Well, I finally received the Mace FX that I won Friday night back in February during the MR Trivia game. ;D
The Hilt :
Like others have said, this has got to be THE prettiest hilt MR has ever done. Just the right amount of BLING, without going over the top. It makes you want to take a cloth to it and polish it up every time you put it down, lol.
As far as the size is concerned, I really can't understand why people complain about it's size, I have small hands and I think this is one of the most comfortable sabers I have held yet. But then again, I can handle my Luke ESB just fine so that might have a little to do with it. :P The rubber grips were an excellent touch, and in my honest opinion, the grips on the Anakin ROTS, Luke ESB, and both Vaders should have had the same rubber texture. But that's just my opinion. Definitely one of the best looking and feeling hilts in the MR line.
The Blade :
Now I have heard that the AOTC version wasn't that good of a purple color, but this one MR did pretty xxx good on considering it doesn't even have purple LED's in the blade. The only down side to it is the red lines on either side of the blade, but I can overlook that because the splotches that seem to plague most if not just about all of the MR line is hardly noticeable on this example that I have.
I really love the blade because of it's uniqueness as it's the only purple blade in the MR line and the only purple saber in the SW movies, period.
The Sound :
They say that they made the sound louder on this version V.S. the AOTC and I cannot dissagree. It is easily as loud as the Luke ROTJ and Anakin ROTS. 8)
The blade motion sounds are overly sensitive, in my opinion. The slightest movement sets it off, and it shouldn't be that way. In contrast, it seems to take a bit more to set off the clash sounds than the other sabers I have. Why this is, I am not sure. It may just be mine, or perhaps it is common on this version.
All in all, I am very pleased with this saber and I love swinging it around in the living room with the lights off. When I look at it in the mirror, it looks very real which is really cool.
Obviously, I can't beat what I paid for it, which is NOTHING since I won this from the MR trivia, but I would gladly have paid the $100+ price tag, and I can say it's worth what they are asking for it.
If you can get one, then by all means, get yourself one before they become scarce. This saber belongs in ANY StarWars collection. :)
-Kyp