TOPIC: Hero Tier RGBA+ MONARCH Weathered!

A very well done review, I'm impressed! That sabers looks great and you covered everything about it in great detail, I'm glad you are enjoying the hilt. At 5'6 myself I have found that a 32" blade is much better, gives the saber a better balance point as well IMO. It's good to know that the hilt is comfortable to hold. Looking forward to seeing reviews of your Exhalted and Juggernaut when they come in as well.

I'm also a huge Transformers collector as well. Currently working on Masterpiece and 3rd party MP scale figures (Fans Toys Dinobots especially)

HotRod, Decided on: Medium Blue/Red/Purple
RGBA+ was my original thought pattern and as I procrastinated on it further, concluded that the ability for every colour for me wasn't necessary as I'd most likely just favour the few. So I went from stock 9 (+ everything in between) to a simplified 3. Have got RGB on two other Hilt's and sure enough, rarely venture beyond the favoured few. My selection process derived from Hilt appearance and Finish that influenced the most effective Blade colour.

Prowl wrote:
Thanks, Prowl! I'll definitely put more reviews up as I get these sabers in. I am definitely going 32" blades going forward.

I also realized I never said anything about not needing the allen wrench for the blade retention screw. Another great feature of the Monarch.

Completely agree with you on Masterpiece and 3rd party. MP-28 was a let down for me, which is a real bummer, ha! I've also been messing around with DX9 Hulkie right now and can't put it down...but I digress.


OvrcAHst wrote:
Those were the same two colors I considered for the 6/6/12. I agree that they look best on this saber. I will also admit that cycling through 9 colors is less convenient than cycling through 3 when those 3 are the three you prefer the most. Sounds like you made a great decision. For me, whether someone goes 6/6/12 or RGBA, having that crystal exposed with different colors shining through it is awesome. I think if I had gone with a single color (Champion) Monarch, I would miss seeing the crystal change colors with the blade.

HotRod wrote:
I also have issues with MP 28 and skipped getting him, his shoulder section by his head looks off (the gaps between that and his chest are horrible) to me and his chest piece is too flat. My favorite Hot Rod is the Classics figure from 2006 or 2007, it looks good in both modes. The G1 Hotrod and Rodimus have great vehicle modes but bad robot modes IMO. A friend of mine really likes the DX9 Carry. My favorite Prowl is easily the Masterpiece version. I'm also looking at Maketoys Iron Will (Hardhead) and the Fanstoys Insecticons (I have their Bombshell already and he is awesome.)

I do like in your pics seeing the crystal change colors with the blade, I thought that really added to the hilt.

Thanks! I really appreciate that. All things agreed on MP-28. MP-17B (Prowl mould in Blue and Silver is in my top 3 favorite figures along with MP-17). I honestly think sabers, and now soon saber building will become my new hobby. I really love this Monarch. I am guessing it's only going to get better with each one I buy. I love that different sabers suit different people. I'd love to know if anyone here has ever picked up a saber and later wished they had gone with a different saber instead.

I own MP 17B as well ()Dioclone colors!) and think it is an awesome figure, love the blue on it.

I have many sabers from US and find that their Prophecy hilts suit me best.

I missed this thread until now.

Congratulations! Welcome to the Monarch club! The one and only saber by SF in its Crystal Chamber category!

Yours is most exquisite!

HotRod wrote:
I just wanted to give an update here. First, I was wrong when I indicated that you cannot set the default color per font. You can in fact do this on the SD Card. It's really awesome! I apologize for the inaccuracy here. Just another point in this saber's favor.

Saberforge reversed my switches for me and turned the saber around in just under 2 weeks. I'm very impressed with the communication and speed. Jacob was really awesome and very communicative! I had a great experience there as well. Just wanted to pass along that correction and update!

HotRod, Nice update and pleasant (relatively pain-free) turnaround time. I will however conclude that you'd be classed as US Domestic though right only cause I remain apprehensive about a 2 week turnaround if it were International (like me). I recalled reading snippets of information when you wrote you had to send the Hilt back and was puzzled what occurred that prompted you to do so. Now I know.

With your switches reversed, is that as simple as Primary Activation below the Auxiliary Switch above rather the opposite as they'd normally be? I read a few Posts back about the Colour profiles in a different order however imagine that to be quite different. Regardless now since you have been reunited, but doesn't the Config Editor have a function that enables you to swap the buttons without physically swapping them?

OvrcAHst wrote:
Yeah, I really had my heart set on a blue on / off and red aux. They reversed the request. Your question is a good one. So I have a red on / off (toward the top of the hilt) and a blue aux button (toward the bottom of the hilt). I liked the order of the buttons but the colors are reversed. I definitely could have gone into the config and swapped them...but that would mean my on / off would be at the bottom and my aux would be at the top. I guess I was being slightly OCD there. But they fixed it relatively quickly and were super friendly about it.

What pushed me over the edge to send it back in was that in the color editor, when I adjusted the red setting, it changed blue. When I changed the blue setting, it changed red. I sent it back since both that setting and the LEDs were reversed. They later informed me that I could change this in the config editor and only fixed the switches. However, going to Options -> Color Settings in the editor does NOT change this (it resets each time I reopen the font). So I cheated and found the WAV sound file on the SD Card where he says "RED" (called red.wav) and renamed the file to blue.wav. I did the same for the sound file where he says "BLUE" (renamed to red.wav). This seems like a hack but fixed my issue. Turns out, they did wire C1, C2, C3, and C4 on the board as R, G, B, A but the board seems to be expecting B, G, R, A unless there is a setting somewhere I missed.

Hey Hotrod, first off, I would like to say that's one of the best, most thorough reviews I've seen on anything. Second, thanks to you, I'm seriously considering the monarch as my next saber.


And last but not least, it's great to know SF sabers are well worth the wait. I currently am waiting on an exalted and a disciple, which I have a feeling will be just the start.

HotRod wrote:
Really glad you are happy with my board overall. I just wanted to let you know that you can set the starting color set per font using the config editor. With the SD card out, you can find cSets under the colors tab, and set that to whatever color you want for that font. That way if you set an orange you really like and want font 2 to start with that color, you can easily switch this value. Unfortunately it does have to be done on the card itself; I'll consider that type of feature in the future.

naigon wrote:
Hi Naigon! I did not know you posted here. I apologize for the inaccuracy, but if you look several posts down, I did discover that and set it up. It's not obvious though and I'll see if I can update the first review. I'm very pleased with the board and it works wonderfully in this hilt! I think the only thing I could not get to work is holding the Aux Key while twisting to get the the color to change instead of just twisting. I checked box for "Require Aux Button When Twisting" in the master tab, which I believe sets the scTwist=1, but it still allows to me to color change without the Aux key. It's not really a problem as this rarely happens accidentally for me, but it's worth mentioning.

Thanks for the advise as well!

To all, to get the color change to work only when holding the Aux key and then twisting, please make sure and download the latest files from Naigon's site to your SD Card, then it should work. Please see the thread here: HERE

Thank you, Naigon! Simply Awesome!

Great review. I came very close to getting a monark hero rgba. I went another way do to price of first saber. Might be a little jealous now.

In the SF FAQ it says:

So the Monarch is ok for dueling, anybody has tested it?

Maybe I can get one Monarch, but I'll be happier if can duel with it.

Blade on Blade, Yes. Blade on Chamber, No. Depending on how you grip it (I personally grip high with Chamber tucked under wrapped fingers or against closed palm) use your hand as the shield.

OvrcAHst wrote:
Thanks OvrcAHst, in the pictures seems that the cristal is deep enough to avoid getting hit by the blade, but the tip may go inside, right?

Idea: make an add-on of transparent pvc (or sometthing) that can be used when dueling... And can be attached to the body.

How deep the Crystal is relative. Because of the cutaway, if you were to draw a straight line down (to bridge the gap) inline with the Emitter's underside OD (where the LED Thumb-retention screw is) to meet the centre choke: from that edge in towards the Crystal=1.2cm (0.47"). The Crystal does have four support rods around it also. There are also 2 part sectional aesthetic pins that point inwards from either side of the Crystal Housing. The gap between them=2cm (0.75"). I wouldn't say it's impossible. This is a possibility if you're planning on a Stock Build otherwise it's definitely achievable when Customs accepts Commissions again. One Owner did the very same here however the accompanying picture reveals very little and you can only really gauge from the description. On top side either side of the faux box there are two series of 3 button head screws that secure the front shroud to the inner body. I guess it is possible to make (either PVC/Aluminium or other) an additional shroud-plate that wraps around the open chamber and use the same button head screws for securing. You would need to change them out for something longer though.

Well then. Any and every question I had seems to have been answered. Thanks for the detailed review!