Photos: Cracking open a lightsaber

Does Jar Jar Binks always invite himself over to your house to watch Top Chef? Do Ewoks keep rummaging through your trash? Darth Vader's Lightsaber from Master Replicas might be able to help out with these issues.

But what exactly is inside this elegant weapon of a more civilized age? Let's see how Master Replicas' craftsmen were able to reverse-engineer this piece of Jedi technology.

Many collectors of sci-fi toys and memorabilia often value an item's packaging as much as the goodies it contains. No one will find it easy to throw out this handsome box anytime soon.

(CNET Networks' TechRepublic runs a regular series called "Cracking Open" in which it takes a look inside a variety of gadgets. News.com is publishing this excerpt.)

Caption text by TechRepublic's John Lee.

Photo by CNET Networks/John Lee