Well, finally, today, my first saber ever arrived, and ANH Vader (2007). I was expecting a Hasbro one due to a lack of description at the online store I bought it from, but instead I got an MR! As this is my first saber ever (but more are sure to come) my review is from a beginners perspective.
I've been a Star Wars fan for a long time, collecting the films, DVD's, comics, books, posters,and some of the action figures and such,but it's not until now that I've actually decided to start collecting sabers and such. I've been looking at the Force FX's for a long time and finally decided to buy one last week.
The Box
I can't really say a lot about it, but it had a nice design, and felt really cool. A plus for the pics of the other sabers available.
The Hilt
The first thing that struck me (even as I just held the box) was that it was heavier than I expected, a lot heavier. But I certainly don't mind as that makes the whole thing feel more like a "real" weapon and less like a toy. Lots of metal add to that feeling, and since it was George Lucas original intention that the sabers were to have a lot of weight, this feels right.
On the minus side (or is it really the plus side?), fingerprints easily smudge the chromed parts of the hilt.
Blade
The blade itself seems surprisingly durable (I accidentally destroyed a lightbulb with it. ;D
But it's not as bright as I expected, but that can be attributed to the fact that I've mostly been trying it out in fairly bright environments. It also has a kind of yellowy colour when photographed, but that is common I've heard.
But overall, I'm satisfied.
Overall
I'm very satisfied with this saber, and I'll definately be bying more of these (and I'm looking at some of the .45 sabers too). My next saber will probably be the ANH Luke, you know, to balance all the dark side energy from this saber ;) I won't give an overall score because: A. This is my first saber, so I currently do not have anything to compare it to, and B. I got it today, so I'm not entirely used to it. But I will say that this was everything I expected and more.