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Reviews |
Darth Vader - The Empire Strikes Back
Limited Edition Lightsaber
Released : 2003
Edition Size : 2,500 (LE), 500 (SE)
Display Case : Optional
Retail Price : $349.00 (LE), $499.99 (SE)
Part Number : : SW-117 (SW-117S for Signature Edition)
Although only three short years had passed since Darth Vader used his iconic
lightsaber to defeat Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope, by the time we see the
fallen Jedi in The Empire Strikes Back he has a slightly modified saber. He
will use this saber at the climax of the film to duel with Luke in the cloud
city on Bespin, and ultimately remove Lukes hand.
Whether this is an entirely new saber, or whether Vader decided to make some
modifications to his old saber over the years is up for the debate in
continuity fandom. However either way it means that a separate offering from
Master Replicas was required to reflect the changes in this prop. In no
order of importance these differences are:
- The lengthening of the grips such that they run all the way to the clamp (control box)
- The addition of brown and white wires on both sides of the saber
- The addition of a red wire on one side of the saber
- The side plates of the clamp are no longer chromed, but are instead black
- The clamp lever is no longer there and is replaced by a 'bar' through clamp held on with a pin through it
- The clamp is placed at the 6 O'clock position
Included in the old style packaging (brown cardboard boxes) are the saber
itself, a presentation and storage box, Certificate of Authenticity
including the back story of the prop, and a plaque showing the saber number
and edition size. Optionally there was also an 'old style' Master Replicas
Display case and acrylic plaque holder as shown in the picture below.
Note that the case shown in this picture is actually the old style case for
the ESB Luke LE. Whilst this case is almost identical to that produced for
the Darth Vader, it is subtly different.
Master Replicas did a fine job of replicating this weapon. Despite having to
make quite large runs of these sabers, the quality of their LEs are
generally very high, and this is no exception. Released in 2003 when Master
Replicas produced no less than seven LEs (a number of which had SE variants)
it had some stiff competition. This was the year we saw the Obi-Wan ANH
weathered and As First Built By, as well as the Mace Windu AOTC saber.
Whilst it is considerably plainer than many of the other sabers produced
that year (and since), it is an iconic design and just has Darth Vader
written all over it.
Of particular note on the design front is the emitter which, like the ANH
Vader saber, is a simple nut, surrounded by a flat spring like rim of metal
wires that forms one of my personal favourite lightsaber emitters. Note that
for those that examine their props closely the spring in the emitter will
not meet perfectly, this can be seen in the picture below (at about the 5
O'clock position) and is perfectly normal.
As mentioned previously the clamp has undergone a number of changes since
the ANH version, and overall it looks slightly less flashy than it's
predecessor. The black side plates from the clamp, and the removal of the
lever mean that the clamp no longer shows up as well; and the extra grip on
the ESB over the Master Replicas ANH saber (which has only six grips) mean
that there is less chrome visible on the ESB version. This leads to a
slightly darker looking lightsaber overall, which to some will make it more
menacing, and to others make it appear less interesting according to
personal taste.
Weighing in at approximately 1lb 7 1/4oz this saber is not as heavy as some
of the other LEs, however it's weighty enough and still has that LE 'feel'
that differentiates Master Replicas LEs from other lightsaber replicas.
Like several other MR items this saber was available in two offerings:
Limited Edition with a run of 2500, and Signature Edition with a run of 500.
The only differences between the two are the signature on the plaque by
James Earl Jones, the voice of Darth Vader as if you didn't know, and a
slightly taller acrylic display case. The case was taller to accommodate a
higher positioning of the saber within the case, and allow the taller signed
plaque to be positioned in the case without obscuring the saber. Since the
display cases were optional with the older LEs it is possible to get this
saber without a display case at all.
In 2005 Master Replicas released a Darth Vader ESB FX. Since this FX used
the newest FX technology requiring only three batteries the saber hilt was
able to be closer to an LE than ever before. However there are differences,
both in size, and overall material and build quality. For example the shroud
made of coated plastic on the FX rather than the metal used on the LE. In
general from a distance the hilts look very similar requiring a trained eye
to spot the difference, however up close the quality of the LE shines
through and it is vastly superior. Of course the FX does not have the
wonderful emitter either!
In summary this is an iconic lightsaber replica from what is arguably the
best Star Wars film. Prop collectors could do far worse than select this as
their only Vader LE, or add it to an evolution collection of Vaders sabers.
However I feel that this is one of the few LE replicas that can cross over
and attract a few purchases from those who don't normally collect these
items. I know one person who has one of these who does not own, or have any
interest in, any other prop replicas. The popularity of Darth Vader as a
character, and the iconic duel with Luke at the end of the film are the most
obvious reasons for this.
Finally, whilst it is possible to get fan made versions of this saber, and
some of them are made to a very high standard, the Master Replicas version
of this prop is the way to go for most collectors as it is a high quality
product, and for the moment is not too hard to obtain for a reasonable
price.
Points to note
There are several curious things to note about the production of this saber.
The first is that whilst it seems the edition number was always intended to
be 2500, the first 2000 produced have a production run size of 2000 listed
on the plaque. As soon as this error was spotted Master Replicas offered a
replacement plaque. For a time it was possible to send back the incorrect
plaque and receive one with the correct edition size listed. This offer has
long expired so it is not worth contacting Master Replicas about this any
longer, and you will note that the pictured saber has the incorrect plaque.
The second odd bit of information is the positioning of the brown and white
wires. On the first 2000 or so the darker brownish wire is on the top.
Whereas in the last 500 or so the darker wire is on the bottom. When
referring to 'top' I mean the top if the saber is sitting with the control
box pointing straight down. The picture below shows the two orientations of
the wires (the first 2000 or so on the left):
The positioning of the wires on the first 2000 is the screen accurate
representation. This appears to be an error in the production run, but only
real sticklers for accuracy should be concerned about it.
Lastly as noted earlier the SE version of this saber was available with a
taller case. It is worth knowing that some of the LEs on the secondary
market have these taller cases with them for whatever reason. In general
these are much nicer cases and fit in more closely with the newer style
cases. The pictures below show a comparison between the shorter (LE) and
taller (SE) cases, and a Vader ESB in a taller style case.
Review by MikeyX - 16th January 2006
All images ©2006 MikeyX.
Unauthorized copying is prohibited.
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