Hey everyone! :) I thought this most definitely deserved it's own thread, yet it is part of my Stormtrooper project, located here:
http://www.fx-sabers.com/forum/index.php?topic=36046.0I'm always excited to do reviews for you guys, and this is no exception. This one is a little different for me, and exciting in a whole new way. Whether it's a run announcement, or an epic reveal thread by a sabersmith, the artist behind the saber or install always likes to present their work. My installer knew how excited I was about this, plus due to the fact that this is an ongoing project, he said it would be okay if I revealed this to the world. So this a first for me :D Thanks Pete!
So, with Phase one being the step of acquiring the empty hilt from the run and reviewing that, and Phase two was the custom Sanjuro stand...that brings us to here. I promised you guys this would be a massive one, and that's exactly what it is! Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you:
Phase Three:
Even though you've all read the title of the thread which has given it away, let's pretend for a second this is the first time you're hearing it :D My OM Stormtrooper saber has had a CF6 installation! That isn't all though, this saber really has maxed out insides, using the CF6 to it's ABSOLUTE maximum potential. This transformation has turned this saber into a fully functional masterpiece. I'm just going to hit you all with every bit of info at once in the form of a specs list, and then I will go through each thing individually. Let's go then!
Okay...are you ready for this??
Are you sure?? :D
Orbital Machining Stormtrooper limited edition 1 of 19
CFv6.1
Colour Xtender (CeX)
RGGB 10W LEDengin (G as main, R as LED2 and B as LED3)
7.4V 1600mAh 14650 stick battery pack with 7.4V protection PCB sealed using Plasti-Dip
Acrylic sheet sleeve insert for insulation
2W Erv' Deluxe Speaker
TCSS pommel insert style 13, sprayed Epoxy Enamel Gloss White polished edges for ease of turning/spinning in pommel
Reduced C-clip thickness assisting pommel insert spin freely and reduced tool hole to prevent being seen through pommel grill
Rumble pager motor with nylon housed isolation switch
Xenon White pommel idle LED wired to accent 1 - mimic main blade
Xenon White pommel blinkie
SMD 0403 resistors for accent LEDs - Blue, Red (switch), Arctic White, Aqua Green (aux)
2.1mm Kill Key
3.5mm RICE socket
Modified accent LED/switch assembly for true even brightness.
As you can see, there is some major cram-fu going on here, and some seriously cool features. A lot of which are completely new to me, and one of which I didn't even know was possible. More on that later though.
The story behind me acquiring the Stormtrooper is documented in my Stormtrooper project thread, so with all that into consideration this has been a long time coming. In this particular instance, good things indeed come to those that wait. In receiving my empty Stormtrooper hilt, it was clear in my mind that I wanted a Crystal Focus soundboard in the saber. The CF is my favourite soundboard, all but one of my sabers (Legacy with the Crystal Shard) have a CF inside. A saber of such high quality like this more than deserves some CF goodness, so that's what it was going to get! At the time of the hilt coming my way, the CFV5 was the latest board, so that's what I was going to go with. However, whilst getting a few other things for my Stormtrooper project sorted, Erv' unleashed the CFV6 on the public! Reading through all these fantastic new features it had, I instantly thought how great they would work with this OM Stormtrooper saber. The colour mixing and different colours available on each font was exactly what this saber needed, and overcame something that plays into another part of the project (Phase four clue!). So the stars were certainly starting to align.
As Erv' announced the CFV6, STARKILLER and LUMINARA just couldn't wait another second, and revealed to everybody on the second VV Starkiller run that we would all have V6's in our Starkillers :) This was fantastic news, as the Starkiller of course changes colours on The Force Unleashed, so this would add to the aspect of owning a real Starkiller saber. I was excited, and had similar thoughts with my Stormtrooper saber. In the concept art of the Stormtrooper sabers, they had white sabers in some pictures, and red in others. This made for my decision on LED colour a harder one. They both fit so perfectly, and I was torn between the two. I had decided on white in the end, but was disappointed I couldn't have both. I also felt like Stormtroopers could be sporting other colour blades, such as a fire orange, or even something a bit wild like a purple or cyan. Call me crazy, but it just works with the hilt. The beautiful white Powder Coating job by MH opens this saber up to a wide range of blade colours. So you can imagine how cool it was when I didn't have to choose between a white or red LED :)
As soon as Erv' released his first batch of CFV6's......................I was out for the day. Disaster! What if I didn't get one? Well luckily for me, I have some great friends in the saber-scene, one of which is my installer for this project. The announcement happened during a Sunday afternoon I believe, which is fantastic for us Aussies to get a chance at some CF's (thanks again Erv'!). As my friend was only getting one himself, he was able to purchase me a CF and a cEx :) The Colour Xtenders were less in numbers compared to the CFV6, so if he didn't do that for me, I would have missed out and I would definitely not have this saber in my hands right now. So a huge thanks! Plus, as it was getting sent straight to him, that would cut out a leg of shipping too. I had acquired my CFV6 for the project, as well as the cEx! We were just about ready to go...
I'm proud to say that I'm good friends with Pete outside of the forums, and we have great discussions about, well anything really. Being over this side of the world has caused me my fair share of issues with shipping and customs as a lot of you know (the major one is in regards to one of these very sabers on the run). When I receive a saber that's been messed around with by customs or shipping monkeys and it's DOA, boy is it frustrating. Sending it back and forth and dealing with customs again is the biggest hassle (and expense) ever. Then if a saber is on the way back, what's to say the exact same thing won't happen again?
Anyway, after dealing with this a few times, I really had just had enough. I personally knew of Pete's electronics and saber install/repair skills, so I enquired as to whether I could send a high end custom saber over to him for repair, rather than back and forth across the globe. The saber in question was my OM Obi TPM, that customs had tampered with. LDM was my installer for the saber, and he had worked with Pete professionally before, with Pete doing some repairs for him in similar situations. So LDM had faith in Pete, and rightfully so. My saber arrived back within the week working 100% :) Next up, I had another similar shipping damage issue, this time with a VV saber. I explained the situation to STARKILLER, and they were both fine with me doing the same thing. Once again, within a week, my saber was completely fixed. So I'd just like to publically thank Pete once again for doing those super quick repairs for me, and it's fantastic that I have someone over here that can do this kind of thing for me :)
Pete and I had a bit of a private transaction going on, and it popped into my head that I could see if he could do the install on the Stormtrooper as a "trade" for this particular transaction, rather than sending me money. He said that was fine, and all systems were go! I told Pete exactly what I was after, and really I thought I was asking too much. Having all of these things in this rather small hilt surely wouldn't be possible...would it?
Well apparently it was, and it's done to absolute perfection in this hilt. Throughout the build process, Pete kept in regular contact (as we do anyway), and gave me regular updates and asked questions where necessary to make my vision of what I wanted this saber to be come to life. Part of the way through the build, I was asked what fonts I would want on the saber, as at that stage I wouldn't be able to easily access the SD card to change fonts due to the limited amount of space in the saber and the internal setup. I was sort of unsure, and didn't have six definite fonts that would be locked in so to speak. As the build progressed though, I was told that I would indeed easily be able to change fonts around as access to the SD card was now possible in the hilt! This was amazing news, as now I can change fonts at will. Seeing the saber in person, I truly appreciate the chassis and internal placement of everything. The CF itself has no movement inside the saber, so I can very securely remove the SD card at will. From unscrewing the pommel, you are treated to some really neat features, that I will get to very soon.
THE POMMEL:
Rather than starting at the top of the hilt and working my way down as I like to do in my reviews, as a lot of the goodness is down near the pommel, we'll start down there this time. A TCSS pommel insert has been utilized on this build, with a slot for the kill key and RICE port. I really like the overall design of this particular insert, it goes really well with the saber. The gloss white matches the MH PC'ing job perfectly :) It is placed so the kill key and RICE port matches up with the control box of the saber.
The sound vents in the pommel contribute to this being one LOUD saber! The crisp sound of the 2W speaker travels nicely through the pommel, and even gives off that nice subtle rumble that we know and love from our 2W speakers. Clarity of sound is most important in this saber, as I have a lot of custom boot sounds loaded onto the SD card. So the fact that the sound quality is amazing is a huge plus. The kill key itself is white, although I made sure I grabbed a black one off of JANGO too, as they both look great! I think I slightly favour the white though, so that one is in most of the time. This kill key is nice and easy to remove, with a nice section to grip with plenty of room. This, being my first CFv6 saber, is obviously too my first saber with a RICE port. Let me just say that it is REALLY cool that I have a saber I can plug into my computer via USB to change settings around on.
http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h322/Stormtrooper27/Acerocket%20Stormtrooper/P1020548_zps49273926.jpghttp://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h322/Stormtrooper27/Acerocket%20Stormtrooper/P1020549_zps1a83f43b.jpghttp://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h322/Stormtrooper27/Acerocket%20Stormtrooper/P1020551_zpsae8e1c97.jpgSo let's pull the kill key and see what happens...
http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h322/Stormtrooper27/Acerocket%20Stormtrooper/P1020554_zps7a9af9b4.jpghttp://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h322/Stormtrooper27/Acerocket%20Stormtrooper/P1020555_zpsc210a943.jpgAs requested, I have two white LEDs (Xenon white to be exact) inside the pommel. I really love LDM's crystal pommels in his sabers that he does, and this saber to me really needs some LEDs in the pommel. JANGO has done a few of these Stormtroopers with the LEDs in the pommel, and they looked fantastic. I'm really glad I got these added in, as it's great to see them sequencing through in the dark, and also it's really cool that one of them mimics the main blade of the saber. They glow a really nice blue-ish white colour through the pommel, and are very bright indeed. I really enjoy watching the pommel just blinking in quick flashes during stand by mode too, it looks great with the pattern of the pommel insert. A great feature that I would certainly love in future sabers.
So as I mentioned earlier, SD access was made nice and easy in this saber. It is nice and easy to spin the pommel off for access to the Crystal Focus and other features inside. So as we remove the pommel...you know, I'm just going to get straight to this next part, because it's surely going to be the first thing you see. That switch inside there. Well this is a feature for something else in this saber:
THE RUMBLE MOTOR:
Okay, I can hear the collective groans all the way over here :P Rumble motors are not too popular with the majority here I think it's safe to say. Unwanted, erratic swings. Sitting your saber down on a stand and it just keeps setting off swing sounds. Well, I am happy to say that Pete has added a feature that 100% ABSOLUTELY solves this problem. A custom switch, that allows you to turn the rumble motor off, completely. Yep, that's right. If you want to display the saber on a stand and show it off, you slide the little switch in here to the "off" position, and it disables the rumble motor altogether. This is a feature that I was unaware of, and I don't believe I've ever seen it in another build before. So to hear Pete suggest this to me was such a great thing. I of course wanted this feature, and am very happy that I chose to get it done.
I really believe that some sabers lend themselves to a rumble motor. The Stormtrooper is one of them in my eyes. I can't really explain what it is exactly, but it just
works in this particular hilt. The Corran Horn is another example, that one is due to the speeder bike handle I would say. I think the grip section plays a part in why I think that in this saber, it just feels like it should have one. If you own one, I hope you know what I'm talking about :D I've never owned a rumble motor in a saber before, and yet I've always been curious and wanted one. I thought it was a cool concept, until I heard all the bad reviews due to the unwanted swings. This put me off for a while, but I still wanted to at least at some point try one out. This is the perfect solution like I said, and this rumble motor is nothing short of amazing.
The speaker like I said, gives a slight rumble to the saber. Not much, but enough that you can feel it. The rumble motor itself is possibly, if I had to guess, twice as strong as what the speaker feels like. Sounds like a lot, but you can really barely feel the speaker rumble. So it's a nice, perfect subtle rumbling. I like it a lot, gives the saber a more "alive" feel. It definitely wouldn't work in every saber, that's for sure...but here it works really nicely. Especially with the added bonus of the switch.
...that's not all though!!! Just when I thought it couldn't get any cooler, Pete revealed to me that he had wired up just the G (green) die to activate the rumble motor. What does that mean exactly? Well, basically any colour you have created that uses the green die will turn the rumble motor on. Any colour that doesn't use it, will not activate it. Sounds a bit strange? Not so sure it's a good idea? Well let me tell you exactly what it can do. I have a purple main LED running for instance (blue and red die in use), and then a nice green for FoC...that means that during the main blade it won't be activated...and then BAM! it kicks in for the FoC or lock up 8) Really a cool thing, and once again it's something else that brings life to the saber. You can have just about any colour and add a bit of green in if you want the rumble motor on for both main and FoC, that's the beauty of the amazing colour mixing with CFv6. It's just a cool bonus that you can turn it off for the main blade, and have it activate for FoC. Very cool indeed.
INSIDE THE POMMEL:
Back to the insides of the saber. You can now see how I mentioned that the Crystal Focus really has no movement in there, which is great to be able to safely remove the SD card. There isn't much room in there as you can see, as to be expected with all the features this saber has. The stick battery pack is nicely slotted in there, nice and snug. The acrylic sheet sleeve insert that Pete made up for the chassis is great to make this saber even more duel-worthy than it is. Nothing is moving around in this saber at all, so there's nothing to worry about there when dueling. Now, the wiring is fantastic. Nice and clean, all wires neatly together in there. You can see for yourselves just how great this looks. This is really, REALLY incredible work that I am incredibly pleased with and proud to own :)
http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h322/Stormtrooper27/Acerocket%20Stormtrooper/P1020540_zps4ddc6c0c.jpghttp://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h322/Stormtrooper27/Acerocket%20Stormtrooper/P1020541_zpsa02d4b1f.jpghttp://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h322/Stormtrooper27/Acerocket%20Stormtrooper/P1020542_zps894a379d.jpghttp://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h322/Stormtrooper27/Acerocket%20Stormtrooper/P1020543_zps50b9d9b9.jpghttp://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h322/Stormtrooper27/Acerocket%20Stormtrooper/P1020544_zpsf23fc0ad.jpg