Apprentice LE V5 & Dark Sentinel LE V5

[scifidude79]

APPRENTICE LE V5 & DARK SENTINEL LE V5

So, it's time for another Ultrasabers review. I took advantage of the recent 25% flash sale on the Dark Sentinel LE V5. I ordered an empty with a vented pommel and a Covertec wheel. And, since I was ordering a Sentinel, it made sense to got ahead and get an empty Apprentice LE V5 also. This saved me quite a bit of money by combining the shipping. I ordered the Apprentice with a non vented pommel because I was just going to build it as a stunt. However, inspiration hit me while I was ordering electronics, so I wound up ordering two boards and speakers, and I bought Luxeon Tri Rebel stars in GGW and BBW. Some friends helped me decide which color I was going to put in which hilt.

My first impressions of both hilts were very strong. Both are gorgeous, pure eye candy. I really like the new grips and pommels a lot. I found that the new pommel is only about 1/8 an inch longer than the V4 pommel, so there's not a lot of significant length added to the saber. I have a couple Sentinel V4s and they're almost the same length. In fact, I really like the V5 pommel on my V4. (more on that in the video) The new windows look fantastic, but the edges on the cuts in the hilt are on the sharp side. (also explained further in the video) Overall, I'd say both sabers are an 8 out of 10. The Sentinel V4, meanwhile, is a 10 out of 10. The couple areas they could improve upon are mainly the forward grip and window areas.

So, pros on both hilts:

*Beautiful, pure eye candy
*Negligible length difference on the V4
*Appears to be slightly lighter than a similarly installed V4
*New grips and pommels look fantastic
*New windows look fantastic

Cons of both hilts:

*Window cuts in the hilt are sharp edged
*Long windows are too long for standard length blade plug (see video)

APPRENTICE LE V5

I really like the feel of the Apprentice. It makes a nice little spinner with a 24" heavy grade blade in it. You could two hand it if you wanted to, but it's more of a one handed saber, especially since some of your hand real estate is taken up by the large window area.

DARK SENTEINEL LE V5

The Sentinel has a great feel to it, it's a nice two hander, but can be used one handed also. I put a 32-inch midgrade blade in it and it spins nicely. The Covertec it came with was black, I swapped it for a silver one. I like to do that with my black and silver LE hilts.

And, last but not least, the video:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK7Ihmyqt-0" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK7Ihmyqt-0</a>

[Therion Jinn]

Nice comparison there

[Malik Thanewulf]

Thanks for the review. I enjoy getting a closer look at the new saber designs and hearing about the pros and cons. Makes my decision to add to the collection easier.

[scifidude79]

Thanks guys.

Yeah, I like to inform people of things like sharp bits, as I know a lot of people like to do combat and/or spinning with their sabers. Of course, wearing gloves would make the sharp bits a nonissue.

[scifidude79]

A quick video demo of the fonts I put on the sabers:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AfNrMxeswA" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AfNrMxeswA</a>

All fonts were purchased last night for these sabers, though I'll likely use them on others too.

[Daniel1988]

Thanks for the videos, pics and advice. Love how your's turned out! Great job on the pros and cons as well as the final products! Great job all around!

[scifidude79]

Thanks for the videos, pics and advice. Love how your's turned out! Great job on the pros and cons as well as the final products! Great job all around!

Thanks a lot.

[Infinit01]

Great review there, SFD.  As always, I like the attention to detail that you go with each saber.  Thank you for pointing out the hard edges of the windows since I'm a spinner, that helps me keep cons like that in mind when I do order mine.  I like the green and blue AV switches that you installed to tell the blade color between the two.  Really neat idea.   

Nice selection of sound fonts that you have as well. I like the second and the third sound fonts, I like the deeper sounding blades

+1

[scifidude79]

Thanks Infinit. You're one of the people I thought of with the spinning thing. But, it should take minimal sanding to get it less rough.

[Infinit01]

Thanks Infinit. You're one of the people I thought of with the spinning thing. But, it should take minimal sanding to get it less rough.

I appreciate that, SFD.  That put a smile on my face, I'll make sure to do just that once I order mine.  Will more than likely be an empty unless I order an un-assembled stunt.  Either way, it'll be easy to take care of since nothing will be installed.

[Greywolf]

Nice review!

*pondering*
If I look at the preview pic of the video, the Sentinel 'feels' a bit like a 'beefed up' Liberator…
Hmm, I wonder how it'd look if you abandon the upper choke, move the switch a bit more to the emitter and enlarge the center choke…
*tries to kick imagination into high gear*

[hazard502]

Excellent reviews, and I'm glad you put sound into the V5 Apprentice. That's my preferred hilt design in this style range and it's fun having something so whippy with the effects to go with it.

[Edon Bluewolf]

Man I love that AV switch you put on that Dark Sentinel!    Going to have to watch the video tonight when I get home as my work filter is not letting it go through at the moment.

[Zren Tobas]

Nice. My old Sentinel V4 with the windows has the smoother edges so. I might get me a V5 at some point though just not sure which one Kinda waiting for a Prophecy variant to be honest, I like the slanted emitters

[scifidude79]

Thanks a lot, guys. They were fun sabers to build.

@Zren, I hear you on the slanted emitters, I like them too.