Note: Vintage review – this review is from an earlier version of our homepage and is correspondingly old!
First impression
Even if you're used to the regular Anakin FX lightsaber, you can't tell whether this saber is the version with or without a removable blade. Nothing has changed on the outside.
Handling
As usual, the Anakin sits nicely in the hand. Thanks to being slightly head-heavy, this saber is great for tricks and spins. The clamp can get in the way, though, since its edges are fairly sharp.
Also, as with the other versions of the Anakin FX lightsaber, there's a risk of accidentally switching it on and off due to the unfortunate position of the switch on the clamp.
Light and sound
In this saber, too, 64 LEDs light up the blade. So of course the saber still isn't suitable for combat, even though the blade is now removable.
To remove it, you have to unscrew the button in front of the ears. Hasbro completely reworked the sounds.
The 3 swing and 4 clash sounds are now louder (CF volume!), clearer and more aggressive.
The power-on and power-off sounds are good too. However, the transitions from the power-on sound to the saber's normal hum and from there to the power-off sound aren't clean, there's a tiny pause. The saber also now has a new sound that plays when the blade is plugged in and out.
In addition, when you switch on the saber with the blade removed, you hear a sound like a short circuit. The saber runs on 3 AAA rechargeable batteries.
Wear
The gold paint on the clamp plate, as well as on the switch and copper eyes, fades over time and flakes off.
Verdict
The new and good sounds in particular set this saber apart from its fixed-blade counterpart.
The removable blade is another good innovation. However, since this blade still contains LEDs, it's useless for combat.
