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Author Topic: Aayla's Luke ROTJ LED Review  (Read 12276 times)

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Offline AAYLA SECURA

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Aayla's Luke ROTJ LED Review
« on: December 09, 2005, 10:38:15 AM »
Many lightsabers in Star Wars display a magnificent array of light that never fails to mesmorize those viewing in awe of the fantastic display that evades them. When it comes to MR's Force FX lightsabers, Luke Skywalker's ROTJ lightsaber best captures that feeling and display of brilliant magic.

When I first heard that MR was going to re-release the Luke Skywalker ROTJ lightsaber with LED technology, I was filled with glee. Growing up before the PT, Luke's green lightsaber had always been the coolest to me. It was the brightest, and the one I wanted if I could have a real lightsaber. In 2005, my desire has been pretty darn closely fulfilled. A few days before official release day, I'd swing by and call the two Borders stores in town to see if they had any in stock. I had one reserved at the closer of the two locations, though it was the other that came through for me. On a Friday afternoon (one day before the official release day) I called both Borders stores and found that it was that one who had the Luke ROTJ. So I hop into my car and get over there. It was a wet and dreary day... a cold day. And because of that, traffic was bad. I avoided the expressways, which caused me to endure a 45 minute trip. As soon as I arrived at Borders, I saw the lightsaber that had been on hold for me since my phone call behind the register. I paid, used the 15% coupon that was available at the time, and left. The total came out to about $108, which I thought was excellent. It also just so happened that the woman at the register didn't notice the "10% off electronics" note on the coupon, and she gave me 15% off. I didn't complain, of course.  ;) I then went out the door, put the saber in my trunk, and head home... the shorter way.  :P As soon as I got home, I took the saber out of the package and was so happy to see this classic hilt. I popped in the batteries and then lit the almighty green Luke saber sparkled. Aside from the magnificent blade, one of the first things I noticed was the LOUD sound. It was definitely louder than the Anakin ROTS. ;)  And then, I noticed something unfortunate... there was some sort of a long hair inside the blade. :( So I called Borders up and asked if I could exchange it, as I knew I couldn't be fully happy with someone's hair in my FX. ;) So I went all the way back (the short way, again) and did the exchange. It was a bit frustrating since by this point it had taken me almost two hours from the time I originally left home the first trip up to the time I got back home with the second saber.  :-\ At this time, it was pretty much night. So once again, I crank in the batteries and then stood back, marvelling at the gorgeous Luke ROTJ lightsaber, by Master Replicas. :)


As is always of great importance, the hilt was a concern for me. I knew that the original release had a thick hilt to accomodate the electronics. This one was no different, and I was aware of that before I got the saber. As I handled the saber, I soon realized how forgiveable it was, since the hilt itself was of an awesome metal that didn't get covered in figer prints upon its handling. I also loved the "cold" feel that the metal had. So while the hilt was thick and not entirely accurate at portraying what I saw in ROTJ, it was close enough for me to go, 'Oh, that's Luke's saber.' Beyond that, the only other thing that was somewhat annoying was the D ring. On the saber I had returned, the D ring was secure and didn't move around. On the second one, it was very loose and wobbled all over the place. I soon began liking the sound of it doing that, though. ;)


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/000_1146.jpg

The blade... the blade was just awesome in every way possible. I truly believe that it is the brightest of all FFX blades. I've noticed that this saber truly has an arc wave of light that surrounds the blade, very similar to what was shown in the movie. While the other sabers have it as well, it is more subtle. I was absolutely enthralled. This is one to definitely take outside on a dark, cold night.  ;D I was a bit disappointed in the inconsistency of the blade. Unlike the Anakin ROTS or Vader ESB, the Luke ROTJ definitely has a few issues with inconsistent LEDs. I've heard many people say that their Luke sabers have the same problem, and I suppose that mine isn't much different. While on the whole, the lightsaber is a pure and bright green blade, there is a segment just beneath the halfway point that is noticeably dimmer. It's about three inches long, yet when I turn the saber around, there's no trace of it on the other side. I've also noticed that the LEDs are much more visible on one side of the blade... mostly on the upper half. I really have no idea why this is, but it is a bit odd.  :-\ My final unfortunate issue on this blade is that it contained some scratches and scuffs. The first one I returned had them as well, but so did this one. While they are minor, they can be seen if you really look for them.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/000_1148.jpg

As I stated earlier, the sound in this FFX totally rocks. It's very loud in comparison to the other lightsabers... even the Anakin ROTS. It seems like it has the same idle hum as the Anakin, just at an amplified volume and perhaps with more bass. This saber is about on-par, if not a bit better than the others, with synchronization when the saber is swung. The clash sounds remain the same as the Anakin. So overall, I'd have to say that this lightsaber has the best sound of all of them. :)

I've said before that Force FX's look brightest on a dark and cold night. I took this picture of my lightsaber on one of those nights. The arc wave is clearly visible in this picture just as it is in person.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/000_1115.jpg

Overall, I'd have to say that this lightsaber is the best in terms of brightness, but that's not because it was made much different than the others, it's that blue, red, and purple are darker colors than green... so they're not going to be as bright. The sound is amazing on the Luke ROTJ, and the feel of the hilt makes it feel the most realistic of any of the FX sabers. Without a doubt, this may be the most impressive lightsaber to anyone who's not a Star Wars fan or has never seen an FX.  :D


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/000_1004.jpg

Stay tuned for the Mace ROTS and Luke ESB... which I just recieved as I was writing up this review.  ;D

___________________________________________________________________________________________

I present some pictures of my Luke ROTJ FFX with Master Yoda's copper upgrade kit. :)  What a difference when compared to the saber before the kit was applied. I really love this kit and highly recommend it to anyone who owns a Luke ROTJ FFX. It does a lot for the saber, it's worth the price, and makes the hilt look so much better.  ;D


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/000_1464.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/000_1465.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/000_1463.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/000_1468.jpg
« Last Edit: July 22, 2006, 08:12:18 PM by Aayla Secura »
Hasbro Signature Series
Luke Skywalker ANH with Removable Blade
Obi-Wan Kenobi ROTS with Removable Blade
Darth Maul TPM with Removable Blade
Kit Fisto AOTC with Removable Blade
Luke Skywalker ROTJ

Offline trexy

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Re: My Luke ROTJ LED Review
« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2005, 10:49:45 AM »
very nice review!



 

Offline Hamill82

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Re: My Luke ROTJ LED Review
« Reply #2 on: December 09, 2005, 12:06:50 PM »
Really awesome review Vicky, once again you have managed to make interesting review with nice pics. You and Anakin are my favorite reviewers.  ;). Way to go!

Offline BoSox

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Re: My Luke ROTJ LED Review
« Reply #3 on: December 09, 2005, 12:47:49 PM »
Awesome review and pics.  :)




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Offline Darth Eunice

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Re: My Luke ROTJ LED Review
« Reply #4 on: December 09, 2005, 05:10:15 PM »
nice review! ;D
May the Force be with you! :D

Offline skizzoid

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Re: My Luke ROTJ LED Review
« Reply #5 on: December 09, 2005, 09:18:03 PM »
Once again, an excellent review, Aayla! :)
Master Replicas Force FX Collection:
2004 Mace AOTC
2004 Luke ESB (in pieces)
2004 Luke ESB
2005 Luke ROTJ
2005 Mace ROTS

Offline AAYLA SECURA

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Re: My Luke ROTJ LED Review
« Reply #6 on: December 09, 2005, 10:14:30 PM »
Thank you, everyone. I'm glad you all enjoyed it.  :)

I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but atop the control box there are two very tiny chips. They appear white in the pictures. The hilt has had them ever since I took it out of the box. They were some of the first things I noticed. It's amazing how hard it is to obtain a pristine FX saber in totally perfect condition.  ::)
Hasbro Signature Series
Luke Skywalker ANH with Removable Blade
Obi-Wan Kenobi ROTS with Removable Blade
Darth Maul TPM with Removable Blade
Kit Fisto AOTC with Removable Blade
Luke Skywalker ROTJ

Offline Bandit-Jedi

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Re: My Luke ROTJ LED Review
« Reply #7 on: December 09, 2005, 10:31:40 PM »
Excellent review, Kudos to you!
I absolutely love that pic that shows the glow around the blade....beautiful!

I had to make a rather long trip to get my ROTJ Saber, as well.  But I knew that the best thing to do was bring 6 fresh batteries with me to try the saber out in the store before I left with it(thanks to FX-sabers.com members for that idea!)  That is something to keep in mind if you decide to ever purchase another saber in-store.

A few of my sabers have come out of the box with some scratches on the hilt, but I just think of them as being part of the history of the weapon.  Battle scars that werre attained before I took possession of the weapon, if you will.  Cause you know as many times that Luke drops his sabers....they sure would have gotten scratched up, haha

May The Force FX Be With You!


Offline AAYLA SECURA

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Re: My Luke ROTJ LED Review
« Reply #8 on: December 09, 2005, 10:59:19 PM »
I'm sure thinking of such scratches as battle scars would make you feel better.  :D I'm just so picky, though. And I should be... I'm paying $120 to get these. I think that should warrant each saber to be in flawless condition. I guess that's just not possible, though. Pretty much anything I've seen anywhere isn't flawless. :)

The battery thing is a smart thing to do if you have to drive a good distance to get your saber. I can see things better at home usually, since I can go into the dark to look at a blade or into some good lighting to look over the hilt. It still amazes me how many times people have to exchange their sabers.  :-\ I totally love these things, though. Otherwise I wouldn't spend so much time and effort buying them, playing with them, and discussing them.  :D
Hasbro Signature Series
Luke Skywalker ANH with Removable Blade
Obi-Wan Kenobi ROTS with Removable Blade
Darth Maul TPM with Removable Blade
Kit Fisto AOTC with Removable Blade
Luke Skywalker ROTJ

Offline HAN SOLO

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Re: My Luke ROTJ LED Review
« Reply #9 on: December 09, 2005, 11:23:01 PM »
Interesting review, Aayla. This saber has the best grip for combat purposes (Very similar to a Katana's hilt). It is perfectly balance and is AWESOME for the Qui-Gon "Fast Draw". Very bright and my blade is flawless. No error in my blade.

The hilt is the aluminum that Luke's was in ROTJ. (Probably due to the fact that metals that were used to construct Luke's saber hilt were not available like in the days of the Republic. Plus he built it in "Crazy" ol'Ben's hut)

However, there is a very detrimental flaw to this one, like Vader's ESB one. The power-up sounds are that of the common saber. What made Luke's the forbearer in ROTJ was that sound of metal punching through metal sound. I was REALLY disappointed with this. All this break through technology and the power-up and power-down sounds were like the common saber.

#2 in my collection behind the Chosen One's betrayal saber.
« Last Edit: May 28, 2006, 04:38:01 PM by BF »


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Re: My Luke ROTJ LED Review
« Reply #10 on: February 09, 2006, 05:55:10 PM »
man i want one of those!!!!
great job again victoria....you give great reviews! ;)

Offline DarthArn

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Re: My Luke ROTJ LED Review
« Reply #11 on: March 10, 2006, 06:15:33 AM »
 nice review



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Offline Hang Tuah Kenobi

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Re: My Luke ROTJ LED Review
« Reply #12 on: May 11, 2006, 11:27:32 PM »
altho this is a quite old review, its a good one indeed.. MR should give u a reward or somthin bcos after reading your rebiews, i felt so tempted to drive 20 miles to the nearest MR retailer n get me one of these! (as i did b4 after reading your Anakin FX review)
Yours n Anakin's reviews..r the best (and the rest r great too).

It was funny tho that u found a HAIR inside the blade?! Funny and scary, as long hair is always associated with..Ghost, in this part of the planet.

Offline Shadowlynx

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Re: My Luke ROTJ LED Review
« Reply #13 on: May 14, 2006, 08:10:39 PM »
I have to agree this review is a bit old but it's still a good one. I bought my Luke last year too I just never knew of fx-sabers.com til this year. I missed out didn't I.  :'(

Offline AAYLA SECURA

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Re: My Luke ROTJ LED Review
« Reply #14 on: May 15, 2006, 10:18:30 AM »
altho this is a quite old review, its a good one indeed.. MR should give u a reward or somthin bcos after reading your rebiews, i felt so tempted to drive 20 miles to the nearest MR retailer n get me one of these! (as i did b4 after reading your Anakin FX review)
Yours n Anakin's reviews..r the best (and the rest r great too).

It was funny tho that u found a HAIR inside the blade?! Funny and scary, as long hair is always associated with..Ghost, in this part of the planet.


Wow, I'm honored! I've gotten that comment more than a few times... that my reviews have inspired others to go out and get the saber. That's awesome. I'm just being honest about these lightsabers, though. MR did all the work.  ;)

It is good to see my old reviews still getting some attention. I'm glad they're helpful.  :)

I might go back and add some pictures with the upgrade kit from Master Yoda. ;)
Hasbro Signature Series
Luke Skywalker ANH with Removable Blade
Obi-Wan Kenobi ROTS with Removable Blade
Darth Maul TPM with Removable Blade
Kit Fisto AOTC with Removable Blade
Luke Skywalker ROTJ

 

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