Customer Reviews

Star Wars "Become A Jedi" Lightsaber Construction Kit

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Opened and assembled the Lightsaber FX Construction Kit and here are my impressions.

First thing I noticed was that all of the pieces to build the hilt are plastic (save 2). Given the quality of the other lightsaber fxs made by Master Replicas (I own 4 and love them all), I was expecting metal. A downside of these plastic handle pieces is that when fully assembled, the plastic parts squeek when you swing the lightsaber and they rub together, like a cheap toy.

Second and most significant disappointment is the light. The blade doesn't light up like the other Master Replica lightsabers. It is bright at its base (comparable to other FX lightsabers) but then grows darker as the light travels up the blade. There are a string of LEDs I believe in the previous Lightsaber FXs but not in this one. But when you put it side by side with the other lightsabers, it just looks different.

Third, the sound effects are the same sample loop but quieter when compared to the previous lightsaber FXs.

Forth, the blade is about 6 inches shorter than the other Lightsaber FXs but I think this is advertised on the box so not a surprise.

And fifth, this set does not include a stand. Not sure why not...

And when it is all finally assembled, it feels like a cheap immitation of the previous lightsaber FXs produced by MR. Given that MR no longer owns the license to make lightsabers, I am guessing this version of the FX lightsaber was a way to produce the cheapest possible set for the same amount of money with little or no reprocussions.

Overall, I am very disappointed and think that anyone who is expecting comparable quality to the other FX lightsabers will be as well.

I bought this at Radio Shack for $40. It was the last one in the store, and since it had a couple of dings and the red button switch was missing (still had the other two switches), the guy gave me a deal.

This is the first saber I've owned. I recently went to a lightsaber training class put on by my local Star Wars costuming group. A martial arts expert taught us some basic moves and helped us coordinate a short duel. I noticed that my saber wasn't as bright as others, and am aware that this is because the light comes from an LED (or a cluster of them) in the hilt, rather than a string of them up the blade. While this looks cooler and more realistic, my sword has one advantage in that I don't need to worry about one of the lights in the string breaking or burning out due to combat. It would be nice if the blade were a little longer (it's actually about as long as the blade on the short Yoda saber, which is weird to think about...but because of the hilt, it makes the overall product longer), but I was able to hold my own against the other Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader blades out there.

It is a little annoying that the plastic creaks as much as it does, but I figure with something like this, where you have multiple components that you can switch around, it's a given that it won't be as solid as a non-customizable saber.

Overall, I'm well chuffed with it. It's not perfect, but for the money you really can't beat it.

Just opened and assembled the Lightsaber FX Construction Kit and here are my impressions.

First thing I noticed was that all of the pieces to build the hilt are plastic. Given the quality of the other lightsaber fxs made by Master Replicas (I own 4 and love them all), I was expecting metal. A downside of this is that when fully assembled, the plastic parts squeek when you swing the lightsaber and they rub together, like a cheap toy.

Second and most significant disappointment is the light. The blade doesn't light up like the other Master Replica lightsabers. It is bright at its base (comparable to other FX lightsabers) but then grows darker as the light travels up the blade. There are a string of LEDs I believe in the preious Lightsaber FXs but not in this one. But when you put it side by side with the other lightsabers, it just looks different.

Third, the sound effects are the same sample loop but quieter when compared to the previous lightsaber FXs.

Forth, the blade is about 6 inches shorter than the other Lightsaber FXs but I think this is advertised on the box so not a surprise.

And fifth, this set does not include a stand. Not sure why not...

And when it is all finally assembled, it feels like a cheap immitation of the previous lightsaber FXs produced by MR. Given that MR no longer owns the license to make lightsabers, I am guessing this version of the FX lightsaber was a way to produce the cheapest possible set for the same amount of money with little or no reprocussions.

Overall, I am very disappointed and think that anyone who is expecting comparable quality to the other FX lightsabers will be as well.

I have to disagree with the other reviews of this product. While not "movie quality," one has to remember that the official movie props are just metal hilts with colored wooden dowels as a blade. The "lightsaber" effect is put in during post-production! So to say that this lightsaber is not movie quality is a bit like comparing airbrushed cover models to real women. It's simply special effect.

This lightsaber construction kit is definitely a thrill, especially since I got mine at Radio Shack for 25 dollars! The power on/power off sound effect is especially realistic, and the hilt (which features metal emmitters as well as metal pummels) feels heavy and "real" in your hand. I love the interchangeable parts, allowing the user to truly customize the lightsaber, like a "real" Jedi would as part of his/her training. The light within the blade is very strong, and mine goes all the way to the end. All three colors are vibrant and incredible, although I'm currently practicing with green. The display in the store didn't light all the way to the end and the sound was weak, so perhaps a battery problem is to be blamed for any negative reviews.

In all, compared to what I've always had (a generic white toy store version with telescoping blade), I feel like a real Jedi! I would suggest this kit to any fan who wants a truly realistic Star Wars experience, not to mention an incredible amount of fun!

In one word, awesome. I'd bought the Ultimate Lightsaber kit which is the equivalent of the $20 electronic lightsabers but being customizable, so as soon as I found this, a Force FX Lightsaber that you could customize, I had to get it. Worked awesome, with one switch the color of the blade and the sound effect can be changed, and the sound quality is really good. All the parts that come with it are made of a metallic alloy, probably not high grade or anything, but very durable and realistic. Granted even with the templates that it comes with, you wont be able to make a photo realistic copy of any Lightsaber from the movies, but thats not the point, the point is to make your own. It uses 3 AAA batteries and takes a while to eat through em, even with continuous use. The blade lights up all the way and looks great, even in well light rooms. All in all, an awesome addition to any Lightsaber collection, just keep in mind it's not built for dueling or anything like that, just to look really cool.

My 10.5 yo son bought this toy with his own money. Despite it being made of plastic, it is quite durable. While I wouldn't recommend that two kids duel each other with this toy, it has taken its share of hard whacks without a scratch. Best features are the color changing blade and sound effects. When you go into a dark room and light up the blade, it looks awesome. He says it was well worth the money.

very cool saber. i like the difrent combos you can do in the disighn and the changing blade color is cool too. came in the estimated time and in good condition.

I got mine from Radioshack for $[...] so I can't complain.

Agreed- it is not the same quality as the previous MR FX sabers.The head and tail pieces of the hilt are solid metal pieces. The center pieces are plastic and they do indeed creek. The main core of the hilt is metal.

When the lights are out it illuminates very respectably- certainly better than any of the Hasbro sabers.

Given MR has lost its license, a couple of things are likely to happen

1. a new manufacturer will produce another lightsaber, presumably of better quality and at a much inflated price.

2. Hasbro will be the only ones to produce them- therefore continuing to produce the crappy ones they do now.

So I think given those possible scenarios and given how affordable these sabers are, you'd be nuts not to grab one for your collection...

First, this review is dated April 4, 2009.

Second, I need to thank Douglas Equils and the other reviewers for their reviews. I found them very helpful.

I just got my saber and I am very happy with it. I thought about getting one of the replicas, but I finally decided that I wanted one that I could build the way I wanted and not just a replica of one in the movies. If I wanted a more exact replica I would have gotten one of the other ones.

I live on the east coast and my saber took 4 days to get it from California. It was shipped the same day I ordered it. Outstanding service. On receipt I found that the saber was well packaged and protected. All parts were wrapped in plastic and encased in styrofoam. There were no damaged parts.

The overall length of the saber is about 39 inches long and the blade is about 26 inches long. As noted in other reviews the blade is about 6 inches shorter than the other MR Force FX sabers.

The saber is built around an aluminum core. The core contains the electronics and blade in a permanent assembly. The base end of the tube is threaded for the end cap. The front end has a lip which stops the forward movement of the emitter cap. This is the end to which the blade is attached. The hilt pieces are plastic and the emitter and base caps are machined aluminum. These pieces slide over the aluminum core. The plastic is of thick high quality plastic, however there are some mold lines. If you are into do it yourself it might be possible to duplicate them in metal. The silvered plastic pieces look like brushed gray satin aluminum and match the gray anodized aluminum emitter perfectly. Except for the round emitter and the end caps do not expect shinny metal.

At first I found that the plastic sleeves did creak. However, if you put a little 3 in 1 oil on the threads of the aluminum core you can snug the base cap down quite nicely and the creaking stops. In addition the oil will prevent stripping the threads and reduce the possibility of cross threading the end caps. But don't put on too much oil. One drop will do. If there is creaking or looseness you can use one or two rubber 1-1/2 X 1-3/8 X 1/16 O-rings which you can find at any hardware store. These will tighten the hilt nicely and they also look good.

The lighting system as other reviews note is different from the other Force FX sabres. The blade is lit from the base. It is not bad, but not as bright as the others. On the other hand you can select the blade color--red,green or blue. I guess this is the trade off. If money were no object it would have been nice to have three removable blades with the standard Force FX lighting system. As it is it is bright enough for me and I like the ability to change colors.

So should you get this? Well that's up to you. If you want a saber that you can customize it's great. If you want something that's closer to a movie replica then get one of the others. If I could only have one saber, this is the one I would get. With its limitations I have at least three different sabers and I like that.

I bough this for my boyfriend since he's Star Wars fanatic. He also owns the Darth Maul lightsaber. This one is not as high quality as the Darth Maul one but I think that one might be a collector's item. I'm not sure. It's nice because the lightsaber color settings can be changed but the light isn't that bright. It comes with lots of easily interchangeable pieces so it was fun to put together.