TheAutoTech
Active Member
So, I'm having a pretty tough time trying to decide which route I want to go for a lightsaber for Kylo Ren at this point. I'll definitely say there's not a better matching functional saber out there than the Force FX to the actual movie saber. None of the saber companies out there are making one that matches Kylo Ren's hilt style to the point that the Force FX one does.
With that being said though there's quite a few downfalls to the Force FX one, namely the non-removable blades whereas the others are removable. IMO the only upside to the non-removable blades is the fact you get the "expanding" light pattern from the LED string that you can see here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCPPYa_S1pM
Obviously, major downside to non-removable blades is that you can't remove them and hang the saber from a clip along with being harder to transport safely. I do know you can convert the Force FX saber to removable blades and install the brighter LED's in it along with the plugs too that the other companies use. So, with work the Force FX saber can replicate the others as far as that is concerned but obviously with some work and money. Here is a comparison test to see the brightness difference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UFvLsct1qg
As far as lighting is concerned the Force FX saber does have the pulsing lights which is nice. I did notice the Flamberge though can have the pulsing lights as well, but the Force FX actuation is a little cooler but with the dimmer lighting it can be very hard to see in a lighted area.
Now, the next issue. The Force FX saber is very quiet when compared to the other companies as well. I haven't seen a good fix for this yet besides drilling holes in the bottom but it still leaves it fairly quiet. It does have the nice crackling noises in it, but all the others can have multiple sound fonts loaded into them too whereas the Force FX cannot. Here's a video displaying TFA sound font:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF32ZRE4qAc
So, what are your guy's thoughts here?
With that being said though there's quite a few downfalls to the Force FX one, namely the non-removable blades whereas the others are removable. IMO the only upside to the non-removable blades is the fact you get the "expanding" light pattern from the LED string that you can see here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCPPYa_S1pM
Obviously, major downside to non-removable blades is that you can't remove them and hang the saber from a clip along with being harder to transport safely. I do know you can convert the Force FX saber to removable blades and install the brighter LED's in it along with the plugs too that the other companies use. So, with work the Force FX saber can replicate the others as far as that is concerned but obviously with some work and money. Here is a comparison test to see the brightness difference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UFvLsct1qg
As far as lighting is concerned the Force FX saber does have the pulsing lights which is nice. I did notice the Flamberge though can have the pulsing lights as well, but the Force FX actuation is a little cooler but with the dimmer lighting it can be very hard to see in a lighted area.
Now, the next issue. The Force FX saber is very quiet when compared to the other companies as well. I haven't seen a good fix for this yet besides drilling holes in the bottom but it still leaves it fairly quiet. It does have the nice crackling noises in it, but all the others can have multiple sound fonts loaded into them too whereas the Force FX cannot. Here's a video displaying TFA sound font:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF32ZRE4qAc
So, what are your guy's thoughts here?