I'm going to use this thread to review my new Bellicose, as well as try to answer where Sunrider's Destiny falls on the blue/green spectrum.
My Saber:I got an Emerald Bellicose with Obsidian v4 sound and a UEHG blade (my preferred blade). The Bellicose is one of the more customizable sabers within the price range of the US family, which is one of the things that drew me to it. That, and it is modeled after the TFU2 promo artwork sabers, and I love those games and the Starkiller character. I also greatly prefer the v4 sound over the v3. It's only $10 more, and you get so, so much more. To me, it's a no-brainer.
From pommel to emitter, I got a short groove pommel, black covertec wheel (more on the wheel in a bit), a silver, non-illuminated AV switch, gold accessory button, and a black blade holder. All of these were personal preferences, and I am very happy with my choices. That being said, I don't think other choices would be bad choices, so if you're thinking of ordering this saber, make it yours, because it's easy to do.
I added the Luke ROTJ font to this saber, because I wanted it to sound different than my Manticore, which uses the default Obsidian sound font, and I really like the ROTJ font.
Showing the options.
Showing the space between the emitter shroud and the blade.
The Blade Holder:The blade holder is one thing that seems to trip up a lot of buyers. First, the emitter is two pieces - the emitter opening and the blade holder. The blade holder is a sleeve that slides out of the emitter, and the blade slides into the blade holder. There are two set screws that hold the blade in the holder, and there is another set screw on the back of the shroud that holds the blade holder into the emitter. Here are two things people should know. First, there are two different sized set screws, and the blade should NOT be flush with the bottom of the blade holder.
The set screws that hold the blade into the holder are the standard set screw size that US uses, which require a 5/64 hex wrench. The one on the back of the shroud that holds the blade holder in place uses a 3/32 hex wrench. If you buy this hilt, you need to have both.
The blades are what hold the LED modules in place, and to do that, my blade sticks out about 1/8 an inch past the bottom of the holder, which seems to be the usual length from what I've read on the forum. I really took my time with this to make sure it won't take long and I get it right every time. I ended up marking the blade with a sharpie marker where the blade holder is supposed to be. From now on, as long as I'm using that blade, it will go a lot quicker.
The Covertec Wheel:I would be lying if I said that I was happy with the covertec wheel. When I ordered the saber, I requested the wheel to be put on the rear of the saber. As you can see, it's on the left. For me, the left is the worst location of the three it could be in, because of how it digs into my palm when I grip with two hands. Before I ordered the saber, I asked people on the forum about the location of the wheel, and a few of them mentioned that they made a specific request for the location, and that request was honored. I also saw several reviews like these:
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=27479.0 http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=29782.0, and you can clearly see the wheel on the right. The right side would have been acceptable to me. When I contacted US, I was told that the hilts come to them predrilled, so they cannot change the location.
I know asking the forum is not definitive, but based on what I saw and read, I hoped I could get what I had asked for. I understand if they cannot change the location, but there was nothing about that in the hilt description on the website, nor was I notified that my request wouldn't work. I realize things may have changed, but those reviews I linked above are from this year. I'm left trying to figure out what to do with the wheel, because I know there are options. I'm currently trying to see if I can figure out an acceptable grip that works before I try something more permanent.
My Overall Impression:This hilt is amazing. When I first picked it up, I was shocked at how well balanced the hilt is. The length of the hilt plus the electronics in them make the balance point at the end of the shroud. After only a few minutes, I thought that this could become my preferred dueling hilt, if it wasn't for the covertec wheel. It is very comfortable, the balance is spot on, the ridges provide a great grip, as does the accessory button. My thumb seems to just hook on it, giving me a great hold of the saber. I am still enjoying this hilt as I'm trying to figure out the wheel. I would recommend this hilt to others, but they should be aware of the things I mentioned above about the blade holder and the covertec wheel. I still hold out hope for this hilt rising to take its place as on of, if not my absolute, favorites.
Sunrider's Destiny:I have seen a lot of pictures of this color here on the forum, and some seem to be more on the green side of teal, while others seem to be on the more blue side (to the naked eye). This causes a lot of confusion as to what people should expect. Because of that, I wanted to see what a tech from US would set it to in order to resolve the issue for me.
For reference, I always use these numbers as a reference to set my colors:
http://www.saberforum.com/index.php?topic=23756.msg380146#msg380146. That setting is pretty heavy on the blue, which is what I am used to seeing. When I first turned on the saber, I thought it looked really green. Here is the a side by side comparison. The one on the left is how it came, and the one on the right is how I set mine, using the values in the above link.
Left: R0 G100 B10 (more green)
Right: R0 G100 B48 (more blue)
Here is a close up of how SRD is shown on the US website.
To me, the one on the right is a nearly spot on match, which is definitely more on the blue side. I originally thought the settings of how it was sent to me made it look more like emerald green, and after checking the settings I use, I was right. Those settings are R0 G100 B7.
Based on all of that, to me, SRD is definitely on the blue side of teal.
