Aggressive Negotiator Saber – for Padme Amidala

Hello Everybody, today I take you back to the prequels and Attack of the Clones. Not necessarily rated as one of the best Star Wars movies but it did have a great quote which has lead to this new design. It is a saber for Padme Naberrie…who you ask? Naberrie is Padme’s family name as Amidala is the name she chose when she was crowned as Queen of Naboo. Padme was the youngest ever monarch of the planet and later entered into the world of intergalactic politics as a Senator when her reign ended after her two terms in office. Such was the affection for her from the people of Naboo, attempts were made to alter the planet’s constitution to allow her to rule for longer. Because of this and the fact Padme later went on to wed the great Jedi Anakin Skywalker (and giving birth to twins….Luke and Leia) I felt Padme deserved a saber of her own so I set to work on designing one. Here are a few works in progress pics…

Padme’s saber in Blender

Padme’s saber in Blender 2

Padme’s saber test build render

Padme’s saber test build render 2

Padme was a strong willed and determined young woman and as such I wanted a saber that reflected that attitude. And nothing better represented that than when she attempted a rescue of Obi-Wan Kenobi who had gotten into a little bit of trouble on the planet Geonosis. Here a droid factory was producing battle droids but Count Dooku and the Separatists captured Kenobi while he was investigating it. The rescue didn’t quite go as planned and Padme and Anakin were too captured and sent to the gladiatorial arena and had to fight for their lives. Well, Padme had a striking white outfit in these scenes and I tried to recreate the look in saber form. The emitter has raised panels to recreate the piping details near the collar and shoulders of her top. There are also silver bands to replicate the ones around the biceps/upper sleeves. I also added a “choke point” or narrowed section to represent Padme’s midriff/waistline. Originally I did colour this section in a flesh tone material but it didn’t look right on a saber (even though Padme’s suit did get ripped by a creature called a Nexu as she struggled to get free from the arena). Here a few more images including the “midriff” version…

Padme Amidala Geonosis Outfit

Padme’s saber with “Midriff”

Padme’s saber with smooth textures

Padme’s saber added details

Padme’s saber added details 2

Padme’ssaber added detail 3

As you can see the midriff version does look a little bit like Padme wearing her ripped outfit (if you screw your eyes up a little and look through your eyelashes!) but the colour didn’t really suit a lightsaber so I swapped it to the aluminium look. I also added smooth textures as the first version seen above looked very angular. The new smoothed look gave the hilt a bit more sleekness and elegance but I thought it might still be a little too smooth to grip securely so I added another nice little detail. That detail is the engraving of the Royal House of Naboo emblem on the handgrip. Here is another batch of pictures…

Padme’s saber top view

The Royal crest of Naboo

Do you recognise this switch? Answer below

Padme’s saber with Skywalker blue style blade

In the above images you can see the engraving of the Royal House of Naboo, which Padme served with such passion and determination, not to mention humility. And the really sharp eyed viewers may recognise the activation switch….it is based on the pendant that the young Anakin Skywalker carved and gifted to her in The Phantom Menace so she wouldn’t forget him. Padme was also seen holding this pendant during her funeral procession in Revenge of the Sith. And as Padme secretly married Anakin, I tested the hilt with a Skywalker Blue coloured blade as well. Well this just about covers everything about this saber except for one thing…the saber needs a name and that stems from the quote I mentioned at the beginning of this post. During the Geonosis arena scene battle Anakin asks Padme if the battle was an example of senatorial politics to which Padme replies….

So the saber shall henceforth be known as “Aggressive Negotiator”!

I really think this wraps up this design and I hope you liked it. I tried to include as many little details as I could and even managed to include a bit of fashion! However I have run out of time but before I go I have to say a big thank you as always to you, my viewers and followers, you keep returning and checking my site out  which means a lot to me. Whether a new or regular visitor I hope you will come back again to see the remaining hilts I have in store for upcoming posts. Fans of Star Trek and Marvel superheroes will be in for a treat. Till next time….

“Aggressive Negotiator” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019. “Padme Amidala”, “The Phantom Menace” and “Revenge of the Sith” along with all other names, images and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm Ltd.

Supermobile Saber – Inspired by Corgi Toys Die Cast Model

Hello Everybody…..Is it a bird?….Is it a plane?…..No it’s a new saber! Yes as you might have guessed from the image and quote we are visiting the realm of Superheroes and in particular….Superman! This is another instalment in my on-going collaboration with TheVintageToyAdvertiser and focuses on the Corgi toy range of the 1980’s and the spaceship/aeroplane vehicle, the Supermobile. Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and drawn by artist Joel Shuster way back in the 1930’s (Superman was originally going to be a vagrant man who had an experimental drug tested on him which gave him superpowers), but the first real appearance of a Superman we recognise today came back in 1938 in Action Comics #1 published by Detective Comics (later known as the famous DC Comics of today). Fast forward a few decades and many TV shows, films and comic books and we come to the 1980’s where superheroes all had gadgets and gizmos. Batman had his Bat Plane, helicopter and boat and so Superman was given the Supermobile!

And this is my attempt to build a saber based on that vehicle and Corgi toy. It was quite a tough build initially but after viewing a YouTube video by Andrew Pearce of BlenderGuru fame I learnt how to make smooth aerodynamic shapes more easily. Here are a few work in progress pictures….

The all important wireframe

Test build with smoothed lines.

Top view of hilt and it’s curves.

This hilt originally started off as a cube! But by stretching, pushing and pulling I shaped the cube into a rough aeroplane shape, however it was by far looking aerodynamic. After watching the video I mentioned I was able to drag the wireframe mesh into a nice smooth profile. In the picture you can see the orange lines – these can be selected and moved around the virtual space to form the model, and by working front to back I created the sweeping curve (and using the mirror function meant both halves of the ship were identical!). I think it looks a little bit like the toy…

Close up of the Corgi Toy Supermobile.

I have made a few concessions, in that I have stretched the model so it can be used as a saber handle but I have the three winglets, the big exhaust nozzle, the sweeping canopy and even the “S” logos. It is however looking a bit grey…where are the famous blue and red colours? Well here are a few “Glamour Shots” with the paint scheme added…

Supermobile Saber in colour!

The “S” logo switch and a Krypton Krystal in the cockpit!

That’s a BIG nozzel.

Supermobile Saber lit up!

Supermobile Saber lit up 2.

Again a few changes were made so it wasn’t just an exercise in copying the original toy. I darkened the blue slightly to better reflect the colours seen on Superman in recent blockbuster movie outings and this Supermobile doesn’t have Superman sat in the cockpit. This version has a Kryptonian crystal in the cockpit as a crystal chamber to power the saber! (Don’t worry Superman won’t be affected by the Kryptonite, the cockpit is lead lined!). To make the model useable as a lightsaber handle I had to remove the two “Superman Fist” missile launchers but fear not, this model still packs a punch and as a bonus it has it’s own display stand…

Supermobile Saber on stand.

Superobile Saber on stand 2.

And yes, there are the missile launchers! You didn’t think I would leave out such a distinct feature as those did you? The launchers act as part of the cradle to rest the saber on and feature scratches and scrapes on the fists to make them look used!

I think that just about wraps up this design, I hope you like it…it is different and similar at the same time. But before I put my cape on and fly off in my Jedi Interceptor, I need to say a big thank you to TVTA for the challenge once again and a BIG thanks to all of you my followers and viewers, As always you are appreciated and keep me designing and posting. I still have more hilts to come including a Darth Vader replica, a hilt for Vader’s apprentice, a few for a Playboy Billionaire Superhero with a suit of armour and Oh yes…”It’s cold outside, there’s no kind of atmosphere, I’m all alone more or less….” <This song lyric is a clue to another upcoming hilt. I hope you will return to check all of them out in future posts. Till next time…..

“Supermobile Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019. Superman was created by Jerry Siegal and Joel Shuster and all Trademarks/©Copyrights are now owned by DC Comics/Warner Bros Entertainment. Supermobile die cast model built by and is copyright of Corgi Toys ltd.

Barad-Dûr Saber – Inspired by Lord of the Rings

Hello Everybody, today I take inspiration from an absolute classic story, the story being the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. I have been designing sabers for over three years but never ventured into this fantasy realm as a few other Sabersmiths had done LOTR inspired hilts. However during a conversation on the Ultrasabers forum several members commented they would like to see what I could come up with. I had recently been experimenting with new modelling techniques to create more organic shaped parts such as claws. I came up with a design based on the famous dragon creatures from Star Wars (called a Krayt Dragon) but it seemed to lack something as you can see in this picture…

It has a texture to make it look like it is made of bone, it also has bony claws and hammered copper/gold bands. But I didn’t like the pommel, it literally just tailed off and I thought I could improve on this. When the members mentioned LOTR I realised this was my opportunity to tweak this design. I set to work. I felt that the shape was something you might see in the land of Middle Earth, maybe a weapon an Orc might carry or maybe a wand like object that the wizard Gandalf might own. No, this hilt needed to be big and there was a very big object in Middle Earth and it was Barad-Dûr, or the Dark Tower so I based my new hilt on that edifice. Here are a few work in progress pictures…

The claws mirrored.

The new pommel

The pommel stood upright.

The pommel with texture and crystal.

The pictures above show how I used the “Mirror” function to create the pair of claws. I created a tube and stretched it along a curved line. By varying the thickness I was able to create the “joints” then taper the tube to a point. The mirror function ensured both claws were identical. Then I needed to work on the pommel, and this is where I think I nailed the look I was after. In the “second age” of Middle Earth the evil warlock Sauron built the Dark Tower in Mordor and atop the tower was a large glowing orb known as the “Eye of Sauron” and I rebuilt a replica of the tower ornament. I created two intersecting hollows to form a pair of “horns” between which I suspended a glowing crystal shape to form the “Eye” itself. The “bone saber” above was too light in colour and had the wrong texture so that had to change. The Dark Tower was made from black rock like Onyx or Obsidian, so by tweaking the material the saber was coated with I found a pattern that replicated cracked rock. All these details combined resulted in the hilt Barad-Dûr and here are a few Glamour Shots…

Barad-Dûr Saber Emitter

Barad-Dûr Saber Emitter 2

Barad-Dûr Saber full length 1

Barad-Dûr Saber full length 2

Barad-Dûr Saber Pommel

Barad-Dûr Saber

Hopefully this design is a good homage to the fantasy of Tolkien’s imagination. I think the rock texture sets the dark theme contrasting nicely with the gold bands. The orange/amber crystal has a similar fiery glow as “Sauron’s Eye” and illuminates the hollowed pommel nicely highlighting the cracked rock. I am pleased how this design developed from my initial build, it just needed a great source of inspiration.

I haven’t covered the story of the LOTR trilogy as there is too much information to relay but I highly recommend reading the books (as I did as a youngling) or watch the Peter Jackson on screen version (if you haven’t already!). I think this just about wraps up this design and post and I really hope you liked it. It made a real change for me to try a different genre. As always I haven’t stopped here and still have around ten more new designs to share in upcoming posts. I hope you will return for those (I promise the Norse God will get his saber soon!) but for now I have to say a big thank you to all of you for visiting FTSabersite today. Whether you are visiting for the first time or are a regular follower, you are all appreciated. Till next time….

“Barad-Dûr Saber” is a For Tyeth Edition design inspired by the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and the subsequent movie trilogy. “The Lord of the Rings” is Trademark/©Copyright of the Tolkien Estate. Movie credits: Production Companies: WingNut Films and The Saul Zaentz Company. Distributed by New Line Cinema.

Alice Saber – Inspired by Resident Evil

Hello Everybody, today I bring you the hilt I have been teasing for the past month that is for the lead lady in a hugely popular film and gaming franchise. That person is Alice, who the heck is Alice? Well she is a product of the Umbrella Corporation, a shadowy company intent on controlling the world’s Biotechnology but as usually happens….that company was compromised and went out of control. Alice originally starts out as a Security Operative for the Corporation at a vast underground bunker facility called “The Hive”. An incident at the Hive resulted in the artificial intelligent computer system wiping out the human workforce and Alice and her “husband” Spence were the only survivors after being sent to investigate. One problem arose, a virus was stolen by Spence when he discovered Alice intended to stop Umbrella and close it down. A battle ensued, at the end of which a horde of zombies were created whilst Alice is captured by Umbrella scientists and placed in quarantine. When she awakes, Alice has no memory of previous events and has to recover her memory and fight her way out of the virus ravaged Racoon City…oh and stop Umbrella for good.

Through the 6 (I think 6, I’ve lost count!) movies she becomes a fighter for the non infected human race and tries to save them from a pathogen developed by the out of control Umbrella Corp. However Alice didn’t just try to stop a virus/pathogen she had to contend with various zombie creatures that were the result of failed testing, mutated dogs, giant hammer/axe wielding humanoids as well as the corporation’s supercomputer which developed a self awareness and saw Alice as a threat. So I thought Alice needed a saber and here are a few work in progress studio pictures….

Alice build in studio, looks familiar…

Alice Saber pommel with Umbrella

Now my regular viewers may recognise this saber sort of, it is based on my “Angelic -Inspired by Charlie’s Angels” hilt but I have given it a new attitude and aggressive paint scheme! The Umbrella Corporation’s corporate colours are red, white and black and while I was experimenting to get the right colour for the Angels’ saber I stumbled on this colour combo. I also noted that the octagonal blocks I used as “wheel arches” were the same shape as the famous “Umbrella logo”. I had the idea to sneak an Umbrella logo into the pommel to cover the speaker vent. The crystals were turned red to look like three vials of the pathogen “T-Virus”, and as this hilt is intended for Alice I inscribed her name on the sides of the hilt in the Resident Evil font. No mistaking who this saber belongs to! Ok, I’ve rambled on so here are a few more Glamour Shots…

“T-Cell” Crystals

Alice Saber pommel and crystals

Alice Saber, simple but deadly

So this belong’s to Alice?

Alice Saber activated

Alice Saber with Resident Evil red blade!

In these pictures you get a better idea of the new attitude and look! No messing! Now I couldn’t possibly go through the entire story of Alice, but her exploits take her to desert survivor outposts, an abandoned prison complex and even the frozen wastes of the north. I asked who is Alice, well I gave you an introduction to the fictional character but the actress who portrays her on film is the fantastic Mila Jovovich.

I am approaching the end of this post but as always I have housekeeping to do. I continue to design new stuff and have more Stormtrooper hilt designs, a pair of hilts for the Star Trek franchise, a pair of hilts for two exo-suited warriors, a massive three bladed hilt for a Norse god and I even have a saber that resembles a space mining ship! All of this and more will be in upcoming posts so I hope you’ll join me for them. And again thank you so much for visiting this site and supporting me, whether this is your first visit or you regularly drop in, it is much appreciated. Till next time!

“Alice Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019. “Resident Evil”, “Alice”, “Umbrella Corporation” and the Umbrella Corp logo are all Trademark/©Copyright of Capcom Games./ScreenGems. “Resident Evil” is based on the video game from Capcom Games and is distributed by ScreenGems.