Well I was searching and searching and came across photos on another board. I tried to get the photos to work here but had all kinds of trouble. The pics are posted about halfway to 3/4 down the page.

All I have to say is I hope it's bad photography that's causing the blade to turn out that dim, or bad batteries. I really hope it looks better in person.

Well enough talk go [link=http://pub23.ezboard.com/fpropreplicasfrm2.showMessageRange?topicID=2136.topic&start=1&stop=20]HERE[/link]

 

Well after a bit more searching I found more pics. These are of a Master Replicas competitor. If it turns out that the pictures don't lie and MR's blade is just plain dull in comparison a purchase change is going to be made.

Take a look at what I mean, go [link=http://pub23.ezboard.com/fpropreplicasfrm73.showMessage?topicID=127.topic]HERE[/link]

 

Thanks for the links. I'm nervous but excited about getting it. I only spent $106.00, so the hit if I'm disappointed wont be as bad. I'm sure it will be fun.


I take it your a Redskins fan? 37-7 was pretty bad. They need QB. Go Broncos

What part of MD are you from? My family lives in Frederick and Rockville. Me, I'm in Denver.

 

What is that yellow sticker on the anakin FX, it better come off.

 

A couple more things;

1) I think that the yellow sticker will come of, one of those little warning stickers that come on electronic toys / equipment. At least I hope.

2) Yes I am. Win or loss (which they most certainly did on Monday night) I'll always stick with my team

3) Here is the email I just sent to Master Replicas. I'll keep you updated if I get a response.

Afternoon. Now I know you all are a very busy group, with lots of things to do, and peoples problems to solve, mine included. However here is the problem. With this email I have attached 2 groups pictures. One is your Anakin FX saber while activated, the other belongs to a competitor. Both are taken by collectors and are not doctored in anyway. My question, along with several other prospective customers; is your blade really that dim? In several interviews / articles I have come across while doing research for my purchase, I have seen it stated and quoted that Master Replicas will be using a second generation EL sheet that will be more efficient and brighter than previously seen. However, if you look at your blade, and then the other, there is a noticeable difference. The MR blade appears to be much dimmer. Now I don't mean to sound cynical, but please tell me mine and others patience and waiting due to constantly delayed shipping dates hasn't gone to waste on a second rate EL blade. I really want to believe that my money went into the best possible replica you all could put together. I really do hope that one guy just uses a camera better then the other.


4) Just outside of Annapolis but I work in DC

 

I Know I have posted about this before someplace else, but I will post again. I saw the Anakin FX at Comic-Con in San Diego in August. Let me tell you it was an over priced kenner toy. The blade was supposed to be and EL polycarbonite blade. It is not. It is a plastic blade. You may ask how do I know this. Well I saw one up close as stated earlier. Also when I asked to "test" it out. The representative became very protective of it and said I quote " This is the only one we have for the Con and we don't want to have it break." After closely looking at the blade I could see why. The blade had the white creases that plastic gets after you beat it around a bit just before the plastic breaks.

Now the other blades you show on there are a true Polycarb EL blade. I have a saber from parksabers and these are the blades they have. The blades for these are fantastic. Very bright and can take a beating. At the booth for parksabers at comic-con they were smashing, beating and hitting their sabers against everything they possibly could and there was no damage to the blade. I have taken mine and slamed it into a wall with full strength and mine is just fine.

For the amount of money that MR charges I would not spend my hard earned money on a product like the Anakin FX saber.

Just my 0.02

 

Thats not good news. =( I know i wont be beating mine around anyway, but still. =(

 

Well since the Anakin FX was bought for me as a gift, I'll hold off cancelling it. The Master Replicas website DOES say under the FAQ for the Anakin FX that it is a Polycabinate blade. Either way, I'm going to wait just a bit more before I decide to give Jeff $260 for another saber, plus another long, long, long wait. 12 weeks! Anyway, he's been around for 8 years, and will probably be for a while so I'll most likely end up getting on of his just for kicks when I have an extry $300. Tax Return!

 

I understand what it DOES say. I'm just informing everyone here what it I ACTUALLY saw first hand. Take it or leave it, its up to the individual. I just wanted to let everyone know what I have seen.

 

If what you say is in fact true, isnt that considered false advertising? Couldn't we like sue them or something lol

 

Truthfully probably not. The original designs were for a Polycarb blade, but perhaps cost has caused them to change it. Not only that if you return it or cancel they probably would be understanding enough to take it back with not many questions. Seeing as how everyone basically bought into it with out seeing what it actually looked like. I'm sure if a person is unhappy with it they will be able to return it.

 

This sucks then (for me anyway). I bought it off a toy company off of ebay. Not only that but I already put a 25$ deposit on it. Dammit and I dont want to tell the guy I dont want the saber anymore because he already left good feedback for me and Ill feel bad

 

Line from the MR site.

the Anakin lightsaber's electro-luminescent blade is encased within a permanently attached, durable blade.


KEY WORDS "IS ENCASED"

two seperate parts, the EL blade and the casing. Might not be to bad. Heck, it only will cost $100, so I'm not going in dept. I'm going to enjoy it since I have never had my own lightsaber. Plus, I know better things to do with $275.00 than order parks. Like save for that ultimate SW dvd set in a few years. =P

 

This might or might not matter, but I think people forget that the Anakin F/X saber comes with sound effects too. Which might have something to do with the brightness of the blade.
I got the MR blade not because it is the best EL bladed prop replica out there, but because it is the only one with sound effects.

JMO.

May The Force Be With You!

 

Hey I want a Master Replica Yoda Saber too bad it`s like $400 dollars!!! [face_shocked] I`d like to see what Brain would have it for like $4,000.

 

My wife and daughter ordered this for me for Fathers Day but it came about a week ago. Here are my thoughts...

It is much brighter than that pic taken at the show. Most peoples homes aren't lit like that, and the lighting there seems to overwhelm the lightsaber. I'm pretty pleased with it, and indoors in a reasonably dark room it looks good. It's probably comparable to a flourescent light of a similar size.

As for durability, I believe the instructions say not to strike anything too hard with it. I can't compare it to the other models that were mentioned because I've never seen them. My feeling is that it's really not a toy, and I'm not about to start banging it around. I probably wouldn't have anyhow, but my daughter who is 8 was ready to. I was planning to display it and maybe handle it a bit, but I'd save the fighting for the Hasbro versions.

The hilt is nice and hefty. I don't know what kind of metal it is but its got a nice solid feel to it. Overall I really liked it, and I was looking around for the Vader version as well. If you've got one on order be patient...I know I like mine. I have to disagree with the person who said it was a glorified Hasbro lightsaber. The hilt looks and feeels great, and personally I don't know how they could make the blade any brighter unless they made a real one. As for durability, just as a matter of physics I'm not sure you could make it durable enough to really go at it and still be really bright.

 

Thanks for the review of the Anakin F/X saber.
I have 2 Anakin sabers coming in and I will see how well they work with lightcombat
The Vader F/X saber will be released early next year.

May The Force Be With You!

 

Believe me when I say I can use my parksaber to duel and at full speed with heavy hitting and it takes a beating. The brightness of my blade is not at all effected by how rough I am with my parksaber. Like I said it maybe nice for some but others may not like it. If you find you like your MR Anakins FX believe me when I tell you that you would love a parksaber.

As someone has pointed out the MR FX models do have sound and the others don't. You are correct, but the hilts for the MR sabers are over sized because of the electronics needed for the sound. The others depending on which model you get can be customized to fit the sound electronics into them.

Again this is just some info for those out there who may be interested. If you're a person likes it or dislikes it we're all entitled to our opinions.

Regardless I hope all of you enjoy it when you get it.

 

Yeah, I like the MR version but like I said I can't compare it to the Parks version or anything but the Hasbro version.

MR does have sound effects, and it looks pretty cool when it comes on and snaps off. What exactly are the Park sabers all about? What is the lightsource for example? Are the blades solid or hollow?

Thanks for letting me know when the Vader saber was coming out. I was wondering if I'd missed it.

 

JediDavid, how do you turn on the blade? Is it by pushing the silver button right above the gold one. Is there alot of plastic pieces on the hilt or is everything metal parts ..Thx.

How is the sound?

Also, what about that yellow stick? Does it come off?

 

Here is some info from the parksabers site:

Body: Laser-cut stainless steel outer housing
(Echelon only).

T-6061 Aircraft Grade Aluminum
machined to close tolerances.


Streamline Design

Blade: True 360° EL (electro-luminescent) lamp

¾" o.d. x ½" i.d. polycarbonite blade housing

Electro-Luminescent / Indiglo? Lamp

40" Long blade (36" out of the saber hilt).

Easily detachable.

Strongly secured.

Virtually unbreakable.

Blades come in the following colors*: green, blue, yellow, orange and a reddish pink (listed in order of intensity). *Echelon color is only available in teal.

Battery: One 9V Battery (Provided with Ignition Models)
Switch: Force Touch? activation switch
mounted to circuit board
LED's: Strobing 10 LED bar-graph and blinking arrow indicators
Warranty: 30-day warranty against manufacturer defects.
5-day customer satisfaction warranty
If you want to check out the site just put www. before and .com after parksabers(not sure what the rules are for this board and links to merchandise sites?)

May The Force Be With You!

 

Alright, so I get home yesterday evening and decide enough with the stupid email tag I was playing with MR and I just called them. Now I know someone will spout something about loyalty to the company and other jargon like that, however this is a cliffs notes version of my discussion with Jamie at MR customer service. (which incidentally happens to be in Michigan not CA )

After changing a few things to my profile, I asked her some questions about the product itself. She said that they actually got a chance to play with a couple the night before. I asked about brightness, and she confirmed that it is indeed bright.

"In all honesty, are you serious?" I asked her cynically

"Quite serious, it looks very good" was her reply.

"Well then," I continued "what about durability. I mean are the blades pretty sturdy?"

"Oh yeah, we were wacking the crap out of each other with em, lots of fun" she said.

"Really, more durable than say, the Hasbro toy ones, you know the kind you can get at a Walmart" I asked.

"Absolutely. Like I said we were going at each other pretty hard with them" she said laughing.

I asked various other questions about flight information, which according to her they are planning to go with 2 flights a week starting this Monday, and Flight 1 is scheduled to leave on Monday.

Anyway, it made me feel a bit better. Hope some of this helps.


Sorry KP3, I forgot to ask about the sticker.

-jorj

 

Even more info:

I found yet another board, including the one were those pictures originated, the Replica Props Forum. The guy who took / posted the pics said the blade is very bright, much brighter than the pictures show.

Also that little yellow information sticker comes right off.

 

woohoo, I think I'll be happy. Thx.

 

Hey K3PO, the sticker comes off. No problem. Its sole purpose is to help you reassemble it after the batteries have been put in.
The blade turns on by sliding the black plastic switch below the gold and silver buttons. That answers your other question about metal parts; The black parts are plastic, the chrome parts are metal.

The sounds are authentic but a litle tinny. Of course, the lightsaber sounds in the movie didn't require a sub-woofer either. They're plenty loud enough too. The speaker is a metal grill that is in the very bottom of the hilt, right on the end. When you turn it on it snap/hisses and the light comes on instantly. It hums like in the movie and changes pitch if you swing it or strike something. When you turn it off it sounds just like Lukes did in "Empire" when he shut it off to chase after Vader out of the Carbon freezing chamber. It sort of hisses then snaps fading out very quickly while the blade fades out.