Alright, I'll start off by saying I've had this saber for two days now and I haven't been able to write a review because.......
I haven't been able to put the frickin' thing down for even a minute!
I've been swinging it around non-stop and it's just awesome!
So, I got the short pommel version with a bronze button, black blade holder, li-ion battery setup, quick disconnect,
and the obsidian soundboard with the illuminated AV switch.
Now, this saber's a big one. Measures 13.5" from the pommel to the top of the emitter.
Regardless, I still find it to work and be enjoyable, even if not 100% practical, as a one-hand hilt.
The pommel is MHS compatible, and I picked the short groove version. It provides the hilt with awesome resonance for the sounds.
Especially the idle humming sounds PERFECT. The Obsidian board has very accurate swing/clash sensors right out of the box, but I think I'm gonna up the swing sensitivity a bit.
The sound quality is better than I could imagine, and the sounds are awesome. I especially like the power-on sound, which is
just the way I want it!
Aesthetically, it's a great-looking saber. The slanted shroud-like emitter gives a very 'Star Wars'-y feel and upon holding the saber for the first time,
I couldn't help thinking of Luke holding his father's Graflex-hilt saber for the first time while Ben Kenobi went on about this 'elegant weapon from a more civilized age'.
The blank aluminum combined with the black grooves and all-black ribbed grip section makes for a saber that would look good in the hands of both Jedi and Sith alike.
Here's the Bellicose with Consular Green LED next to my other ultrasabers; a Dark Prophecy with Blazing Red and a Shock LE with Guardian Blue.
And here's a close-up of the illuminated switch and the accessory button.
I picked the black blade holder, because I felt it looked better that way. Kind of like a continuation of the pattern the black grooves provided.
I also went with the illuminated AV switch, because I feel the standard switches get in the way.
The fact that it looks really great is just a nice bonus.
In order to pick the accessory button I wanted, I photoshopped the photos from the US website to get an idea of how the different buttons would look.
My first thought was that it had to be one of the shiny, metallic ones. But chrome blended too well with the aluminum. Gold kind of stood out, but not enough to give
any reasonable contrast against the rest of the hilt. Bronze, on the other hand, was just what I wanted. It stands out, but still looks like it fits right in.
When I got to the battery option, I decided to get the Li-Ion setup with included charger.
Since I live in Sweden and don't have the wall outlets to use the supplied power cord, I picked up a C7(figure 8.) connector power cord I have with the same stated current
and voltage ratings as the one provided with the charger. Since the label on the charger says it takes up to 240V, I figured my 230V wall outlets would be safe to use.
Now, I don't know if this is because of my power cord or if there's even anything wrong, but while using the charger it gives off a very loud whistling sound.
I'm gonna look for a converter/adapter to use the supplied power cord and choke the voltage down to 110V, and hopefully get rid of the whistling.
The charger seems to do its job though. It took around 2.5hrs to fully charge the batteries.
I bought the saber with Quick Disconnect and a Consular Green MLS unit installed, and with Blazing Red and Violet Amethyst ones on the side(with two more on the way).
I got the two MLS units with the two-pin inlet, and I also got the corresponding connector hooked up to two 10" cables (I'm guessing this is for DIYers).
When swapping LEDs I found that the wires in the hilt with the connector were a little bit short.
But it's still enough to let you swap the MLS units without putting too much strain on the wires, so no biggie.
When using the saber I found that, because of the length of the hilt, my 36" midgrade UltraEdge blade felt a little short. I usually want the visible length of the blade to be around
three times the length of the hilt (like with my Shock LE sabers). Other than that, it handles beautifully. With the UE blade the balance point is right where the blade holder is which makes it
comfortable for me to one-hand wield with the accessory button between my index and middle finger, placing the pinky in perfect position to use the switch.
Finally, before showing you guys some more pics and a video of this saber, I give it:
Design: 10/10
Craftsmanship: 10/10
Handling and Comfortability: 9/10, feels good in hand and worn on belt using Covertec clip. Lost a point because of the blade length issue. (Not a problem with the hilt itself).
Obsidian board: 10/10
LEDs: 10/10
MLS units and Quick Disconnect: 8/10, the quick disconnect feature is awesome. The two lost points are because of the issue noted at the very bottom of this post. Other people may or may not experience the same problem. Solved by putting electrical tape on the wires, keeping them together and preventing them from getting stuck.
All in all: 9.5/10.
I strongly recommend this saber for anyone
Unless you only like tiny little sabers, that is
Here are some photos of it!
Alright, I made kind of a video review. Now, I'm from Sweden and english isn't my native language..
I'm literally trying every second not to get my tongue tied up in a knot.. So be nice!
Here it is
One thing I don't mention in the video when changing the MLS units, is that in the hilt there's like a sharp edge. Kind of like a joint, which is possibly there to keep the MLS unit in place and stop it from going further down into the hilt. Anyhow, the heat-shrink on the cables of my Violet Amethyst MLS unit (there's 3 cables on it instead of just 2) get stuck there every time I try to get it in there. I have to wiggle it around and push harder than I want to to get it down there. I wanted to show the VA instead of the BR in the vid, but now there's a tiny hole in the heat-shrink and I don't wanna risk a short. Does anyone know how to cover it? Could I just use some electrical tape?