MY STORY
Early Last year the TESB Luke Skywalker Force FX came upon the scene and I knew I wanted one, but thought I would wait until I could get a good deal on it. So I waited to see if any specials came up for Christmas 2004 season and nothing. Not for me anyway. I hadn't bought an LE or SE replica in over a year so I guess I exhausted my reward points worth of coupons. Money was tight after Christmas and I wanted to get a Luke for the ROTS opening, but I kept procrastinating and missed out. Come to find out that Master Replicas ended up discontinuing the Luke a couple months ago and the only way to get one was through an etailer or ebay. Thus began my quest to find the ellusive saber that I wanted so badly. First I went to two different etailers who both showed that they were waiting on shipment of a set of sabers. They inform me later on that they are not going to be receiving shipments and I had my card credited. So, my last chance was ebay. I kept my eye out everyday for 3 weeks looking for a good one for a good price. Low and behold a little over a week ago I come across an auction that was 5 minutes old for a Luke with a "Buy It Now" price of $99! Well, I checked over the auction and the sellers ratings and I purchased the saber within 3 minutes. The seller was great about getting it to me quickly and the FX saber itself came in great condition. (Other than my little snafu with the batteries)I was complete now...my quest ended and tranquility restored.
This was the only FX that I didn't order straight from MR.
THE SABER OUT OF THE BOX
Opening the box and seeing that familiar hilt I had fell in love with so long ago just about made my heart stop. As I looked at it there cradled in white styrofoam I harkened back to seeing it laying on the floor of the Wampa cave as Luke reached out with the Force to Bring it to his hand and free himself from an icy death.
The Battery Holder design once again carries over. If it isn't broke, don't fix it, right? To stay true to the original design of the flashgun they made the removable end to where it would screw into rather that onto the hilt. Reminds me of an old Energizer commercial that showed Vader having issues with his lightsaber and unscrews the bottom only to find generic batteries.
Battery Holder endcap and speaker grill with the Master Replicas and Lucasfilm copyright and date.
The On/Off switch for the Luke FX is the Red Knurled button as denoted by the bright yellow decal. I've found that I accidentily turn on the saber quite ofter by just picking it up and knocking into the switch. I would have rathered a less obtrusive On/Off mechanism.
The Control Box/Clamp for the Luke FX. Closely resembles what was seen in the film. Very happy with detail on this.
The Emitter Shroud detail and knobs were reproduced as closely as possible while still accomodating the space needed for the FX electronics.
Another view of the Emitter Shroud and the clamp going around the Polycarbonate tube. You can see on the inside area of the clamp that the designers added some foam rubber padding to help the blade retain its sturdiness and rigidity by adding the clamp as another contact point outside of the main hilt. And I'm sure to keep the blade from getting possibly scratched by the metal of the clamp.
THE SABER IGNITED
In Normal Daytime Room Light
In Low Room Light
In Complete Darkness
One thing I like about the detail of this FX is that you can see the blade shine through the shroud in areas. Which makes the saber all the more real to me.
WORKING REVIEW
Holding this saber is not as bad as some of the others of the same design(AOTC Ani, ANH Vader) which I was happy about. As I said before I think the On/Off switch is in a relatively bad location for controlling you power. Its a little too easy to turn it on. The Ignition Light and Sounds are just music to my ears. Places me in the dark cave on Dagobah waiting for something to appear. The idle hum is a sweet sound that seems to be a bit longer of a recording than other idle hums. There is only a slight stutter, not very noticeable, when the sound loops. The Motion Sensor is the best I have encountered so far. Very well calibrated to follow your exact movements without skipping a beat. As far as I could tell there are 4 motion sounds: 2 buzzes(one short, one long) 2 arc movements (one full movent, one movement with direction change). Seems to be 4 or 5 "clash" sounds. Kind of difficult to keep track of what you hear, but I think there are 5. The Shock Sensor for the "clash" sounds is easily activated with a slight vibration to the upper section of the blade. Sensitivity seems to be set perfectly. The shutdown sequence is more in time that previous models. Sound starts very slightly before the light begins to retract.
THE COMPARISON
Here you can see a big difference in size from the SE version(bottom) to the FX model(top)
The details of the emitter shroud were reproduced as closely as possible. Most noticeable difference is the "red" button which is much larger and doesn't come up out of the knob as high as the actual one on the SE
The detail of the Endcap is very close. If it weren't for the speaker grills then it might be tough to tell them apart. (I noticed on my SE that it doesn't have the Signature Edition wording stamped on the bottom like it should have. I contacted MR about this to find out why mine doesn't have the stamp and others do)
THE BOX
For those that want a detail look at the box that the saber came in. I also included a comparison shot of the old ROTJ Luke box with the new smaller TESB Luke Box.
Left-Hand Side Front and Top
Right-Hand Side Front and Top
Back of Box, LEFT
Back of Box, CENTER
Back of Box, RIGHT
Box Size Comparison
FINAL THOUGHTS
I'm so pleased that I was able to finally get my personal FAVORITE saber in its FX version. I have always loved this saber since I first saw it in 1980. My very first replica that I bought in 1991 was a resin version of the TESB luke and back then I payed $150 for that hunk of plastic! This far surpasses everything I had hoped for in a "as real as you can get" saber. I love the brightness of the LED blade( when used in conjunction with the proper batteries ) and the sound is magnificently done with no static. The Force was with me when I found this saber and I don't plan on ever letting it go. It is now my favorite FX and it will be difficult for another FX to surpass it.....for me.
I hope you were able to gain some insight into this elegant weapon for a more civilized age.
A few Bonus Pics of the TESB Luke FX with my Fan Club TESB Bespin Jacket
Review of Luke Skywalker ROTJ Force FX (LED) coming this Fall...