Notice: I am writing this as I open/charge the saber, will update after I get experience using it.
Let my start by reading what I ordered:
Venomous Fury Champion
12w Purple LED
Standard finish
Dual tone blade plug
37in blade
Crimson soundfont
Covertech belt clip
LED quick connects
I finally got my toblerone, and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised at the condition!
As you can see, the only damage to the box is a crease about 7 inches from one side, and 3 inches in length. After hearing about packages that may have been driven through hell, this is surprising to me.
The AV switch's ring of color seems very magenta (HTML code #FF00FF) to me, and although I'm a fan of pink, I hope this doesn't accurately represent my saber color.
My saber is currently charging, so I'll comment on its appearance.
Appearance: 9/10
Let me start by getting the very, very few negative comments out of the way.
At a glance, the saber's finish seems immaculate, but upon further inspection, I'm able to see a small scratch in the shroud.
It's about 0.375 in long and less than a hair's diameter deep. Not glaring by any means, unless it hits the right light.
The AV switch has a golden sheen to it, which is kind of bothersome. However, considering how it will be covered most of the time, it's not bad. In fact, the difference in sheen kind of draws the eye when the saber is off. Almost as if the saber was saying "press this button, I dare you." When the switch is on, however, it's impossible to notice this difference
On to the positive!!!!!
The dual-tone blade plug is gorgeous!
I can't get over how amazing this is, no matter how many times I look at it. The black detailing makes me go crazy and helps this saber seem real.
The hilt feels complete.
I can't really describe this one. The saber just looks combat ready and, barring the AV switch, everything fits together very well. The black interior of the shroud, complemented by the emitter and blade plug, sends shivers down my spine.
Honestly, my pictures can't do this lightsaber any justice. Although it first seemed simplistic, my VF now looks to me like militarized art.
Quality: 10/10
Alright, I try my hardest to never give perfect scores for anything, but I just couldn't avoid it for this masterpiece. Weighing in at 1.2 pounds, this saber feels solid both with and without the blade installed.
Another point I want to mention: people I've read reviews about the blade being too heavy or unbalanced, but my 37 in blade is actually pretty comfortable. I'm 5'9" and probably the skinniest guy you'll ever meet, so that's probably saying something. This isn't to say I could swing my saber around for hours on end, of course, but I was expecting much worse.
I've taken a break and played with my lightsaber for a bit, so on to...
Sound: 8/10
Let me start by saying the sound itself is alright. I like the dark side font a lot, and it feels powerful. Personally I'll never use the lightning sound, but it's still very difficult to understand. To the point when I have to tell myself it's lightning. I don't know, maybe it's just personal preference, but I feel like a blaster deflect is at least a recognizable sound.
My other major gripe with the sound is its boot setup. The "Sabercore: crimson" is just so cheesy, I can't take it seriously. Again, just personal opinion, (that's all this review is anyway, am I right?) but I'll try my hardest to avoid pulling the kill key in front of people.
Color: 9/10
The 12W purple is unevenly purple. The color itself doesn't really show up on cameras that well (with light compensation and all that) so I'll try describing it with HTML codes. Near the base, the light is extremely bright and kind of colored like #A500FE. However, the blue dye dies out near the tip, when it's more of a #FE00D7 color. Supposedly this color fading is fixed by the 12W+ LEDs.
Brightness/Light Distribution: 9.5/10
This saber is really bright. Because I don't have a light meter, I simply put layers of printer paper on top of the blade, near the base(see picture) in a dark room. The light continued to shine through with few problems for 10 layers of paper. It took 13 layers for me to stop seeing any saber light.
Like I said before, there's quite a lot of base flare, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. My main problem is that the tip of the blade, though looking lit up in the pictures, is clear-looking, even when lit. Again, this is supposedly fixed by the 12W+ LEDs. One other thing, is the blade plug had line-of-sight holes to the LED module, so I just added a paper circle to it, in order to make the light diffuse and help prevent blindness.
Note: This is my first (professional quality) saber ever, so I didn't really know what to talk about. I may seem a little hypercritical, but that's because I don't know what's average for these sabers. Maybe I got a fantastic deal, or maybe I'm out of luck and my saber was below-average quality.
That being said, here's my final verdict:
Overall/TLDR: 8.5/10
Honestly, I could be happier with the color and sound of the saber, but the hilt itself is phenomenal. At first I didn't really like it, but it has definitely grown on me in these past hours. Except for the only two issues I could find, the hilt is perfect. I just wish I dropped the extra money for a 12W+ module.
Now, more pictures!