No more buying MR lightsabers?

[Darth Detroit]

Huh? Are we talking about the same company here? None of their products have gone down in price. In fact, their LE lightsaber line is more than $100 where it started in 2002. :confused

You can get an MR EL saber for $60 ON e-BAY. If youtried to market that 10 years ag, with Icons on the market, you would have paid more. You can go into a store inthemall and pay for a Luke ESB EL saber for like, $130. Thats relativly cheap for an item of such quality.

 

[Pastor Jedi]

You can get an MR EL saber for $60 ON e-BAY. If youtried to market that 10 years ag, with Icons on the market, you would have paid more. You can go into a store inthemall and pay for a Luke ESB EL saber for like, $130. Thats relativly cheap for an item of such quality.

When I started this thread I made it clear that I wasn't talking about their FX line. That's a whole other issue. I'm just talking about the lightsaber replicas in the movies.

 

[Pastor Jedi]

Can you show me some side by sides? I think my MR Luke and Vader are pretty sweet. What makes the Larbel better? The Obiwan Anh is pretty damn good also.

FB

The 2 Larbel sabers that I think are better than the MR versions are the OBW TPM and the QGJ sabers. I've owned both. Again, I like a saber that you can see how it's constructed and can even be disassembled, Larbel did that. The Obi Wan ANH MR saber is VERY nice, but it is a bit too heavy for my taste.

 

[Darth Detroit]

When I started this thread I made it clear that I wasn't talking about their FX line. That's a whole other issue. I'm just talking about the lightsaber replicas in the movies.

I was making a point (and I happend to use the FX line as an example) that MR sabers really arent that expensive. Even the sabers that DONT have EL baldes are still somewhat affordable, depending on make and model.
To each his own.
I like the fact mine says Graflex on the bottom.
I like the fact I can throw batteries in my MPP and Graflex and they will work.
As far as value, and this still applies to all MR sabers... it depends on what the customer is willing to pay. And the customer will pay big $$$ for a saber, without garuantee that it will hold that same value for which they paid.
Value for an MR and value for a Graflex can be 2 totally different things.
Thats why the collecability has changed over the past few years for MR sabers. That and over saturation of the market, are among a few other value, mass customization versus mass production/quality issues.

 

[Lan-Ed-Tul]

mine say graflex on the bottom too, cuz theyre the real flash handles. and i can throw batts in and pop on my no electronics in it blades and fire off my luxeon led with ultrasound board and speaker, and it drowns a MR sound volume out completely.

and hard duel with them.

myself, i have only 2 sabers that are static display hilts, one is a real graflex luke saber and another esb luke Larbel saber, its setup for EL, but i dont use it. EL is dead compared to the luxeon way of doin things.

i have 3 EL sabers, that dont even get used anymore cuz luxeon is just so much nicer to deal with.

 

[Birdie]

Don't care about the markings, and I can even live with them not being functioning flashguns, but at least make it in such a way some parts/sections can be taken apart/opened up so it feels more like a saber and less like a static display piece

MR were in it to make money, and the majority of their market (regular SW fans) don't know or care how the original props were made. They want something shiny that looks like what they saw on screen, to display on a shelf with their other memorabilia.

I don't see it being very likeley that any other licencee will see it any different.

 

[Darth Detroit]

MR were in it to make money, and the majority of their market (regular SW fans) don't know or care how the original props were made. They want something shiny that looks like what they saw on screen, to display on a shelf with their other memorabilia.

I don't see it being very likeley that any other licencee will see it any different.

I'll agree with that, Simon. :thumbsup

 

[SaberFreak]

I'll agree with that, Simon. :thumbsup

I too, have to sadly agree

I know its all about economics, and pleasing the larger market segment, as that's where the money is.

 

[lonepigeon]

...the majority of their market (regular SW fans) don't know or care how the original props were made. They want something shiny that looks like what they saw on screen, to display on a shelf with their other memorabilia.

I don't see it being very likeley that any other licencee will see it any different.

Isn't that what we all do anyway? Make props and when they're done they sit on a shelf.

Most fan made saber replicas are solid hunks of metal too.
MR accurately replicated the found parts/real props as well as making a collectible.
Is it the non-working triggers? What?

 

[Darth Lars]

Isn't that what we all do anyway? Make props and when they're done they sit on a shelf.

Not the same.. A prop I make is never completely, 100%, perfectly, finished. There is always something nagging me that it could be improved.

 

[firebladejedi]

Isn't that what we all do anyway? Make props and when they're done they sit on a shelf.

Most fan made saber replicas are solid hunks of metal too.
MR accurately replicated the found parts/real props as well as making a collectible.
Is it the non-working triggers? What?

Not the same.. A prop I make is never completely, 100%, perfectly, finished. There is always something nagging me that it could be improved.

This is true, nothing is ever totally finished...

 

[JediMaster82]

I don't see anything wrong with MR sabers. I think they look great.

 

[Pastor Jedi]

I don't see anything wrong with MR sabers. I think they look great.

The MR sabers DO look great, there is NOTHING WRONG with them and are great works of art! The issue is whether or not they are the closest to the original prop verses a custom prop. Did they take creative license on their design based on the original? Also, it seems that they play around with the consumer with coming out with various versions (CE, LE, SE, AP, EE). Which one is authenitc? I cannot believe that the weight of the sabers matches the original prop and why not use copies of the original parts since they would have know what the original props would have been being that Lucas showed them the originals. The only ones that they cannot go wrong on are the Graflex and MPP sabers and the prop maker can use more authentic parts than they do by using actual working flash guns, not copies. Why charge soooo much for sabers that aren't even authentic?

 

[lonepigeon]

I don't think they take that much creative license.

What do you mean by authentic?
Most of their pieces are very accurate and they do copy original parts when they can. I know. I myself have lent them parts. I've advised them on several occasions.

LE, SE, and AP are all the same prop version. These would be the most accurate usually.
EE is idealized, made from "better" materials
CE is made from cheaper materials

They will never be better than a replica made from the same real parts as the original, but they are the best replicas made from scratch.

Price -
Who is cheaper?
Parks? for the Graflex and MPP. Yes, he is. The MR replicas are more solidly put together (permanently attached grips and bubble strip).

Most detailed, finished fan made sabers will cost about the same as an MR.

Fett helmet - MR is cheaper.
Metal Fett ROTJ blaster - MR is cheaper (yes, the paint job sucks, but you'd have to paint a fan made anyway)
Han ANH blaster - MR is cheaper.
Luke or Han ESB - MR is cheaper.

All of the above are as accurate or more accurate than the best fan made replicas too.

Fan made ROTJ Luke sabers might be cheaper since the are relatively simple, the the MR's are still very accurate.

The MR Obi ANH is probably the least accurate, though probably still cheaper than buying all the fan made parts to built it yourself.
Had MR continued with SW I'm sure we would have seen a retooled Obi ANH Elite.

 

[Pastor Jedi]

I don't think they take that much creative license.

What do you mean by authentic?
Most of their pieces are very accurate and they do copy original parts when they can. I know. I myself have lent them parts. I've advised them on several occasions.

LE, SE, and AP are all the same prop version. These would be the most accurate usually.
EE is idealized, made from "better" materials
CE is made from cheaper materials

They will never be better than a replica made from the same real parts as the original, but they are the best replicas made from scratch.

Price -
Who is cheaper?
Parks? for the Graflex and MPP. Yes, he is. The MR replicas are more solidly put together (permanently attached grips and bubble strip).

Most detailed, finished fan made sabers will cost about the same as an MR.

All of the above are as accurate or more accurate than the best fan made replicas too.

Fan made ROTJ Luke sabers might be cheaper since the are relatively simple, the the MR's are still very accurate.

The MR Obi ANH is probably the least accurate, though probably still cheaper than buying all the fan made parts to built it yourself.
Had MR continued with SW I'm sure we would have seen a retooled Obi ANH Elite.

Well, if anyone would know it would be you sir. What about weight?

 

[lonepigeon]

I agree they're heavier than I would think a saber should be.
The prequel sabers were pretty heavy - mostly solid aluminum, but the MR replicas seem to use chromed brass, much heavier.

I'm not saying the MR's don't have any problems (excess weight, poor weathered paint jobs, non-working triggers) but I think they're pretty minor issues overall.

I love making my own props too and I like my real Graflexes over any replica. I also have other fan made pieces in my collection.

It just seems that MR gets a bad wrap simply for being the licensed prop replica company.

 

[MooMooEgg]

i've had a love/hate relationship with MR sabers for a while... i liked what they did with their pre-episode III sabers even if some of them were ridiculously heavy (e.g., anakin episode II). a slight heaviness was ok with me, since i always imagined that the electronics inside the sabers would add a significant some heft to them... I also didnt mind the chrome look for some of the prequel sabers like dooku, because it did fit the look of the pieces.

then the episode III stuff came along, and for the price and edition size, the sabers really werent worth it (i still hate that i paid retail for a lot of these, especially the EEs later on, and the value dropped to around 150-200.) it really seemed like MR just wanted to cash in (though i'm glad to see that the vader ROTJ saber is keeping its value). the repaints of all the clone helmets dont bother me so much because i dont collect buckets, but again, it's clear that those are made at little cost to MR so they can make a profit.

With the rush of items they need to put out before they lose the license... i'm hoping the mara and Luke V2 sabers dont come out looking cheap (i'm most worried about the paintjob for the V2...)... here's hoping...

 

[Pastor Jedi]

I'm not much for displaying my sabers and not touching them. I have them in an acrylic case on stands that hold 2 or 3 sabers when I am not holding them. I like to handle them from time to time. The fact that they come with a COA and all the frills just doesn't interest me. The MR trademark is on the pommels usually. I like to handle them and carry them, so weight is important to me. So, the MR sabers just don't do much for me. So when I bought MR sabers it didn't matter to me that they had all the "official" paperwork, that held no awe for me. To me it's the saber itself that carrys worth.

 

[Caveman]

I want to display all my sabers but just don't have the room (yet).
It is unfortunate MR won't be making anymore; but I rest easy in the fact they made most and made them well.

 

[James Kenobi 1138]

I enjoy my MR sabers along with my self-made real parts sabers.

I like to have the 2 co-exist together in my collection. I like both for different reasons.