Alrighty, this is my first review so be warned! lol
Last Friday I put in my order for the Collector's Edition Prophecy, in Fire Orange, with the recently re-stocked Heavy Grade Ultra-Edge blade. Thank you to paypal for transfering my money so slowly that the blade was in stock again when I made my order! XD It arrived on Tuesday, as scheduled, and I must say that pulling it out of the box I was VERY impressed. The Nickle Plating really gives it a wonderful finish that balances the styles of the Prequels and the Original Trilogy Sabers very well. I didn't order it with batteries, but as I suspected after reading several other reviews, it came with some anyways.
Kudos to Ultra and his staff for watching the little things.
The Orange color really looks spectacular. I was hoping it would have a tad more yellow to it, to make it a little lighter and brighter, but it's a very good solid color. I find it to be an excellent balance between hot and cool for any Jedi who wants to be a little edgy or roguish with their style. The Ultra-Edge blade really lives up to it's reputation! the color comes right out to the very edge of the tube, and I was pleased to find that in addition to lighting the tube more evenly, it lit the tip better as well!
On to the important part of the review: the hilt itself! I will say that not seeing the length and dimensions listed in the product description made me leary, but it turned out my worries were for nothing. The hilt IS pretty short but it does not adversly affect grip or the ability to weild the saber two handed. It measures about 10 and a half inches in length, roughly an inch and a half of which is in the emitter. The activator is well placed for a variety of choices in how you hold your saber, and the covertec knob lines up under your palm when fighting two handed. This is good and bad, IMO, because it means it's not under your fingers... but at the same time the thing bites into your hand a little in a fight.
Also, the balance is a little forward of the hilt, at least when using an Ultra-Edge Heavy Grade Blade. I don't have a mid-grade, so I can't tell you if that would help this any. Of course, this means that the thing has some good swing behind it and really excels in a spin. It's really just enough balance into the blade for it to make you really feel like Luke flicking his father's saber on for the first time. Getting to know the balance and feel of the weapon that's made of light.
On a final note, I had been worried about one other thing. I'd heard alot of guys say they had to wedge a packing peanut into the hilt to keep the battery pack from rattling around when they got their saber out of the box. I had no such problem!
My battery pack came with this nifty little wrap around it that appears to be velcro. It hold the thing right snugly in place. Now, for the part you've been waiting for... the photos!!! (sorry, none with the blade on... took these at the office... XD )
