Hello all
today i am one happy man, my double maul arrived and exceeded my expectations.
i have decided to do a review, i hope you like it. click on the pics for larger versions....
The saber arrived in a box bigger than your usual force fx lightsabers, once opened i was greeted with a really nice new box design. i was really impressed with the look of the box.
it even has a bit of a prop story on one side
once i had cut the seals and opened the box up i found the two sabers and two force FX stands, to my surpise they recommend the use of only one of these stands for display the double. as i will be displaying it as two separate halves thats fine for me.
once i had got one half of it unwrapped the first thing that struck me was just how small a diameter this thing has, it is a lot thinner than i was expecting. i immediately looked at the now famous endcap to check out the split crystal, i was not disappointed.
this is a really nice thing to see, the crystal and the two burned wires.
here is a view on the inside of the endcap.
the battery holder
turning my attention to the actual hilt, i was very impressed with the detailing. here i have tried to capture the nice LED
the emitter area is also really good, these pictures dont do it justice
so how does the blade look ignited.
well IMO pretty good in full daylight. there are visible blotches but the overall quality of the piece stops me worrying about this right away. in the dark its a little bit less noticable but the blade is very bright
The coupler to join the two halves together is a great piece, in order to get the buttons to lign up MR had to enable this piece to be adjustable, it does a very good job IMO
Here is a look at the double ignited in medium room light, twilight outside
and finally a comparison with my vader ESB
here are my thoughts on the saber.
Hilt.Best FX design yet, really well machined, beautiful to look at and hold. nice diameter is much closer to the prop than some previous FX's. i think this feels more like a real saber than any of the other FX'x i have owned/own.
BladeVery red, some blotching, but really vivid, i am yet to see it in complete darkness, but i know i wont be disappointed.
Soundhhhmmmmmm most of the regular members and the mods here will know my feelings on this issue. i was very put off when i heard that the maul fx was to have the vader sounds. honestly now i cant believe it bothered me that much, i have already stopped thinking about it. the sounds are very crisp and the motion sensors perfect, perhaps this is because its so big, you cant move it as quickly in the house (i am yet to try outside). with the coupler on as a double uint the sounds are altered slightly but not muffled to my ears. the sound of the idle hum is menaciing like the vader ESB/ANH.
Overall i would give this saber a 9/10. one point shy of perfect because of the recycled sound and the slightly blotchy blade. this has surpassed the anakin ROTS as my fave saber already (mear hours of getting it) the quality of build and look of the hilt are amazing. master replicas have really excelled themselves with this saber, they will be hard pushed to top this FX.
considering i prefer Jedi sabers to sith, i must say how amazed at this saber i really am, i cannot recommend it enough, if you are on the cusp of investing, stop hesitating and go for it. IMO as a single saber it does not hold up against the anakin ROTS but doubled up as it is supposed to be, this is awesome. it is a testament to Obi Wans skill with a saber that he beat the wielder of this incredible lightsaber.