Collectibles for the older fans of the series have been somewhat problematic outside of the general clothing-based merchandise. Because its one of their main franchises, Hasbro generally has their hands in almost all toy-based materials. However, while they do acknowledge older fans loving the cartoon series, Hasbro is not the kind of company that is going to sink millions of dollars into partitioning out merch for the older fans.

This seems to be the niche that Funko is filling. Though their vinyl figures are more like collectible sculptures than toys, they seem more willing to follow the design of the show, giving collector’s something nice to display.

Funko’s first figure releases were of a main pony character, and one of the fanbase’s favorites. In this case, we had main character Rainbow Dash, and fan-favorite Derpy Hooves (which was reviewed here).

In February of 2013, Funko has again followed this chain-of-thought, by giving us the main character of Fluttershy, and fan-favorite (and first stallion) release, Dr Whooves.

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Dr Whooves

Like Derpy Hooves, Dr Whooves started out his life as a non-descript background character. In this case, a stallion with an hourglass cutie-mark on his flank. Due to his rather spiky mane, along with the hourglass markings,  some felt that he seemed to be a stallion version of the Tenth Doctor, played by David Tenant.

Originally called ‘Time-Turner’ in some materials, he gained the Dr Whooves moniker unofficially in the last few years, notably on some clothing merchandise.

“The Doctor’s” first appearance in Season 1′s episode, “Call of the Cutie.”

His release in Funko’s second wave of Friendship is Magic figures, also clears the way for a new mold. Unlike the more curved faces of the series’ ponies, Dr Whooves’ look is more angular, giving him a straight-bridged ‘nose.’

It’s also enjoyable to see that his mane and tail hair are neat and ‘symmetrical,’ compared to the ponies that are asymmetrical. This gives one a better chance to see the full-body sculpt of the figure

Unlike the vinyl figurine of Derpy, Dr Whooves’ is more of a smoother, shinier finish. However, this also makes a few abnormalities stand out.

One controversy that also followed the first releases, was that only one of the figure’s flanks had a cutie-mark, and this time, the same thing has happened. One has to wonder why it is so hard to put this mark on both sides of a figure, giving only one ‘good side’ to display them.

The paint applications are also a little spotty in places. Of concern to me, was the painting around the eyes, which seemed a little ‘soft.’ Speaking of his eyes, this is an area where the figure ‘fails’ to me. Compared to the package design (and the screenshot above), the figure’s eyes are about 20% larger than they should be!

Left: Original Dr Whooves; Right: Photoshopped eye resizing

The large eyes on the figure are a bit too distracting for me, and I put my figure into Photoshop to see what shrinking the eye down would do. As you can see on the right image above, it seems to make the sculpt a whole lot better, and closer to the Doctor’s animated counterpart.

Unlike the first wave of figures, the second wave has several different variants. Dr Hooves comes with either a green, or red tie. There’s also a rare sparkly-clear variant. Though they are limited editions, the majority of fans claim they just want a ‘normal’ Doctor.

In the end, the fan-favorite Dr Whooves is a good figure, and most likely the only chance we may get to seeing this figure made (I doubt Hasbro would make him, as the majority of their figures are ponies and not stallions). Not bad for the first Funko attempt at a stallion figure, but one hopes that if future stallions are made, this first step will lead them to make improvements.

Doctor meets Derpy: a comparison of the stallion and pony molds from Funko.

FINAL GRADE: B+

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Fluttershy

Even though there are ‘earth’ ponies and unicorns in the land of Equestria, Funko decided to give us another pegasus pony in the wake of Rainbow Dash and Derpy Hooves’ release. This time, we get one of the more timid-yet-sweet characters from the television series: Fluttershy. The soft-spoken, animal-loving pony has many fans out there (myself included), and I did wonder if Funko could do a proper figure of her justice. I must say, that Funko has impressed me greatly with what they have brought forth, and she has surpassed Derpy’s Funko figure to become my new favorite!

First off, as Sweetie Belle might say, “I really like her mane!” Fluttershy has the largest shock of hair compared to her friends, and the vinyl sculpting on it is quite a sight to behold. Though this means she can only be posed properly on her left-side, the design holds up well when compared to the profile image of her animated counterpart. Plus, if angled correctly, one can also make out a heart-shape in her curved mane design. Some might pitch a fit that her hair color is more magenta than light-pink, but I’m not that picky.

Unlike Dr Whooves, her eyes also seem to be a decent size, their half-closed/shy appearance works well in profile, and head-on, seem to pull off a pretty cute look. The placement also looks more natural on her face than previous pony releases. Derpy’s wall-eyed look worked well in a 3/4 profile, but head-on, seemed rather odd.

Like the other releases, only one side of Fluttershy contains a cutie-mark (featuring three butterflies). The shinier vinyl I feared would be a bit distracting, but it’s not as bad, and helps accentuate the curves in her sculpt.

Also, what I originally thought was Funko’s attempt to reuse an already-made mold has been debunked. Fluttershy’s head and body sculpt are brand-new. Her features are a bit rounder and ‘softer,’ which helps a great deal, notably in the area around her cheeks.

Her packaging also seems to be a first for this Funko figure series, in that it contains some pink in it (notably due to the coloration fitting Fluttershy’s colors).

Like Dr Whooves, Fluttershy is also being released with a variant design: a clear-bodied figure that is said to be inserted at random. I was just glad I didn’t get it, as I’m more partial to original designs, and not ‘crystal ponies.’

There’s very little I have to say negatively about this figure. A few vinyl abnormalities can be found here and there, but just looking at the figure sitting atop my computer, the good outweighs what little bad there is in this release. If anything, Fluttershy should be the benchmark Funko should use when figuring out how to make their next releases even better.

Animated and Vinyl Fluttershy meet face-to-face. “Yay.”

FINAL GRADE: A

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Average prices for the new releases runs about $16.50 apiece. I pre-ordered mine from Hot Topic, but they should be hitting store shelves there very soon. At this time, Hot Topic is still the only place to pick up Funko‘s pony figures.

Rumor is the next wave of two figures should be announced very soon (Funko has stated on their Facebook page that Hot Topic will tell the masses what will be next). Speculation has been that we may see the curly-haired party pony, Pinkie Pie, and the shades-wearing DJ named Vinyl Scratch next. However, this is just rumor, but it would fit with the previous releases of one main pony, and one fan-favorite.

Funko have definitely cemented themselves as one of the premier sellers of vinyl-based toys and collectibles based around popular culture, and this second wave of My Little Pony figures should definitely help get more fans interested.

Like many young children out there, when I heard Robert Zemeckis say those words, and saw the film Back to the Future Part II in theaters in 1989, I believed it, and wondered how soon we’d see them in stores given how popular the Back to the Future sequel was. I remember playing with my LEGO sets as a kid, and crafting a Hoverboard out of scotch tape, paper, and colored pencils that a LEGO person could ride.

Of course, just before Back to the Future Part III was released, Kirk Cameron blew the lid off our childhood fantasies in the television special, The Secrets of the Back to the Future Trilogy, in which he admitted that Robert Zemeckis was only kidding. The film’s co-writer/co-producer Bob Gale even backed this up recently, saying that at the time, Mattel got upset by all the letters and requests they got from kids wanting their own Hoverboard. To me, that anger seems misplaced. I mean, if there’s demand for a product, why not get started trying to make it a reality?

In recent years, the toy company Mattel acquired the rights to make action figures and other products based around one of the least-merchandised trilogies in film history (seriously, 25 years later and no action figures? Even The Goonies got action figures made!).

After having released prop replicas of items such as the ghost trap and PKE meter from Ghostbusters, Mattel has decided to tackle the one Back to the Future prop that had their name written all over it (no seriously, in the film, their logo was on this thing in two places). Through their website, MattyCollector.com, a special pre-order (featuring limited quantities) went up in March of 2012. I placed my order, and waited the required 8-9 months before my credit card was charged, and a large package arrived at my apartment!

Like many of MattyCollector.com‘s releases, the Hoverboard comes packaged in an all-white box with minimal markings:

Once you cut the tape, flip up the tab, and pull out the inner-box, you get an example of what the board’s future packaging might look like:

I was a little surprised that they didn’t try to photograph a real little girl riding a hoverboard. Then again, maybe marketing in a couple years will start to shift back to more artistic-based imagery. A fun little nod to the film, is that a majority of the girl’s fashion stylings are modeled after clothing the hoverboard girl (Lindsey Whitney Barry) wore in Back to the Future Part II.

A downside to this packaging, is that unlike the tabbed outer-box, or some of their resealable packaging for some MattyCollector action figures, the top and bottom of the official box can be ripped with none of the collector-friendly convenience one would hope for something of this caliber.

Turning the box around, it gives a layout of the board, both top and bottom, outlining several of the features of the board. They even include the future-slang term, ‘bojo.’ If you notice, there’s a little asterisk after lettering on the top left. What is that for? Well…

Yes, just in case by now, if you hadn’t read the disclaimer when ordering your board from MattyCollector.

In the lower-right of the back of the box, they even show an example of the Hoverboard coming in different colors. One has to wonder if maybe they’ll try to make a ‘boys’ Hoverboard in the future, or the orange (unseen) one the hoverboard girl’s friend was using in the film. Speaking of the Hoverboard:

Click to see a larger image

A small users manual is inserted with the board, giving plenty of information about the board, and also cautioning about disassembling the Hoverboard, claiming ‘the anti-gravity lift cushion inside may launch you into orbit.’ It’s a nice little booklet, but only a few pages long, in black-and-white, and about the size of a smartphone. One would almost wish they’d do something a bit more futuristic, maybe printed on a transparency, like the Sports Almanac receipt from the Blast From The Past store in the second film.

When it came to the films in which the Hoverboard appeared, we rarely got a lot of time to look at it in super-fine detail. Throughout the production of Back to the Future Part II, different versions of the Hoverboard were made, given the needs of the various scenes. What Mattel has given us, is a prop replica that attempts to combine the best traits of the various boards that were used during the film’s production (over 30 in total, according to the information on the Matty website), and find a ‘happy medium.’

Images of various versions of the Hoverboard, used in the making of “Back to the Future Part II.”

By the way, one would assume a Hoverboard to be light considering how easily Marty McFly was whipping that thing around all over the place, but you’re in for a surprise. This prop replica has a little weight to it, and definitely will keep some from wanting to chuck it onto the ground like Marty did.

The construction of this board is largely plastic, along with stickers/decals, and velcro. Yes, velcro. The rear strap on the board and the green area underneath were velcro, and are the same on this board. Unknown to some, velcro was also used on an area one would probably never have considered:

The two pink angles at the front of the board. The box and users manual claim that these are “velocity control pads.”

The majority of the surface designs of the board are made up of large decals. In several places, one can see that the decals consist of several layered together:

Of course, Mattel wanted to include some extra ‘bells and whistles,’ and they did that by inserting a chip and sensors inside the board, that would sense when it was placed horizontally, or when it moved. Requiring 3 AA batteries (not included), one simply turns over the Hoverboard, and can find the battery compartment in the futuristic-looking box underneath:

Using the same sound effects from the film, the board makes an activation sound when placed horizontally (causing the board to vibrate slightly), and shuts off when tilted vertically. As well, sending it gliding along some carpeting (seriously, do not glide this thing on concrete or any other hard surface!) will cause it to make a ‘whooshing’ motion sound. It’s a cool feature, but isn’t 100% accurate a majority of the time when I was testing it. While it is a touted feature, I think I’ll be fine with leaving the batteries out of my Hoverboard.

Of course, there are many of us who will not be spending a lot of time sliding their prop replica across carpeting, and Mattel has included a clear-plastic, hinged stand. Using the design of the central battery compartment and a few well-placed peg-holes, the stand allows the board to be displayed, angled at 45 degrees. It isn’t easy to put together, and the stand clattered to the ground several times as I tried to get it placed properly.

By now, some of you may be asking, “Well, what do you think? Was it worth it?”

Having seen numerous pictures of the Hoverboard over the years, and wanting one myself, it’s a good piece, but not great.

For the last several months, the web has been filled with many die-hard fans, scrutinizing any information out of Mattel, regarding the release of the prop replica. Early concepts, convention displays, and even early reviews of this board have criticized everything from the spacing and size of the ‘magnets’ on the bottom of the board, to the lack of lenticular graphics regarding the board’s decals. Even the pink strap on the rear is not the right size/material.

On December 10th, on the fan-run Back To The Future website, BTTF.com, co-creator/co-screenwriter/co-producer Bob Gale expressed some of his own thoughts. He recalled the enthusiasm that the crew at Mattel had when they sat down to talk with him and visual effects supervisor Michael Lantieri, but was surprised at several ‘quality’ points that were missing from the final production Hoverboard. Notably the lenticular graphics, which according to a letter he received from Scott Neitlich at Mattel, was due to them being unable to replicate the effect, finally settling on the simpler decals. Bob does make an interesting point in his letter: if visual effects supervisor Michael Lantieri and his crew were able to make lenticular decals for the prop boards made in 1989, how can it be so hard for Mattel to replicate the effect all these years later? You can read Mr Gale’s full letter here: Bob Gale says Mattel’s Hoverboard did not live up to his expectations; okay to throw eggs at him

In that respect, it’s a good prop replica, but it is not the greatest. Then again, what keeps it passable in my mind is that it’s an item made by the same company as in the film. And what does Mattel mainly produce? Toys! So, not every toy company is going to give you top-of-the-line stuff. That is also part of my thinking regarding toys in the world of 2015 in the Back to the Future universe. I would assume that the board Marty handled in the film was plastic as well, seeing as it’s a kid’s toy Hoverboard. One would assume the Hoverboards used by Griff and his gang are more technologically advanced (and more expensive).

Another question some may have is: is this a toy, or a collectible? To me, it’s a collectible piece, given its price-point. You’d need to have a pretty good-sized bank account to give this to a child to play with. I can only imagine what one of these would look like after being handled by children.

The final total (not including taxes and shipping and handling), was $130. While a lot of people balked at this price for the Hoverboard, I was a lot more willing to pay that than  $4-6000 on the special-edition 2015 Nike shoes that came out last fall. Even a prop replica of the Flux Capacitor (i.e. the thing that makes time-travel possible!) will run you upwards of $300!

These days, almost any collectible item released will have someone say, ‘It costs this much? I’d think it would have cost that much.’ When I first heard about the Hoverboard being made, I told myself one thing: ‘unless it’s priced under $150, I won’t buy one.’ Though with the final product, I could see some saying it would could be priced in the $100 range.

Because I pre-ordered my Hoverboard in March of 2012, this entitled me to get a special bonus: a miniature Hoverboard & the handlebar attachment like we saw in the film.

Promotional information tells that this board will fit most 6-inch figures. Since I don’t have any 6-inch figures from Mattel, I decided to have a couple of my other 6-inch figures help show off this additional item:

The unwritten Harry Potter fanfiction story: “Harry Potter and the Muggle Birthday Surprise from the Future”

The handlebars are on a small pivot, so they can be turned outwards or in, depending on the arms of the figure using them. It can also be snapped into the hole in the board, and removed. The rear safety strap can also be rotated. One has to wonder if this is some sort of small promotional hint that Mattel just might be bringing us those Back to the Future action figures many have been wondering about for some time.

For December of 2012, Mattel has re-opened ordering of the Hoverboard prop replica. Unlike the March pre-orders, these will not come with the 6-inch Hoverboard ‘freebie.’ Mattycollector.com has been Mattel’s place to sell higher-priced, more collectible-based material, and by the sounds of things, obtaining one of these may be easier than some of their exclusive figures.

There are fan-made Hoverboard replicas out there (some made out of wood), which I’ve seen often run for more than what Mattel is offering for their prop replica. That might be the deal-breaker for some. Some people out there can make a board that more closely resembles the screen-used props, but these can often run upwards of $150+.  If you’re looking for one that seems kind of close to the film prop, and you have some extra money left over for (or after) Christmas, you may want to get yourself one. Unless you’re a perfectionist regarding props, many would be hard-pressed to find all the differences.

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Once I received my Hoverboard, I decided to take it for a small photoshoot at the one place that screamed for it: The Wormhole. This humble coffeeshop in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago has gained a small following for its nostalgic theme. An old television in the back has a Nintendo Entertainment System hooked up to it, and metal lunchboxes line the overhead ducts. Though what first caught my attention, was this:

Yes, that’s a flying DeLorean hovering over the rear of the building. The guy who owns the shop is a pretty big Back to the Future fan. So big in fact, that one of the replica Flux Capacitors that was made a few years ago, is mounted on a wall behind the counter. Word was, when Back to the Future director Robert Zemeckis was in town, he actually stopped by to check out the DeLorean.

The Wormhole even has its own merchandise, from T-shirts to bumper stickers, with many of them tying into the Back to the Future theme.

If you’re ever in the Wicker Park neighborhood and want a non-Starbucks cup of coffee, The Wormhole has plenty of choices, and is usually a popular hangout for many nearby college students. You can find out more about The Wormhole by clicking Here.

]]> http://theentertainmentnut.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/toy-review-derpy-hooves-vinyl-figure/ Sat, 20 Oct 2012 17:02:00 +0000 MWH1980 http://theentertainmentnut.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/toy-review-derpy-hooves-vinyl-figure/

Exclusive Funko vinyl figure, only available at Hot Topic

With any major series or worldwide phenomenon, the fandom of such things often find some way to adopt a character, and push that character into the stratosphere of popularity.

Take Star Wars. George Lucas had wanted to make the bounty hunter Boba Fett a simple, silent-but-deadly bounty hunter intent on capturing Han Solo. Instead, Fett’s popularity opened a new realm of fandom related to speculation, expanded universe stories, and much more.

When it comes to the recently-popular revamp of My Little Pony, the show’s growing fandom rallied around a character who was essentially a mistake. Online fandom soon began to follow a grey-colored, blonde-haired pegasus pony with crossed eyes, who began to be known in the MLP fan community as Derpy Hooves.

The scene from the first episode of “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,” that launched Derpy’s fanbase.

Once the show’s creators found out about how popular she was with the fans, they began to give her minor background appearances (ala Where’s Waldo?). In Season 2 of the series, the showrunners gave her a few minutes in the spotlight, and a cute-yet-dopey voice to match her try-but-often-clumsily-fail persona.

However, those few minutes roused the ire of some parents, who contacted Hasbro to say that Derpy’s name, crossed eyes, and dopey actions were seen as offensive to disabled persons. And with that, Derpy’s moment was re-edited, and her television name was now to be Ditzy-Doo.

Specialty retail stores like Hot Topic would keep the merchandising of Derpy alive with t-shirts and hats, but many fans wanted a figure of her that could stand next to the others that Hasbro had made.

They got their wish in the Summer of 2012, when Hasbro released Derpy as a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive. Packaged in a special box with no name on it (maybe Hasbro was afraid to use the fan name for fear of more parental teeth-gnashing?), the figures quickly sold out, and reached prices of $90+ on eBay. While many wanted a Derpy Hooves figure, some of us had limits on just how wide our wallets would open up.

Proportion comparison between Derpy in her animated form, and vinyl figure form.

And then, salvation came in vinyl form, from Funko. Known for their numerous, block-headed/beady-eyed interpretations of pop-culture figures, Funko has entered the arena of My Little Pony merchandising with its recent releases of Derpy Hooves and Rainbow Dash to Hot Topic stores. Personally, this could be just the ticket for some of the older, more die-hard fanatics. While many love the series, it’s safe to assume that Hasbro is not going to devote much of their marketing power to target older fans. This seems to be the niche that Funko is filling, and with these recent releases, I think they may definitely have a good source of new income on their hands.

The packaging Funko has wrapped their pony figures in is definitely different from the packaging one is used to when it comes to MLP toys from Hasbro. The biggest shock: not a single bit of pink on the packaging! I don’t think any other MLP products have even had this much black on their packaging.

Behold…the pony with no name!

Unlike the vinyl figure release of Rainbow Dash, Derpy has no name on her packaging. Instead, she is titled with an ‘I Heart’ moniker that seems like code for fans of the series. Though it does make me wonder what non-MLP fans or young kids will think her name is. It should be noted that even though her name shows up nowhere on the packaging, she did ring up in the system as Derpy Vinyl.

Once out of the package, Derpy is a very solid figure. If she hits the floor, she’s going to make alot of noise, or hurt somebody.

Given her non-Hasbro production, Derpy’s size is slightly larger than the regular-sized ponies. Most impressive about Funko’s figure is the sculpting that has been done. Derpy’s body is more in scale and design to the original character work on the show, with legs that taper closer to the body, and wide hooves. Unlike Hasbro’s toys, this figure comes with non-grooming, sculpted hair, which definitely helps those of us who want a figure with volume in her hair.

For those looking for super-accuracy, you’ll have to keep wishing. Paint applications on her eyes do not gradate from orange to yellow, and her ‘cutie mark’ in the form of several bubbles, only adorns her right flank, and not both as in the cartoon. Also, the sweep of her mane only goes down her left side, and not down either side as in the cartoon series.

One area where the sculpting gets iffy, is in the front-view of Derpy’s face. In the cartoons, the front of the face is ‘cheated’ by being a simple oval shape. Here, we have some ‘blocky cheeks’ and some rounded dimensionality that warps the eyes slightly. But, this is often a side-effect when one takes a 2-dimensional character, and makes them 3-D.

Does Derpy have…stretch marks?

Assembly of the figure is made up of the separate hair pieces, the head, wings, and body. Unlike the smoother vinyl textures of Funko’s other figures, Derpy’s is not perfectly smooth. If you look at her up close, you’ll see some slight abnormalities. As well, the area where the head joins to the neck is not a perfect/clean line. Btw, in case you were wondering, no, her head does not turn.

It isn’t the greatest My Little Pony fan-figure, but I think it comes incredibly close. I’m sure word-of-mouth about these Funko figures will spread quickly among fans and customizers (who will most likely buy extra figures to disassemble and fan-make other characters from the series).

Derpy (and Rainbow Dash) currently retail for $14.50 (plus tax) at Hot Topic.

Word is, a third pony may be making its way to Hot Topic shelves from Funko soon. On Funko’s Facebook page, they did say that more ponies would be making their way into collector’s hands in 2013, and they would not be just Hot Topic exclusives. I’m sure this will give some hope to adult collectors of the series, leaving them hope of seeing fan-loved background ponies that most likely would not be produced by Hasbro.

“A-ba-derp aba-derp a-ba-derp, that’s all folks!”

“This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy, or random as a blaster.”

I was born in the year 1980, or 3 A.S.W. Otherwise know as, 3 years after Star Wars. The film series spawned a merchandising empire that is so large and ingrained into our society and consciousness, that it’s almost hard to imagine a time before we knew about Landspeeders, Star Destroyers, or even The Force.

Looking back on it, I can only imagine what it must have been like to be a young child in 1977, and seeing Star Wars for the first time. Think of it, watching Obi-Wan Kenobi pull out that metal cylinder from his storage bin, telling Luke that it was his Father’s Lightsaber, before suddenly, like magic, a glowing blue blade appeared attached to it!

Years after seeing the film, I wanted a Lightsaber of my own. I remember begging my parents for one of the original plastic ones in the early 80′s. Though it wasn’t until 1995 when the resurgence of Star Wars merchandise began, that I did get a plastic lightsaber. I ended up getting Luke’s from Return of the Jedi, and 5-6 years later, I would add Darth Maul’s double-bladed saber and Obi-Wan’s from the prequel trilogy to my collection.

But like many, I dreamed to hold the real thing, and imagine that at any moment, the flick of a switch would ignite a glowing pillar of light that could slice through almost anything.

In 2003, that wish (almost) became a reality, when the company Master Replicas (nicknamed MR) obtained the license and permission from Lucasfilm, Ltd, to make replicas of various items from the Star Wars series. During their time with the license, they manufactured numerous lightsaber hilts, as well as replicas of various blasters and guns from the series as well.

While I admired the perfection of their lightsaber replicas, having just graduated from college with student loan repayments on the horizon hindered my ability to ever obtain one. Realizing that not everyone could afford a $300 lightsaber hilt, MR hit on a new sales/scale method: “.45.”

This new approach was to machine/create replicas in a scale that was 45% the size of the original item. This also made them more easily obtainable, as these scaled replicas fell into the $35-$65 price range.

Through several different sources, I managed to obtain three of the .45-scaled lightsabers that to me, have great significance to the series – those belonging to Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and Obi-Wan Kenobi from Episode IV: A New Hope. These three introduced us to lost weaponry in that galaxy far, far away, intriguing our minds as to what the former Jedi and The Clone Wars were really about (that is, until we finally found out…but that’s another story).

Luke Skywalker’s Lightsaber

“An elegant weapon…for a more, civilized age.”

Once Luke ignited his father’s lightsaber, it also ignited in us a curiosity regarding the days of the Old Republic. After all, the mind boggled imagining over 1,000 generation of Jedi handling sabers similar to this one.

Luke (and the audience) discover the ancient weapon of the Jedi.

We never did get a major close-up of Luke’s lightsaber, but we did see him wield it in action twice: upon it being given to him by Obi-Wan Kenobi, and then in the Millennium Falcon, as Luke tests his mettle against a training droid.

We would caution you not to look into the blade ignition shaft of a lightsaber. Even so, we bet you didn’t know it looked like this.

Master Replicas‘ work on recreating the saber in .45-scale is quite amazing. The original lightsaber was not machined on its own, but the shaft is actually a re-purposed Graflex flashgun that held flashbulbs for vintage cameras. The prop department then added various pieces, along with the black-ribbed handle/base.

A rare detail that was lost in earlier and later episodes of the Star Wars.

A New Hope would also be the only time that lightsabers would have these 7 beads embedded in the switch, which is actually a piece manufactured by Texas Instruments. The lightsabers used in The Empire Strikes Back and Revenge of the Sith instead have a gold-plated, grooved cover.

The lower-grip on the lightsaber, is actually several!

Probably just referencing my action figures, I had often assumed the handle was one black piece. In actuality, it’s several windshield wiper pieces ringed around the base. At the bottom, we also see this replica stray a bit from the actual prop, with the copyright information, and the screw. The .45-scale of lightsaber was distributed for 3 years (from 2004-2006), and Luke’s A New Hope lightsaber was one of the last offerings.

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Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Lightsaber

“For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic.”

Unless you were looking at his waist, many of us probably didn’t think that Obi-Wan Kenobi had a lightsaber anymore. At least, not until he whipped it out and sliced off Ponda Boba’s arm at the Mos Eisley Cantina. We rarely saw much of Kenobi’s lightsaber, with the closest image we got being the one below:

Obi-Wan prepares to meet his former apprentice.

Unlike Luke’s lightsaber that had been well-preserved, Obi-Wan’s has actually aged along with its Master. Most likely, Obi-Wan used it whenever he could, but it also appears that he may have banged it around on some of the rocky cliffs near his home on Tatooine.

More detail of Obi-Wan’s lightsaber that you’ve probably never considered.

In 2004, Master Replicas released two separate renditions of Obi-Wan’s lightsaber as convention exclusives. The first iteration was called ‘first-built,’ and showed us what the lightsaber would have looked like ‘a long time ago.’ Later on that year, a ‘weathered’ edition came out, looking more like the prop that Sir Alec Guinness carried on set. The detail job isn’t just scratches and flecked paint. Just look at the dents above in the mid-rimmed section!

More fine detail work.

It seems like they cheated a little with the rather uniform ‘weathering’ on the raised edges above, but it’s small potatoes when you look at the detail work on the metal portion, with the grime and dirt, not to mention that shiny patch worn in, where we can assume Kenobi positioned his thumb on the hilt.

Probably the cleanest portion of the lightsaber.

Unlike Luke’s lightsaber, Obi-Wan’s in the film is cobbled together from seven different parts. For example, the ribbed portion in the picture above is part of a Browning ANM2 machine gun booster, and the lower metal cap is actually an Armitage Shanks Starlite model Handwheel.

After Master Replicas had exhausted their supply of the weathered Obi-wan lightsabers, the secondary market value doubled for quite awhile. Luckily, I was able to obtain mine for the original value when it was released. Of the three .45-scale lightsabers I have, I love it for the detail and ‘history’ behind it. Speaking of 3 lightsabers, we have one more to cover.

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Darth Vader’s Lightsaber

“Before the Dark Times…before the Empire.”

Though Luke’s ignition of his father’s lightsaber showed us just what one of these things could do, it was not the first lightsaber we had seen in the film. That distinction, belonged to Darth Vader.

Unknowingly, this was our first glimpse of a lightsaber.

As Vader surveys the dead bodies on the floor of the Tantive IV, we got a fleeting glimpse of something hanging from his belt. It was only after Obi-Wan Kenobi encountered Vader on the Death Star, did we finally realize that Vader had his own lightsaber (one that many of us assumed he used to ‘hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights’ with).

Vader has the flashiest blade interior of them all.

Vader’s saber is layered with more black pieces than Luke or Obi-Wan’s sabers, which helps to blend into his all-black wardrobe. I really love the inner circle of rings inside the hilt.

Almost looks like Luke’s, but not quite.

In a way, the Emperor’s words in Return of the Jedi that Luke’s lightsaber was “much like his father’s,” could almost be applied when comparing Luke’s inherited saber and Vader’s. Like Luke’s, Vader’s lightsaber also uses a flash-attachment, but one developed by a company called Micro Precision Products. This is most evident when you see the grooves in the saber above, as well as the lettered-markings. Also of interest, is that Vader’s ignition switch only has 6 beads.

Just add some windshield wiper blades, and voila!

Aside from just a few pieces, Vader’s lightsaber is almost completely based on the MPP flash attachment. Vader’s lightsaber was part of the first year releases of .45-scale lightsabers in 2004, and included in Master Replicas’ Sith Collection, along with sabers for Darth Maul, and Darth Tyrannus.

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Want to display your lightsabers? Master Replicas has you covered!

Originally, I was unsure just how to display my scaled replicas. And then, Master Replicas solved that problem for me!

When I found out about this display stand from Master Replicas, it seemed just perfect! 3 levels, A New Hope had 3 lightsabers: it was meant to be! Speaking of display stands, the ones that come with the lightsabers have specific pegs, so the plastic holder pieces can only be set up one way. This explains why I was unable to make them all line up facing one direction.

Finally, I’m sure some of you may be wondering just how big these lightsabers really are. Like most credit sequences, I thought I’d wait until the end to show you, to keep from spoiling the illusion. So, without further ado:

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