The 007 is here! The Negotiator at it's best!

[Yoda]

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"FROM DAGOBAH, WITH LOVE"

SPECIAL THANKS TO DARTH TYRANUS FOR HIS CREATIVELY ENTERTAINING JAMES BOND BANNER!

     Back in May of 1999, one of the BIGGEST events in not only Star Wars history, but in the world of cinema was sprung to life! Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menance was here. It was the next step in Science Fiction and in Movie Special Effects. But that was the furthest from my mind. For Over 2 hours, my brother, his girlfriend, my girlfriend (at the time) and myself were all geared for the "younger" version of Star Wars, "before the Empire, before the Dark Times." Yes, we would get to see the young Vader, but I was more interested in seeing Obi-Wan Kenobi during his "Hay Days", when he was the great Jedi Knight that we all grew to love. Then came the opening sequence against the The Trade Federation Battle Droids! DEFLECTION! SLICE ! CHOP! SLICE! DEFLECT! DEFLECT! STAB! No more Battle Droids! I was so blown away by this. I saw the marvel of the Jedi in their prime! Then, near the end of the movie, the ultimate showdown! Darth Maul and his double-bladed lightsaber against two powerful Jedi! I always thought that Luke VS Vader in Cloud City was awesome, but having Nick Gillard and Ray Park on board with a very atheltic Ewan McGregor and Liam Neeson, (Who used to box) well we had a quality fight! (Not taking anything away from Mark Hamill and Bob Anderson however ;)) And when Obi-Wan gets kicked by Maul,  Obi-Wan flips and flips his saber and catches it. I was like, "WOW, MAN! I gotta get me on of these!" I have always been a fan of both Qui-Gon's and Obi-Wan's in TPM. Maul's was just kinda boring. Obi-Wan's was like a Broadsword Hilt and Qui-Gon's like a Katana Hilt. But enough of the movie and my favorite time in history.......

THE FX-SABERS NEGOTIATOR 007 WITH A 5W LUXEON AND S.T.E.V.E. V 1.1 USB

PACKAGING AND COMMUNICATION

WOW, all I can say is WOW. Talk about FANTASTIC packaging. Master Yoda puts as such pride and care into his packaging as he does his work! This package had a section for everything I ordered. And the bubble wrap and that "whacky, tacky" styrofoam noodles to keep it protected. Also, the amount of packing tape. It was so well sealed, it could probably keep water from coming in to it! I really don't believe our goofy Customs Agents even bothered to get involved in opening this one. THANK GOODNESS THEY DIDN'T! But that's another story. ;) Master Yoda is also very easy to communicate with and gets all the answers you would need. And more! I couldn't ask for anymore!




5/5

BLADE AND LIGHT TECHNOLOGY

Well, for the first time in the Negotiator's history, we have the 5W Luxeon Version! And it is REALLY Bright! On camera, the blade looks half white core and half blue. In real life it is a light blue all the way up and down. It's hard to describe, but it is very light like the Obi-Wan ROTS. Twirling is not the best, (Due to Hilt weight) unless using the Heavy Grade Ultra. I did both Spin and Bright Tests with 5 different blade types. For Spins, the Heavy-Grade Ultra. The Brightness Test, the Do-Clo edges out the Ultra. I found too, that the clash is really sensitive, like a brush of the hand. But I will elaborate on this more in the HILT portion of the review.

Down below are the specific blades in order of testing. They are as follows.....Standard Master Replicas, Corbin, Do-Clo, Ultra Mid-Grade and Ultra Heavy-Grade Blades:





5/5

HILT

The Grand Daddy of Stunt Hilts, the best FX-Sabers hilt to duel with.........The NEGOTIATOR. Most of you must think I am nuts, as they Graflexes are the best of the FX-Sabers Hilts. And they are. But the Negotiator handles much better as there is no control boxes. Think of it this way. The Graflex is a Cadillac and the Negotiator is a Corvette. Both are pricey, both are fast and both are sweet vehicles. But the Graflex sacrifices hand comfort and size to the streamlined size and sensitivity. If there is a Graflex club, then there is a Negotiator association! But enough of me comparing those Hilts as they are both different classes and both are awesome! Now, on to the Negotiator. This is one really narrow Hilt. It is approximately 1/8" smaller than the MR Yoda and is about as long as the Qui-Gon CE. It reminds me of my practical Katana Hilt. Long and narrow. Great for wielding and comfortable to grip. The Blade Length Adjustor and the Activator do not interfere with any hand movement what so ever. The Pommel is nice and thick, creating a slip-stop for those of us who use this thing for hours on end and gets sweating hands. The hilt is also so detailed, it looks just like the prop! So finely detailed, it can only be explained in the pictues below! The speaker is the hidden version and even though it is not as loud as the Luke ROTJ or Yoda, it is very loud and clear for a S.T.E.V.E. The V 1.1 has one less swing sound, but it is sensitive in the Negotiator. This is due to the narrow Hilt size. I mean you just have to tap the blade and it registers a clash. (A video is of Clash Demo to follow) The speaker is located inside the the middle of the Hilt and to this day, I still cannot see where the sound is eminating from. My favorite aspect of the 007 is that is it is on par with with SEs. ;) I have it in with my LE collection. Aside from the blade opening, it could be mistaken for an LE. ;D Very well done, Master Yoda! Now comes the part of the Review I really do not want to state. But this is a Protoype as it is in the testing phase of the newer Hilt. There not many S.T.E.V.E.s out there at the moment and this is not a common problem with the Negotiator. The MR board does not really have this issue as, even though on a momentary button, as the MR doesn't have a menu. The S.T.E.V.E. has the menu feature and because of the "true" activator button is located at the bottom of the speaker. So, when I am twirlling it or doing katas with it, it has a tendancy to go the "Welcome to the Main Menu..." What I am doing to alleviate this concern is trying to adjust my grip from a "Katana Grip" to a "Jedi Grip" ;) But so comfortable! ;D






4.5/5

SOUND

Well, those who have read my review of the Do-Clo Imperial Knight, know I love the Hilt to death, but the S.T.E.V.E. V 1 was just horrible in there! With the combo of the 007 and the S.T.E.V.E. V 1.1 is beyond sweet! The clash reacts very well and the swing is just a touch too fast but it works. The nice thing is that the clash is so sensitive that the clash overrides the swing. The ignition is the Classic ROTJ / ROTS Saber sounds and if held properly, you can perform the Dooku Technique of "Twice the pride, double the fall" ! ;D The sounds come out nicely and the tight fit of the S.T.E.V.E. in the Negotiator makes this the best reacting USB that I know of.

5/5

OVERALL SCORE: 19.5/20 (98%)

OVERALL FUN VALUE:
 :D :D :D :D :D

OVERALL OPINION:

THIS IS A MUST for any collector! I could sell my whole collection and stil have this one. It is truly a Masterpiece and can be used for hours of fun! In my opinion, it is perfect and it is one of my favorite pieces in my collection, along with my MR Jack Sparrow Cutlass LE and My Luke ROTJ V2 LE! Get one if you can! 8)

Thank you folks!
HAN SOLO

BTW, I couldn't get the vid done today, but it will be done in the next few days! Thanks for your patience! :)

That was great Captn Solo ;D I'm glad you are enjoying the 007 8)

From Dagobah with Love :D this was brilliant :D

[Red Five]

From the pic master we get just three pics!!! I was expecting at least a two page spread. ;)

Nice saber very nice.  8)

I'll be waiting for that review....Red Five standing by.

Ah...you have redeemed yourself! A work of art indeed.
You're making me very jealous because all I have right now is a hollow shell of an Obi. :-[   
I also enjoyed the video, great work DT and of course a great work Master Yoda!


I have a couple questions for you Han 'ol buddy:
Where is the balance point of the saber?
How would you compare the spinning to an MR? (more/less exertion)
When can I come play with it! ;D

With the Balance point, I never did a Balance check. As for spinning, I really don't do too much spinning. I'll bring it up to the Dojo tomorrow and give it some spins. (Maybe even a vid. But I am trying to set-up a cool vid) I practice Kenjutsu and now some Iaido basics, so spinning is a real minimum. Actually, I used it so much the first few days, the Do-Clo blade is now slightly curved. As for when do you get to use it, well, if you can come up here to Northern Ontario or if you are in Orlando in two weeks, I would have qualms about you using it! ;D

Qualms..? That's the thanks I get for saving you from the Sarlaac!  ::) It would actually make me a little nervous to be handling it.

Congrats again Han. I hope to see that video of it in action.

[HAN SOLO]

BAH, I meant NO Qualms about you using it! ::) I am actually going right now to work out and use it. ;)

Thank you for the Compliments, Master Yoda. But DT deserves all the credit for the James Bond initiative. I thank him for everything on it!

[Jasher Kain]

Now this is what I call a review.
If only I had this much free time... ;D

[HAN SOLO]

Now this is what I call a review.
If only I had this much free time... ;D

I wish I could say being off of work at the moment would open up free time, but HAHAHA! Yeah right! :D It took me three days to start it and about 3 hours to pen it. ;D Yeah, I do like doing big reviews, kinda keeps me in the loop for paperwork, but it also gets to give me the chance to give you guys the best I can for what I am reviewing. (AND IT'S NOT ESY EITHER) So that most Members get to know Han as not only a windbag :P, but someone who does truly care about collecting Sabers and other swords. (Though I have done 1 video game review.;))

[Hamill82]

Great Scotch! Awesome review!!! Doing these reviews takes a lot of time and you succeed my dear friend Han. Great lightsaber, I would love to get one  :D. Well, who wouldn't

[Yoda]

Great Scotch! Awesome review!!! Doing these reviews takes a lot of time and you succeed my dear friend Han. Great lightsaber, I would love to get one  :D. Well, who wouldn't

Yes Emperor we must take care of you at some point :D ;)

[Hamill82]

Had to check out this review again, so tempting  :D. The best lightsaber there is *IMO

[HAN SOLO]

Thanks, Emperor. I like the James Bond slideslow that DT made the most. ;D

Hopefully a video demo soon. I am tweeking some stuff, what I want, what I don't want. I think I will do the demo of what I think some Vapaad Katas would look like. But I want to also tweek other things too.

[master geno]

wow! beautiful!!!!!! ;D

[Jedi Knight Logan]

Awesome! 8)

[ASAJJ VENTRESS]

Thanks, Emperor. I like the James Bond slideslow that DT made the most. ;D

Hopefully a video demo soon. I am tweeking some stuff, what I want, what I don't want. I think I will do the demo of what I think some Vapaad Katas would look like. But I want to also tweek other things too.

oh my.  'Tis the season for reviews!  Yes please, a video review would go such a long way for this poor padawan learner...

Now I have a total of 3 to look forward to!!!!

[HAN SOLO]

Who pulled this old fossil out of the dessert? :D

I am thinking of a review format that may be just as informative, but not as longwinded. They take like hours to think of and do. But I do have at least 3-4 to do. Not all lightsabers either. ;)

[Luke S.]

I think you should really wait on your negotiator review until after you get it converted with the new fancy crystal chamber.   ;)  You know you want the upgrade.  ;D

[CybKnight]

According to Yoda, I didn't think the old design would be upgradeable... Unless #7 is different than #2, then it must stay the way it is...
Still a top notch saber.