I'm attempting to make two boffer lightsabers (one for myself and one as a Christmas present for a friend). For anyone here who might not know, "boffers" are essentially foam weapons (used frequently in Live Action RolePlay).

Making a weapon itself is relatively simple (I hope). The hard part is making it look like a lightsaber. So far I've divided the quest into three parts:

Light:
For the glow effect of the lightsaber, I've found these:
http://www.spacesinbetween.com/index.php?name=Sections&req=viewarticle&artid=7&page=1
http://store.glowire.com/products/10'-Plug-%26-Play.html

If the description is correct, these should work wonderfully. I may need two sets for each lightsaber, in order to have four wires lighting the saber instead of two (it depends on if the wires go outside of the boffer core or inside, and how long the blade is). The only problem I can think of thus far with this (besides cost) is what I would use for foam; I'm having difficulty finding a transparent boffer material (pool noodles are a popular choice of boffer material, but those obviously wouldn't work in this situation).
(Alternatively, I could use LEDs, but I imagine that they require more technical expertise and they are much more fragile, from what I've been told.)

Sound:
Sound is optional but having it would make the lightsaber much more badass. Unfortunately, the only sound boards I've been able to find so far are in the range of $120, and I can't find any information on how I could put together my own (it would require a speaker, something to store the sound bites, and a method to detect the motion of the saber).

Saber:
Obviously, I need the weapon in order to make it into a lightsaber. Making a boffer weapon isn't incredibly expensive; making a transparent boffer weapon (so that the light could shine through) is proving to be quite difficult. The glow wires are hard and need to be covered by something soft (that won't cover up the light), and if I end up using LEDs, the problem would be even more difficult as LEDs break easily. I would also need a place to put the battery pack (from the video on the glow wire site, they should be small enough to fit inside a handle).


Any ideas? (Particularly on the transparent boffer material)

Cheap sound boards should be around $30 max. Since you're not in Germany I can't help you find some but here are a few electronics mail-order businesses and even local stores offering remainders for really cheap. Maybe you can find something similar where you live.

LEDs are about the most robust electronic devices in existence. It's a crystal infused into solid plastic. There's not much that can get damaged, especially when covered with foam. Also LEDs don't need much technical expertise. Connect them to 3V and you're good. The biggest problem of LEDs is that they just have just a single direction with little spread where they emit light. This might be where lightwires are better. If LEDs seem easier to handle for you or are cheaper then go for it!

Where can I order a sound board? And if I'm able to get ahold of one, how do I work it? Will I need to program the sounds I want into it, wire it myself, etc?

Really if you want me to elaborate I'm mostly talking out of my ass since I was a kid when my dad and I worked on such things. I have no idea about current developments and or availabilities. But here's what I THINK how it should be:

I haven't checked if you can actually find it there but http://www.conrad.de would be my first try.
I'd imagine you either program it via computer, chip programmer (which you probably dont have) or it comes with a microphone so you can record whatever you want.
I'm sure there's boards you have to assemble yourself and others that are premade.

Ok, so I might have sound covered... and light's looking pretty good at this point...

What I can't find is a transparent padding material... any ideas on that?

The closest thing I can find was this: http://woodburydb.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/epeexpanded-polyethylene-foam/
But I can't tell from the picture or the description how transparent it is, or how much it would hurt to get hit by it. Or how much it costs...

Just a random idea: Lots of layers of Scotch Tape? At least it's transparent.

like that:
http://www.ahornzeit.de/2009/06/29/tesa-glaser/

I would imagine that layers of tape would be hard, unless there was a layer of air in between them somehow .

big lots is your friend for tape. Or any drug store/*mart. Cellophane crushed up would be similar to foam used in pool noodles.

As far as sound, see if you can get a gift card that will record a personalized message.