TOPIC: Hero Tier RGBA Prodigal Son

So I can finally put my review up of my PS! This has been a long time coming. Since February 2nd I have been waiting to hold these sabers and they just came in today. Luke Skywalker's ROTJ lightsaber has been my favorite lightsaber ever since I saw Episode VI for the very first time. I will never forget picking up that lightsaber for the first time in '94/'95 when Kenner made the toy version. Very funny when you look back at those now but I cherished that fancy flashlight and it served it's purpose. Then came a long MR and their line of LE sabers. Getting my first one in 2002, the LE and then the Elite version a couple years later, I didn't think it could get any better than that. MR came close with their Fx line of sabers as it was the first time I could hold a metal hilt with a green lit blade and hit something (although very lightly). My saber fever died down for a few years after ROTS and I had seen a few fx sabers at NYCC for a few years and wondered how they were all hitting blades and not shattering them. Then once TFA came out, my interest peaked again and I started looking into fx sabers. Eventually I found myself on SF's website ordering the PS. I couldn't decide on which color to get, although green was my top choice, not having QC was a shame. Seeing this saber with a red, purple, blue or even yellow blade would be amazing. So when I saw the RGBA option, I took it. There are many reviews of this saber in the forum but I don't believe any are a Hero version.

The Hilt: 4/5
This hilt feels great! I was worried when I received my Avenger because it felt a little light but when I picked up my PS, it feels a little heavier, the perfect weight in my opinion. The control box is smooth, the clamp card is ribbed which I thought it was smooth but it works how they have it. I am SO relieved that my grenade section has the "normal" look to it and not the slightly longer black end piece. My only request when I ordered was to have a green second AV switch and they gave that to me so thank you SF! All the pieces seemed locked in place, no rattling of the LED or speaker. And the clamp card is staying in place with no mods. It has only moved so far when I push it and it feels (but I cannot confirm this yet because I don't want to take it off) like there is something that touches/grazes the activation button under the card which may stop it from sliding, perhaps a recent fix on SF's part. The only knocks I have are the greeblie needs to be in the right position at the top of the control box not the bottom to be more canon, SF should consider moving the LED inside the emitter somehow to give maximum brightness, move the second AV switch under the card for Hero tiers (there is room) and please, please get the arrow LEDs to light up. When I first purchased these, I emailed customs asking about the light up arrows and Justin got back to me stating he was working on a new control box that would have that and that it would be out later this year. Not sure if that will happen now but if it ever does, I would consider sending it in to have that added on to make it closer to canon.

The LEDs: 4/5
I have gone through all the colors that come stock with this board and they look great! The RGBA was a nice option to have on this saber since I cannot switch out LEDs and I was very nervous when I originally chose it. At times in the beginning I thought about switching it back to a solo green champion but I'm glad I stuck with my first choice. I do recommend to anyone thinking about going RGBA but may be on the fence, DO IT! I can still have my green and every other color too! Again my only knock is the location of the LED. Hopefully when they fine tune the PS they can find a way to put it in the emitter.

Sound: 5/5
I thought the Sabercore 2.0 was a nice increase from my MR fx sabers. The SC 2 is even better in my opinion. The sounds are more crisp, not as raspy and the motion detection is a major plus. I am eagerly waiting to try playing with the SD card. I've watched so many videos on how to change sound fonts, I'm looking forward to making this saber really my own. I may make some modifications so I have to hold the button down in order to change colors, it randomly happened while just swinging it a few times (not a terrible thing by any means). The volume feels just right, not overly loud which I feel can muffle the sound. Very happy with the board.

Customer Service: 4/5
Some of the positives for this experience were that after multiple emails (of which had good response times 1-2 days max) in the beginning asking about the color of the AV switch for my Hero tier, I was told it would be honored and it was. Melissa reassured me there would be no problem adding that on and they kept their word. Melissa and Isha did a good job of getting back to me in a reasonable time frame during our email transactions. The wait in the beginning wasn't that bad actually. It wasn't until we hit the 12th week where things got a little messy. After not hearing anything after the 12th week, I emailed and they responded back with some news about parts shortages for thin-necks and SC 2 boards. Then after another couple weeks I emailed again and was told my order should be hitting the queue soon. Once it did hit, I figured it wouldn't be much longer however I was wrong. There was a design change down the pipe for the CR sabers and mine was going to be a part of the first batch to receive it. Great news overall but it was not communicated well. Most of the info that discussed about parts shortages and changes in designs were found out by other forum members who posted it on this site (thanks for that by the way. Some of the best info was found out right here by you guys in this community. Nice looking out for one another.) The deadline kept getting pushed back and back by SF because the new designs kept hitting delays but I didn't know that unless I emailed them. I want to stress that when I did reach out to SFCS, they tried their best to give me an answer (whether scripted or not) but I feel I shouldn't have had to and they could have made communication better either through this forum or their FB or Twitter accounts. That's all. I'm very happy with the sabers so far, missing my stand and GC but I've emailed CS about that already. Hopefully I hear back soon.

I'll post an abbreviated CRPS review as well with pics. Here are some below.

A few more pics:



Comparison pics of the Hero Elite PS and the CR PS

Hero is on the Left and CRPS is on the Right. The CR is slightly taller



Side by side showing the CR in the reveal position



Looking down the emitters of both. The CRPS LED is lower in the new CR design. I'll post pics of the CRPS in my review but the brightness has taken a slight hit in my opinion. Both were right out of the box, not fully charged so I cannot give a definitive look until tomorrow.

Thank you Andi-Jae EL with sharing the glory of your Prodigal Sons. Congratulations with delivery and I'm glad that at least one of us (that's been paddling this CR canoe) has disembarked and can experience a change in scenery. I'd like to one day see activation and auxiliary function achieved via the actual black buttons. Happy Days!

Wooowwww! Congratulations on your brand new CR PS, Andi-Jae El! I hope you feel all those long wait finally paid off! It surely looks awesome in pictures

Andi-Jae EL wrote: Speaking of the new design for the CR, would you mind to share with us what do you think about it? Are you confident that the new design has been strengthened enough to be duel worthy like what SF mentioned in their video below?




Thanks in advance and congratulations once again!

OvrcAHst wrote:
I hope you get movement on that tracking number soon! I'm sorry I had to jump out of that canoe but I hope you join me soon. I agree about the black greeblies. In the cut scene from ROTJ, it does seem like Luke hits that to activate the lightsaber rather than the switch card. I guess the ultimate would be house the recharge port in the control box and place the activation and aux in the black greeblies. And of course, light up the red/green arrows.

Renaissance1459 wrote:
Thanks Renaissance1459! Here is my Crystal Reveal PS review. Like I say in my review, I have nothing to compare it to. When it's in the closed position, it feels just as sturdy as my Elite tier. The crystal itself seems sturdy in its housing and it doesn't bend too much when in the reveal position. There is the slightest of sags when laying it on the table but nothing as bad as past renditions. You would really have to try breaking it a part or duel with it in the open position to do some damage to it. Then again, if you really wanted to break anything, if you try hard enough you could. My threading needs a little Loctite at the emitter and my blade wobbles a little in the CR (but not the Elite Hero) but other than that, it's good.

Very happy you are so pleased with your hilts after such a long wait. And if you think you'll have fun with changing out the soundfonts on the board, wait until you get to mixing custom blade colors using the config editor! Great backstory leading up to your PS purchases as well.
Andi-Jae EL wrote:
I can't remember where, but somewhere on the forum somebody posted how they moved that greeblie (it's held on with glue). Though SF doesn't do completely accurate replicas (partially due to artistic license and partially to prevent Disney/Lucasfilm from showing up at their doorstep), so I don't see them changing this in the future.

I agree having all the switches and recharge port under the card would make a nice addition and clean up the overall look. I'm not sure what order they'd put them in though. Having the switches at opposite ends is best for making sure you trigger the one you want, but having the recharge port at one end makes it so the card doesn't have to be moved as much to access it.

On the idea of having the LED in the thin neck emitter instead of the body, the KR sabers ROTS Obi Wan hilt is made for that using a really small threaded heatsink module, but this requires the use of a thin walled blade since it has to slide over the LED to be deep enough to not be wobbly. And thin walled blades don't really hold up for dueling, which is what SF is all about. Plus I'm not sure it would work with SF's quad LEDs, since the optics they require are much taller than ones used with tri-LEDs (which is what I've seen used with those hilts) and would probably end up sticking out too far.

Shameem did an install of one along with a SF Redeemer for a customer recently:

So it seems you either put the LED under the thin neck and lose some brightness but gain the ability to use a dual worthy blade, put it in the emitter and gain brightness but have to use a thinner blade, or drastically change the size of the emitter to accommodate both the LED and a thick walled blade and screw up the proportions of the hilt. Though if a way to get the best of everything (duel worthy, bright, and correctly proportioned) was discovered, it would probably be considered one of the greatest days in custom lightsaber history.

So glad for you Andi-Jae EL that you finally got your Prodigal Son(s)! And wow two of them! They look fantastic! That crystal reveal is really nice! Congrats & Enjoy!

Hey Guys,
Here is my unboxing video for anyone that's interested.

Andi-Jae EL wrote: Hey Mate, I'm interested and am unlikely the only one however I believe your YouTube Link is set to Private and doesn't play?

I'm thrilled for you, Andi. I feel like I've lived this wait out with you and it has finally paid off. Those are a beautiful set of sabers. I'm glad you had a great experience with customer service as well! Thank you for sharing the differences. That really helps in the buying decision process.

I completely agree with your comments on the SC2 and RGBA options. I love the color change option and adding fonts is SO addictive. The first time I heard the Skywalker ROTJ font, I got chills (Credit LordBlako). To me, these options make the saber dynamic so that you can pick your color and font depending on your mood. And finding new fonts is also a lot of fun.

Congrats! Glad they are safely in your hands and Saberforge treated you well!

OvrcAHst wrote:
I think I fixed it.

Andi-Jae EL wrote:
Thanks for the info, Andi-Jae EL! I'm sorry for having confused your review on CR PS with the one on Hero Tier RGBA...

Congrats on your two brand new PS then! Hopefully you will be able to sort out your issue with the wobbling emitter very soon...

Renaissance1459 wrote:
No worries Ren. I didn't think you confused them.

That is one SWEET saber my friend! I always wanted a CR saber, but until now, I knew it would be relegated to a shelf queen, and my collection is not large enough yet to justify a saber that I cannot duel with. Now, with these improvements to the crystal chamber design, it is no longer a concern!

Andi-Jae EL wrote:
Thank you Andi-Jae EL. It's interesting that the Hero appears brighter than the CR Champion however you may be correct with the observation that the LED Module sits further down from the Emitter of the two. Unsure if you have one or are keen to experiment, using a Photon Blade with the Hero Blue or a Green Day Blade with the Hero Green to determine whether the differences in boost are significant. The same could equally be applied to the Champion Green with a Green Day Blade. Fun times ahead for you.

I have ordered a Hero Redeemer and was wondering how do you access he sound card? Thank you and awesome saber

Unscrew the pommel and flip the speaker out of the way, unless they adopted the ASP Electronics since I got mine, then you would slide the whole thing out to access it.

Jedibowls wrote:
Exactly what Vechaljian said. And be careful with the speaker.