Lately, I’ve been seeing many people making replicas of the master replica lightsabers. The saber has always been regarded as the master replica lightsaber. So since most people ask me how many ked’s in a Mr, I thought I would write this little article to gather all the information I could about these beauties.
KB toys originally contracted peter Jiang to make a replica of the lightsaber for their star wars figures. These sabers were made from a clear acrylic tube with a silver chrome coupler and painted silver details. These sabers were about 26″ long and used an electrical sounding effects board. They were similar to the mr2 sabers, which had a red button.
The first saber was released (in 1997) in December and sold for about $20. This replica lightsaber has always been regarded by many as THE master replica lightsaber due to its superior quality and size compared to the other Mrs of that time.
In 1999 KB toys introduced a new collection of figures. The sabers were changed to fit the unique style, very much like an obi-wan lightsaber. This is also when they began to use cheaper materials and polishing metal instead of chrome plating it. However, these sabers were still 26 inches long, used an electrical sounding effects board, and had a red button.
Some improvements were made over the years, like making the blade screws bigger to stop them from falling out or adding more screw holes to make it easier to install new blades. All of these lightsabers are the same except for minor details.
Over time KB toy’s changed hands, and their Star Wars line was merged with the Hasbro toy company. These sabers still use an electrical sounding effects board, but they now feature sound fonts instead of red or blue buttons. this led to some people referring to them as the “TPM sound version.”
Sound fonts are available on eBay if one is interested in trying out new sounds.
In 1998 Hasbro released their first Master Replica Saber, the MR1. It had a chrome blade paint and was about 27 1/ 2 inches long. It came with a blue coupler and black screws and used a precise blade.
The first-ever Master Replica lightsaber was the MR1. The mr1 used a grey coupler, grey screws, and chrome blade paint. Using a clear acrylic tube with a gleaming silver chrome plating on most of it with grey matte paint on the bottom 1/3.
The MR2 used a grey coupler, black screws, and silver blade paint. I was using a clear acrylic tube with an extremely shiny silver chrome plating throughout most of it.
In 2002 Hasbro released the MR1a lightsaber, which was exactly like the original MR1 but featured sound fonts instead of the red button. This led to some people referring to it as the MR1a sound version
the mr2 saber was reinstated in 2005 and used an orange coupler, black screws, and silver blade paint with silver chrome details. Using a darker grey acrylic tube that had more of a matte finish than the original mr2’s.
The MR3 was released in 2006 and featured sound fonts instead of the more common red button. this led to some people referring to it as the “Sound version.”
In 2008 Hasbro used an orange coupler, black screws, and silver blade paint with silver chrome details. It used a darker grey acrylic tube with a more matte finish than the original mr2’s.
The MR1b was released in 2008 and used the same frame as the MR3 but featured a blue coupler. It also came with precise screws instead of black ones. It used a darker grey acrylic tube with a more matte finish than the original mr2’s.
In 2010 Hasbro changed the frames on their lightsabers to be more like an obi-wan instead of having the infamous “neck” like all mr’s had until then. They no longer feature black screws but clear ones instead.
In 2011 Hasbro changed over to using a light grey acrylic tube which is much closer to the original MR2 one.
Since Hasbro has discontinued the MR1,2 and 3 lightsabers, it is important to note that Hasbro has begun using acrylic tubes for their blades. This means there are many examples of what can be called “virgin” MR1a/b/c sabers, which only used the tube and never had a blade inside them.