Red Fox Saber – a saber for Rena Rouge

Hello Everybody, hope you are all doing well as we’re just about to enter February. Can you believe how fast January seems to have disappeared behind us? Well, I had best post my latest addition to my collection of “Miraculous” themed hilts and this time it is for a super heroine who was originally a super villain but later “switched sides” when a new custodian took the role. The super villain was originally a young lady named Lila Rossi, who started attending the same school as Marinette (Ladybug) and Adrien (Cat Noir). Lila unfortunately made up stories of being friends with Ladybug and that Lila herself was a super hero. Llia also developed an interest in Adrien. However whilst Adrien and Lila were talking in a park about a book Adrien discovered in his father’s safe, Ladybug appeared and disproved Lila’s claims of being her friend or Lila being a hero. Lila ran off upset and angry and was “Akumatized” by Hawkmoth – turning her into the villain Volpina – a fox themed super villain.

Lila was Akumatized and controlled via the necklace she wore. She also had a “magic flute” that could create illusions and it was this “weapon” that she used to try and break up the bond between Ladybug and Cat Noir (not knowing who they were in real life). It is this magic flute that caught my attention and made me think it would translate into a saber, Now I didn’t design this saber, it is an existing design known as an Aeon V3 which I have modified before for my Sonic The Hedgehog and Yondu themed hilts. The Aeon was created by a saber manufacturer named Ultrasabers but I came up with the new colour scheme. This is Red Fox Saber….

This hilt has the distinct and striking orange and white banded colour scheme which I thought fit perfectly into the curved flowing shape of the Aeon whilst looking very much like the flute Rena/Volpina wields. I did indent the small black dots which represent the finger holes of the “flute” and I added an illuminated activation switch with the Rena Rouge Miraculous logo on it.

These last images show Rena Rouge with her flute and a few more shots of the saber to show it off. I think it worked out quite well. Lila was eventually defeated and the necklace was “cleansed” but the vixen themed super heroine continued in the form of Marinette’s (Ladybug) best friend. Ayla Cesaire is Marinette’s best friend and author of the “Ladyblog” – a Ladybug fansite. In season two of the show Hawkmoth enlists the help of his personal assistant and the tide of power swung to the evil side so to counter this Ayla was enlisted by Ladybug to be Rena Rouge and take the place of Lila/Volpina.

The first fan produced picture (sorry I don’t know the author’s name) above shows Volpina vs Rena whilst the second shows Ayla and Rena side-by-side. The story ends on a positive note (sorry bad joke not intended -you know flute and notes 😀 ) and hopefully this post is going to end on a high.

Yes I am out of time for this post, thank you so much checking it out. I now have a quite a few “Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir” inspired designs and I may post a “Family Photo” collection of them all in a later post. I also have a few Star Wars The High Republic themed hilts lined up as well as some original For Tyeth designs which I hope might get built for real. I hope you will call back to see all of that. In the meantime, thank you all for your support, be it comments, likes or follows. You are all appreciated, new or regular visitors. Till next time….

“Red Fox Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the animated series “Miraculous – The Adventures of Ladybug and Cat Noir”. The “Red Fox Saber” design, 3D model and renderings are Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2021 and Ultrasabers . “Miraculous – The Adventures of Ladybug and Cat Noir” was created by Thomas Astruc and developed by Zagtoon Method Animations. All names, logos, images and related materials are Trademark/Copyright of Thomas Astruc/Zagtoon Method Animations.

“Cat’s Whikers Saber” – Inspired by Miraculous’ Cat Noir

Hello Everybody, hope you’re all doing well and ready for another new design. Last week I featured a hilt for the greatest martial artist ever – Bruce Lee – well this week I back things down a little to a slightly less intimidating character. But he’s still a superhero. Last month I posted “Miracle Saber” for Marinette DuPain Cheng aka Ladybug and told you about her battle against Hawkmoth and I mentioned another hero. That hero gets a saber today.

His name is Adrien Agreste, and is the son of the world famous Parisian fashion designer Gabriel Agreste. Adrien is very sheltered by his father but he is allowed to attend a regular high school which is where he met Marinette – unaware that she is Ladybug and likewise Marinette, despite liking Adrien a lot, is unaware that he is her mystery sidekick…..Cat Noir! Cat Noir is the quick witted, nimble superhero that has a devious charm and a very special weapon that he uses in combatting Hawkmoth’s zombie Akumatised victims. That weapon is a special baton that is ridiculously strong, has the ability to extend to amazing lengths allowing him to use it to “pole vault” around and over obstacles and traverse the city of Paris. It can deflect projectiles and it even has a mobile phone built into it…BUT….it isn’t a lightsaber! So I “fixed” it so it is a proper hero’s weapon for an elegant time! Here is Cat’s Whiskers….

This hilt is based off of Cat Noir’s extender baton and has a matching dark grey coating and green accents. The saber looks sleek and simple, just like the baton but I did add an illuminated activation switch in the shape of a cat’s paw/claws. The green bands are actually slightly recessed ridges to provide a bit of grip and decoration. Speaking of decoration, the pommel end cap features a “Cat’s Eye” emblem in green also (just like his eyes!). I think green is Cat Noir’s colour…

Here you can see Cat Noir with his baton in it’s extended version (though it can extend MUCH longer when needed) but as you can see it lacks the illuminated switch. I felt that my updated version of this weapon was too similar so I did add another piece of decoration which I modelled in 3D to test myself. That decoration is another “paw print” on the reverse side of the saber and is embossed into the surface of the hilt. You can see the emblem which is very important in these next batch of pics, along with a couple of my saber extended too!…

The paw emblem is a “reverse print” pattern of the activation switch (i.e. the raised sections are now sunken and vice versa) and this logo also appears on Cat Noir’s Miraculous trinket. Remember I mention Ladybug and Noir transform by using a magical object or piece of jewellery, well Cat Noir’s Miraculous is his finger ring which has the cat paw logo imprinted on it. The logo also displays a sort of timer showing how long he can remain as Cat Noir before the magic runs out. It is this ring (and Ladybug’s ear rings) that the villain wants and tries to steal in each episode. Hawkmoth…Ah yes….I said there was a Star Wars style twist regarding him didn’t I? It turns out that Cat Noir’s secret identity is so secret…..even HIS FATHER doesn’t know who he is….have you guessed the twist yet? SPOILERS!!! Hawkmoth is……..

OK, I had better stop this post here before I reveal anything that may ruin your pleasure watching Miraculous – The Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir in future – just in case you haven’t seen it. But before I go I have a short announcement to make and my usual thanks and salutations.

Recently WordPress announced that they are testing/rolling out a new feature onto “free account” blogs and sites. This comes in the form of “Sponsored Native Posts” which they describe as a way to generate traffic and awareness of blogs, posts, products and brands (whatever that means). They (WordPress) also state that the authors of free blogs (like me) cannot control what is posted on my pages, so you might read this post on my Homepage and directly above it will be a “Sponsored Post” inserted by WordPress. That post could be about anything! But there is a way around this and that is to upgrade to a paid account which will block these ads. Now I didn’t mind the small ads at the bottom of the pages of my site but full blown post entries I’m not totally happy about. I was considering upgrading as I will soon need more online storage but now this situation has arisen and I may need to consider paying for Hosting. Unfortunately I may have to ask for your help in future if I upgrade. FTSabersite would continue to offer free content as normal but I might have to add a “Members Only” subscription section or similar monetization (which the upgrade also allows for). But I would like your opinions on what “perks” you think I could offer for a subscription fee and whether you would be willing to pay for those. (Believe me I wish I wasn’t faced with this dilemma, however this blog due to my circumstances is just a hobby but one I put a lot of effort into and I’d like to keep it as it is).

Anyhoo, back to the “Thank You” notes I always finish on! Thank you each and every one who has visited (and read this far!) to support me and FTSabersite. You are all very much appreciated as I wouldn’t have an audience if you didn’t turn up. Please comment, like or follow me and spread the word about FTSabersite. I still have lots more to showcase. Till next time….

“Cat’s Whiskers Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the animated series “Miraculous – The Adventures of Ladybug and Cat Noir”. The “Cat’s Whiskers Saber” design, 3D model and renderings are Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2021. “Miraculous – The Adventures of Ladybug and Cat Noir” was created by Thomas Astruc and developed by Zagtoon Method Animations. All names, logos, images and related materials are Trademark/Copyright of Thomas Astruc/Zagtoon Method Animations.

Dragon Katana – Ultimate Edition Bruce Lee

Hello Everybody, wow time flies and we’re already about to start the third week of 2021. It is a tumultuous time, I had hoped that the new year may calm down a little and things would be less fraught but alas not. And it got me wondering how certain people would react in these strange times. I thought about “heroes” like the Jedi, I thought about our “leaders” of the world, I thought about “Warriors” and that final thought brought me to the warrior I have constructed a new saber for, That warrior is Bruce Lee.

Bruce Lee – the man, myth and legend.

Bruce Lee I envisage wouldn’t be one to back down if fighting for a cause he believed in and would stand up to protect those that needed it. He was certainly wise and intelligent enough to be a great leader as well as warrior. You see sometimes you need to know when NOT to fight just as much as when to engage. Bruce I reckon could do that. But I know that if ever he needed to engage an opponent he probably wouldn’t need a lightsaber but I designed one in his honour anyway. Here is Dragon Katana – Ultimate Edition Bruce Lee….

You might have seen Bruce in the picture above from the movie “Enter The Dragon” – that picture/pose was very iconic and 99% of the world would know who the person was, but another iconic image of Bruce is that of him wearing a yellow and black jumpsuit in “Game of Death” where he famously fought Kareem Abdul Jabbar (NBA basketball legend). Well this saber is definitely based on that iconic jumpsuit. The hilt is also based on a traditional Katana sword hilt with an elongated body giving the wielder great leverage and control of the blade due to the ability to spread his/her grip on the handle. The hilt also has a round Tsuba handguard below the emitter. Black stripes adorn the sides of the hilt along with two large panels featuring the outline of Bruce performing a dropkick…another trademark image. Near the pommel of the saber are a set of three diamond shaped apertures with a mesh grill cover. These are sound/heat vents for the saber and are made to look like the hilt wrapping feature called the Tsuka Ito that involves wrapping the silk around the handle leaving small diamond shaped windows (these holes would usually have a contrasting coloured silk or decorative metal plates beneath them). The activation switch is modelled on the “Bruce Lee Dragon” logo and that logo also adorns the pommel end cap. Ok, here are a few more picture of the hilt before I finish describing it’s features…

These final pictures show off the clean smooth lines of the hilt. I say smooth lines but there are three discreet creases around the body of the saber to create 4 distinct positions to grip the hilt by (and just prevents the hilt being too flat sided). The white blade represents Bruce’s philosophy of being free in mind, body and spirit so allowing oneself to quickly adapt to changing circumstances when necessary. Hence the blade is neutral white and not Lightside or Darkside of the Force inspired. The last two images were just me trying out some atmospheric lighting shots as I have been dabbling in artistic compositions recently. I even edited the Bruce Lee Dragon logo onto this picture which shows off the jumpsuit nicely…

There were so many great things Bruce could have gone on to do in his life but sadly he died at a very young age (32yrs) in 1973 just as he was about to break all movie box office records and gain global film mega-stardom. He did after death become a legend and his teachings and beliefs still carry on with the Bruce Lee Foundation. You can read his bio on the Bruce Lee website found here: https://brucelee.com/bruce-lee

That just about wraps up this tribute to (arguably) the greatest martial artist to have ever lived. Thank you for checking this one out, I sort of sprang this as a surprise (I think I may have mentioned it was up coming once but that was late last year). So as always, I hope you will like, comment and spread the word about FTSabersite and whether this is your first visit or you are a regular caller, thanks again for the tremendous support. Coming up….more Miraculous and Star Wars Resistance! Till next time….

“Dragon Katana – Ultimate Edition Bruce Lee” saber is a For Tyeth Editions design and is Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2021. “Bruce Lee”,” Bruce Lee Dragon” and all names, images and logos are Trademark/Copyright the Bruce Lee Foundation/estate and the image from “Enter The Dragon” is Copyright of Warner Bros/Concord Productions.

Hawkmoth “Akumatizer Saber” – another Miraculous Hilt

Hello everybody and welcome to 2021! I am glad you have all survived the new year celebrations. Again I had a quiet January the First as the UK was in a partial Coronavirus Lockdown but now we have a full nation wide lockdown so I gotta stay indoors. As a result, over the past year I have watched way too many cartoons but I have been inspired and you saw the Miraculous LadyBug inspired hilt last year, well today I have the next in the series.

This new saber is the weapon I designed for LadyBug’s enemy, Hawkmoth. Hawkmoth is a conflicted villain who is bending the law to try and save his everyday persona’s wife by using magical trinkets called Miraculouses. In normal life Hawkmoth is a Parisian fashion designer named Gabriel Agreste and in his past an accident involving a damaged Miraculous led Emilie Agreste to fall into a coma. As Hawkmoth, if he can possess LadyBug and her ally Cat Noir’s Miraculouses, then Gabriel can revive his wife. Anyhow, that is a brief introduction to the unfortunate villain and here are a couple of pictures of him as Gabriel and Hawkmoth.

Gabriel is very determined and focused on saving his wife (possibly driven by the effects of being Hawkmoth which he achieves by using a Butterfly Miraculous) so much so that he sometimes neglects his son Adrien. This leads to an unfortunate “I am your Father” moment – but more on that in another post. Back to today it is about time I showed you the new saber I built based on this flawed supervillain. He uses magically endowed butterflies to infect and turn members of the public into villainous characters based on negative emotions. These butterflies are called “Akumas” – so I built the “Akumatizer Saber”…

This hilt is elegantly simple and complex at the same time, just like a good piece of fashion design. The colour scheme I created to match the outfit Hawkmoth wears consisting of purple, grey and silvery white. The texture on the hilt is again a mathematically generated material so I didn’t use photos to paste onto the model. The texture is created by mixing two base colours and instructing Blender to stretch and distort the areas to create the streaks. I thought the streaks looked a bit like the hundreds of butterfly/moths that inhabit Hawkmoth’s lair. The switch has the Butterfly Miraculous logo on it and the blade is a regal purple shade again matching the outfit. The pommel is a silvery metallic pointed dome to represent Hawkmoth’s distinctive helmet. And speaking of helmets and masks, when a member of the public is “Akumatized” they take on the persona related to their character and the negative emotions they are feeling when “infected”. This turns them into powerful, willing puppets to help Hawkmoth in his quest to defeat LadyBug and Cat Noir. We get to see they are Akumatized by this mask outline that appears briefly on their face…

I am nearly at the end of this post as there is a lot of stories to tell about the various events in “Miraculous The Tales of LadyBug and Cat Noir” but I don’t want to spoil any of it. But I will say I have Cat Noir’s new saber I have designed coming up in a future post as well as maybe two more sabers for some allies. I also have new designs based on the new Star Wars timeline saga The High Republic – you may have seen the new trailer Disney/Lucasfilm released this week. So I hope you will return to check those out. Thank you for returning to FTSabersite this year and I hope you’ll continue to support me and my little site, I appreciate all of your comments, likes and follows, I can blog but it needs you to read it!

I will leave you with a final image of “Hawkmoth Akumatizer Saber” in it’s Hawkmoth lair! Till next time….

“Hawkmoth Akumatizer Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the animated series “Miraculous – The Adventures of Ladybug and Cat Noir”. The “Hawkmoth Akumatizer Saber” design, 3D model and renderings are Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2021. “Miraculous – The Adventures of Ladybug and Cat Noir” was created by Thomas Astruc and developed by Zagtoon Method Animations. All names, logos, images and related materials are Trademark/Copyright of Thomas Astruc/Zagtoon Method Animations.