36 replies to this topic

[Prometheus]

Okay..... Got it about an hour ago. First impressions: This thing is amazing!!! The lithium battery needs to charge for 2 hours before you can use it. So I havent shot anything yet. LOL

The P2 body and grip are almost all metal; the P1 ( which houses the lithium battery) is pretty much all plastic.

The phaser case is REALLY cool....

The quality is top notch and it's worth every penny.

The magnetic base is metal and it has a very nice felt bottom.

[richpit]

I ordered mine from thinkgeek on Thursday.  Still haven't received notification that it's shipped or anything. Can't wait! 

[Prometheus]

I ordered mine from thinkgeek on Thursday.  Still haven't received notification that it's shipped or anything. Can't wait! 

I think you really will like it....

[richpit]

I think you really will like it....

 

I'm sure I will!  I'm very excited about it.  I just hope I don't have any of the small problems being discussed over at TPZ.  Small issues, but still...I'd rather have none! 

[Qcjoe]

Just went searching, and found this:

 

If they make a Next Gen phaser (any except the Dustbuster), that'd be an instant purchase if it was as good as that!

I second that.  It still is pretty damn cool though.

[Gothneo]

I picked one of these up the other day myself. 

 

Initial reaction is this is a really nice replica. 

 

On the plus side.

 

1. Its built of solid materials, and overall... is very accurate to screen used Hero Phasers. 

2. the sound eFX are superb, and there variation and number of eFX are generous, there is a different effect for each setting level, so ten in all.

3. the magnetic base is a very nice way to display it. 

4. the case is a nice touch. 

5. The Type 1 and 2 phasers are separable. 

6. The Color eFXs are bright, bold and impressive! 

7. it vibrates when fires! 

8. the voice eFx are very clear and useful

9. the use of the color to id different memory banks is well done.

 

On the negative side.

 

1. As an actual remote controller, its a complete failure IMO. I was able to get it to program, but didn't have any success at actually controlling TV channel s, sound or power. Even if it did work, the Experience is simply too clumsy with the phaser. I actually can see how it would work well for a wand, but a gun is held differently and the ergonomics make the concept of a remote mostly a gimmick IMO.

 

2. I really think the case is cool, but, they should have had the cut outs made for an Assembled Type II body. If you were really transporting this and needed to use it at a moments notice, you would never have to screw something in. You should be able to grab the Type I and Type two body snap them together and go!

 

3. The charging cable it comes with is pretty flimsy. I didn't bother with it.

 

4. The charging port is only on the Type I. It would have been nice to be able to charge it when completely assembled. 

 

5. The Type I Level button is repurposed, making it the most glaring departure from a true replica, but its completely understandable to make a Practice, eFx and Control modes.

 

6. to change the eFx setting of the Type I, you have to redock the Type I to the Type II body. 

 

Most of my issues are just nits, but the biggest issue is that if you got it thinking you might actually use it as a universal remote, I think you'd be disappointed, and if they just took the remote options out and didn't repurpose the Type I level setting, this would be a gold standard Hero Prop Replica. 

 

So the real question is For $150 the Wand company is asking is it a real bargain? I think the answer is Yes! 

 

DST still comes in at the low end with their screen used (because ENT actually used them in production!) accurate trek tek phasers, so they are still you best value IMO. 

 

Compared to the cost of a good Hero Prop from Roddenberry, they are cheaper, and typically Roddenberry gets kits, and then sells them, and when they sell out it can be years before they get more kits back in stock... basically they wait until demand drives prices up, and make more, so they don't flood the market. 

 

I don't think this offering will have much of an impact, because the collectors that pick up Roddenberry kits are typically trying to get something as close as possible to what was used on the show... and this phaser has taken a departure from that path to support the remote functions. Still its a very nice addition to a collection, and I could see some intrepid customizers, attempt to fix the few minor superficial flaws. If they are successful, they will have a very nice Hero Phaser!

[Alteran195]

Ordered this today, it was 10% off plus a 20% off promo code... So $114 for it seemed to good a deal to pass up.

Really looking forward to it, if it's anything like the Sonic Screwdrivers it should be fantastic.

[Alteran195]

Got it yesterday, I'm very happy with it. The quality is absolutely amazing, and the vibration motor really adds a lot to the feel of it. Its an absolutely terrible remote, but I don't buy their stuff for a good remote, I buy them because they're damn good prop replicas at reasonable prices.

 

It also really makes me appreciate stands... I want DST to make display stands for their Phasers so bad, the TWOK Phaser seem to be able to stand on its handle no problem, but the TOS one doesn't. Also, based on the pictures of the ST 3 one, I don't expect it to either. They could just sell them separate for like $10-$15 to keep the Phaser prices down and it'd be fine with me. I'm sure they could come up with some universal option. Hell, if there isn't much demand, get a 3d printer and print them when they're ordered to save cost.

 

Like I said earlier in the thread, every product the Wand Company seems to make surpasses their previous efforts in terms of quality. I really hope they do a TNG Phaser next, the style of them would really work well with their whole gesture based controls. 

 

Here's an album comparing it to the DST Phaser, as well as some more comments. 

http://imgur.com/a/XKKVx

[tuvok47]

Does anyone else's phaser remote have a little bit of a rattle to it? Like something's loose somewhere?

[Alteran195]

Does anyone else's phaser remote have a little bit of a rattle to it? Like something's loose somewhere?

Mine has a rattle in the type 1, but both of their sonic screwdrivers have something like it too. Not nearly as bad, but they're also a lot smaller. 

 

My theory is it has something to do with the gesture controls. 

[Jay K]

Firstly, thanks for using imgur man. Secondly, great comparison.

[Alteran195]

Firstly, thanks for using imgur man. Secondly, great comparison.

Ever since I found imgur I feel it works far better then Photobucket or flickr or whatever else is out there. I just cant seem to embed the pictures on the forum anymore for some reason. 

 

And thank you.

[Jay K]

Big reply regards why imgur is better than photobucket, posted in spoiler tags so as not to derail the thread too much.

Spoiler

Oh it's much better dude. I think the main reasons people use Photobucket is because firstly, they think their photos are not downloadable, and secondly, that they'll be hosted for years. Firefox allows you to save any media on a webpage with just a few clicks, and the adware on photobucket is a major turn off for me. Imgur doesn't delete photos (I've got some links that I put up in 2010!), and the site is rarely slow, let alone down.

Regards posting photos on the forum, copy your direct URL from imgur (ending '.jpg'), and post it inbetween these tags with the asterisks removed:

[*IMG*]yourlinkhere[*/*IMG*]

 

Also, with imgur, you can resize the image by inserting either s, m or l (small L) just before '.jpg' (i.e. 'http://i.imgur.com/acLBL63m.jpg'), which makes pages load in faster - just post the direct link underneath:

 

Small

 

Medium

 

Large

 

Original link - http://i.imgur.com/acLBL63.jpg

 

Hope that helps.

[robster]

Thanks JK,that does actually help. Just remembering how much back and forth I had trying to post pics here a while ago,lol! But that was also me not knowing how to do it. Now I kow,and will try to remember it if I ever post pics again.

 

And to stay on topic,as always,that phaser looks really cool and I'm very tempted to buy it. But I kinda like the sushi set as well,even though I don't like sushi,lol!

 

J-R!

[Destructor!!!]

I didn't know about s, m, or l! But I did know that h gives you a website-optimised size:



And yes! Imgur is SO much better.

People complain about compression, but I'm pretty much compression-blind - I can look right through it, so it doesn't bother me. Also, I think having an Imgur pro or whatever account eliminates compression - and pro accounts were just made free recently!

I hate, loathe and despite Photobucket and its ilk - the way they redirect from the image URL to their site, then make you do a run-around to find the original-sized image file - and if they've arbitrarily deleted the file, they redirect to their crappy front page!? NO! That is unforgiveable.

[Jay K]

Agree on all counts, and thanks for the pro and 'H' information dude!

[Gothneo]

Has anyone actually gotten to work as a remote? and if so do you find the gestures to be akward at all??