I don't know if I would call it blah, I think for the price tatoosby5 does some good work. (except for the lack of heatsinks) If nothing else his weathering and painting skills are excellent.
Hey bane thats a real nice upgrade, I just upgraded one of tatoosby5's old republic "deception" trailer sabers, I went a very similar route, us 2.5, new speaker, added a heat sink, and added some accent leds.