Crimson – A Solo Star Wars Story inspired saber

Hello Everybody, I felt it was about time I got back to designing sabers that were Star Wars related and what better way than with a design inspired by the latest movie, SOLO – A Star Wars Story? Well I started my design process as I always do by looking for a suitable character who didn’t have a saber in the film. Well there was only one saber in the whole film so there was a lot of candidates. Chewbacca maybe? But I already made one for him, Lando? The same. Ok Han Solo? He could use a saber but I designed Bloodstripe. Right then Qi-Ra, how about her? Qi-Ra is a new character, doesn’t have a saber, looks as if she could handle one….yes I’ll design a saber for her! The next step was to look for design cues to link the saber to her. Colours, shapes and oh yes markings all went into this hilt and here is the result…

Crimson Qi-Ra Hilt

Crimson Qi-Ra Emitter

Crimson Qi-Ra Emitter 2

Crimson Qi-Ra Pommel/sound vent

Crimson Dawn Logo

This hilt is one of the first I came up with when I began modelling in Blender using more than just adding building blocks and moving them around. The hilt is coloured a sort of velvety grey/brown which reminded me of the dress Qi-Ra wore at the drinks party aboard the villain’s starship yacht. The emitter is basic but has “windows” cut into it to allow light to shine through from the blade when ignited. The switch is basic but has a nice accent colour of gold to compliment the hilt. There are functions in Blender called “Modifiers” which help mould parts into more complex shapes. I used a “Wireframe Modifier” to create the hand grip ridges. The hilt handle then flares out slightly near the pommel to give a feminine shape and bit of interest to a basic tube! But the best part I feel is the pommel which I modelled on Qi-Ra’s tattoo and necklace. This emblem belongs to a criminal gang called “Crimson Dawn” and Qi-Ra may or may not be part of the organisation but one person most definitely is and this is his version of the hilt…

Crimson Saber

Crimson Hilt 2

Crimson Horned Emitter

Crimson Pommel

Crimson sound vent

Yes, this hilt belongs to the kingpin of Crimson Dawn, the Dathomirian we saw in The Phantom Menace…Darth Maul! He is briefly seen with a an old damaged lightsaber and I thought if he was such a successful crime-lord he would have a better weapon. So this is what I came up with. With just a little change in colour scheme and reshaping the emitter I had another hilt. I added some triangular points around the mouth of the emitter to represent Maul’s horned head and darkened the hilt to a black handle with contrasting Crimson red accents….just like his tattooed face! I think he would approve of this weapon.

Oh and I nearly forgot to mention, I have been experimenting with screenshots and here is one final “glamour” shot of the hilt for my catalogue…

Phew, that post was slightly longer than I planned but I hope you enjoyed it. I feel it shows I am progressing in 3D modelling. I still have three droid inspired hilts, two vehicle themed sabers and the special TLJ inspired design I know somebody is eagerly awaiting. They will all appear in future posts and I sincerely hope you will come back and check them out. Thank you for visiting today whether you are a regular viewer or a first timer, I appreciate your support. Till next time….

“Crimson Saber” is a For Tyeth Edition and is © Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-18. “Crimson Dawn”, Darth Maul, Qi-Ra and all other names, logos and related material are Trademark/© Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm 2018.

Paladin Defenders Crystal Katana – for DK44 and his Younglings

Hello Everybody, and especially to DK44 and his younglings (hi guys!). Today is VERY, VERY exciting as not only do I have a completely new bespoke FT Editions design but I have learned there is going to be a new season of Star Wars – The Clone Wars which is mega news…and I may have been overdoing things a little, but more on that later. You all came to see a new saber so I had best get on with this post.

I have had a bit of a Voltron Legendary Defenders theme going after I was introduced to it by DK44. The group of five intrepid heroes lends itself to inspire new designs. I built an “inspired by” hilt (see it here) as a way to practise using Blender and I think I have the hang of it now. So here is a saber which came about through my conversation with DK44, where he asked “Are you making a Voltron Katana Tyeth?”…Er, yes I have and I have taken it step further, here is Voltron Paladin “Crystal” Katana…

Voltron Paladin Crystal Katana

Voltron Paladin Crystal Katana 2

Voltron Paladin Crystal Katana 3

Like the pommel? Lion heads!

So to tie in this design with the original Voltron saber seen in the cartoon I used the same style yellow/black handgrips for the body. I just straightened out the bend from the handgrip and added a few indents for grip and detail. The tsuba handguard is a basic hexagonal shape with faces that could have further details etched into. The activation switch sits in it’s own recessed cavity so users don’t accidently de-activate the blade during battle. And as a finishing touch I used the Robo Lion head models I previewed in earlier posts as a pommel piece! And I envisaged that each Lion Head would be colour coded to the Paladin that was using the saber, This means you could make five sabers in corresponding colours, one for each member of Voltron. (To save space I just displayed the yellow version but you can switch colours easily enough).

But I can hear you all say, “Hey Tyeth! Why is this a “Crystal” Katana? It isn’t made of crystal!”….Well no, it isn’t made of crystal but this saber does contain a “Crystal Chamber” which I made and slotted in! It is my first chamber so is basic but I know I can develop it and make it look more “techy” for use in future builds. And if you missed the crystal chamber in the above pics here is a second gallery of close-up pics…

A crystal chamber!

A crystal chamber! Closer.

A crystal chamber! Closer still.

A green crystal, support rods and vents

Because I learned how to merge two model files into one, I was able to build the saber hilt in one file and a second file for the chamber. I tweaked the chamber and when I was happy with it I imported it into the file with the saber and positioned it into the hilt. This means I have so much more control as I can create any object then merge it into whichever project I am working on. And speaking of projects…remember I mentioned above I may have been overdoing things? I have gotten a bit carried away building and I have FIVE more brand new hilts waiting to be displayed!! I have two Solo movie inspired hilts, two droid replicas and a special TLJ inspired saber  coming up!

I am afraid I’m out of time for this Crystal Katana offering, I hope you all enjoyed it. Please call back to see my five new hilts in future posts (Now I don’t usually brag or show off about my creations but I have to say I think you will be impressed by the TLJ saber – I even impressed myself). I very much appreciate your support and comments. Till next time….

“Voltron Legendary Defenders” and all names, logos and related materials are Trademark/© Copyright of DreamWorks Entertainment. “Voltron Paladin Crystal Katana” is an FT Editions saber and is © Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-18.

Paladin Defenders Revisited – FT’s New Blender Version

Hello everybody, nice to see you again – and I mean that literally…my eye has returned to normal and I can see clearly again. And as a result I have been able to work hard on this post and design. You may remember a few weeks ago I posted a design based on Voltron Legendary Defenders the cartoon anime series about a group of five intergalactic heroes who battle to keep Earth safe. The defenders, known as Paladins have a range of gadgets ranging from grappling hooks to broadswords. They also have five mechanised “Lions” that the Paladins pilot. These Lions can combine to form a large humanoid shaped robot and that robot has a bladed weapon. It is this weapon I chose to try and pay tribute to with an “inspired by” design to help me really get to grips with the 3D modelling software Blender. So to my good friend DK44 and his younglings, who are BIG Voltron fans, and to you my viewers this is my redesigned Paladin Defender…

The Original Voltron Hilt

In the workspace

Added a metallic backedge spine

Two-tone handgrip

Pommel detail

Tsuba handguard

I used this build to try out a few different techniques, the first of which was getting a grip on using different materials. Sorry if the pics don’t show it up very well but the back edge of the blade has a metallic sheen to it highlighting the acrylic blade I showcased in my last post. The second technique involves using two materials on the same object. The handgrip demonstrates this as it is two tone, with a gloss yellow and matt black colours which I think really makes the yellow details “Pop”. The main handgrip (the upper grey one) I used as a sculpting project. Using the “Subdivide” and “Loop Edge Cuts” functions I was able to create the ridges in the handle by segmenting it then scaling the segments appropriately. The same applied to the red and silver Tsuba hand guard which was an exercise in shaping the part and adding multiple materials. So I had an upper and lower handgrip, a Tsuba hand guard, a back edge spine and an acrylic blade…all I had to do was line up the parts and group them together and I had the finished hilt! The pics above were from the Blender workspace so here are a few more “beauty” shots of the hilt…

Paladin Defender Pommel

Paladin Defender lower grip and Tsuba

Paladin Defender Tsuba

Palddin Defender Handgrip

Paladin Defender Blade

Paladin Defender rear grip

The Paladin Defender (Blender Version)

That just about wraps up this post and design but I just have time to mention a conversation I had with DK44 where he thought I was making a “Voltron Katana”…well Paladin Defender is not quite a katana but is Voltron themed! However as a way to get you and DK44 to come back and see future posts, guess what?….I have also built a Voltron Katana! So please call back to see that in my next couple of posts. Your support is fantastic and much appreciated. I have to go now and begin designing my own range of hilts. Till next time.

“Voltron”, “Voltron Legendary Defenders” and all associated names, terms and material are © Copyright/Trademark of DreamWorks Entertainment. “Paladin Defenders Lightsaber” is a For Tyeth Edition and is © Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-18.

Building Blades – Adventures into Acrylics and Curves

Hello Everybody, sorry this post is a few hours late but I have had a few setbacks this past week. Firstly one of my elderly relatives has had an accident and was hospitalised. Secondly I live in a cave/workshop which is bordered by public playing fields…but unfortunately a certain section of the public have decided to set up camp on the field with their caravans. Worse though, they are joy-riding around in their cars and box vans on the field and public paths which could cause an accident as there are children and dog walkers etc who use these play areas. They don’t directly affect me, but are distracting at all hours of the day and night. Thirdly I had to venture into town to get supplies and in the Outer Rim of the UK where I am there is a bit of a heatwave….well that triggers lots of pollen which has triggered a really bad reaction so my eye has been bloodshot and swollen shut for around 48hrs!

However there is good news I got a new “pet” mouse but this one has three buttons and a scroll wheel! Yes I have a new computer mouse so using Blender is now much easier. There are functions in the software that require a scroll wheel to use effectively and now I can! (And the mouse is even illuminated so I can work in the dark 😀 !) I have also made a little progress on learning new things and can now make an object appear to be made of acrylic or glass. Now as you know most lightsabers use a blade made of a plasma-like energy but I am working on a non Star Wars themed hilt which requires a transparent blade. So here are a couple of pics showing how my new blades look….

Blue Acrylic Blade…

And of course it comes in Green!

These pictures also show I have learnt how to add objects together. The hilt handle was imported and added to the blade file I was working on (to the Blender experts this is known as “Appending files”). So now I can make really complex shapes in separate parts, then import them into one file and arrange them to make a final product! This gives much more flexibility and should I make a complete mess of say a hilt handle, I can delete the handle but still retain the blade safely. The hilt I am working on is complex and here are a couple of test fitting images to show my progress…

Oops blade is too short!

Fixed that…looks better now!

Yes in the first image the blade was way out of proportion and shape but with the new technique to combine parts it was much easier to reopen the file for the blade I built, edit it then re-import the new blade. There is also the hand grip (grey part) and a Tsuba, or handguard which is red. Some of you may recognise the saber just from these parts but as another teaser and hint here’s one final image for today that may help identify which show it is from…

A group of five “Lions”

Sorry but I am still not feeling 100% so please excuse me as I finish here and get some Jedi Anti-Allergy capsules! Thank you so much for looking in today, it means a lot to know I am supported (especially from the 3 visitors from the USA who contributed 115 views between you on the 3rd July – I hope you liked the Katanas!) Please call back to see my progress in future posts and if you like what you see here be sure to tell your friends about FTSabersite….it would be most appreciated! Till next time…..

“FTSabersite” and “For Tyeth” are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2018. All content and designs are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2018.