This is my first review on this forum. :D
When a good friend of mine mentioned that he had gotten the Luke ESB saber in late 2004, I was envious. I had seen pictures and videos on the internet of the Luke ESB, Vader ANH, and Mace Windu AOTC lightsabers. I wanted one, but it was out of my price range. As a college student without a job, obtaining one wasn't feasible. I then emailed a link of the Luke ESB saber to my mom, in hopes she might want to order it for my upcoming birthday. Sure enough, it didn't work. :P One year later, I'm the proud owner of four Force FX lightsabers, with another on the way (hehe, sounds like I'm talking about pregnancy :D ). I got my own Anakin ROTS from Borders back in April, just as they were becoming very popular. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made. ;D So without further adieu, my personal review on the ROTS Anakin Skywalker lightsaber, by Master Replicas.
First up, the hilt. One of the most important things to me is always the hilt. It should closely resemble that of which was seen on-screen. In this case, the Anakin ROTS is about as close as MR has gotten. The hilt is authentic, and the size is just perfect for carrying around and dueling with. ;) The weight, although light, makes this saber easy to swing around. It also doesn't tire out your hands. The detail put into this saber was very well done. My only real gripe about it is how the gold and copper paint rubs off so easily. I know for a fact that mine was much shinier when I first got it, so it may be possible to polish it up and get that pretty sparkly look back. :) The saber itself isn't bad for dueling, but outside of Star Wars, it isn't the ideal hilt for having a fight with.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/000_1132.jpgThe blade of the Anakin ROTS is great. It's very vibrant, and although I don't have a Luke ESB to compare it to (I will within the next week), I understand that they're pretty much the same in brightness. While I personally think the Luke ROTJ re-issue is brighter than the Anakin ROTS, the Anakin saber is probably my favorite one I own. Aside from the dark spot in the middle of the blade, it is very consistent in its blue coloring... much more so than the Mace ROTS and Luke ROTJ lightsabers. When I got it, I had just gotten into Force FX sabers. I didn't know that the dark spot was normal, so I ended up returning my Anakin saber and exchanged it. Sure enough, it was still there. :) On a cold night, the blade is considerably brighter than it is on a warm one. I highly recommend that everyone try it (as well as the other sabers) on a cold night. ;) Other than that, I'm really only a bit disappointed that the blade is as loose as it is. I'm not certain that it's always been that way, but it is more loose than my other FX's. At least it's still in place, though. ;)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/000_1135.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/Vickyrose85/000_1006.jpgIn May when ROTS was released, I took my Anakin saber along with me to a showing on release night. There were many people... many children. Many of them had Hasbro's basic lightsabers and electronic lightsabers. However, I was the only one with a Force FX saber. ;) Needless to say, I was the most popular person there. Many kids would shout at me to turn it on, and when I did, they would applaud me. It was a great night and my favorite Star Wars viewing experience at a theater. :D
Stay tuned for my Vader ESB review, coming soon. ;)