Hello Everybody, hope you are all well. Last week we ventured to the very end of the Star Wars story (at least in legend/Expanded Universe terms anyway) and today I turn the clocks backward to the earliest canon recorded material about Star Wars. That material is the new High Republic era stories that Disney/Lucasfilm announced recently which will be presented in both print and on screen.
The High Republic era is set around 200 years before the events of The Phantom Menace and we get to see a whole new (or old depending on your point of view) generation of Jedi Knights and Masters during the height of their legacy, when the Jedi were peacekeepers and respected guardians of justice. There were gleaming spires, shiny spaceships, regal families ruling pleasant worlds…almost fairytale-like…and then there was the greatest threat to the Jedi and public known as the Nihil. The Nihil were a bunch of marauders inhabiting the Outer Rim of the galaxy and their playbook entails “Getting what they want, by whatever means necessary – if you stand in their way, you will die”. Then there are sentient plant species called the Drengir to contend with too.
I haven’t read too much into the new characters as I hope to get a few of the books and comics to read afresh but as I mentioned the High Republic era seems to be an opulent time so I decided to create a saber that fit the times. And if there are heroic noble Jedi then iconic sabers will be needed…so here is my first High Republic era build simply titled “Republic”…
There have been a few concept art images revealed (and now some official art on book covers etc) that show some of the new Jedi and their sabers including a decorative crossguard design with folding blades but for my first hilt I stuck with a less fussy trusted design. It is quite elegant with an S-Curve shaped emitter coated in distinctive looking ribs and adorned with two pairs of fins either side of the hilt. These “winglets” give the Jedi something to secure their grip up against (a sort of grip stop) making the hilt very good to hold. The saber also has an Amethyst coloured illuminated activation switch set in a golden bezel to reflect the time of opulence (I know Jedi aren’t supposed to have trinkets like these but Mace Windu had an ornate hilt by comparison so posh sabers did exist). The gold Electrum decor can also be found with a Jedi logo situated below the switch (this again is fully modelled in 3D). Another set of ribs in gold form a “wasp-waist” accent that leads to the lower handgrip and pommel section. OK, I think it’s time for a few detail pictures so here is gallery two…
These close up pictures really show off some of the fine details such as the Electrum coating inside the mouth of the emitter and look closely just below and you will see a “Glass Eye Window” that allows the beautiful Amethyst blade to shine through when activated. The pommel as you can see also sports an Electrum plated ventilation grill and an old school “D-Ring” style belt hook hanger to give this saber a vintage Star Wars look and feel. I think this hilt has a new and old vibe to it which is apt as I think the High Republic era is going to be a time of great change. It is a golden time and these pictures of some of the new Jedi characters show what I mean…
It’s funny actually, the image of the Jedi in the first picture with the green saber looks like he has my face crossed with Count Dooku’s – wierd! But as you can see there is a lot of gold and glows and shiny spires…and so I think my saber should look good in this new setting. But how nice does it really look? Let’s have one final glamour shot hey?…
Hopefully this is a fitting design for the new era, I am going to work on a few more Hi Rep designs which I hope to share in future posts. However for this design I am near the end of the post but before I go I have my usually teasers and thank yous to issue.
I hope you enjoyed this hit and as stated I am working on more Hi Rep hilts, in the meantime and next few weeks I have a “Halberd” lightsaber design created by a talented member of the saber forum I belong to (he drew a sketch and I modelled it in 3D for him), there is also a series of hilts I designed based on some famous “Blasters” to come too. And as if that wasn’t enough sabery goodness I have a hilt inspired by the “Other Sci-Fi Franchise” Star Trek: Enterprise!
Thank you so much for looking in on this design and for all the fabulous support you show me and my site. Whether a first time visitor (and I know there have been a few of you recently!) or if you are a regular caller to FTSabersite, I appreciate all of you – I would have no reason to post if you didn’t take an interest in what I do. So thanks and I hope you continue to call back, comment, like and maybe spread word of the site. Till next time….
“Republic” is a For Tyeth Editions design based on the new Star Wars material set in “The High Republic” era. This design is Copyright© of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2021. “Star Wars – The High Republic” and all related names, logos, images and material is Trademark/Copyright© of Disney/Lucasfilm and Marvel Comics 2021.
FTSabersite 
The design is up to your usual high standards.
Am I right to think it is the new era past?
Well…
So, I posted a pic of me w/Bret Hart on my GLAM blog. Hope you like it!
Hello Resa, I just this moment saw the picture of you and Bret! I bet you didn’t let go of him for a long while!
And I’m glad you liked the latest saber. The new era of material is set before any of the existing books or movies which is why I said I felt there was a dual feel to the visual style (both modern and vintage at the same time).
I understand that. We both design, and understand each others creative outputs. There’s nothing like a good dichotomy or juxtaposition!
Yes, I think this is why shows like Star Trek, Doctor Who and the Star Wars franchises always have a following because the duality of the future and past running through their design. It enables them to appeal to large audiences over a long time in real life and gives them style.
Interesting how style is a component!
I am a die hard original series and movies of Star Trek fan. Yet, I’m not a big sci-fi fan, in general.
Perhaps I see the style is copycatted.
Star Trek was an innovator. Take for example the famous communicator…we now have Motorola Flip clamshell cellphones, then tablet computers…Kirk was regularly handed a mobile device that he kept signing, so Star Trek invented a lot of everyday items of today and of course the fashions were imitated (William Ware Thiess I believe was the wardrobe designer.)
@http://www.mystarwarsthoughts.com/ – she needs to check this out because she loves The High Republic. I think it looks amaaaazing 🙂
Hi there Julie, thanks so much. I was pleased this hilt came together really well and is one of the best I have done regards all the parts actually fitting together properly (if you look really, really close at some of my models you can see gaps where two parts don’t fully mesh but this one seems to be “watertight” and solid). I think Tina has subscribed and has notifications so she should see this one very soon!
Nice one and you’re welcome 😀
Hi FT. Be interesting how this HR pans out and if the characters and stories resonate. Congrats – the saber design is wonderful – sleek, noble and classic, and seems to fit well with a theme of ‘palaces and politics’. Be good to see the opposition to this – something gnarly and dark.
Hi there, I’m hoping that it turns out like Star Wars Rebels did to be honest. At first I had hang up issues about moving on from Luke, Han and Leia, the original era saga and embrace new characters but I’m glad I did. The writers “fleshed” out great backstories and character arcs that drew me into the series. The only downside to HR I see is that it is spread over so many formats (i.e. some story sections are covered in comicbook form, some will be animated and then there are novelisations….all of which will be at premium prices so it will be expensive for me to follow – I still haven’t seen The Mandalorian yet!). And I shall work on something suitably “Gnarly” for the opposition though we may have already seen one of the Nihil (or at least a descendant) in The Force Awakens!
Hi again. So, what or who might have been the descendent of Nihil in TFA? I read they were like ‘storm rider’ pirates who were given powerful ‘path engine’ technology.
You’re right, it might prove £££ to follow the story in the formats proposed – possibly the most complete version will be novels, but even they might be serialised.
Hi there, I’m not 100% certain but the HiRep concept art of Marchion Ro on StarWars.com looks very similar to Sidon Ithano – the captain of the freighter Finn tried to join and leave Tokadano on. The two characters have very similar headgear and both hail from the Outer Rim Territories. Now, I know the Outer Rim is a large place but the similarity is striking.
I will probably try and snag a couple of the novels at least, as you say they will contain the most complete segments of the story.
Your designs are just getting so much better, far more detail and the colours are so much more realistic. 3d logos are so much nicer than wrapped graphics.
Hi Neil, thanks so much. The 3D logos are just Scaleable Vector Graphics that are imported into Blender. You then convert the SVG image to a mesh then extrude the mesh upwards to give it the thickness – make me look like an expert modeller!
You do need to make sure your images are black and white but there is an online site that converts your images to SVG for you (online-convert.com). Thanks again and may I say your mechanoids are improving – they are colourful too!
Have you tried 3d text yet ? I used to do small images signatures with it once.
Hi again, yes I use the “Text” functions to create the title image plates seen at the top of my posts. You will see a mix of text including flat images (usually my transparent watermarks) and there will be some extruded 3D text. Luckily Blender makes it easy by allowing you to type in a text snippet, then in the properties menu you can select whichever TTF font style you want (stored in your Windows font folder) then you can add an “Extrude” and a “Bevel” effect. If you check out the “For Tyeth Editions” tags I put on my pictures you will see that the lettering has a bevel and a shadow effect added as well as being 3D.