something on fire, all switches were only set to Medium . . .

4.28.04

Just got THE call from the CNC shop -- they tell me the platers are DONE and the shop is only waiting now to get the body parts back after which they will make final quality checks and then screw together four of the five body parts (switch knobs will of course come in a separate little - no, there's 300 of those knobs, so make that a Big - bag) to make it easier to package, and then ship them all out to me.

BUT -- apparently there was also a delay due to an earlier discussion about adding a laser etched "Logo" on the VIP's body which, after reading through numerous posts on the pros and cons regarding adding logos on some other custom produced lights, was decided against.

But they were waiting for final word from me which I thought I had already made clear -- the VIP will be "sterile", which is only a bad word in the arena of medical reproductive terminology.

But anyway just to show you what we were thinking of putting on it, and it may possibly be added to some later project:

The name "VIP" would not have been used since many of you kindly e-mailed about a variety of other products (one or two of them were even lights!) with the same acronym.

Also, since I'm baring all the dark underbellied wheeling and dealing and cogitation/agitations pertinent to spawning a new custom-bodied light (and I'm learning a lot, and will better know what to do next time!) there was some thought to how I would package and ship them, and I did indeed want to make a grand statement on the initial presentation when opening the package:

But alas costs crept up a little higher than anticipated and you will all have to get your own darn carrying cases. Besides, with the debut of the BBH and/or 2AA accessories the little Pelican 1010 case would not fit it all anyway.

Oh well, just a little insight into the harried world of the custom modder...

5.01.04

PLEASE do not e-mail me asking if your "light shipped yet?" as some have done. Regrettably the bodies have not even arrived from the CNC shop yet, although I expect them the beginning of this week.

Once these bodies arrive I can begin construction of the "regular" VIPs and the timetable, although falling behind by two weeks already due to the delay in completion of the anodizing (as explained here earlier, way too many masked areas which must be done by hand prior to the HA3 dipping), will still follow what I said before -- approximately two weeks to completion and shipment of the first batch, with the second and third batches being completed in subsequent two-week intervals thereafter.

I thank you (again) for your continued patience, and count on your restraint regarding contacting me personally about when "your" light will be ready. At this moment I do not even have the bodies with which to build the lights yet.

All good things come to those who wait...

5.03.04

UPDATE - the machine shop now has ALL the parts in their possession except the King's Crowns. They are anodizing the similar parts at a time; for example the heads were in the machine shop's hands week before last. Oh well, at least I saved two hundred smackers because they are now running LATE.

5.04.04

The machine shop has confirmed that the BODIES ARE READY! I am just waiting for the final balance figure to send them, and they should SHIP IN THE MORNING!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEE HAWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE BUILD SHALL BEGIN SOON...

5.05.04

Whew, whatta day. Well I'm finally back on an even keel and may venture out to the workshop tonight (for just a little while, still got nearly a hundred converter boards left to wire up, as well as 75 dimmer switches!),

the CNC house LOST about 20 of the dimmer knobs (they's just little tiny things) so are making more and sending them in a separate package. I likely won't miss them anyway until I finish building VIP number 280...