Today started off pretty crap for me. Woke up and found that a mosquito went to town with my face so not only do I not recognise myself in the mirror, one of my eyelids is so swollen I have zero depth perception atm T_T but luckily the UPS guy came along in the morning and cheered me up with my Consular which I ordered last Wednesday. Specs are VA with UE midgrade blade and red AV switch with silver FoC and sound and a covertec clip.
Skipping the packaging since most of you should know what the box looks like and how secure it is although this time the foam peanuts were missing but had more bubble wrap.
The hilt is a pretty low-key but elegant design and the design is very different to my Archon v2
The finish on the black anodizing is remarkably clean and super smooth to the touch so no jaggy edges threatening to slice your fingers off
Close up of the shroud for those who what to know how thick it is. While the hilt is fairly comfortable to grip at first it felt a bit off against my skin as I was use to the Archon's flatness but after a few minutes it felt pretty natual to hold although the covertec wheel gets in the way sometimes.
I was relieved to find that the AV switch was centered properly this time but the bezel around it was loose but that can be easily fixed.
While I love the old school awesomeness of my Archon's emitter, the Consular's gives it a certain flare which is impossible to hate.
The vented pommel is a pretty standard end piece which compliments Consular's sleek design but I might swap it out for my Archon pommel later to see how that looks.
My first time using a covertec clip and it took me a few seconds to realise I had to press on both sides of the clip before the wheel can slide into place but once it's in its very secure while you can spin the clip in circles without it falling off. Also the wheel is anodized metal and not plastic unlike my initial assumptions based solely on pictures but the clip itself is completely plastic.
Next to my Archon the Consular is longer hilt wise and the blade was about 1-2inch longer than my standard midgrade. The blade doesn't sit as deep as the Archon's so that also contributes to the extra length for what should be 2 identical blades.
Too sexy for words XD
I'm following the same format as my other review for a better comparison
i'm actually glad I didn't get the nickle shroud since I like my stuff to be consistent and the standard shroud fits in well with the AV switch and emitter flange
Close up of the business end. Looking back I wish I had ordered this 1 day later since I didn't find out about US carrying saber plugs until the next day. I'm also glad to announce that the MLS unit comes out very easily with this hilt unlike my Archon which is too stubborn to spit it out no matter how much I prod it. The neck seperates just above the top lip of the shroud but the seam was so well designed it was hard to tell where it came apart.
Up against Iron Man this time for comparison which is 1/6 scale
Now onto the really good stuff XD
This was taken in broad daylight with fully charged batteries and omg is the purple beautiful! When I first came to US I was immediately set on getting a SY and VA saber and it was only the question of which to get first. The middle of the blade is a good approximation of what the real colour looks like.
In complete darkness. The ultraedge blade really does wonders with this colour. I actually have to keep it a fair distance away from my face so I don't give myself a headache from the intensity. While I love the silver colour of the standard midgrade blade in off mode it doesn't really bring out the full potential of both the SY and VA which is why I went for an UE this time.
Standard midgrade SY next to EU VA. You can see the difference in luminosity and the light is brought out to the edges of the blade.
Had to do a comparison for my SY and in person the EU is more of a true yellow than the orange with the standard.
VA with the standard midgrade. IMHO it works better with the VA than the SY but you can still see the outline of the tube clearly. For display with the LED off I would have to say the standard looks better but with it on you can't beat UE. I also forgot to mention that the silver FoC compliments VA really really well.
I am extremely pleased with the quality of the service and products from US so many thanks to you guys. I would have ordered a CG MLS as well but that added on an extra $5 to the shipping and I was already pretty broke by then but that also leaves me with another excuse to get something later XD.
Since I taken up naming my first saber I thought it was only appropriate I do so with this one so everyone say hello to Crosis, The Purger.