Product Description

Build your own electronic lights and sounds lightsaber with 18 interchangeable parts that let you configure more than 1,000 different lightsaber combinations. Build your favorite Jedi, Sith or favorite character's weapon -- or create your own unique style. Includes hilt, blade, three Illum crystals, four hilt sleeves, tonfa handle, four end caps, three sleeve rings, blade emitter guard and instructions. Requires three "AA" batteries, not included. Measures 36" long.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7276 in Toys & Games
• Brand: Hasbro
• Model: 87625
• Dimensions: 15.00" h x 22.00" w x 3.00" l, 2.70 pounds

Features

• The Ultimate Star Wars Lightsaber - New Clone Wars Edition - has more than 20 interchangeable parts to build your own customized weapon!
• More than 1,000 possible lightsaber configurations!
• Now you can create your own Clone Trooper hi-tech lightsaber!
• Includes 1 hilt, 2 blades, 2 emitters, 1 light bulb housing, 2 caps, 3 power crystals, 3 filters, 2 hilt sleeves, 1 adapter, 3 sleeve rings, 2 switches and instructions.
• May the force be with you!

Amazon.com Review
Whether he's an aspiring Jedi or an apprentice to the dark side, your child will love the possibilities of this Star Wars Clone Wars Ultimate Light Saber Assortment. Movie fans six and up will delight in customizing the hilt, blade color, and end cap to approximate Yoda, Mace Windu, or Maris Brood, while lights and sounds add an authentic element to any battle. Small parts keep this light saber from being appropriate for children under three.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: (what this means) The Good: Fun game for the whole family The Bad: Buzzers take awhile to get used to In a Nutshell: Interactive, stimulating game At a Glance Ages: 6 and older Requires: 3 AA batteries

Accessories let you customize the lightsaber's hilt. View larger.

Colored plastic "crystals" control the blade color. View Larger.

May the Force Be With You
Whether your child is a fan of the new Clone Wars animated film or the original trilogy, this light saber, with its light up blade and electronic sounds, is sure to be a hit. Its sturdy plastic components in gray, black, and gold, three colored crystals, and telescoping blade can be combined in over 1000 different ways to create a customized battle weapon. And since part of the fun is in thinking up ways to combine the pieces into a customized weapon, there's no time-consuming adult setup.

You'll need a Philips head screwdriver to insert three AA batteries (not included), and you may want to help young users put the color crystals in the first time around, so they know how to change them later on.

Imaginative Play that Spans Distant Galaxies
One of this light saber's top features is the way it emits different sounds along with a different color light inside the clear plastic blade depending on what Ilum crystal or crystals are inserted in the handle. Choose the classic Jedi green, blue, Sith red, or combine crystals to achieve an effect like the violet light saber Mace Windu uses. Star Wars fans will immediately recognize the powerful humming noise that indicates a light saber ready for combat. And the variety of clashing sounds that the unit makes when the blade comes in contact with any sturdy obstruction is sure to thrill.

While too much rough play can take a toll on any toy, the construction behind this light saber seems sturdy and well thought out. Adults and kids with larger hands may find the hilt sits more comfortably in their grasp without the custom handles over it.

Overall, we had loads of fun creating a custom look, practicing crafty moves, and fighting off imaginary enemies with this light saber. Since the colored blade effect is achieved by projecting light into the clear plastic blade, playing with this light saber in a dark or dimly lit room provides extra drama and an increased dose of fun.

Because this toy calls forth an epic battle between good and evil, we imagine that having a playmate with a second light saber would increase the fun exponentially.

What's in the Box
Hilt, blade, 3 colored crystals, 4 hilt sleeves, tonfa handle, 4 end caps, 3 sleeve rings, blade-emitter guard, and an instruction booklet.

From the Manufacturer
Choose your own destiny -- Jedi Knight or apprentice to the Dark Side of the Force? Build your own Ultimate Lightsaber with this Star Wars kit. Impress your friends with more than 1,000 lightsaber combinations, electronic lights and sounds. Lightsaber comes with one hit, two blades, two emitters, two caps, three power crystals, two hilt sleeves, one adapter, three sleeve rings and two switches.

Customer Reviews

Ultimate Cool
There is a very similar product called the Ultimate Light Saber from a few years back out there [not Clone Wars affiliated] so don't confuse the two. This is new version and here are the Pros and Cons.

Pros:
Multiple looks - As the box implies, you can make several different looking saber hilts. I would not go so far as to say over 1000 combinations like the box does. You'd have to count every smallest variation, no matter how small, possible to make that number.. But you have enough parts to make several cool and distinct hilts.

Parts - And those parts are, 1 main hilt for all parts to attach to and where all the electronics are, 1 clear saber blade, 3 rings [the top that holds the blade] one of which has a detachable blade guard so could be counted twice, 4 hilt sleeves that can be placed in various combinations, 5 end caps, and 3 crystals [Blue, Red and Green].

Lights - These crystals can be stored in a compartment in the bottom of the hilt or placed in slots in another side compartment to control the color of the blade. You have red, blue and green but you can also mix and match the crystals to get purple, white (pinkish white), yellow and aqua for 7 colors. My favorite is to just leave the crystals out entirely so that every time the saber is activated is cycles to the next color. All these lights are generated by combinations of 9 LED lights in the hilt, not bulbs which is a big plus for durability and no lenses needed.

Sounds - Each color gets a sound. There are 3 distinct "saber hums" depending on what color the blade is. Where one generic hum probably would have been expected they put in 3 and that is pretty cool. Each hum also has its own distinctive active and deactivate sounds.

Hit Sounds - In addition to the hums and activation sounds there are about 4 hit sounds which are various swings and saber clashes that are activated when you strike something [like another saber]. It is not motion sensitive though, you do have to actually hit something but...

Durability - As much as I've changed the parts, pushed and pulled crystals and swung this around and banged it around with the kids it still looks like new and I've had no issues with anything breaking. That's a big plus in my book.

Cons:
< 1000 - Like I said, you'd have to be counting all the sounds, lights, putting things on backwards and upside down and all kinds of crazy stuff to get up to 1000 combo's. But I have about 4 really cool hilts I like plus the different sounds and lights so I'm happy.

Fighting - Because of the interchangeable nature of the toy it can sometimes happen that the ring gets loose or the sleeves move around a bit. But, once I found my favorite hilts and was sure to tighten them down I was in good shape.

The "L" Cap - There's some Sith [Maris Brood] that uses a handle on the side of the saber [like a billy club] and this cap is included but it is hard to use and a bit odd feeling plus for some reason they did not include a hole through which you can actually turn on the saber without doing that first then screwing the cap on. Weird. So, I just don't use it.

So six to three, pros win! And really those 3 cons were a bit of a reach and don't affect the fun of the toy really. With several cool looks and tons of different colors and sounds this is a solid fun and cool toy that I recommend.

Great for those who want their own personalized lightsaber
A while ago Hasbro released the Star Wars Ultimate Lightsaber set. As those who got it or who saw it in stores well know, this set allowed you to build your own personalized lightsaber. Now flash forward to 2008. The Ultimate Lightsaber makes it's return, this time as the Star Wars Clone Wars Ultimate Lightsaber.

This time around theres a few new items that those of the original set never got which allows you to recreate the lightsabers of Yoda, Mace Windu, Count Dooku, and even Maris Brood from the video game "The Force Unleashed." Some elements from the original set are missing, such as the lens disks that went over the bulb and the bulb housing itself. Others, while still there, have changed in design, these are the sleeves, the hilt, and the caps.

The handle is, of course, the heart and soul of the set. In essence it's an LED flashlight powered by three AA batteris. Depending on how many of the "Kyber crystals" put in place a minimum of three out of the nine bulbs will always come on. Each set of three is linked to a certian crystal slot so as to activate the bulb of that color when you turn the lightsaber on. Also, the placement of the crystals helps to determine the sound effects.

Beyond the handle lightsaber construction is fairly simple once you get used to it. Simply place the telescopic blade over the LED end of the handle and then screw on one of the three sleeve rings to hold it in place. Select one of the three Kyber crystals, insert it into it's housing (there are three slots in the crystal housing, each fitting a particular crystal only and the none can be put into the wrong slot), and you're all set. In fact that's all you need do as the handle itself is nicely decorated already but is unable to hold the blade in place by itself. But this only renders nine designs (remember there's three different rings and you could choose to use just one of the three crystals at a time with each ring, so three times three), and the most basic designs at that. If you want to go beyond these nine you can add a second cyrstal to the crystal housing (or if you're like me you can choose all three at once for a white/silver blade color). This adds another nine possible lightsabers as you can have and additional three different colors per ring.

Yet you can keep going further. Add one of the four endcaps to the mix. Slide on at least one of the four different hilt sleevs. Add the Tonfa handle. Add the blade-emitter guard to one of the sleeve rings. Sudenly the possibilities seem endless (well, Hasbro figues only a thousand possibile combinations, but that's still a lot of possibilities to go through

The most noticeable difference between this and the original set is the lack of the second telescopic blade. The original set gave you the option of making a double-bladed lightsaber, much like Darth Maul's weapon or one of the types wielded by the player character in "Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy" (or as those into the EU know, the design created by the fallen Jedi turned Dark Lord of the Sith Exar Kun). While it's loss may be something to be mourned by owners of the original set, the inclussion of the tonfa handle, which produces a police riot club type lightsaber, and the LED handle seem to make up for it's loss in my mind.

While the set is quite enjoyable, it falls a little shy of five stars for an over all score. The missing elements of the first set are excuseable as having them with all the new elements would have greatly increased the price. Plus why should those who own the original set buy the stuff they already have just to get new elements? But some of the elements of this new set have lowered the overall score.

Firstly, the tonfa handle. As I already said, it's addition is one of the things that makes up for the loss of the second blade from the original set. But when wielding the lightsaber by this handle I'm a little worried it will break. While it may be just fine, I find myself wishing it were a solid piece. Though that would add to the weight, it would also increase the durability.

Secondly, I'm far too reminded of my first lightsaber, a C cell flashlight painted to look like a lightsaber with a white telescopic blade that screwed in place The bottom most part of the blade naturally never retracted so when collapsed it was little more that a flashlight baton, the kind you see police and others who control traffic at outdoor events such as fairs use to direct traffic. I purchased this lightsaber back in '97 and have since purchased a Hasbro Qui-Gon lightsaber, a Darth Vader costume lightsaber, and a spring activated lightsaber. All of these the telescopic blade fully collapses into the handle, leaving you with something that looks more like what a lightsaber should look. And further there is less worrying about potentially damaging the blade when it's collapsed. Yet this blade does not collapse into the handle.

Also, with the new spring action style the now classic flick of the wrist extending blade is a bit archaic. It would have been nice to see this new set incorporate the spring action for activating the blade as well as having the blade fully collapse into the handle. It's understandable why they didn't do so, but it's still disappointing.

One of the disappointment's I've got, and it may just be mine, is the duration the blade stays active for. After so many minutes it automatically shuts off. Why? Is it just to save power. I'm a collector of Star Wars items, and I admit to occasionally playing with the toys, particularly lightsabers. But if I were a kid learning to be a Jedi this would prove a huge turn off for me.

Finally, the blade-emitter guard. It's required to make Dooku's blade, But I have so far found it too difficult to remove without fear of breaking it. If I can ever get it off undamaged I am unsure I'll want to put it back on.

However, despite it's minuses, the biggest plus is that you can make your own personalized lightsaber. This is the greatest thing about both sets. Prior to the first set you had your choice, generic lightsaber or character specific. There was never a lightsaber to suit you personally. Folks who follow Star Wars know that each Jedi is expected to build his or her own lightsaber and it says something about who they are. But again, until the first set was released you had to settle on a generic design or that of a specific character. Yet no more with the sets. Now you can make a lightsaber to fit your personality.

2 additional comments...
Having read the four earlier excellent reviews, I have two additional comments to add.

#1 - I would like Hasbro to sell a connector piece to allow two lightsaber hilts to be connected together to make a double-bladed lightsaber like the one wielded by Darth Maul. The first lightsaber kit had the ability to make a double-bladed lightsaber, but it was with one hilt, thus making it a rather small area to hold onto. This concept seems like it would be a no-brainer to the people at Hasbro as it would encourage people to buy two kits, rather than just the one.

#2 - I would appreciate if Hasbro would take the time to align the threads of the screw on pieces better so that they sit at better and straighter angles and are not lop-sided and misaligned. When you try to attach a front piece like Count Dooku's sleeve ring with Count Dooku's end cap, they are badly misaligned to each other.

Also, in regard to D Strick's comment, "Like I said, you'd have to be counting all the sounds, lights, putting things on backwards and upside down and all kinds of crazy stuff to get up to 1000 combo's." Well, naturally they are counting each and every nuance of all the variations. It is all in the wording. It doesn't say "Over 1,000 completely different and wholly unique variations of lightsabers possible." They aren't going to lie, just maybe use their verbiage to their benefit.

I want to say that I greatly appreciate the quality reviews so far written. It is nice to see that people other than trolls can still write reviews. :-)