Hey guys and gals,
When I was 15, I read in a magazine about FX sabers, and the ones they were demo'ing were the Vader and Luke ESB set, which had just come out in 2005. At the time I did not know much about Star Wars except that a) There was a new movie coming out soon (ROTS) b) Lightsabers were the coolest thing ever. So me and my dad went to see ROTS and it was a fantastic experience, my dad always loved Star Wars from the first movie in 1977- he says he stayed hidden in the cinema after the first showing and actually stayed to see it twice but only paid to see it once:o ;)
But after that I begged my dad to get me a saber, and he didn't need much persuading to say the least :D My very first saber was Vader ANH (03 model). After that, I asked for another for my birthday, since we couldn't duel with just one! ;) I always wanted the Luke saber, exactly like in the magazine. But he got me the Anakin ROTS. At the time I was like "well it's different to the one I saw, but Obi-Wan gave it to Luke anyway so I guess it is the same". At the time I did not know about the big differences etc.
So anyway, here I am, 4 years later, and I had seen it on auction on ebay and I though to myself I would bid if it was still cheap close to the auction end. So to cut the story short, I had to go out that day, and I wouldn't be in for auction end. So I placed a max bid of £60.00, which I felt would be a fair price. When I got in, I never expected to win the auction since this is a rare saber and has gone for much more. But to my suprise, I won the auction at £42.00! With £9.99 postage costs, that brought the total to £51.99! I was so thrilled, I didn't care what condition it came in since I have always wanted this saber.
I got it this morning, and I have to say, it's probarbly my favourite saber right now (I own: Vader ANH 07, Anakin ROTS 05, Mace ROTS 05, Luke ROTJ 05, Yoda ROTS 07, Double Maul TPM 07, and now of course the Luke ESB 04 ;D). To say I got it for £50, I thought for sure that it would be in bad condition. But it is not, it is more or less perfect, I have no idea why the seller didn't take better pics because if he did I certainately wouldn't have won it for just £52! He must have sent it by next day delivery, and not only that but he covered the whole box with bubble wrap! So the box itself was also in great condition, which was a very nice added bonus.
The saber
First thing I noticed was a great rattle, which I then realised was the belt clip, which is no biggie because I prefer it loose than too tight. I observed the hilt for the first time, and what a marvellous sight it was to behold. Absolutely gorgeous. No matter how shiny and refined the prequel hilts look (like Mace, Anakin, Maul etc), the Luke ESB hilt blows them all away when you see it in person. I expected it to be that awkward chrome finish from the Anakin and Vader hilts, but to my suprise it is aluminium! A very nice suprise because I much prefer the aluminium hilts because they're easier to clean. The control box, which looks more like Anakin's than the ANH Luke, is my favourite part about the hilt, it looks so refined and dare I say it... sexy! ;)
This was the saber which originally pulled me into Star Wars and FX Sabers, all those years ago. Sure, the Vader was nice, and I was thrilled to get it, but the ESB Luke was the REAL reason I got so much into Star Wars from that magazine article. So I put the batteries in, and soon ran into my first problem, it wouldn't switch on. I kept getting the static sound. I read somewhere that certain FXs don't like Duracell, so I decided to see if I had some energizers spare. I was about to unscrew the end cap, but decided to try one more time. I kept screwing the cap so it was really tight, the tried again. To my suprise I was met with the great WHOOOSH! The blade is beautiful blue, and unlike some of the other FXs, it is directly like what is seen in the movies. It is definately a lighter shade than the Anakin, which I always felt was too dark. I cannot stress enough how cool the blade looks, how close it is to The Empire Strikes Back. Definately the most accurate MR have done in terms of blade colour. It makes me wonder why they only used this specific colour for the Luke ESB ??? Maybe the other blue sabers are genuinely a cobalt blue like seen in teh Anakin FX. I don't know :-\
The sounds are slightly disappointing, since they are an exact copy of the ROTS Mace, in both pitch and volume. I was warned beforehand by reading some of the great reviews on this forum, so the disappointment was only small, and was drowned away by the blade colour anyhow. The balance of the saber is perfect, and I cannot understand the reviews which say it is too heavy. It is weird since it takes 6 batteries, but it is still so balanced, unlike my Mace which is really heavy up to a certain point. In terms of my other sabers, I would say this is joint with Anakin ROTS as my 2nd best balanced saber, behind the ROTJ Luke. It just feels so natural to hold, unlike some of my other sabers.
Overall, I give the Luke ESB a 9 out of 10 rating. The only point deducted is because of the sounds. To be honest, this has now become my favourite saber- and believe me, that is a hard thing to do to knock the ROTJ Luke off top spot for me, since the green blade has always been my favourite. I believe that this is one of the few sabers where no amounts of pictures can do it justice. The hilt looks so different from pictures, and only when you hold it yourself can you truly appreciate it. It's hard to explain, but I'm sure Luke ESB owners know exactly what I mean ;) I never expected to enjoy this saber so much; I always expected a disappointment, but it was the exact opposite. No collection is complete without at least one of the blue Luke sabers, and now I have one :)
CONS:
- 6 Batteries
- Low sound quality, exactly like the Mace ROTS
- Switch is a little awkward for some
- Hilt is a tad on the large side, due to it being an early 6 battery design
PROS:
- Blue blade colour which I believe is unique to this model
- Most accurate colour to the movie
- Wonderful looking hilt, especially the control box
- Pretty cool switch place
- Hole near top of hilt where the blade colour shines through, pretty awesome.
- Nice aluminium finish, instead of the chrome of other models.
Bottom line: If you don't own the Luke ESB, I would seriously consider getting one!
Thanks for reading
-Tony