Force FX Lightsabers

Can you remember the first time you saw a lightsaber and how you felt when you did? I was about 8 years old and I'd just recovered from the opening scene of Star Wars - when the Star Destroyer exploded across the screen - when I found myself just completely taken in by the idea of the lightsaber. Any kid who'd heard the tales of King Arthur and his band of brave knights of the Round Table were familiar with excalibur. And any of the older kids who had been exposed to any of Kurosawa's samurai movies would have been a fan of the katana. What Lucas did was very clever though because the lightsaber embraced the straight cutting edge of the katana (although a curved lightsaber might have looked stupid in fairness) with the "magic" of Excalibur and the Arthurian mythlogies so managed to appeal to kids of all ages....and of course the adults too.

But the lightsaber went further than just being an element of a movie and became part of movie history and was something that a lot of other movies afterwards tried to emulate and downright copy. Somewhere in the subconscious of the movie-going public George Lucas had struck an unknown and unforeseen chord and one that was to reverberate for decades to follow. In fact some might argue that no other single movie element has become so almost-instantly iconic with hordes of movie fans all over the world.

When people look back on the original Star Wars movies (the less said about the new crop of CGI-based disasters the better) they seem to think that Lucas has every part of these movies planned out from the start. The reality is that certain elements were undecided up to the last moment and key details were changed at the last second. Did you know for example that Yoda was actually meant to be called Minch Yoda but they decided that just using the name Yoda created more of an atmosphere of mystery. Or that the Milleniun Falcon was designed on the shape of a half-eaten hamburger?

The same idea applies to the design of the lightsaber and how it came to be. The guys at Industrial Light and Magic needed a prop that looked like a sword but more futuristic. The problem was that there wasn't much of a budget to work with so the guys had to scramble around and use whatever they could find. So in the middle of all their searching they turned up the ideal candidate for a lightsaber hilt - the handle off a flashgun. A specific type of flashgun too called the Graflex 3-cell. This single aluminium handle was the basis for every lightsaber that came after it. All they had to add to it were some red diodes, wiper blades and some parts from a British rifle grenade.....and the rest became movie history.

If you want to build your very own original spec prop lightsaber you're going to need to find a Graflex but.....they're not the easiest or cheapest thing to find today - there's a lot of demand from Star Wars fans as you can imagine.

Now we come to the all important part of helping you find a replica lightsaber that looks good, feels good in your hands and also sounds good. I'd been searching for a cool Xmas present for my kid brother one night a few years ago and somehow came across this new type of gadget called Force FX lightsabers. It was the perfect gift for him and a big part of me was really curious about how good these replicas would actually be. The original videos on the Master Replicas site looked amazing but a good video can sell a crappy product so I wanted to see it in the flesh - so to speak. The real proof was going to be putting batteries in it and switching it on for the first time.

So the day finally came and it was delivered.....so I had to test it before giving it as a gift.....because that's what you do as a big brother right?

Instantly my mind was blown. Like the split second I switched it on. When I was younger I'd seen and been bought so many lightsabers that never, ever came close to the sense of "Wow!" I got when I got to use my first ever Force FX. Simple things make me happy and the fact that this "gadget" ignited from the base up with a completely genuine and realistic Star Wars sound effect just sold me straight away. Then I got to test the motion sensors and all of a sudden I felt like I was 10 years old all over again. Just had this big stupid smile on my face.

I'd never seen or used anything before or since that has matched the realism of the Force FX - if anyone knows of anything let me know (I already know about Parks Sabers btw). It has a solid hilt that feels like the real deal, the ingiting effect is amazing (as is the power down) and the motion sensors and all the other sound effects really do just work so well together that you wind up smiling every single time you use one.

If you're a Star Wars fan you need to own a Force FX lightsaber or two.....otherwise...well...the Force really isn't with you now is it?