I held off on buying the MR until very late in the game, in the hopes that I would find a real graflex at a decent price. When I finally bit the bullet and purchased MR's New Hope version I was pleasantly surprised at the build quality. No floppy ears, no rattling parts and the saber has a real nice weight to it making it feel like a real saber. I agree that you can't beat the real thing, but I can attest that the MR is a beautiful alternative.