Sean Looi Says

This is from the Master Replicas newsletter...
"For 2006, Master Replicas currently has 7 categories of products:

Elite Editions (EE)
Limited Editions (LE)
Collectors Editions (CE)
Signature Editions (SE)
Studio Scale
Force FX (FX)
Scaled Replicas (minis)

We'd like to clarify the difference between the Elite Edition, Limited Edition, and Collectors Edition. Here's a quick summary:

Elite Edition (EE) - Available to Collector's Society members only and will be constructed from the most premium materials available.

Limited Edition (LE) - Available through http://www.masterreplicas.com/ and will have a numbered plaque with an edition size cap. It has the same construction as the current Limited Editions. Select International Distributor partners will be provided with a very small quantity of the Limited Editions to help reduce some of the international shipping costs.

Collectors Edition (CE) - In response to our customer requests for a less expensive/ "costuming"/more youth accessible prop replica. Available through our retail partners and will be unlimited. Collectors Edition replicas will uphold the high quality appearance but will use slightly different materials so that they can be priced lower.

There has been a lot of concern regarding the new Limited Edition/Collectors Edition strategy. Here are some key things to know regarding why we have a new Limited Edition/ Collectors Edition strategy:

- When the Limited Edition version of an item sells out, then it will be gone for good. Through the Collectors Edition, new collectors will be able to still collect popular character's prop replicas for many years to come, long after the Limited Editions have sold out.

- Collector's with a Limited Edition will have a collectible that's part of a capped edition run. We hope to keep the edition runs for the 2006 products tighter than 2005 and hope that this will help maintain and improve the value of the Limited Edition replicas.

We hope that this will help clarify the new Limited Edition/Collectors Edition strategy for 2006, and provide our customers with the greatest amount of choice when purchasing their favorite prop replica."

I've got to wait about two weeks for the other minis, namely the Obi Wan, Darth Vader, and Mace Windu, to arrive. Longer still for the Qui-Gon Jinn lightsaber because that one is a new release. But anyway, I'll post a few photographs to give you an idea of how the sabers will look.

Obi Wan - Revenge of the Sith

Darth Vader - Revenge of the Sith

Mace Windu - Attack of the Clones

Qui-Gon - The Phantom Menace

After a few days, I finally decided to indulge myself and get the Master Replicas Mini Lightsaber (.45 Scale). I plan to get ten of them and here's what I have in mind:

1. Anakin ROTS (bought)
2. Obi Wan ROTS (ordered)
3. Darth Vader ROTS (ordered)
4. Count Dooku ROTS (ordered)
5. Master Yoda ROTS(bought)
6. Darth Sidious ROTS (bought)
7. Mace Windu AOTC (ordered)
8. Darth Maul TPM (bought)
9. Luke Skywalker ROTJ (ordered)
10. Qui-Gon Jinn TPM (ordered)

ROTS = Revenge of the Sith
AOTC = Attack of the Clones
TPM = The Phantom Menace
ROTJ = Return of the Jedi

So I currently have four of them at the moment. When I see the pictures of the mini scaled ones on the internet, I thought the size was pathetic. But after I got my hands on them, I take it back, I think they are awesome. The quality is good, it feels solid and very heavy for something so small. And I got all this at a price of $399 for all ten.

One reason I decided to go for the minis is because they are cheaper than the full scaled replicas (which cost $375 each!). The cheaper Collector Editions (CE's) are also full scale replicas, but is cheaper ($199) so that the more common folk will get their chance to collect these stuff. But the material used in CE's are not as good in quality as the Limited Editions (LE) and the Mini.

For all you know, I might even start a collection of Collector Edition Lightsabers! Just a thought...