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Author Topic: Aayla's Darth Maul TPM FFX Review  (Read 11574 times)

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Offline AAYLA SECURA

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Aayla's Darth Maul TPM FFX Review
« on: April 13, 2006, 02:51:53 PM »
Are two blades better than one? In some cases, yes. Sometimes, no. But overall yes. :)

Night after night. Dream after dream. I must say, I've never had so many dreams about a Force FX lightsaber as I did with the Darth Maul FFX. I'm not sure why... I was looking forward to it (who wasn't), but initially it wasn't something I was overly excited about. But for some reason, I was having these recurring dreams every few nights... the Darth Maul lightsaber, two blades long, five feet long (in the dream  :D ), being spun around by me in front of my house on a dark night. As time went on, my excitement for the Darth Maul FFX only amplified. When I found out it could be reserved at Border's, I wasted no time in reserving a pair.  April 4th was the release date. About a month's wait. In the days approaching April 4th, my anticipation accelerated. April 4th comes along, and no call from Borders. So I call them and am told that the Darth Maul lightsaber has been pushed back until April 11th. :( What a bummer! Another week goes by, and come April 10th, I get a phone call. I answer, and to my surprise, Borders had recieved their shipment of the Darth Maul Force FX one day ahead of schedule!  ;D  I raced over there and got me two lightsabers. I then zoomed home, opened up both sabers, and applied the batteries. The results? Stellar.  ;D

The Hilt

The Darth Maul FFX hilt feels to have a solid build. It also looks authentic. It doesn't get fingerprints, which is excellent. It's not heavy at all. When you pick it up, initially it feels quite heavy. But that's actually the blade. The blade is much heavier than the hilt. It's kind of like the plastic Anakin ROTS in that sense. Up close, the hilt has some very good and authentic detailing. I love the feel of this lightsaber. The ignition switch is unique in the sense that you must rotate it to turn the saber on and off. I like this, as it prevents the blade from accidentally shutting off. It's also just a neat little feature to have. The endcap of the lightsaber is designed to show the details within the battle damaged Darth Maul hilt. It looks almost exactly like that of the .45 scaled replica. I think it's kind of cool.  Swinging around the Maul saber is a piece of cake. Since the blade is much heavier than the hilt the balance isn't exactly right, but the grip that the Maul provides makes up for it.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/Maulhilt.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/SingleMaulCoupler.jpg

The Blade

The blade of the Darth Maul FFX is very sturdy. Is it really thicker than other FFX blades? It's hard to say. If you look at it up close, you can clearly see more space between the interior of the blade and the outer edges of the polycarbonate. It's cool, but I think because of that there's a bit less area to be lit up, so it doesn't look as wide when compared to other sabers. The blade may actually be the same width as previous models, but because of the wider gap between the outer blade and the electronics it appears to be thicker.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/SingleMaul.jpg

Firing it Up

When lit up, the blade glows a deep red color. It's not super dark, but it's clearly red. In a lit room it looks red and not pink like the Vader ESB. It does appear to be less bright, though. I'm not sure if it may appear that way because of the darker red color or not. I was a bit disappointed that there's a faint dark spot near the center as there was with the Anakin ROTS. But all in all, things look good. I think one of my Maul sabers may be a tiny bit darker than the other, but it's not very noticeable. The blade feels to be very securely placed into the hilt. There's no wobbliness of any kind. As for the sound, well, it's the Vader ESB sounds reincarnated. Not my (or anyone else's) ideal choice of course, but it works out fine. The sounds aren't exactly the same. They're clearer, and the tone is quite a bit deeper. When you connect the hilts the sound is slightly more muffled, but it gives off a really cool aggressive and menacing sound, just as it should. :)

Darth Maul saber in lowly lit room:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/Maullit.jpg

Darth Maul saber in completely dark room:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/MaulDarkRoom.jpg

Darth Vader ESB (left) & Darth Maul (right)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/Vadervs.jpg

Creating the Double-Bladed Lightsaber

To connect both hilts, you need the included coupler (pictured above). You must first remove the endcaps on both sabers and connect each hilt one at a time. This is a bit tricky when you're trying to connect the second saber. It's best to hold the second one to the top and on a flat surface, like a bed. The coupler is cool in that the bolt can be twisted with the included wrench in order to align both hilts evenly. Connecting both Mauls isn't like dust and crops. ;)  It takes time and patience if you want to do it just right. But if you tighten the coupler and the hilts too tightly, they're very, very hard to take apart. At least mine are. In fact last night I spent so long trying to get the coupler apart from one of the hilts that my hands were hurting so much afterward. Haha.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/DoubleMaulhilt.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/DoubleMaulunlit.jpg

Once you fire up your double-bladed Darth Maul FFX, you have what may be holding the most awesome Force FX lightsaber to date. At 7 feet long, the double-edged Maul isn't exactly a walk in the park to handle. It bumps walls and chairs and anything else easily. Instead of watching that one blade doesn't bump anything (which sometimes is a task in itself), you have to watch two. But once you make it outside of the house and you have all the room you need, you're in for a real treat. The double Maul is surely a sight to behold. The blades burn brightly as the sound hums aggressively and you swing it around and twirl it. Just pure FFX awesomeness at its best.  ;D  I've been able to do some basic twirls above the head and to the sides, but since I'm only 5'3 and the Maul saber is over 7 feet long it isn't easy to do. I have found that wielding the Darth Maul saber has helped me in swinging around my single bladed FFXs. It makes them feel like a piece of cake to swoosh around. :)


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/DoubleMaullit.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/FullMaullit.jpg

Fin

All in all, you can't lose with the MR Darth Maul Force FX lightsaber. You've got a detailed and accurate hilt, a sturdy blade... which lights up a nice red color, and cool sounds that work fine, even if they're not movie-accurate. You can use one saber, two if you want to pull an Asajj Ventress, or go all out with the double-bladed (my favorite way). ;) The Darth Maul lightsaber is quickly becoming my favorite FFX. With plenty of options, excellent accuracy, and lots of downright awesomeness, how could it not be?
« Last Edit: July 22, 2006, 08:18:31 PM by Aayla Secura »
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Luke Skywalker ANH with Removable Blade
Obi-Wan Kenobi ROTS with Removable Blade
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Offline Dark Skywalker

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Re: My MR Darth Maul FFX Review
« Reply #1 on: April 13, 2006, 02:52:59 PM »
Good review!



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Offline Bandit-Jedi

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Re: My MR Darth Maul FFX Review
« Reply #2 on: April 13, 2006, 02:58:31 PM »
VERY NICE!!!  UBER COOL!!! FRIGGIN SWEET!


once again you amaze us with your attention to detail and the ability to convey your thoughts into words on screen.

KUDOS!

May The Force FX Be With You!


Offline Rancor Keeper

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Re: My MR Darth Maul FFX Review
« Reply #3 on: April 13, 2006, 03:06:00 PM »
nice review,.. and you are cute!!

Offline ijbrekke

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Re: My MR Darth Maul FFX Review
« Reply #4 on: April 13, 2006, 03:27:36 PM »
Man, that comparison next to the Vader ESB blade is NOT flattering, it honestly just looks dim.....I suppose I could see it just being a darker shade, but what gets to  me is that its not throwing off much light around it and it doesn't give off a "white core" look in the least. Too bad, because Maul's saber has always been my favorite.

Offline sickdawg

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Re: My MR Darth Maul FFX Review
« Reply #5 on: April 13, 2006, 05:24:57 PM »
Never judge the saber by its picture. Cameras almost always make it look a little different. This saber looks so awesome when it is powered up. If you look on the picture next to the vader, the light they are casting on the wall is about the same, so they are around the same brightness, but the maul red seems a lot more "menacing" to me.
« Last Edit: April 13, 2006, 05:30:13 PM by sickdawg »

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Re: My MR Darth Maul FFX Review
« Reply #6 on: April 13, 2006, 06:39:03 PM »
Excelente caliente!!!! And Ijbrekke, the blade is JUST as bright as the vader. Its a little deeper red, but dont worry, Ive had the pleasure of taking many pics to help my bro N law Nhoj Pas Anner write up a soon to be finished review, and you will see a comparison pic that will put your worried mind at ease.

Offline Darthirishman

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Re: My MR Darth Maul FFX Review
« Reply #7 on: April 13, 2006, 07:00:53 PM »
Excellant review Aayla, yeah I have to agree the Maul is a good saber although the Vader ESB is still my Fav, side by side the Maul is more red than the Vader
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  Then go find the person who has vodka and have a party

Offline Jaden Korr

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Re: My MR Darth Maul FFX Review
« Reply #8 on: April 13, 2006, 07:22:25 PM »
Nice review Aayla, great detail.

Offline Kyp Durron

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Re: My MR Darth Maul FFX Review
« Reply #9 on: April 13, 2006, 07:25:08 PM »
I can see the dark spot you are talking about...like I said, my Vader ESB is the exact same way.  :-\

Oddly enough, the most perfect blade among my FX's is the Mace ROTS that I won on MR trivia.  8)

I guess Amy just happened to send me an excellent specimen.

I might pic up a single Maul later, but if you've been reading my posts, you know the next MR that I am waiting on.  ;) ;D

And great review by the way.  :)
« Last Edit: April 13, 2006, 07:26:44 PM by Kyp Durron »

2010...I certainly hope it's better than 2009 was! ::)
10/10/10~Well, so far with my Father's passing away, I'd say that this year was actually worse than 2009, even the fact that I now have a full time job (For now) isn't anywhere near enough to make up for that...so...maybe 2011 will be better? I'm not holding my breath... ::)

Offline DarthRage

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Re: My MR Darth Maul FFX Review
« Reply #10 on: April 13, 2006, 07:42:40 PM »


That IS a difference!
My FX Sabers:

(][][]IIIIIII(|=========================

(][][][]IIIII[/=========================

Offline cjranck

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Re: My MR Darth Maul FFX Review
« Reply #11 on: April 13, 2006, 07:59:06 PM »
Great review!  I just got 1/2 of my Maul today, and I have to say, it is easily in my top 3 sabers already.  Great hilt, great blade, and best of all, you can connect to make the double blade!  Of all my sabers, I would rank them:

1.  ANH Vader (Sentimental, my first saber)
2.  05 Luke ROTJ (great green blade, LOUD)
3.  Darth Maul (This might move to #2 when I get the other half)
4.  Luke ESB (Great hllt, Original Trilogy)
5.  Mace Windu (Purple is cool, unusual hilt design)
6.  Anakin ROTS (Still a great saber)

Offline Darth Pantsless

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Re: My MR Darth Maul FFX Review
« Reply #12 on: April 13, 2006, 08:02:50 PM »
Nice review, but is "dusting crops" not "dust and crops"

Offline Kyle Katarnn

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Re: My MR Darth Maul FFX Review
« Reply #13 on: April 13, 2006, 08:10:03 PM »
Excellent review Aayla, now I'm definately picking up one this weekend. I can't get both but eventually will buy the other one later due to my budget.

Offline ijbrekke

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Re: My MR Darth Maul FFX Review
« Reply #14 on: April 13, 2006, 08:25:26 PM »
Excelente caliente!!!! And Ijbrekke, the blade is JUST as bright as the vader. Its a little deeper red, but dont worry, Ive had the pleasure of taking many pics to help my bro N law Nhoj Pas Anner write up a soon to be finished review, and you will see a comparison pic that will put your worried mind at ease.

I'm looking forward to it, I would love to be able to see and compare these things in person but unfortunately the middle of Iowa is not exactly FX-saber heavy. When you have no immediate access to the sabers (other than purchasing them, obviously), you HAVE to go off of pictures. I truly hope that the Maul's blade is everything people say it is, I was just very surprised when I scrolled down and saw that side-by-side shot. I mean, you have to admit, in that picture the Maul just doesn't "radiate" quite like the Vader does. It just looks less bright. But again, don't have one in person, can't be certain. Anyone wanna send me one to try? ;D

 

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