Hey all.
As you may be aware, I've been lucky enough to win the grand prize in the recent raffle run by US.
48 hours on, and I'm still reeling a little - and no closer to choosing my two prize 'sabres then I was on Tuesday afternoon. If anything, I'm even further away!
My entry into the raffle was a
Bellicose with Arctic Blue blade and Adegan Silver flash, so a part of me thinks I should be looking to complement that... but at the same time, the possibilities are so rich I'm struggling. Unlike
The White Knight, who knew the answer before the question was even asked, I don’t have an especially strong preference for one or two designs out of the rest – not now that I’ve ordered my Bellicose, anyway.
At first, I thought I'd just pick two 'sabres off my wishlist (see my sig) but even just picking two from the four is not easy. A little practicality has crept in, and as the SI 'sabre is about $70 cheaper than the others on my wishlist, I figure I can get to buying it sooner rather than later (
love the vertical grooves, though).
So, if I'm looking at two single hilts then I think my choice comes down to three: A Bane, a Shock LE and a Manticore. I think that's pretty good, as if I've counted correctly US do
45 'sabres.
For the
Bane, this would be as close as seems possible to replicating the
Joclad Danva/Lumas Etima 'sabre. Both were among one of the Jedi killed on Geonosis, both get about two seconds of screen time, but the design of their lightsabres was somehow found (or designed) by the guy who used to run thelightsabre.net (now, alas, lost to history and the internet archives). I used to spend hours on that site, and something about that hilt always spoke to me - a nice mix of practical utility and elegance, with the silver emitter and collar contrasting nicely with the stark black of the ridged hilt. This would have a Guardian Blue blade, with flash to be decided (options are Blazing Red, Adegan Silver, Arctic Blue and Bane’s Heart – Red might be cool as it’s kind of a brutish looking hilt). The funny thing is that when I discovered US, I looked right past the Bane - but opinions can change.
The
Shock LE is similar to one of the
clan 'sabres used by a number of Jedi around Episodes I and II. Aayla Secura and Adi Gallia, I believe, were among those who used them. I love the gold highlights to this hilt (the plain Shock and Dark Shock are also outside possibilities, but for me the LE just edges it). As my first US was an Aeon LE, having a 'bigger brother' to it seems cool. If I went for this one, it'd probably be in Violet Amethyst or Dark Violet Amethyst, with an appropriate flash (I've asked Emory about what's available, just in case there's some experimental mixes that catch my eye, but otherwise both can only flash Adegan Silver or Bane’s Heart, I believe).
Finally, the
Manticore... This is just a beautiful 'sabre. It's shorter than the Bellicose or Bane, and I quite like the idea of having it as an off-hand weapon with a shorter blade. At the same time, it seems like it is long enough to hold two-handed, and the relatively simple design would mean it'd be easy to hold. This would have the high-profile pommel, so would be a little longer as a result. It’d probably have an Adegan Silver blade with possibly a Consular Green or Blazing Red flash (because, apparently, I can’t even decide on light side or dark side...)
It’s also occurred to me is that this is a perfect chance to get a genuine lightsabre staff. To that end I've been considering pairing up two hilts, and how they'd go together. Long story short, to my mind there's only one staff I'd want - a
Reaper/
Crimson Reaper staff. Having seen various Reapers on the forum, I was thinking the Reaper could have an Adegan Silver blade with Blazing Red or Guardian Blue flash, and the Crimson Reaper a Sentinel Yellow or Blazing Red blade and either Adegan Silver or Fire Orange flash... but even that I can't decide on!
It would have been easier to win a random 'sabre, in a way - not that I'm complaining! So I need your help, guys. If you own any of these, what made you choose them over anything else? If you're dreaming of owning one of them, what draws you to that one? If you'd choose something else entirely in my place,
what would you choose, and why? I'm open to suggestions - I've recently started thinking that the Monarch could look cool as part of a pike, whereas previously I couldn't really see the appeal to it. While I don't think I'll be steered too far from the ones I mentioned, opinions can change, so if you really think that what I need in my life is a War Glaive, Raven or Malice, then let me know.
Thanks all in advance - especially as this ended up kinda long!
JC
