Weeeeellll! The witching hour approaches of All Hallow’s Eve and all of the spirits come out to tease, I promised some pics and here here they are, I hope they’re not too scary they’re not meant to scar….
Yes that is me…and a visitor I had….but you need to work out witch one is witch! This has gotta be the best example of a pair of For’s Ghosts!
I’ll apologise now for not having more images but not all of my outfit has arrived yet (I have a new woollen Jedi robe on order and I need a better quality belt) but I thought my saber needed to be swung around again for a while. I also look a little rough but it is hard to keep looking good in Lockdown (plus I’ve lost weight so I look gaunt). I will post more and hopefully less scary images when I get the full costume finished.
And so I just have to say have a Happy Halloween and if you are able to celebrate it please stay safe, look after each other and I hope you survive to call back and see what else I have planned to show you all!
Hello Everybody, today I thought I would kick back and relax a little as I had worked hard resetting my laptop and learning about Linux. How could I relax? Well I figured I’d dust off my old gaming console (as I’d watched all my Star Wars DVDs) and play some classic scrolling arcade games on my SEGA! I happened to have the Star Wars game for the SEGA Game Gear and played that for a few hours but then I thought “I wish I had a Sonic the Hedgehog game….”. I don’t actually have a Sonic game but whilst building the GOTG Yondu saber I noticed something familiar in the fin and colour scheme I gave it. I realised that SEGA’s hedgehog was the same colour blue and had red trainers (aka sneakers to my USA followers). So I decided to build a saber for the little blue hedgehog. This is what I came up with….
I took the Yondu saber and made multiple copies of the head fin part and merged them together to form the spiky ridges either side of the emitter. They look just like Sonic’s spiky spine hairstyle! I also gave the fins a flash of red to represent his shoes. I gave the hilt some white highlights and a white blade, but of course in these studio preview pictures you can’t see it in technicolour so I think it’s time to Power-Up a Glamour Gallery….
I did a little research for this design and I discovered some really fun interesting facts. Firstly, Sonic appeared as a character as far back as 1988 in a technology demonstration concept, while some of his backstory revolved around him being a character used in a “Nose-Art” image painted on a jet fighter plane whose pilot was nicknamed “Hedgehog”. Sonic was developed by SEGA as competition to Nintendo’s mascot, Mario (and Luigi). SEGA wanted a fun relatable character that kids could draw and connect with, and they made a clever decision on the colour he was going to be. They chose a Cobalt Blue to match the SEGA brand logo, and the reason Sonic has red sneakers? Well they were inspired by Michael Jackson’s boots and Santa Clause. This resulted in Sonic being very bold and colourful (as well as fast) so I thought I’d turn my hand to a bit of art and try to come up with some Sonic posters. These images I found online on wallpaper download sites which I then added some effects and text layers on….
I think I’d buy the game and the saber if I saw these adverts! Sonic seems to like it. Hopefully you all like it too. I am drawing close to the end of this week’s post but as I usually do I’d like to invite you all back for future posts as I have a new collection of hilts inspired by a popular pair of Superheroes….and I’m working on new Star Wars The High Republic themed hilts (The High Republic is the new series of material Disney/Lucasfilm recently announced). So I hope you can join me to see those. But I’d like to say thanks for taking time to visit my site today and supporting me/FTSabersite. Whether you are a first time viewer or one of my regular callers, thanks so much you’re very much appreciated – especially in these increasingly hectic times. Till next time….stay safe and Sonic!
“Super Sonic Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is Copyright of FTSabersite 2016-2020. It is inspired by SEGA Entertainment’s character “Sonic the Hedgehog”. All images, names, logos and other related material are Trademark/Copyright of SEGA Entertainments 1988-2020
Hello Everybody, today I have mixed news…first I have had another laptop crash….good news is I have re-installed and I’m still able to post today. The reason? Well I have decided to try out a different Operating System and I have installed Linux instead of Windows. So far so good. Next I have also placed an order for a new Jedi robe! The one that came with my recent tunic set was a thin polyester version and was “shiny” and partially transparent…but the one I have bought is a nice heavyweight wool blend mix construction. Should look neat with my boots! Back to my computer I did manage to rescue my data before I had to reinstall my laptop so that means I still have all my designs thanks to “Cloud Storage” and to Neil from Makeroommakeroom.com (https://makeroommakeroom.wordpress.com/). He told me that Linux has a “preview mode” to test it before installing that also allowed me to access my hard drive, saving my files before wiping it! And as proof his advice worked here is Knotty Katana…one of my rescued hilts….
This hilt is loosely based off the hilt seen in the PC game Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order (https://ftsabersite.wordpress.com/2019/06/01/dishonoured-saber-inspired-by-ea-games-jedi-fallen-order/), and my Lothwolf inspired hilt “Dume” (https://ftsabersite.wordpress.com/2020/09/12/dume-saber-inspired-by-lothals-wolf/). I discovered that there was extra functionality and basic objects to build with in Blender’s add-ons – one of which was a collection of curved objects. One object was “The twisted Torus”. A Torus is basically a doughnut shaped tube and the twisted Torus looks as if it has been tied into a knot. Well I noticed that if I stacked 2 or 3 of these twisted loops on top of each other, it made them look like braiding! Now a lot of lightsaber owners are trying to customise their own sabers with braided handgrips using Paracord, a hardwearing military developed fibre that has hundreds of uses and is very useful. You may have seen “friendship band” bracelets woven from paracord. Well I had a Katana that needed wrapping so this solved my Knotty Problem! Sorry for the bad joke, how about a gallery of Glamour Shots?….
I gave the hilt a red, gold and black scheme to give it an Oriental look and feel. I also added a nice Jedi Order logo on the pommel. This style of hilt is usually built for combat and not decorated too much but I may customise this one further in the future.
I apologise this isn’t the most dynamic saber I have come up with but I liked the braiding I was able to replicate. Plus as I am just getting to grips with Linux I didn’t have a full gallery of pics (I need to re-download the scenery background images, text fonts and a few other graphic bits and pieces I used to have ). Anyhow, I hope you still liked the hilt. And I do have about 9 more designs lined up including some Miraculous ones that I never thought would be seen.
Thanks so much for calling in on FTSabersite and for your support. Whether you just looked in today or are a regular visitor , commented or liked…maybe subscribed…your efforts are much appreciated. Hopefully you will all return and see what’s coming up in future posts. So stay safe and as always…Till next time….
“Knotty Katana Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and the 3D model and renders are Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2020. The game Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order is Trademark/Copyright of EA Games and Disney/Lucasfilm.
Hello everyone, today is bittersweet as I return to the sad news of the passing of Eddie Van Halen, the guitar genius of the band that shares his family name. This is my way of thanking Eddie for all the inspiration he gave to me as a budding musician.
Eddie Lodewijk Van Halen was born in Jan 1955 to Dutch father, Jan Van Halen who was a jazz pianist, clarinetist and saxophonist (I guess Eddie was always gonna be a great with those genes) and his mother Eugenia (nee van Beers) who was of Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) descent.
The Van Halen family moved to the USA and settled in Pasadena California in 1962. Eddie had an older brother named Alex and the pair studied classical piano from an early age in San Pedro but Eddie couldn’t read music! He learnt by watching and listening…and when he had to perform Beethoven or Mozart pieces he would improvise! Alex decided to pick up the guitar prompting Eddie to buy a drum kit to accompany his brother. However after hearing Alex drumming the song Wipe Out by The Safari’s the pair “swapped” instruments and Eddie began studying guitar. He practised whenever he could, carrying the guitar around with him. They soon realised that rock music was much more cool than classical and formed a band….and Eddie built a guitar!
Eddie Van Halen and….Frankie!
The guitar became famous as the “Frankenstrat” built from various parts and modified pieces that allowed Eddie to create out-of-this-world sounds. Eddie also became synonymous with a playing technique he called “Tapping” where he used the fingers of both hands to tap and hold the strings on the fretboard to play ultra fast notes up and down the musical scales. Later Eddie would invent a device to assist holding the guitar in position whilst he “Tapped”. He also designed other guitar parts so he was a designer too….and I think it’s time to show you my design in honour of EVH…This is my “Eruption Saber”….
You may have seen this saber before if you follow my site. I posted one picture of this as a variant to my Obi-Wan Kenobi Master K (https://ftsabersite.wordpress.com/2019/10/12/master-k-saber-an-obi-wan-kenobi-inpsired-hilt/) hilt but the news of Eddie’s passing was so sudden I totally forgot I had built it. However I have added a few more details I’ll show below. But first this saber shares a similar colour scheme as Eddie’s famous Frankenstrat of black, white and red abstract stripes and shapes. The Frankenstrat was originally black until Eddie felt it needed a coat of bright red bicycle paint! The guitar was also updated with pickups (the magnetic elements that pick up the strings vibrations and turn the movement into electrical signals) that were assembled by Duncan Seymour – a famous guitar technician who also modified some pickups for Brian May. Now as this saber is an “old” design I felt I needed to upgrade it so in tribute to one of Eddie’s most famous tunes named Eruption…I added a crystal chamber with the power of that Van Halen solo!
I felt there was so much power in the crystal of this hilt it needed to be caged! But there was no caging Van Halen and the band toured the world and their fame grew globally. Eddie worked and collaborated with many names in music including Kiss bassist Gene Simmons, Nicolette Larson, Michael Jackson (remember the solo in “Beat It”? That was Eddie!), Brian May, Sammy Hagar, Black Sabbath, Roger Waters and Toto guitarist Steve Lukather. He even wrote film scores and appeared in Frank Sinatra videos and in a stroke of comic genius….Two And A Half Men…
So to round this tribute off I produced a couple of “Posters” featuring the big man himself, the Frankenstrat and a tip of the hat to another great EVH recording – Panama.
Now I feel I have done my tribute properly and thanked Eddie for all he gave me. I hope he would have approved. I just have to perfect my version of “Jump!” on keyboard.
Again my thoughts and prayers are with Eddie’s family, friends and all who have been affected by, inspired by or were just entertained by the great man.
That brings a close to this post…thank you all for checking this tribute out and for all the comments and support you have given me, hopefully this has given some back. I appreciate all of your efforts and hope you will return to see upcoming posts featuring many more new saber designs, some spaceships and much more. Till next time…...JUMP!
WMG (on behalf of Warner Rhino Off Roster-Audio); LatinAutor – Warner Chappell, UMPI, Abramus Digital, SOLAR Music Rights Management, UNIAO BRASILEIRA DE EDITORAS DE MUSICA – UBEM, UMPG Publishing, Warner Chappell, LatinAutor – ACODEM, ASCAP, CMRRA, LatinAutorPerf, LatinAutor – UMPG, PEDL, and 20 Music Rights Societies
Hello Everyone once again, thanks for joining me for my second post of today. And as I mentioned in my earlier post regarding Eddie Van Halen’s sad passing this week, in this slightly shorter post I have a design that is out of this world, just like Eddie’s guitar mastery.
This is a saber inspired by the character Yondu Udonta from the Marvel movie Guardians of the Galaxy. I had over the past few years gotten into GOTG but realised recently that I hadn’t built a saber in Blender for any characters from the films. I also read comments on the Ultrasabers forum about a hilt that is called the Aeon V5 which Ultrasabers produce. The Aeon has decorative claws which some people say are “uncomfortable to grip”. Well I studied the rendered product images Ultrasabers posted online and discovered how the claws were attached and suggested that the claw could be carefully prised off, rotated 180degs and then reattached. It turned out to be a very popular idea (and has been claimed by others as their idea or “discovery”) But I noticed that the claw when removed reminded me of the distinctive character of Yondu and his bright red head fin. So I fired up Blender and built a 3D model of the Aeon and I added a “new claw” and a colour scheme that you might recognise. Here is Yondu…
Again I apologise that this post is shorter than normal but my heart hasn’t been in my work and really was in a different place this week. Despite that I hope you liked Yondu and rest assured that next week I will have a fully powered up and battle ready design to share. I am also going to work on an updated Eddie Van Halen tribute saber. Finally as we approach Halloween I am preparing a possible cosplay special to show my progress so far with my costume….so there’ll be a few horror pictures😁. Thank you all so much for visiting and supporting me and FTSabersite today (and in the past if you are a regular) you are very much appreciated. Stay safe and if you don’t know Eddie’s music go and search some out and treat your ears….Till next time….
Hello Everybody, this week has not been the greatest as the world awoke on Oct 6/7th to the sad news that a musical genius and guitar god, Eddie Van Halen passed away from his battle with cancer. He was just 65 years old, yet in that time he created his own style and guitar playing techniques despite not being able to read music! He also, like Brian May of Queen, built his own guitar….the Frankenstrat. You will more than likely have seen it and recognise it as soon as you see this pattern.
You will definitely have heard his guitar too….just listen to the solo in Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” and of course with his own band, Van Halen…anyone remember “Jump!”?
And that song is what makes this news hard for me to take as I am a keyboard player and just like with “Bohemian Rhapsody” I attempted to learn how to play Jump! – complete with his KEYBOARD solo! A few years ago I posted a tribute design inspired by EVH and the song Jump! and here are the pics…
As a result of this news I have been knocked for a loop and haven’t felt that inclined to work on a post this week, however I do have a small gallery featuring a Guardians of the Galaxy inspired hilt in post two for today. But I will end this tribute by sending my condolences, thoughts and prayers to his son Wolfgang and all of Eddie’s family and friends. RIP Eddie, thanks and you’ll forever be on my playlist of the masters.
“Eddie didn’t just play a guitar….he conducted a six string orchestra” – FT
Hello Everybody, today we return to my series of Star Wars Rebels inspired hilts and I have a saber for another member of the crew of the starship The Ghost. I have built sabers for Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus, Sabine Wren, Chopper the droid and I present a hilt for the final member of the Spectres…Zeb Orrelius. Zeb is a member of the Lasat species and was a member of the Lasan Honour Guard, protecting the Lasat royal family. Then the Empire arrived on the planet of Lasan and using a new devastating laser weapon wiped out all of the natives save for a handful of Lasan including Zeb. He believed he was the sole survivor and developed a deep seated hatred of the Empire, inspiring him to join the fight against the galactic tyranny. With his Bo-Rifle (a powerful folding weapon synonymous with the Lasan Honour Guard) he caused problems for the Imperials until he crossed paths with the rest of the crew of the Ghost. Zeb became the “muscle” for the rebel Ghost crew…not surprising when you see how imposing he is. Here’s a picture of him…
So if I was to design a hilt for this big guy…it has to be powerful and impressive. Well I was tinkering as I do and had started to build a hilt – I had a handgrip and switch – it was going well. Then I came to build the emitter and let’s say I had a “happy little accident” and adjusted the shape of the emitter forgetting that it was still connected to the rest of the handle. In Blender you can either build the saber as if carving it on a woodworking lathe – you have a cylinder and “work” it into the shape you want by using loops and adjusting their size or using the second method, you break the handle into sections and then connect the parts to form one solid hilt. I forgot which method I was using and when I attempted to ”thicken” the outer shell of the emitter the “Solidify” function affected the handgrip too. However it created an interesting effect and combined with the texture colours made this saber look very much as if it belonged to Zeb. So here is my new saber, “The Last of the Lasat”….
The saber features some very organic looking ridges which are the result of the Solidify function I used. I had modelled some angled finger grips with rings but when I added “thickness” to the model it duplicated the rings causing them to form the ridges. They looked just like the dark markings on Zeb’s head and body whilst the emitter sorta reminded me of the tufted beard he sports. The blade is a pleasing yellow colour – similar to the colour of the nebula that surrounded a strange planet Zeb visited after the conflicts ended (more on this later). The pommel is made from a regular cog shaped part which I thickened again with the Solidify tool. I added the blade and an activation switch to finish the saber. I was interested to see how the saber performed so I took it to a local cave where I do my testing, here are a few Glamour Shots…
The saber was powerful enough to cut through rocks and boulders, matching Zeb’s strength so I think he’ll be able to handle it. I mentioned earlier a strange planet Zeb visited after the Empire was defeated, well that planet turned out to be the sanctuary where the fellow survivors of the Lasat race fled to. Zeb discovered he wasn’t the last of his kind as he had believed for so long and he found this out because of another person we have met recently. That person was Agent Kallus or Fulcrum as he had become. Agent Kallus was the Imperial agent that led the devastating attack on Lasan, he then had an encounter with Zeb on an Ice planet where each began to rely on the other to escape. A bond was formed and when Kallus learnt of the survivors he visited and earned the trust of group when they realised he had redeemed himself. Kallus then delivered Zeb to the new home world of the Lasat race. A happy ending….
That just about wraps up this hilt for Zeb…not the last of his kind…Orrelius. I hope you liked it. I was amazed how it turned out considering the way it came from a mishap! However I still have over half a dozen new hilts and starship designs to bring you and maybe a few bits of artwork. Please call back for future posts and check out what’s in store, but for now thank you so much for the support and for visiting today. All of your views, likes and comments make it worthwhile me creating and I much appreciate you all. Till next time….
FTSabersite 