Greetings, programs!
After my first Golden Gate Knights class (thank you, Novastar, can't wait for next Monday) I was eagerly anticipating the arrival of my two Arbiters so that I could look forward to sparring without worry of breaking my Force FX sabers. I received an e-mail this morning saying that my package had shipped and was due to arrive today! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
*ahem*
SO, as I sauntered happily out to mail a package at my local post office, what should my wandering eyes perceive but the brown boxy promise of the UPS truck! What serendipity! I think I'll ask the man what time he'll be on my block today to deliver my goodies! I ask and he says; "Sometime in the evening. Do you want them now?"
Needless to say, I whistled all the way to the Post Office and all the way home, giddy with excitement!
What technological marvels lay inside? LET'S FIND OUT!!
The Arbiter is quite a long hilt at 14", and as such was almost too long for the standard shipping box!
Each saber is individually wrapped up snugly to preserve its beautiful shine!
Emory made darn sure that the colored discs and blade retention allen wrench weren't goin' anywhere!
I used the flash for the following few pics to bring out the wonderful shine on these hilts.
I'd specifically chosen the Arbiter because of its lack of color and overall details. IMHO, even though a lightsaber is a fantasy item, it is still a weapon. Weapons are tools, and tools are machined. The Arbiter really captures that functional, low-key aesthetic for me, and I'm really pleased with its appearance. The lighter weight makes it much easier to manipulate, and the balance is right where it needs to be; at the choke point behind the emitter.
I'm particularly jazzed with the longer hilt because that makes it much easier for me to do hand-to-hand transfers, especially without a large power switch box in the way! The sounds are good, although since the speaker is not directly at the bottom of the pommel, they do get muffled a little bit. Getting the clash sensor to activate on both models takes a quite stronger impact than I'm used to with Force FX models, but I believe that is due to the blade not being directly attached to the rest of the circuitry. Neither of these things is an issue for me. I'm at the very beginning of my education in custom saber construction, and my experience will only grow as I become more familiar with my two favorite new toys!
I chose Blazing Orange with a Sith board and SunRider's Destiny with a Jedi board. I wanted non-canon colors, and I wanted two different sound boards for the character I have in mind. It will likely be a LONG while before I have a costume ready to go, but that will give me the time necessary to do two very important things: get my skills up to par with continued attendance of Golden Gate Knights classes, and keep up my WiiFit exercises so I can continue losing weight. It's great to have a hobby that makes the geek and adult in me happy and healthy!
I opted for the UltraEdge Heavy Blade because I wanted maximum durability. I'll be practicing with these babies on my own time as well as at GGK, so I wanted to be sure they could take a beating! It's interesting to note the difference in intensity between the two LED's. I'll be waiting eagerly for nightfall so that I can experiment with the colored discs and take a few more pictures (and maybe even some potentially embarrassing video)!
MTFBWY!
Dave S.