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Author Topic: Luke ROTJ Border's Exclusive Review, a Newbie's review  (Read 8704 times)

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Offline blahdude

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Luke ROTJ Border's Exclusive Review, a Newbie's review
« on: November 21, 2005, 02:29:22 PM »
Hi folks, I'm new to the forums....but i've been into FX sabers since summertime and i already have 3 of em... The latest one being a Luke ROTJ Saber.... i got it last Thursday and wrote a quick review for it somewhere else and i thought i'd share my thoughts with you guys....  ;D

MASTER REPLICAS FX LIGHTSABER LUKE SKYWALKER: RETUREN OF THE JEDI (Borders Exclusive Re-Release) REVIEW

Box: Standard MR FX LightSaber Box. Has the picture of the Saber with a solid green looking blade that the real thing doesn't look close to. I guess it's hard to capture the look of a real Lightsaber in picture. Not. The picture really makes the saber look like a toy than anything else.



Also, goes to show how sloppy MR is at releasing their products. There's a misprint on the box showing which film this Saber is from. The box says "Lightsaber from Star Wars: Returen of the Jedi" How retarded is that??!!    :-x   All they had to do was copy the original release which had the correct spelling of the title. If this passed QC at MR, then I wondered if the saber had any problems. I'll get to that.



Stand: This is the regular MR FX Stand that comes standard with all their Sabers. At least i think so. I don't know for sure about the earlier releases. It's basically a pretty solid plastic base with the Star Wars logo imprinted on it. There are 2 plastic pieces that come with it to attach into the stand. 1 piece has a larger semi-circle to hold the hilt, and the other one has a smaller semi-circle to hold the blade. I've heard rumors that these stands over time cause the blades to warp. I've never seen any evidence of this, but i could be wrong. I like these stands just fine.




They also have wall mounting holes in the back which are great for displaying. See my collection??? tee hee hee.....  :-D




Hilt of Saber: This is the part of the saber that bothers me the most. This is why i debated so hard about getting this saber because of the gigantic oversized hilt needed in order to accomodate the electronics. It's the most noticebly larger hilt compared to the original than all the other FX sabers. Sure the very 1st Anakin Ep II FX was huge, but at least it was proportional to the original. Here's a pic that from FX-Sabers.com that compares and LE Luke with an FX Luke (articles review)



I think at least they could have matched the striped metal/black part better. I understand the black and copper neck pieces had to be enlarged, but it looks really ugly to me the way it turned out.   :-( The lower part of the hilt matches the LE just fine. I'm happy with that much.

If you're wondering, the hilt is made of metal and plastic parts. It has a very solid alluminum finish and feel. The only plastic parts are the black switch, and the red and green arrows on the side of the switch tower. Holding the lightsaber feels pretty good. There isn't much on the hilt to hinder you, so its ideal for dueling. That's the 1 positive about it, that i feel more comfortable swinging this saber around compared to my other ones.  :)  Here's some more pics of the Hilt.




Blade: These FX saber blades are made of a polycarbonate tube that has 64 LED's lined from top to bottom. This allows for the power up, power down effect. The LED's in this blade are Green, obviously. However, one downside i've noticed about the LED blades is that there are some dark spots in the blade, almost like rings. You can't see it in a picture, but if u look closely at the blade, you'll see blotches in all of the FX LED Lightsabers. But the Green in this blade by far has the most noticeble dark spots.  :cry: It only bothers me when i look at the blade for over 3 seconds. I get over it when i start swinging it around at nite.  :-D

The new LED blade in this re-release is a huge improvement over the original Luke released. The LED's are brighter and greener than the original. The only positive of the EL blades is that they are more solid and dont have those dark spots. Here's a comparison pic of an original blade (not mine) and the newer blade.

Original


Re-Release


Nice huh???  :-D I was worried before i got the saber that i wouldn't be happy with the green color. It's better than i expected, but it still doesn't reach the coolness of the green blade seen in the actual movie. I feel the same way about my red Vader saber. Only my blue Anakin looks movie good.

I did find some issues with my blade though as soon as i took it out of the box. The blade feels a bit loose when i shake it bit. The connection from the blade into the hilt does not feel as sturdy as my other sabers. I was a little miffed when i 1st held it as it felt more fragile than my other sabers already.  :-x It still rattles a bit, so i'm scared to hit it against something to make the crash sound. Here's a pic of how it attaches to the hilt.



Sound: This by far has to be the most dissapointing part of the saber. The electronics of this saber uses 6 AA batteries compared to the newer 3 Batt versions of the Anaking and Vader. However the sound is twice as quiet as the 3 batt versions. How da heck did that happen???!!  :?  I guess they recorded sounds from the original movie where the lightsaber's idle hum sounds like static from a tv when you try to move a wire antenna around. The motion sounds are almost non-existent and kind of blend into the idle hum. Gar!!! The motion sensors don't work as well on the saber too. What a big dissapointment for a chance for MR to fix these problems with this newer release. Here's the bottom of the hilt where the speaker is.



When i first powered up for the 1st time, i was kinda like "where's the volume control?" yea.... oh well... Here's a pic of the battery compartment and how the bottom unscrews from the hilt.



BUT!!! There is a redeeming feature on this saber that is found on only a few sabers. 4 DIFFERENT CLASH SOUNDS!!!  :smack:   this feature has 4 sounds that play randomly when u hit the blade against something. 1 of them sounds like a blaster deflection so that's pretty cool. I'm really happy they added this to the sound.  :-D

Overall: Compared to my 2 other FX Lightsabers, this is my least favorite. Luke's hilt has never impressed me much. The last Jedi seems to have the dullest looking saber at of them all. However, its a welcomed addition to my collection as it adds a bit of color.  :lol: I'm glad i got it at the price i did and not have to pay an arm and leg for what some people are asking. I'd be really upset if i payed over MSRP on this thing which is at $120. My Anakin and Vader were cheaper than this saber and i'd reccomend both of those over this one any day. Here's a last pic of the saber in just normal day light.



Hope the review was helpful to someone out there.  :-D


Welcome to the boards and thanks for the review. Please try and watch the language in your posts. Thanks, Plo Koon
« Last Edit: November 22, 2005, 01:10:01 PM by blahdude »

Offline Darthirishman

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Re: Luke ROTJ Border's Exclusive Review, a Newbie's review
« Reply #1 on: November 21, 2005, 03:13:18 PM »
Good review I am glad you like your new saber, I think the dark spots are what you see in the Vader ESB.  you can slightly see the LEDS strung up the blade but its not that noticeable to me.  Anyway welcome to the boards hope you have fun here, and the new Mace has 4 clash sounds as well.
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Offline Kyle Katarnn

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Re: Luke ROTJ Border's Exclusive Review, a Newbie's review
« Reply #2 on: November 21, 2005, 07:55:38 PM »
Interesting detailed review. Actually I think it is as loud and bright as Anakin ROTS. The only difference is that each FX saber has a different hum sound and of course this one I felt it very comfortable to practice my moves since it's lighter than other sabers so far but you're right about the hilt, I wasn't very impressed they design that doesn't match the EL version. Overall, I got this FX and don't regret it because the LEDs just make a nice bright green color than the old one.

Offline Hamill82

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Re: Luke ROTJ Border's Exclusive Review, a Newbie's review
« Reply #3 on: November 21, 2005, 08:01:21 PM »
There has come a new challenger to Anakin Skywalker, so it seems. Great review!  ;)
« Last Edit: November 21, 2005, 08:07:05 PM by Hamill82 »

Offline skizzoid

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Re: Luke ROTJ Border's Exclusive Review, a Newbie's review
« Reply #4 on: November 21, 2005, 09:51:58 PM »
BUT!!! There is a redeeming feature on this saber that is only found on 1 other saber. 4 DIFFERENT CLASH SOUNDS!!!  :smack:  Only the new Anakin has this feature that has 4 sounds that play randomly when u hit the blade against something. 1 of them sounds like a blaster deflection so that's pretty cool. I'm really happy they added this to the sound.  :-D

I think you should know that the Mace and Luke ESB have 4 clash sounds too.  I'm not sure about it, but the Anakin AOTC and original Luke ROTJ might also have the 4 clash sounds.  So the clashes aren't that unique to the new Luke ROTJ, but they are pretty cool. :)
Master Replicas Force FX Collection:
2004 Mace AOTC
2004 Luke ESB (in pieces)
2004 Luke ESB
2005 Luke ROTJ
2005 Mace ROTS

Offline blahdude

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Re: Luke ROTJ Border's Exclusive Review, a Newbie's review
« Reply #5 on: November 22, 2005, 12:48:24 PM »
haha... i guess i don't know so much about the variety of clash sounds from the other sabers mentioned since i don't have em.... but i'm glad to hear that the new Mace does!!

It may be the positive point that could sway me to get one... Sorry about the language... i'll watch that next time....

Is it actually worth posting multiple reviews on the same saber?? i was kind of reluctant to post since so many people have done reviews.... but i suppose its nice to hear different people's opinions on things...

If so... i may do reviews on my other 2 sabers.... but since i don't have all of them to compare and such... it'd stilll be a newbie review.... haha... newbie or oldie... we all love FX SABERS!!!

Offline skizzoid

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Re: Luke ROTJ Border's Exclusive Review, a Newbie's review
« Reply #6 on: November 22, 2005, 09:12:56 PM »
Sure, we might get a gazillion reviews of the same FX sabers, but it's nice to hear everyone's views of the sabers they have.  Not to mention, everyone gets a chance to express their creative side in writing their reviews.  And if you can compare even two sabers, that'd be pretty cool.  You never know when someone might be deciding between a Luke ROTJ and an Anakin ROTS or something like that.

And there are no "newbies".  Only padawans. ;)
Master Replicas Force FX Collection:
2004 Mace AOTC
2004 Luke ESB (in pieces)
2004 Luke ESB
2005 Luke ROTJ
2005 Mace ROTS

Offline darthclueless

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Re: Luke ROTJ Border's Exclusive Review, a Newbie's review
« Reply #7 on: November 23, 2005, 07:06:04 AM »
I think it's great to have multiple reviews of the same sabers....That way someone deciding can read a lot of them and make a decision based on many opinions instead of just one or 2.

Offline VvNeo2000vV

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Re: Luke ROTJ Border's Exclusive Review, a Newbie's review
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2005, 10:32:42 AM »
I actually like this saber except for the fact i think the motion sensor is way too sensitive to movement....unless mine is a defect i dont know....should i exchange it?




Offline Darthirishman

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Re: Luke ROTJ Border's Exclusive Review, a Newbie's review
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2005, 10:35:45 AM »
dont exchange it all the sabers in some way have sensitive movement sensors my Luke ROTJ has it as well as the Vader ESB, the Mace is kind of weak when it comes to the motion sensors the Anakin ROTS I think has the most sensitive
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Offline Mati

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Re: Luke ROTJ Border's Exclusive Review, a Newbie's review
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2005, 11:04:08 AM »
Very nice review!!! ;D :D

Offline Bandit-Jedi

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Re: Luke ROTJ Border's Exclusive Review, a Newbie's review
« Reply #11 on: December 01, 2005, 04:32:02 PM »
There has come a new challenger to Anakin Skywalker, so it seems. Great review!  ;)

I like to see others use some of my pics in their own review and put it together with there own.


Great Review!  you just gotta LOVE that GREEN

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Offline Kyle Katarnn

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Re: Luke ROTJ Border's Exclusive Review, a Newbie's review
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2005, 04:40:26 PM »
I like to see others use some of my pics in their own review and put it together with there own.


Great Review!  you just gotta LOVE that GREEN

Tell me about it, it is addictive

Offline VvNeo2000vV

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Re: Luke ROTJ Border's Exclusive Review, a Newbie's review
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2005, 05:44:25 PM »
Hey Blahdude you should try some better batteries the batteries in your saber look like no name batteries i have duracell ultra digital device batteries in mine and the sounds arent bad at all...and my "darkspots" on the blade arent very noticable......just a thought...but i did notice a defect inside the tube as it was being made some piece of dust or something got sealed inside i have to go exchange it....my borders has plenty anyway




Offline darkness2

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Re: Luke ROTJ Border's Exclusive Review, a Newbie's review
« Reply #14 on: December 18, 2005, 12:17:26 PM »
mm interesting that you are the only reviewer that says the sound is quiet
could it be faulty perhaps ?

 

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