Light Saber

[Sumdumgai]

Here's the differences between the ANH, ESB, and ROTS skywalker sabers.

The top is the elite edition ANH, LE/SE ESB, and LE ROTS.

comparison

There's a crazy auction going on for the Gold Darth Sidious LE lightsaber that someone won from MR a little while ago. Apparently they're selling it off.

gold LE auction

Someone I know on the rebelscum forums asked what the reserve is: $4000 he was told.

Crazy stuff.

[Limbo]

Hey folks… I want to give a Lightsaber to my young brother for xmas but I have no idea of what are the options of brands and models and stuff... basically I don't care for movie accuracy, but I would like the brightest blade one can get, with durability of the blade coming next. Any help would REALLY be appreciated!

[Sumdumgai]

Hey folks… I want to give a Lightsaber to my young brother for xmas but I have no idea of what are the options of brands and models and stuff... basically I don't care for movie accuracy, but I would like the brightest blade one can get, with durability of the blade coming next. Any help would REALLY be appreciated!

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Well, Master Replicas makes the Force FX lightsabers that have a polycarbonate tubing and a system of LED lights that light up and turn off in a way that simulates the activation and retraction of the lightsaber blade.

The lightsabers that are out and available are:

Mace Windu with purple blade

Anakin ROTS

Vader ESB

Luke ROTJ re-edition (with the LED blade system instead of the old system).

edit:past releases:

Anakin AOTC (EL blade)

Luke ROTJ (EL blade)

Vader ANH (LED blade I think)

Luke ESB (LED blade I think)

These FX sabers have motion sensors in the hilts to play back the swinging sound from the movies, they also have clash sounds when you hit the blade hard enough (Anakin has 4, Vader has 1, don't know for the Mace and Luke). The Mace and Luke re-edition are older generation sabers and have 6AA batteries. The newer Anakin and Vader sabers take 3AA.

They go for around $120 +/-$15. It's a good price for something that lights up, looks pretty accurate (except the Mace Windu lightsaber had to be fattened up for electronics, same with the Luke ROTJ), has sound, and you can hit stuff with it.

The blades can break or get damaged, but that's if you mistreat it and hit them too hard. You can't remove the blade though.

Otherwise there is Parksabers, owned by Jeff Parks. I've never done business with him and never plan to because of a little scandal that happened. Someone lent him their antique cameraflash (the one used to make Darth Vader's lightsaber) so that Parks could make copies and sell them. But he kept it longer than agreed, sent it back with missing and replaced parts, and acted like a jerkoff when confronted about it.

Oh yeah, you can expect to wait months to get a lightsaber from him. His look a lot like the Star Wars lightsabers, but he has the details screwed up so that Lucas can't try to sue him again. His are electroluminescent. It's this film that's in this hollow tube that lights up. No power-up and power-down effect.

His blades are famous for being super strong and not breaking. I've heard that people have utterly massacred and destroyed MR FX sabers in play fights, going hard. Some people say that they're unbreakable, but some people do manage to break them.

They cost about $275, with removable blade so you can wear the hilt on your belt. No sound.

There is the custom saber shop that popped up recently. I don't know about their reputation. They have simple looking handles. A handle with electronics and an electroluminescent (EL) blade is about $120. No sound. Don't know if it has an easy to remove blade.

There's a couple other places that do EL lightsabers, but they'll cost a pretty penny as well. There's also other places that sell Parksabers.

MR is the best bang for the buck I'd say. It's affordable compared to most of the other alternatives. You have sound linked to motion sensors. And it's officially licensed. Plus you have that nifty power-up and power down effect.

Edited December 3, 2005 by Sumdumgai

[Chowser]

ok,

ultra saber conversions:

both are Anakin ROTS FX originals.

left one is Luxeon Red, right one is Luxeon Blue.

without flash

with flash

ok, gotta get to work now.

will take some outdoor evening/night shots later when I get a chance.

Edited December 3, 2005 by Chowser

[Hikuro]

Hey folks… I want to give a Lightsaber to my young brother for xmas but I have no idea of what are the options of brands and models and stuff... basically I don't care for movie accuracy, but I would like the brightest blade one can get, with durability of the blade coming next. Any help would REALLY be appreciated!

My opinion, your better off with MR's if your looking for a Christmas gift, you'll find more of the Windu and Vader sabers in stock compared to anakin's or Luke's cause they sell out fast.

If back in July you did Park's you could of made it in time, but I'd only use them if I had like 8-10 months of ahead scheduling.....meaning almost a year before I'd use 'em for something like a convention and needing an outfit.

Not too mention its expensive, 275-400 dollars......

MR is cost affective, and more widely spread.

[Chowser]

ok, power went out, so first thing i did was use the lightsabers for light, took a few pics of them in a darkened room.

here are the luxeon conversions.

my goal now is to take my non-EL Larbel Obi-Wan TPM saber and do a luxeon led blade on it, just gotta figure out how to rip an MR sound board and stuff out of on of my FXs.

[Matt Random]

Here's some guesses based on pictures from the Fall Toy Fair (SSG Pictures)

Luke Skywalker - don't have a clue

Qui-Gon Jinn - TPM saber

Darth Maul - FX Saber

Darth Vader - Helmet or maybe a E3 FX

Obi-Wan Kenobi - E3 FX

Anakin Skywalker - .45 E2 saber

Han Solo - .33 blaster

Boba Fett - no clue, maybe a helmet or .33 blaster

Imperial Stormtrooper - .33 blaster

[Hikuro]

Well the only thing that I could clearly see being FX was Obiwan E3 and Mauls.

However what did surprise me was seeing full costume set of Jedi clothing....but Obiwan and Anakin.

Now, there's a guy at singapore who will do a complete costume for Anakin for 450 dollars, Obiwans for 350.......

how much do you think Master Replica would do it? Seeing that a full authentic Vader costume is a grand.

[Ishimaru]

Well the only thing that I could clearly see being FX was Obiwan E3 and Mauls.

However what did surprise me was seeing full costume set of Jedi clothing....but Obiwan and Anakin.

Now, there's a guy at singapore who will do a complete costume for Anakin for 450 dollars, Obiwans for 350.......

how much do you think Master Replica would do it? Seeing that a full authentic Vader costume is a grand.

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A grand? That costume would kill me to see , did anyone see the auction for the Luke Skywalker Lightsaber signed by George Lucas for a fund raising sold on Ebay last time I checked it went for 2 grand but it was like a few days from closing so I dont know did anyone see it?

[ComicKaze]

FX Blades are still too dim.

I saw a fan custom Blade remade with super-bright LEDs that was just blinding and breathtaking. Why can't FX do something like that?

[Magnus]

You're talking about Hyperdyne right? His blades are absolutely sick. Blindingly powerful. He's also just developed a bluetooth soundboard for the saber hilts too - i'm keeping a close on his progress - when he starts to offer his kits, i'm definitely sending in my just-purchased-as-an-xmas-gift-to-myself Anakin saber.

Speaking of which, for those of you in Canada who want to get an Annie or Vader do the following - get the latest Toys R Us flyer, which lists them both at 129.99. Go to Best Buy or Futureshop with the flyer. They'll price match the sabers, plus knock off an additional ten percent. I did this when the sabers were at full price at TRU for 149.99 and ended up getting the Annie at Best Buy for $134. I might even get a vader during this deal (it would come at around 117 before tax).

Finally, i've seen first hand that the copper button and gold plated switch on the Anakin ROTS saber wears off pretty easily. Is there any way to preven this? Anyone know how to fix it? Can you get the pieces replated somehow? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[mbs357]

Chowser, nice lightsabers.

Nice bag too. ;D

[Sumdumgai]

Here's some guesses based on pictures from the Fall Toy Fair (SSG Pictures)

Luke Skywalker - don't have a clue

Qui-Gon Jinn - TPM saber

Darth Maul - FX Saber

Darth Vader - Helmet or maybe a E3 FX

Obi-Wan Kenobi - E3 FX

Anakin Skywalker - .45 E2 saber

Han Solo - .33 blaster

Boba Fett - no clue, maybe a helmet or .33 blaster

Imperial Stormtrooper - .33 blaster

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Well, because of the MR contest for winning a gold Luke Skywalker ANH LE, there's been speculation that the Luke Skywalker item for 2006 will be a LE. To further back this theory is in the pic of the Obi-wan and Anakin costumes. The Obi-wan costume has a Luke Skywalker ANH lightsaber hanging off the belt, and apparently the activation box is screen-accurate... Meaning that it's on the other side of the lightsaber, instead of the way it was on the Elite Edition.

Yep, Qui-gon Jin LE lightsaber is a certainty.

Darth Vader might be his ROTJ lightsaber as a LE. There was confirmation a while back on the rebelscum forum in the prop section about a Darth Vader ROTJ LE being in the works.

Boba Fett, there was something that brought people to thinking that there would be a Boba Fett blaster made. I think it was from some pics that were taken when MR was announcing some stuff at Comic Con, but my memory is really hazy on that. I only recall seeing a blurry pic of a Y-wing and Boba Fett's blaster.

[Hikuro]

A grand? That costume would kill me to see  , did anyone see the auction for the Luke Skywalker Lightsaber signed by George Lucas for a fund raising sold on Ebay last time I checked it went for 2 grand but it was like a few days from closing so I dont know did anyone see it?

The costume's been out for some time, but I don't really think MR made it, someone else. But its the only fully Authentic Vader suit that exists.

You can find it on like Starwars.com or by using a search engine type master piece Vader suit or something like that.

[Stamen0083]

Hey guys. How long does Saber Vault usually take to ship its stuff? Assume I order one today, think it will get here before Christmas?

PS: Here is in California.

[Hikuro]

Oh god it didn't even take a week for mine to appear.

The guys located in texas and he practically ships the next day.

[Stamen0083]

Sweet. Can't wait for my mini. :-D

[Sumdumgai]

MR 2006 Product Plan:

"The wait is finally over! Below is a sneak preview of what you can expect to see from Master Replicas in 2006! Before we get to the details, we're doing a few things a little differently in response to all of our great customer feedback.

For our 2006 Star Wars product line, we are introducing our exciting new Collector's Edition line of Star Wars products. The Collector's Editions

will be unlimited in production and are constructed with more standard materials. The Collector's Edition will include a custom stand (no cover) and Certificate of Authenticity. Initially, the Collector's Edition will only be available through our retail partners.

Of course we will continue to produce our Limited Edition line of Star Wars products, which will now only be available through www.masterreplicas.com. Edition sizes will be announced within 60 days of the product being placed on sale (no more waiting months to find out)! Plaques will be numbered and will feature the edition size (for example 1/2900). These will be the same Limited Edition value and quality that you are accustomed to: premium materials, display case with cover, numbered, plaque, prop story, Certificate of Authenticity, and most importantly, limited in quantity.

Signature Editions and Studio Scales will continue to be available both through www.masterreplicas.com and our retail partners. Occasionally we may offer our retail partners exclusive Limited Edition items.

Only Star Wars products will be available in Collector's Edition/Limited Edition versions for the time being

Now, for what you've been waiting for (Items on the 2006 product plan are subject to change or cancellation)

Pirates of the Caribbean 2

-Jack Sparrow Sword LE

-Jack Sparrow Flintlock LE

-Jack Sparrow Compass LE

-Davy Jones Key Replica

-Elizabeth Swann Necklace Replica

-Jack Sparrow Ring Replica

-Will Turner Letter Opener

-Jack Sparrow Letter Opener

Muppets

-Kermit the Frog "Photo" Puppet

Disney

-Mickey Mouse Character Statuette

-Donald Duck Character Statuette

-Tinkerbell Character Statuette

-Winnie the Pooh Character Statuette

Marvel

-Marvel Comic Heroes Poker Chip Set

Star Trek

-Assault Phaser LE

-The Original Series Enterprise Studio Scale

-The Original Series Enterprise Studio Scale - Pilot Version

Star Wars

NEW! Collector's Editions (CE):

-Qui-Gon Jinn Ep I Lightsaber CE

-Stormtrooper Ep IV Helmet CE

-Boba Fett Ep VI Blaster CE

-Darth Vader EpVI Lightsaber CE

Limited Editions (LE):

-Luke Skywalker Epiosde IV Lightsaber LE (retail partner exclusive)

-Qui-Gon Jinn Ep I Lightsaber LE

-Stormtrooper Ep IV Helmet LE

-Boba Fett Ep VI Blaster LE

-Boba Fett EpV Helmet LE

-Darth Vader EpVI Lightsaber LE

Signature Editions (SE):

Luke Skywalker Episode IV Lightsaber SE

Studio Scale:

-Rebel Y-Wing Studio Scale

Poker Chips:

-Original Trilogy Star Wars Collectible Poker Chip Set

Scaled Replicas:

-Luke Skywalker Ep IV Lightsaber

-Obi-Wan Kenobi Weathered Ep IV Lightsaber

-Luke Skywalker Ep V Lightsaber

-Darth Vader Ep V Lightsaber

-Anakin Skywalker Ep II Lightsaber

-Stormtrooper Ep IV Blaster

-Han Solo Ep V Blaster

-Boba Fett Ep VI Blaster

Force FX:

-Darth Maul Ep I Lightsaber Force FX

-Obi-Wan Kenobi Ep III Lightsaber Force FX

Stay tuned! Some of these items could go on sale soon REAL soon! (Including our first studio scale model for 2006!)"

I'm excited about the CE line. I'm going to pick up a Qui-gon CE.

[bsu legato]

I think the CE line is good for people (like myself) who have missed out on earlier props and/or couldn't afford them all, but it must really piss off those who did buy the earlier LE versions. Now I'm not sure if I should go ahead and get the Obi ROTS saber or wait and see if they do an ANH version for the CE line.

Oh, and I was just at sabervault.com and there's some really good sales on several items. Spend that Christmas cash before you even get it!

[David Hingtgen]

No Mini Qui-Gon. WTF? It was earlier going to be the 2006 Collector's Society bonus, then they said it'd be something else, and we all presumed it'd be a regular release. Now it's non-existent.

[Matt Random]

Maybe the Qui-gon mini is being put off until next year since there is already a number of minis in 2006. I'll probably pass on one of the Lukes and the Vader since I'm not all that interested in variations from movie to movie. The weathered Obi-wan is a bit frustrating since I spent a fortune on one this year!

[Chowser]

No Mini Qui-Gon.  WTF?  It was earlier going to be the 2006 Collector's Society bonus, then they said it'd be something else, and we all presumed it'd be a regular release.  Now it's non-existent.

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it could still be the 2006 Collector's Society membership bonus.

i hope the CEs are alot less, less than $100 hopefully.

[Hikuro]

Well seeing as I still got alot of time till the Darth Maul or Obiwan FX's come around, I'm not feeling rushed at all.

[Sumdumgai]

The 2006 Product Plan is just for like the first two quarters or so, if memory serves me correctly.

This still leaves the rest of 2006 for the Qui-gon mini. Also the MR representative in the Rebelscum forums said that they've got more things they're planning, but couldn't put it on the list yet because they're still working on stuff and still need to get the okay from Lucas.

[Sumdumgai]

I think the CE line is good for people (like myself) who have missed out on earlier props and/or couldn't afford them all, but it must really piss off those who did buy the earlier LE versions. Now I'm not sure if I should go ahead and get the Obi ROTS saber or wait and see if they do an ANH version for the CE line.

Oh, and I was just at sabervault.com and there's some really good sales on several items. Spend that Christmas cash before you even get it!

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You have no idea how pissed some people are about the CE line. There's a long thread on the rebelscum prop section where some people are whining, complaining, insulting, and acting like regular asshats about the whole thing. They got so bad that they finally hit the nerve of Amy, the really nice MR representative, who finally said that she didn't appreciate a lot of the insulting comments.

Hell, one guy had a pissfit and decided to sell off his whole collection including a set of Darth Maul lightsabers he won on a charity auction. A Darth Maul Battle Damage and a Darth Maul Full-size Signature Edition Artist Proof lightsaber, with a special plaque stating that it was an edition size of 1/1 for the Hurrican Katrina relief charity. It sounds like he's going to scalp for as much as he can right now, then hopes to buy back most of the lightsabers later when he hopes that the LEs, SEs, and EEs will have lost value because of the CEs. I'm going to laugh if that's what he does, but it backfires on him.

There's a lot of angry people because they get the lightsabers as investments and use them to scalp for money. They feel insensed that maybe they won't be able to scalp for as much.

If you care about your lightsaber having high quality materials, the numbered plaque, the acrylic display case (and not just the base), with the paper giving a history of the lightsaber and all that good stuff: Get it now, who knows if the price will raise or drop. If you just want the lightsaber, don't really care that the materials are "standard", and don't care about the limitedness of it, you may want to wait. But there's no guarantee that they will make it as a CE.

I feel sorry that JD won't be able to sell us the new LEs. I do look forward to buying CEs from him on the other hand.

[bsu legato]

That's entirely the thing about Rebelscum. They're not interested in the props themselves (aside from maybe handling it once or twice when they get a new one). They only see them as yet another investment. I saw the same thing when MR released the Luke ROTJ saber in the EE line, and again with the second edition AT-AT. Just one more reason I'm glad I'm not friends with "collectors" like that anymore.

I do think the CE line has a place in the MR lineup, despite their complaints. It's clearly billed as a different line than the LE series, made from cheaper material and without the "collectibility" of the numbered LE. If somebody has little money to spend, or wants a prop for costuming then the CE is obviously where its at. I also like how the CE line will keep certain items around on store shelves for years to come. I personally think it would be awesome if my cousin's 5 year old can, years from now, go down to the mall and pick up a Vader ESB saber. Without the CE line, his only option would be to get an LE off of eBay for god-knows-what price.

Edited December 24, 2005 by bsu legato

[bsu legato]

Oh yeah, I have to say "Boourns" to the Vader ROTJ saber. I realize that there's people out there who like this thing, and have to have all the Vader variants, but I've always thought that thing was ass. Then again, those are the same people who poopooed the ROTS saber (which is in fact a copy of the "Barbican" Vader saber, thought to have been used in ESB and/or ROTJ).

[Matt Random]

What are the differences between the OT Vader sabers? I believe that the differences on Luke's (Daddy hand me down) saber are the number of grips and number of rivets on the loop holder.

I've always wondered about people who buy toys and collectibles as an investment. Stocks are an investment. Property is an investment. Toys and collectibles are a source of fun. If they go up in value that is just an added bonus.

[bsu legato]

What are the differences between the OT Vader sabers? I believe that the differences on Luke's (Daddy hand me down) saber are the number of grips and number of rivets on the loop holder.

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Here's a pic I had on my hard drive showing replicas of all three OT Vader sabers. From top to bottom they are ROTJ, ESB, and ANH. The ESB saber is incorrect but it'll still show the differences between the three. And of course, Parts of Star Wars has all the intricacies noted on their site.

[David Hingtgen]

I lurk at Rebelscum and am pretty much ignoring all the "long" threads---I can pretty much guess what they say.

I'm all for the CE line, they'd be the first 1:1 props I own. I currently have nothing but Mini's---I got nearly every major saber for about the price of 1 LE. But I'd buy a cheap 1:1 Qui-Gon in a heartbeat (my fave saber).

Of course, I collect 1:400 airplanes, so I'm used to small representations. My jet collection would be very small indeed if I only bought 1:1.

[Sumdumgai]

I lurk at Rebelscum and am pretty much ignoring all the "long" threads---I can pretty much guess what they say. 

I'm all for the CE line, they'd be the first 1:1 props I own.  I currently have nothing but Mini's---I got nearly every major saber for about the price of 1 LE.   But I'd buy a cheap 1:1 Qui-Gon in a heartbeat (my fave saber).

Of course, I collect 1:400 airplanes, so I'm used to small representations.  My jet collection would be very small indeed if I only bought 1:1.

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If the Qui-gon CE looks even remotely similar in quality to the prop I saw at the Paris Star Wars Expo at the Museum of Science and Industry, it's going to be totally awesome. They had one of the lightsaber props on display with Qui-gon's costume. I'll try to post a few pics later.

It was a bit scraped up and had some chips in the black portions of the saber, but man that thing was awesome to see in person. They had a Darth Maul saber on display with his costume. It was one of the sabers that was smooth on the main body, with red paint marks instead of the red buttons.

There was also a Jango Fett costume on display, with his blasters in the holsters. Got to see the Anakin ROTS costume, Princess Leia slave bikini, and Han frozen in carbonite.

I really hope MR releases a Count Dooku ROTS CE. And I hope the pricing is cheaper than a FX saber.

edit: Oh yeah, and my wife surprised me with an Obi-wan ROTS LE. That thing is so awesome! Some people were saying that the "grenade" was plastic, but it's not. I can assure you that it's either metal, or some awesome plastic that is cold to the touch and feels like metal. This is what I consider to be the real As First Built By Obi-wan Kenobi lightsaber. I'd be burned as a heretic in some places, but I like the ROTS Obi-wan saber better than the ANH one.

Edited December 26, 2005 by Sumdumgai

[bsu legato]

The ROTS Obi saber is indeed awesome. Post pics of it when you can. The only reason I'd rather have gotten the ANH version was because I liked the job MR did on weathering that version. Maybe not as nice as a one-off, hand crafted replica, but for a mass produced piece it was very well done.

[Stamen0083]

Got a mini ANH Vader's for Christmas. I LOVE that thing. I will definitely buy more.

Now, about these new CE's or whatever. Any news yet on whether they will be cheap enough to own? I want an ANH Vader (my personal, absolute favorite), an ANH Luke (a very, very close second), and a ROTS Obi-Wan (a close third), plus Yoda and others, probably, but I don't want to spend more than, say, $50 each.

Personally, I wish more people would make antique flash replicas. Parks is much too expensive.

[David Hingtgen]

Yup, Mini Vader saber rocks. Keep it covered, the grips attract dust at a visible rate and are very hard to clean---the dust just STICKS to it. I just bought some more 1/43 model car display cases--they're the perfect size, and come in two-packs for $6. However, they won't fit all of the sabers--they're like 2mm too small for Vader and Anakin, and too short for Dooku's.

[Sumdumgai]

Got a mini ANH Vader's for Christmas. I LOVE that thing. I will definitely buy more.

Now, about these new CE's or whatever. Any news yet on whether they will be cheap enough to own? I want an ANH Vader (my personal, absolute favorite), an ANH Luke (a very, very close second), and a ROTS Obi-Wan (a close third), plus Yoda and others, probably, but I don't want to spend more than, say, $50 each.

Personally, I wish more people would make antique flash replicas. Parks is much too expensive.

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This is what Amy the MR representative said about the pricing of the CEs:

"The quality of the CEs will be higher than the quality of the FXs and will probably cost a little more. We don't have an exact price set yet for the CEs. Once we do will we let you all know. "

My wife and I got lucky at the Star Wars Expo, we went to the museum store and asked one of the employees if we could search through their stock for a gold mini. The guy was like: "Oh, those are factory defects." And we stood there staring at him for a bit, then he started to fidget and get uncomfortable, then said he'd get someone who knows about them to help us. So his supervisor came over and we asked him if we could look and he said yes, but he didn't think there were any left, because his more knowledgable employees went bat-poop insane looking for the golds already.

But we got lucky and found the gold Darth Vader ANH mini they missed.

I'm going to post some pics in a little bit, of the MR Obi-wan ROTS LE, and of the Qui-gon prop we saw at the expo.