First Impression
Even at first glance the Anakin ROTS seems very high-quality.
It has got, as its ideal the Graflex Flashgun, the typical “Bunny-Ears”, two buttons, the activatingbutton and the clamp, that is designed more aesthetic than at the flashgun. Compared to the LE saber it is slightly bigger, apart from that the design was taken 1:1.
Even by this saber, there are different versions, the first is known as "light metal" or "plastic version". It is made up of thinner metal than the other versions. In the second version are the gold buttons and the activator are in much darker gold than in the previous version.
The wiring is as well changed and the packaging was the original RotS box. The last version is optically seen the same with the previous, but it´s equipped with enhanced speakers and ignition sound.
Handling
Since this saber only requires 3 AA batteries it is really light.
Not as light as i.e. the Luke ROTJ but lighter than the Mace ROTS. The hilt fits well into the hand, but the activationblock is in the way doing fast hits and tricks. The activator is mounted under the block. This position is not useful since you turn off the saber quite often.
The balance is chosen well, it is a little top heavy, what doesn’t disturb.
Light and Sound
It glows in a nice blue, similar to the other blue sabers as Obi-Wan ROTS or Luke ESB.
The soundmodule is the same as in the Luke ROTJ or Obi-Wan ROTS, is quite loud and the sound is close to the original. All in all there are 3 Swing- and 4 Clashsounds.
Wearout
Using it regularly the golden color of the activator, the plate on the clamp and the copper eyes fades out.
Since chrome is used, fingertips and scratches are not avoidable, the cleaning is easy.
After a conversion different parts can be loose.
Conclusion
This saber is perfect for every beginner, the balance is good and it looks nice. Older versions even have a plug&play port, so you can disassemble it easier. But this version is not available anymore since February 2005.
The originally release date was no april fool, but april 1. 2005.
