SCOMP Saber – Inspired by R2-D2’s Communication Connector (2 of 2)

Hello Everybody, again I am posting twice this weekend! And this hilt is my way of thanking you for enduring THREE Astromech themed hilts! The hilts did vary in subtle ways and had little twists but this hilt is brand new all the way from the pommel up! In the Outer Rim of the UK our terrestrial television station has been showing a Star Wars season and they just showed Star Wars itself and it provided me with inspiration for this hilt. Now, George Lucas and his production crew created the whole film on a limited budget and the scenery and props where improvised from recycled materials. Costumes, props, lightsabers and droids were all built from everyday objects and scrap. One of Artoo’s “eyes” is actually the directional air nozzle from the overhead air conditioning panel of an aeroplane. But another part that caught my attention was the arm Artoo uses to interface with computer terminals…it was only when I watched the film 2 weeks ago I noticed it looked like a lightsaber. So I set to work on rebuilding the SCOMP connector into a lightsaber and here it is…

SCOMP Saber Ignited

SCOMP Saber 2

SCOMP Saber Pommel

SCOMP Saber Switch/power graph

SCOMP Saber Interface port connector

This is (I hope) a good representation of the device Artoo owns to communicate with computer terminals but turned into a saber, In a way you could say I have recycled an object for a new purpose just like the talented artists of LucasFilm did back in 1976 (one of which was a man called Tony Dyson, who built the majority of Artoo). The saber has a Jedi style blue blade which projects from the nozzle shaped part that connects to the terminals. It features the coloured segments that appear on the real life(?) mechanism (the copper and yellow coloured rings). I even managed to include the little bits of red wiring and as a really special touch of authenticity I included the two foil wound electrical resistors. The resistors are the two little capsule shaped objects with silver wires. In real life electronics they are used to control the amount of electricity flowing through a part of a circuit. They are also used in custom lightsaber replicas to protect the delicate LED lights from getting burned out! They come in a range of values and are colour coded, and in this case the brown resistor is a 39ohms resistor while the blue one is rated at 4.02 megaOhms just like the real prop has! (BTW these resistors would not be suitable for a real replica!) The nozzle shaped part just remined me of what is known as a “Thin Neck” saber where the emitter is mounted on a tube so there is a narrowed  section forming a neck section. Famous thin neck sabers include Obi-Wan Kenobi’s last saber (from Star Wars) and Luke Skywalker’s green hilt. Here are a few more pictures just to finish off this offering…

SCOMP Saber Interface port connector

The real prop (note the colours!)

Oh I also built a terminal socket too!

The scene from the film, SCOMP in use.

Ok…I had a little fun and built a SCOMP terminal socket too and the two fit together! Hopefully the pictures will show how close to it I got.

I am approaching the end of this post as I need to go and rest ready for next week, when I will be bringing you a very tribal style saber inspired by Marvel’s recent record breaking blockbuster movie. I hope you enjoyed SCOMP and will join me again next week to see my latest creation. Thank you so much for joining me for both of today’s posts so, Till next time….

“SCOMP Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2018. “R2-D2”, “Artoo” and all other names, logos, images and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm.

R2 Saber -For’s gift to the Iconic Astromech (1 of 2)

Hello Everybody, yes as you can tell this is another Astromech Droid based hilt. But this one is for the most iconic and famous of them all…. R2-D2! This plucky droid’s adventures stretch back over 8 movies, 4 animated series, a radio show (yes radio!) and will more than likely appear in Episode 9+1! Artoo is nearly as old as I am having first appeared on screen way back in 1977 over forty years ago. In all that time he has saved the day over and over. Well I felt he deserved a saber in recognition of this. I made a hilt for him last year called SensorScope but that was using the old software I used…this hilt is built entirely from scratch in Blender 3D. I call this new hilt simply R2 Saber….

R2 Saber Hilt

R2 Saber Domed

R2 Saber Vertical Up

R2 Saber – His head came off!

R2 Saber – Hidden Emitter Flute

R2 Saber – Emitter Close Up

This saber is based on the Astromech hilt body I used in my previous designs but as I have promised I tried pushing the boundaries and improving on previous sabers and this hilt has a “hidden” surprise. That surprise is, that where R5-PHT had an exposed emitter, R2 Saber has a hidden emitter under his domed head. The emitter is made to look a little more elegant in gold and is fluted to give it an interesting shape. This required that I made sure the emitter part would actually fit inside the domed blade plug cap. To achieve this I started using the “Wireframe” editing view. This as it sounds displays your model as a framework of interconnecting wires, a bit like early 3D space video games like 3D Tank and those Tomy binocular shaped games had. Here is a picture of the Wireframe view in Blender for comparison…

This image just shows the domed blade plug, the highlighted emitter part and the upper switch section of the saber but as you can see it is already pretty complex! However using this view mode I can ensure the orange bit sits snugly inside the domed cap making this view a very powerful tool. I can line up, resize and reshape parts all from this perspective and allows much more complicated designs. So now you have seen the work in progress you will want to see the glamour shots right? Here they are….

R2 Saber Glamour 1

R2 Saber Glamour 2

R2 Saber Glamour 3

R2 Saber Glamour 4

R2 Saber Glamour 5

R2 Saber full portrait.

OK I have tortured you all with Astromech sabers for three weeks so as a way of saying sorry would you like to see a second saber today? Well I am going to post a new saber that is based on R2 but with a difference – it is a “Thin Neck” design based on one particular part of Artoo’s anatomy. The design is called SCOMP Saber and you can find it by clicking HERE ! (I promise it is a completely new design with a few neat bits!)

I think that just about wraps up the Astromech designs, I hope you enjoyed them and liked their progression. Next week I have a new design based on the recent “Blockbuster” Marvel movie that broke nearly every record at the box office. I think my new friend “Obi-Wan Wakanda” might like it. So please go and check  SCOMP out and hopefully you will call back for the Marvel blockbuster themed hilt next week. Thank you all so much for today’s visit whether you are a first time visitor or regular viewer/follower…I appreciate the support. Till next time….(or my second post!)

“R2 Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2018. “R2-D2”, “Artoo”, StarWars and all other names, logos, images and related content are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm.

R5-PHT Saber – Inspired by the Imperial Astromech

Hello Everybody, I haven’t see you all since…well yesterday actually! Yes I have posted twice this week and in my second post of the week I have my second Astromech Droid inspired hilt to present to you. The droid is called R5-PHT and appeared briefly in SOLO – A Star Wars Story so is very new to the saga and lore. Technically you could argue this is just R5-D4 in different colours (and it does share a lot of similarities) but I learnt a new modelling trick to add a new feature. In real life custom sabers they are illuminated with very high powered LED lights. These can if shone directly into someone’s eyes cause injury so saber manufacturers created a device called a blade plug which is inserted into the emitter when the blade has been removed. This filters most of the light to allow people to look at the coloured light safely. This new hilt has a blade plug, so I now present R5-PHT…

R5-PHT Saber Imperial Astromech

R5-PHT Saber side

R5-PHT Emitter (without plug)

R5-PHT Pommel

R5-PHT Body Grip

R5-PHT Switches Close Up

R5-PHT Full Length

This hilt is similar to R5-D4 from my last post but has a gloss black and silver finish to match it’s character counterpart. I actually got to meet this droid when I attended my local Comic Con. He was posing for photos with his master Darth Vader….

Yours Truly and R5-PHT

R5-PHT and Vader (domed head)

R5-PHT and Vader (flat head)

R5-PHT actually has an interchangeable domed head which allows him to conduct different missions and it was the “Flat Head” version that inspired my blade plug design which you can see in these next pics…

R5-PHT Blade Plug

R5-PHT Blade Plug inserted

The plug slots into the hole left when the polycarbonate blade is removed. This protects the lens of the LED light and also allows people to look at the saber while it is lit without blinding themselves. The silvery white sections are translucent which diffuses the light making it safer to look at. It also acts as a bit of decorative detail when you aren’t swinging the saber around with a blade in. The plug’s segmented design reflects the panels on the top of R5-PHT‘s flat dome head. Now to wrap this design up a few “Glamour shots”…

R5-PHT Saber in the “workshop”

R5-PHT Saber on the Death Star 1

R5-PHT Saber on the Death Star 2

Phew! There you have it R5-PHT Saber. Now the new modelling trick I learnt for this hilt is called a “Boolean Modifier”. This function of the Blender software allows me to add an object and basically “liquefy” it so it is malleable. I can then press any other object into the first and it will leave an impression (just like pressing a stamp into modelling clay). This helped make sure the stem of the blade plug was the same diameter of the blade so it would fit the hole in the emitter. Clever!

Ok I am very pressed for time now and will have to finish here. But first I will let you know next week I have not one, but two hilts based off the most famous Astromech in Star Wars history (“beep BRap Whoop!!” No I can’t mention your name yet but I think everyone can guess it!”) I hope you will return to see these new hilts, they have a few surprises. But for now thank you for visiting today, whether it’s your first visit or you’re a regular viewer you are all welcome and much appreciated. Till next time…

“R5-PHT Saber”  is a “For Tyeth Editions” design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2018. R5-PHT is a Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm. The above images of Darth Vader posing with R5-PHT belong to the R2 Builders Club UK and The Sentinel Squad UK.

Two Years and Counting – Can it be that long?

Hello Everybody! Well this is a bit different, I was just preparing my next offering for you all and I received a message from WordPress congratulating me on my SECOND anniversary! To say that sneaked up on me is understatement. I don’t know where the last year has gone but it went quick. So in retrospective mode I thought I would just take a look back and see what I’ve done the past 365 days.

This isn’t in order as I am typing this off the top of my head but here are a few highlights(?)….Firstly I welcomed in a new year amid a wave of “Anti-Star Wars” feelings from fans. They were/are really upset about how the Star Wars legacy (and Luke Skywalker’s character) was treated in The Last Jedi. I saw the film and I thought it did some things it needed to but also a lot of stuff it didn’t. I have to say I haven’t watched it again (can’t afford the Blu-Ray just yet) but I did take a chance and watch SOLO – A Star Wars Story, which on the whole was an entertaining action flick. It spawned a few designs for me so it couldn’t have been as bad as folks predicted! Here are a few links to some SOLO themed hilts: Bloodstripe for Han , Calrissian – A Scoundrel’s Saber and L3-37 “Elthree” Lightsaber .

Another turbulent time for me was the closing down of the forum where I sort of  made my name. That forum was the SaberforgeForum run and owned by a custom saber manufacturer company that produced the “Adaptive Saber Parts” virtual builder I used to use to create designs. Well due to “business reasons” the owner, Phil Isherwood clamped down and shut the forum in March. But not before offering the members the chance to apply to become members of his Facebook page community! (Firstly the members who wanted to join shouldn’t have had to apply for entry and this was probably just Phil’s way to control the discussion about Saberforge). Saberforge also updated their Adaptive Saber Parts application with new parts (which had been promised over the 2 years since it launched but never showed up). Great news for most but the upgrade specifications needed to run the program meant I couldn’t use it as my laptop is old (really old). Sooo I had to learn some new tricks and I did….I learnt to use Blender 3D modelling software. This has had MANY positive benefits. It has made it possible for me to create a lot more diverse designs than was possible with ASP. With more work I’ll also be able send my designs out to be built in real life (hopefully).

I also discovered that I may have inspired the company named above as my series of Super Hero Hilts seems to have spawned a series of similar hilts from Saberforge – so maybe just maybe they saw my designs and “liked” them. It feels quite cool to have created something that inspired others. And speaking of inspiring I was inspired by the artwork of a few people around the net. One young lady called Capili Jiron runs a blog and YouTube channel titled “Artistbybeauty” who is a very talented artist. Capili asked for ideas on subjects for her to draw and I suggested Obi-Wan Kenobi from the Clone Wars Cartoon and she graciously obliged me! Here is the timelapse video!

If you want to see more then check out Capili’s YT channel by clicking >HERE or right here on WordPress at Artistbybeauty.blog

(I have been introduced to another young woman on YouTube recently who is a professional concept artist and very big Star Wars fan. I have sent her an email and saber design as a thank you for her entertaining and passionately presented Star Wars videos. I hope to hear back from her so I can display the saber here.)

And last but not least, a long time friend of mine, Prowl 1701 has set up a new Scifi themed review and discussion channel. You may remember Prowl from early posts I made where I designed a hilt for him based on the Transformers character he takes his profile name from. You can see the hilt by clicking > Prowler Lightsaber . Prowl is a big saber fan and owns around 20-30 lightsabers I think at the last count. If you are fans of sabers, Star Wars and SciFi in general then please go check out Prowl’s channels. He has the best cameraman on the internet, Eric, though I will warn some of the saber battles you will see there are a little intense! (I have advised Prowl and his friends on safety gear 😀 ) Here are the links:

Another Scifi Guy on YT (Prowl 1701)

Prowl 1701’s Saber Review Channel

As I mentioned this anniversary crept up on me so I wasn’t prepared for this post but I have at least marked the milestone. Whilst proofreading this post I also realised I was awarded a Liebster Award which was a great honour so thank you you for that. And as always I want to thank you all, my viewers, followers…friends, new and slightly more elder states-people for your support. It means a lot to me that people find what I create and post is mildly interesting. I will continue to design for as long as you come to see my work. And speaking of which in a few hours time I will be posting my scheduled post of another Astromech Droid Saber design. I hope you will join me for that hilt! Till midnight (that’s midnight GMT!)….

For Tyeth, FTSabersite and all it’s content (including all saber designs) is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2018. All other Copyrights/Trademarks are used either with permission or under Fair Use terms.

 

R5-D4 Saber – A saber for Red

Hello Everybody, today I continue the Star Wars designs with the first of my updated Droid designs! I designed a couple of hilts and applied new colour schemes to them a while ago (including Chopper and K2-SO) but I felt that they weren’t quite right. I was limited by having to rely on the parts available in the virtual saber builder software I used to use. However now I have the power of Blender (and it feels like real power – I’m having to be careful not to turn into a Sith!) I can create bespoke pieces of my own. So, as you can tell from the title this is for the unfortunate Astromech we saw in Star Wars A New Hope, R5-D4 or as Luke called him, “Red”. Again I wanted to push my boundaries and skills and this is the first of three droid hilts. So “Come on Red”….the audience wants to see you….

R5-D4 Body

The first bits of detail

Taking shape nicely

Added the optics

The finishing touches

These work in progress pictures show that R5-D4 is basically a tube to begin with but after some pushing, pulling and reshaping the outline of a basic Astromech appears. Astromechs have many panels and compartments and I tried to add a few of them as slightly recessed areas, which provide convenient gripping characteristics! I also made the blue and silver grill as a separate part then combined it with the body. This ensures that I can model the part and if I make a mistake it doesn’t ruin the work I have done on the hilt already. The same applies to the silver grills situated below. I then had to add the “optic sensors” which are 4 metallic parts that form R5’s face as it were. I noticed that R5’s “neck” section wasn’t quite right so I modelled the row of square windows that circle between his head and body. Ok we’re part way through the build so I will add a few more pics here…

Nearly forgot the red accents

Full length front view

Side on detail shot

The business end!

R5-D4 Saber was starting to look the part, however, the longer you tinker with a design, the more things you “find” that you want to alter or fix. Well I realised I had forgotten to provide a way to activate or switch the saber off! I fixed this by modelling the two red arm-like appendages that run horizontally across his body. In real life saber building there are special types of switches called “Tactiles” which can measure as small as 5mm square and just a few mm tall. I imagined using one of these switches attached underneath the red arms to form the On/Off switch. Then it was a matter of tweaking parts and repositioning to get the hilt in proportion(ish!)

Well that is just about all there is to tell about shaping the saber, and most of you will be able to tell that the blade comes out the top of R5’s head – a bit like his bad motivator that shot out of his dome when Luke’s uncle bought him from the Jawa’s. Now some believe that R5 was “Force Sensitive” and knew that Luke had to meet Artoo Detoo to save the galaxy and so purposely malfunctioned. Others believe that Artoo sabotaged R5 while in the Jawa sandcrawler so he could complete his mission. Either way this saber blows it top every time it is ignited! And here are two final images for you…

R5-D4 Ignited!

Hey droids aren’t allowed in escape pods!

And there you have it, R5-D4 Saber all lit up and motivated! You may have noticed that R5 tried hopping into an escape pod in the last picture…yes, I have learnt how to add background images to my finished models now (by the way that’s the Tantive V!) just for a bit of fun.

I am out of time for this offering and I hope you liked it. I have a further two droids to bring to you, one you will recognise instantly and a second much newer addition to the Star Wars saga. On top of those, I have two hilts based off films due for release in December, a tribute to the highest grossing super hero film ever, the TLJ tribute and finally….my latest build a cyborg! (cough,cough…hint,hint!) Hopefully you will continue to come back and see what these hilts are in my future posts but for now thank you so much for visiting today (and if you are a regular viewer thanks for your continued support) it is much appreciated. Till next time….

“R5-D4 Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-18. “R5-D4”, “Astromech” and all  other Star Wars related names, logos, images and material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm.

 

Falcon Saber – Inspired by the Millennium Falcon

Hello Everybody, today I have a design based on the most iconic beefburger ever…sorry I mean the most iconic starship in Star Wars, the Millennium Falcon! Viewers may know the inspiration for the Falcon was a part eaten beefburger and a pickled gherkin on the plate of an executive George Lucas was having lunch with. However this saber is inspired by the Falcon before the revamp we saw in Solo – A Star Wars Story, so this is hopefully “old school” with a new twist. Enough of my talking, let me present a few work in progress shots….

Falcon Emitter

Commander find that escape pod!

Slowly taking shape!

Speaker grill?

Upper ventral exhausts.

Belt clip and detailing.

As you already know this is based on Han Solo’s Falcon, you can probably tell that the emitter is meant to be the famous cockpit module (or gherkin…sorry). I also tried to find other details I could weave into a hilt handle and I thought the escape pods would make good covers for a Recharge Port. On most custom sabers that use rechargeable batteries there is a socket to plug in a wall charger so you don’t have to remove them to charge up. However these sockets look out of place on a lightsaber from the future so designers try to camouflage them. I did this by creating a dust cap to insert into the socket that looks like the Falcon’s escape pods. The row of silver grills on the top side of the hilt represent the six exhaust/cooling vents on the top surface of the Falcon and the first grill also acts as the activation switch! The pommel has the speaker grill in the base, or if you know the Falcon it might just be the Holochess Board that Chewie so loves winning on, The remaining details are panels that are inset to give the impression of cargo cases and a round clip to attach the saber to your belt. Now I think it’s time for a few “Glamour Shots” of the finished hilt…here is Falcon Saber…..

Falcon Saber 1

Falcon Saber Pods and Vents

Falcon Saber Holochess speaker vent

Falcon Saber full length.

I had great fun building this hilt and pushing my new found skills further. The hilt is made up of three separate sections, the vents are made up of twelve parts, two escape pods and a belt clip knob! I hope you enjoyed my take on my favourite Star Wars ship. I have a few other starship inspired hilts to bring you (yes, and the TLJ hilt!) There will also be two hilts inspired by upcoming blockbuster movies due for release in the near future….oh and three droid inspired designs. I have been busy, but I sincerely hope you will come back and see all of them in my upcoming posts. Thank you so much for checking this hilt out, whether you are a regular viewer or first time visitor you are all appreciated. Till next time…..Hit it Chewie!

“Falcon Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-18. “Millennium Falcon”, “Han Solo”, “Chewie” and all other names, logos, images and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm 2018.