Hello Everyone!
I had a chance to get a hold of YODA’s Special Edition Graflex System and to play around with it for few days.
Given this rare opportunity and Michael’s permission, I wanted to write a detailed, honest review of Yoda’s truly world renowned Graflex to get some conversations going in this forum :) This will be the MOST detailed review of his system, covering everything from unboxing to personal thoughts. Hopefully, members and guests will find this information useful, so feel free to ask me any questions!
(I apologize in advance for bad photos! Hopefully, these amateur pictures with natural lighting present different perspective to highly polished ones)
Delivery
Yoda uses expedited shipping services that are fully insured to cover the cost of the system in case any damage occurs during shipment. However, upon receiving the packages myself, I wasn’t worried about any impairment because everything was extremely well-packed and protected. The system came in 2 packages: one with a shadow box display & one for the Graflex + all the goodies. As you can see from the photos, every single loose item is safely protected. I’m sure you’re more interested in other stuff, so let’s move on!
Specification
Here’s everything that arrived in the package. Graflex system, emitter plug, 35 inch Corbin film blade, shadow box display, acrylic stand, plaque, lithium-ion batteries, chargers, instruction manual, ESB clamp, ESB clamp card, ESB retention screw, USB R.I.C.E. cable, and display mode holder. Specifications are… CF v8, Tri-cree royal blue / blue / white, replica Graflex, TFA hero styling.
TGS Hilt
For this particular saber, Yoda used The Graflex Shop’s replica flashgun to create a ‘pristine’ look. Although we currently have various options for replicas, it should be worth noting that all of them have flaws. For example, Roman & 2.0s are not quite accurate, and TGS have some problems with nickel plate finishes, as the surface appears more satin and bright, compared to vintages. In addition, TGS clamp seems to have a ‘wonky’ shape, which makes assembly/disassembly bit difficult. However, this problem was quickly resolved by placing durable tapes inside the clamp to make the parts assemble more smoothly. I am bit hesitant about including this section in this review because Yoda is not responsible for faults within replica flashguns, but I think this information may be useful for some people.
Despite some problems on the Graflex Shop’s end, I am very happy with the outer hilt itself, as it creates a flawless look that are difficult to find in vintages. That said, I believe a pristine condition vintage Graflex is the best way to go especially when doing a high-end conversion with Yoda. Needless to say, Yoda’s EP.VII style conversion is top-notch. Not a single T-track grip is misaligned, and the exposed brass section on the glass eye is one of the best I’ve seen. All of these details make the hilt look as screen-accurate as possible.
Conversion
In terms of conversion, if you think Yoda simply adds grips and card to the hilt, you’re wrong! Personally, I was pleasantly surprised to find small details that are added in order to preserve the authentic appearance while maximizing usability and saber performance. One of these easily missable detail is plastic sleeve inside the bottom tube, which prevent scratches to the chassis. Moreover, the bottom tube also has sound venting holes that are cleverly hidden via clamp card. There are many other clever details that are hidden throughout the saber. While I’d like to list them all, I always loved a bit of mystery, so you should see them for yourselves :)
Chassis History
Anyone who followed Yoda’s work would know that his chassis design constantly evolves. Most notably, Yoda shocked the world with his weathered TFA system (as seen on the Verge) 2 years ago. Although I was a huge fan of his prior chassis, this system looked so gorgeous with its gold/silver/copper coloring as well as pylon mesh detail. At the time, I thought to myself, “This is it. This is the end of Yoda’s evolution. There simply cannot be a better chassis design than this!” Oh boy...was I wrong :) Early this year, Yoda showcased his new prototype for a stainless-steel chassis. At that moment, I knew he was tackling something very special…
Crystal Chamber
The saber you are seeing in this review is the Special Edition Stainless Steel Chassis #8. Personally, I believe this latest design is Yoda’s best work yet. Likewise, the crystal chamber is almost entirely redesigned with new stainless steel parts. On the columns, there are pylon mesh detail as seen from his weathered TFA system. However, the crystal surround acrylic discs are now completely replaced with thin stainless and clear plates that make the stainless parts to appear as if they are floating in midair. Another noteworthy change is the crystal itself. When you look at Yoda’s old crystal chambers, you may notice that the length of the chambers themselves differ from chassis to chassis depending on natural crystals’ sizes.
With these special edition systems, Yoda uses synthetic aqua quartz crystals in order to add consistency to his builds. Although I love the consistency and the balanced look of the chamber, I personally wish the new crystals to have less opacity. At the same time, his decision to use semi-opaque crystals is understandable because these crystals diffuse light extremely well! It’s difficult to see from the photos, but thanks to fiber optic cables and focusing lights, the crystals look as if they are emitting light by themselves. With “floating plates” and “self light emitting crystal,” Yoda truly is the master of creating illusions :)
Chassis
The rest of the chassis has also been heavily revised. Most notably, the battery compartment now has plastic bulges that hold the lithium-ion batteries in place. This addition is great because it prevents batteries from falling out during duels and operations. However, one very nit-picky thing that I’ve noticed is that these plastic bulges often catch the aluminum tapes off from the batteries. This really not a big deal since these tapes can be reattached with ease. In addition, copper-colored covers now have satin finish to them. I personally don’t know if I prefer these to traditional glossy covers, so I’d love to see some variations on future systems as references.
Operation
Initially, I was quite hesitant to actively “play” around with Yoda’s system due to the intricate look of the inner chassis. However, the chassis itself is ‘rock-solid’ with no loose or jiggling parts, which show Yoda’s craftsmanship and manufacturing skill. As a result, the saber itself gives a lot of confidence to the user. Everytime the Graflex is ignited, I can feel the tremor and vibration, and it makes me yell “Raw Power!” (especially after the TLJ trailer lol) Of course, intense duels are not recommended, but light operation should not be a problem at all. Afterall, there’s nothing worse than a saber that is never used and never sees the light in its day :(
That said, this is a heavy saber! Thanks to the brass flashgun, aluminum blade holder, lithium-ion batteries, and new stainless-steel parts, Yoda’s system seems to be as heavy, if not more, than a solid MR Anakin ROTS LE. Other than that, there isn’t much to comment on blade LEDs or the sound system because these work flawlessly. For anyone who’s curious, I’m very happy with rylb/b/w LED, which gives out a nice medium blue color. I actually would not mind if the color was bit more ‘royal blue’ since regular blue dye seems bit greenish in my eyes. Although the color looks very deep in photos, I think rylb/b/w tri-cree is perfect for Bespin ESB but not quite deep enough for TFA or ROTS. (BTW: I’ve been trying to alter some settings on CF via RICE interface system, but due to my lack of familiarity and inexperience, I can’t seem to have my computer or the program to detect the saber’s port. If anyone knows how to fix this, please let me know!)
Accessories
Yoda’s system comes with a plethora of extra goodies! One of them is his revised version of shadow box, which makes the Graflex appear even more special while on display. I must add that this display case itself is very well made and looks so classy, and I’m sure it can be used for other types of displays than just lightsabers. Likewise, I wish I can just order 15 of these for various purposes. In addition to the case, I love the new acrylic stand that not only looks nice but also changes its length to adjust for crystal display mode. As always, FX-Sabers plaque adds such a nice touch to the saber display.
Ideas for Future Systems (Mainly for Yoda…)
As I wrote earlier, I always questioned whether Yoda’s chassis can ever be further improved because every rendition of his system always seemed so perfect. However, after receiving his SE stainless-steel chassis, it inspired me to see so much potential and creative ideas. While I was writing this section, I told myself, “How dare you!” Even though I am in no position to offer any suggestions, I thought it would be pretty cool to share some of my hopeful ideas.
In the realm of nit-picky areas, I wish the glass eye retention screw to be darkened to resemble the actual glass eye. If I’m not mistaken, I believe Yoda makes his own glass eyes, and he even adds fiber optic through the screw to transfer the light for see-through effect. If the glass was darkened, I think this can somewhat hide the drilled center and more closely resemble the original prop. Because this is such a nit-picky thing, I’m sure I can even try this as a DIY.
For the chassis itself, plastic disc parts are necessary to disperse external force, but bare plastic parts are not as pretty to look at than metal parts. One of the aspects that makes Yoda’s weathered prototype chassis so special is that he painted these plastic parts in metallic colors to make them appear as ‘metal.’ Hopefully, Yoda can try this method again for future systems.
Another strange idea that I have is related to the copper cover plates on the battery compartment. During chassis inspection, I noticed that behind these copper covers is essentially empty space with just a single white wire running down. Maybe these cover plates can also be detachable via small magnets or hinges to reveal secret compartments for autographs. (I would really love Mark, Daisy, and Yoda himself to sign these chassis<3) I got this idea from some old mechanical watches that have secret sections accessible via hatches. This would be really cool because instead of having signatures be visible on the exterior and ruin the aesthetics, such mechanism can give options to display or to conceal these autographs. Meanwhile, I feel like MR/EFX style plaque signatures are quite impersonal and not special since they are not on the props themselves.
Final Thoughts
I want to end this review by congratulating Yoda on his another phenomenal success. I really hope everyone can see his system in-person because words and pictures cannot adequately describe how it feel like to interact with this Graflex. With the sheer amount of engineering and design that has gone into building this saber, I must say it is more comparable to high-end mechanical watches than just regular Luxeon sabers. When describing Yoda’s systems, I like to describe them as ‘constant evolutions,’ but this stainless-steel chassis feels like a step-above the other ones to make this almost revolutionary. If you are looking for a saber that perfectly balances the canon-look and incredible engineering and aesthetics, Yoda is your guy. When you receive his Graflex, you are not only getting a completed saber but also the passion and the history of evolution it took to reach this design.
If I’m not mistaken, there will be forum/ebay auctions in the near future, so those who are interested should keep their eyes open.
To potential bidders, I want to say… don’t miss this one!
Be sure to check out the short video, the link is at the top.
Again, if you have any question, feel free to ask me:)
Yaraell Out
Topic: FX-SABERS GRAFLEX VII Special Edition In-depth REVIEW (Read 3636 times)