Display lightsabers?

[edd_jedi]

I am toying with the idea of getting a lightsaber for the wall in my office, I would like either Luke's OG blue one, or his green Jedi one. I've been looking around and there seem to be loads of options, from as little as £22:

Star Wars Luke Skywalker Lightsaber Force FX Dueling Rechargeable Metal | eBay UK

Experience the ultimate Lightsaber designed for heavy dueling, cosplay, collecting, and LED show performances. Heavy-Duty Dueling Blade. Perfect for real dueling, spinning, shows, and training. Heavy Dueling & Training.

www.ebay.co.uk

To something much more high end like this:

KR X OR ECO Hero ROTJ DIY Empty Hilt Kit

***PLEASE READ IN FULL BEFORE ORDERING*** Here we have the latest and much anticipated DIY empty hilt from KR Sabers and One Replicas. The ECO-Hero ROTJ! We have taken our 2016 Hero and made some wee changes that we think all of the lightsaber community will love. What is ECO? ECO is an...

thesaberarmory.com

Anyone got any advice? I obviously want it to be made of metal and look decent, but it doesn't necessarily have to be 100% screen accurate.

 

[lejackal]

Just the hilt, or with a light up blade?

 

[edd_jedi]

Yes with a light up blade

 

[lejackal]

My two pence worth would be look out for an early 2000s Master Replicas - should be £100-150 ish, or the new official FX Sabers are decent. I got the Yoda one for my lad and it’s survived an 8yo, plus looks good on the stand

 

[db94]

My two pence worth would be look out for an early 2000s Master Replicas - should be £100-150 ish, or the new official FX Sabers are decent. I got the Yoda one for my lad and it’s survived an 8yo, plus looks good on the stand

100% this
The Hasbro Black Series FX sabers are a great option. I’ve got the original Master Replicas Luke ANH version and it displays well and more importantly hits the spot when you hold it in your hand and fire it up - guarantee you’ll smile

 

[db94]

I’d be tempted to wait - Hasbro will definitely have it on the shelves with 50th anniversary packaging soon enough

 

[db94]

I’m a self confessed saber whore so loving this thread.
I’ll need to check but I think the BS Luke saber may have a fixed blade. The Galaxy’s Edge version that you get at Disney Parks has a removable one which really gives you the best of both worlds

 

[edd_jedi]

I learned about KR Sabers on this video, well worth a watch:



I would be prepared to spend ~£200 on one that looks screen accurate, I'm confused by the website though, it doesn't explain what you are buying and the different options very well

 

[Ruby2511]

I have the Darth Vader master replica with stand, such an awesome bit of kit

 

[Michael Sith]

Yep I’m another MS fan, and they can be picked up for a reasonable price now, they are accurate, weighty and functionality is great, what’s more they display really nicely

 

[edd_jedi]

So I had a good look at used Master Replica sabers on eBay, and one thing that put me off is that most of the listings stated that the blades had gone yellow, common with 20+ year old white plastic as we all know from vintage toys! Also while the sculpts are good, I found more modern sabers that look much closer to the originals, and with better technology including an app to change colours, sound etc.

I found one for about £85 from AliExpress so obviously not officially licensed, but the reviews are really good. I went for the "XRGB" version which emits the light from the handle rather than having lights inside the blade, although the latter look more accurate they are apparently much heavier and also more fragile. Here's a photo of the one I've ordered:



As you can see here it is incredibly accurate compared to the original prop:



I'll report back in a couple of weeks when it arrives! Here's the link in case anyone wants to have a look: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007375260775.html

 

[edd_jedi]

Update, it's arrived! But before I get on to the Ali Express sabre, shortly after buying that curiosity got the better of me and I ordered a couple of the cheap ones I found on eBay previously to compare. These are more like 3/4 size, but they have real metal hilts, and for under £22 each they seemed too good to be true. I was well impressed when they arrived:



Not movie accurate by any means, but they feel nice in hand and have some simple sounds and effects, for the price they are fairly ridiculous! My boys will enjoy playing with them and they are a better size for them anyway.

Now on to the Ali Express one - this was four times the price at £85, and straight away it's larger and more movie accurate:



Here's a size and detail comparison with the cheaper Luke Jedi one:



It has a 92cm blade which I believe is screen accurate, and this thing looks great lit up, again here's a comparison against the cheaper one:



I need to spend a few days playing with it as it has an app to change colours and sounds etc, but I'm very happy with it so far, and I don't regret buying the cheaper ones as it was good to compare and they are still cool for the price.

 

[Mini99]

The more expensive one looks great.
Not something I’ve looked into before, as you say a bit of a rabbit hole to go down.
What are you going to do with them, wall mounted or on a shelf?

 

[edd_jedi]

Yes indeed, I don't need to spend hundreds or thousands of pounds on one made from genuine original parts like the KR ones, but for under £100 this seems like a sensible price point for one that looks good enough and is a bit of fun. I am intending to mount it on the wall in my office somewhere, so I need to have a think about where and how, will report back on that too

 

[vader45]

I will say you can get way more accurate hilts with better electronics then what Disney and Hasbro offers for around the same price.

LGT and TXQ sabers from China are that option. They are sold by hundreds of resellers out there for a markup but they also sell direct on ali-express for cheaper. You will get a far superior product then anything that is licensed.

LGT offers Xenopixel and Proffie soundboards.
TXQ offers SNv4pro and Proffie Soundboards.

There are higher end like Korbanth, KR Sabers and Saber Bay but they are like $6-800 a saber.

CCSabers is a decent reseller of LGT, TXQ and 89 sabers if you don't want to use ali-express.

 

[vader45]

This is the TXQ Saber's Luke V2. It was designed by Anakin Starkiller who is a big name in the saber community. It comes clean. All of the weathering was done by me.

$210 shipped off ali-express with SNv4pro soundboard and Neopixel set up.

A Disney Legacy bundle is $250 and a Hasbro saber is $280 retail.