FT’s Review of 2023 and hoping for more in 2024!

Hello Everybody, I hope you all had a festive fun-time over the past few days but today I have my usual end of year housekeeping post and review of my past 12 months. So I hope you enjoy looking back to a few highlights…

We start this review way back in January of course and I am in a terrible state trying to arrange my travel documents for my upcoming “Jedi Mission”. But even though my excitement was growing I was beginning to struggle for inspiration in the Star Wars universe so I had to diversify more into other franchises. Luckily “The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers” had a connection to where my mission would lead me so I made a staff for Rita Repulsa. The next few weeks I showcased my repainted “Speedster – Ronin”, another Katana for Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and finished the month with a device used by Det Divo a “Data Viewpad”

February: I was feline a bit better by February in regards to what I was modelling but I was still hanging about waiting for my paperwork to arrive and I was pulling my hair out trying to track down the missing papers. Apparently the government had printed and sent them but the couriers had er “lost them” or sent the papers back because they couldn’t deliver to my front door. I just wished they’d get their act together as my trip was at the beginning of March. First though I have to mention a magical animation that was released with a cute cat, “Puss In Boots – The Last Wish” in which Puss is in danger of losing his ninth life. So I designed a saber for him to help in his adventure -and hoped my trip would be helped by magic too.

Along with Puss’ new hilt I was challenged to design a hilt for Danger-Mouse by my friend TVTA…I followed that with a wise-cracking Katana for Deadpool and finally built a saber for myself!

March: YAY! IT’S GO TIME! Not that many of you will have noticed but I wasn’t actually at Tyeth Towers during March. I had sneaked off in secrecy to begin my trip to New Zealand and Australia and was sat aboard an A380 Super Jumbo (what a plane!). It was also my first time flying in an earth built aeroplane so that was fun and I showcased a new Starfighter that made it’s first flight” in Rebels.

I just about had time each week to do a quick session to log-in and reply to your comments and left WordPress to publish each week’s post using the schedule feature. The line up included another hilt for Puss in Boots but an antique looking version of “The Last Wish”. Next was a Star Wars Visions inspired saber “Tobi” for a cybernetic Jedi, after which I finished the month with the hotrod racer inspired “Speedster Flame”. During the last three weeks of March I travelled the whole country of New Zealand, North-South-East and West on both islands, using cars, trains, boats and more planes. I will never forget my trip and the folks and sights I discovered and you can see my Travelogue photographs on my posts all through last year. (I had over 8000 photos so couldn’t post all of them!)

OK! That’s the first three months done so you’ll need to click the button below to go to Page Two to view months 4,5 and 6…see you there!

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A Quick Announcement – a slight change in schedule…

Hello everybody, I er, forgot to take into account that New Year’s Eve falls on a Sunday this year so my review post will publish at 12:00 AM (GMT) on Sunday morning (the 31st) rather than on Friday night/Saturday morning as I usually publish.

Apologies for any inconvenience but it didn’t seem right to post an end of year review on the thirtieth of December! Hope to see you Sunday, ok!….

“Master Montoya V2 Saber” an upgrade that can be used left handed….and Merry Christmas!

Hello, hello…helloo! I couldn’t not post something this week and I think I have a big treat lined up for you. Now at this time of year the TV stations and entertainment channels bring out all the classic films for Christmas, James Bond, The Sound of Music and newer films like the animated Frozen etc. But there is one movie I love that wasn’t a big hit to start with back in 1987 but has since become a cult classic A film about a true love between a Princess and a Farmboy (no, not that Farmboy on Tattooine) and their arduous journey and adventure that leads them to happiness. There were three outlaws that consisted of a sneaky Sicilian, a GIANT and a master sword fencer involved and you must know by now the movie I’m ranting about is…The Princess Bride! A classic swashbuckling movie with some of the most memorable quotes in it and unbelievable sword fencing action.

The Sword Fencing Master is Inigo Montoya (portrayed by Mandy Patinkin) an outlaw that was hired by the terrible Prince Humperdinck to kidnap Princess Buttercup who turned down his proposal of marriage as she loved Westley. Westley had left the country to seek his fortune to enable him to wed the Princess and Humperdinck struck while Wes was out of the country. The three outlaws having taken Buttercup hostage were followed to the top of “Insanity Cliffs” and a sword fight took place between Montoya and a mystery “Man in Black”. During this amazing scene we see an equally amazing choreography performed by Patinkin and Corey Elwes where both actors fight right handed AND left handed! Now that is serious skill. Anyhoo I have in the past modelled a saber for Inigo, but whilst I was 99% happy I knew I could do better…and today I reveal the new Montoya hilt but first I’ll just remind you of my previous version and the “Teaser” I posted last week for the new hilt…

Now my original “Montoya” hilt whilst complex it was nothing like the shape of the properly shaped rapier in the silhouette. Ok, Ok…I’ve talked too much so now I present my “Montoya V2 Saber” (available in left and right handed models!)….

This new lightsaber was an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE to model but so worth the effort when I’d finished it. The problem was finding decent reference pictures to work from so I could see where all the parts connected and curved round to. As the pictures were flat I couldn’t rotate the sword to get better views, and no two images seemed to correspond with each other. But to give you an idea, here is a pic of the prop itself…

Now can you work out what fastens onto where? It just looks like tangled spaghetti! BUT I persevered and after about a week and a half I managed to model this beauty. Then I had to add textures and the decorative jewels to make it stand out. Now I don’t know of any way that I could have put the actual engraving onto the saber so I had to create a texture that looked like it was etched, but I think it still worked out ok…but the jewels are fully formed as 3D objects. Now I think it’s time for Gallery Two and some detail shots….

Hopefully from these angles you can see just how complex the handguard (known as a Basket Guard) really is, with it’s sweeping curves and joints. As I said an exhaustive project but one I’m proud to have completed. My good friend Resa of Graffiti Lux Art & More (https://graffitiluxandmurals.com/) suggested some other sword and swashbuckling movies so I may attempt a few swords from those films in future. But for now I am still busy compiling my end of year review so I’ll have to end this post and adventure here. Please enjoy the remainder of the holiday season however you celebrate and I hope you’ll join me for the New Year Review. Till next time……

“Master Montoya V2 Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the sword of Inigo Montoya in “The Princess Bride”. These 3D models and renders were created by For Tyeth/FTSabersite in Blender 3D and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2023. “The Princess Bride” was written by William Goldman and produced/directed by Rob Reiner. It starred Mandy Patinkin, Corey Elwes and Robin Wright. All character names, images, logos and other related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Act II Productions and Buttercup Films.

For Tyeth sends Season’s Greetings…and a 3D card!

Hello….Ho….Ho Everybody! Now, it has come to my attention (and yours too probably) that we are now starting the festive holiday season so I thought I’d best post my greetings card to you all today! I have made it a bit of a tradition to “build” my own greetings card in Blender 3D using some of the objects and sabers I’ve built during the year. So with out further delay here is your card….

HAPPY HOLIDAYS HOWEVER YOU CELEBRATE

This card features some of the designs I have built and posted this year and even has a few sneak previews of upcoming stuff as a treat (there’s something lurking for you Neo!) ….and this year I even built my own Christmas tree out of sabers and a New Zealand landmark building! Then to show how I created this and prove it really is 3D here are a couple of pics behind the scenes….

The first pic shows how I arranged all my models with the background image and the second shows where I apply the textures and lighting FX – I know it looks psychedelically colourful and confusing but hopefully you can see the way I use images to provide the lighting effects.

Now I can’t just leave you all with a virtual card so here is a bit of a party game for you to play. I have a few projects lined up for upcoming posts and I’ve created a few “Silhouettes” to hint at what they might be….

It would be “Inconceivable” if you couldn’t guess at least one or the other of these new hilts – but if you think you know what these are keep it secret ok, no spoilers! All will be revealed soon!!!

And so now I will be slowing work down in my workshop over the next two weeks as I prepare my “End of Year Review” but fear not I will post a design next week inspired by a movie classic blockbuster that has become a festive favourite. So I apologise in advance if my replies to comments etc are a bit later than normal ok.

Thank you all for supporting me and my site this year (and in previous years for my long time followers). Your comments, likes and follows are a great gift to me and keep me creating and posting so thank you so much. I sincerely hope you all have a warm, peaceful, happy time with loved ones over this period and spare a thought for those in less fortunate/dangerous situations than we are in. Till next time…..

All 3D models and designs were created in Blender 3D by For Tyeth/FTSabersite and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2023.

“TIE BatFour” – A new armoured shuttle for Emperor Palpatine

Hello Everybody, today I venture back into my space shipyards and bring you a brand new personal battle armoured shuttle. I have been tinkering with TIE Fighter variant designs such as my TwinBlade and Double Dagger, but whilst watching Return of the Jedi and Palpatine’s arrival on the Death Star I had a thought. The ship Palpatine arrived in was known as a Theta 4a Lambda shuttle but, to me it looked a bit plain and “civilian-looking” and I wondered how it would fare if attacked. I know the Lambda had upgraded extras like 5 laser turrets and a hyperdrive but I still wasn’t sure about it. You will recognise it….

However I thought if Palpatine was in a really dangerous situation such as the Battle over Endor (the second Death Star battle) then he’d need a much tougher ship to escape in…..so I think I have created just that, I have modified an ordinary TIE Fighter and come up with the Battle Armoured TIE or BATFOUR…

So I took a TIE Fighter and basically rebuilt it – so there’s not much of the original left to be honest. The wings have been redesigned to look more like the TIE Defender but are more elongated, and the fuselage has been completely reshaped. It is now extended and has larger twin Ion engines whilst the wings attach via “blended body” style pylons which are much thicker than that of a standard TIE. When viewed from above the ship has an outline similar to a hanging Bat (which partly inspired the ship’s name). But when viewed from behind you can see a large panel between the engines which opens to reveal a passenger compartment for Palpatine and two Royal Guards! You can look inside in Gallery Two….

The interior is just big enough for Palpatine’s throne and the two troopers and is quite basic but this is meant to be a survival craft for battle. I hope to improve on building interiors and maybe work on a few more ships soon. I have also dabbled in building other structures from Star Wars too as you can see here…

It’s again basic but I’m getting closer to building a full Death Star with every hangar bay I build! But back to the BATFOUR, Palpatine I don’t think, would hang around in a battle if the enemy were so dangerous – he’d flee as fast as he could to a safe system – so this ship is very fast. Especially in the forward swept wing mode! Here are a few final high speed action shots….

I think with the hidden weapons in its underbelly and wing pylons, coupled with it’s armoured shell, shield generators and superior agility and speed, this ship would be a survivor! So good in fact this one has escaped to the end of this post! Unfortunately because I had extra images to showcase I don’t have a Travelogue entry this week (sorry!) but it will return next week.

So before I go I need to say thank you again for visiting and supporting me and my site, it means a lot to me and keeps me motivated. I am working hard on new sabers and prop building as well as my usual end of year review post so I hope you call back and see what I have in store. Till next time…..

“TIE BatFour – Battle Armoured TIE” is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the famous TIE Fighter seen in the Star Wars franchise. The design, 3D model and renders were created in Blender 3D by For Tyeth and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2023. Star Wars and the “TIE Fighter” along with all other names, logos, images and related materials are Trademarks/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm Ltd 2023.

“Bengals Blade” inspired by Cincinnati’s NFL team – and it’s snowing cats and dogs!

Hello Everybody! I managed to get back just in time after my little diversion into the Doctor Who universe last week – I hope you liked the little change in pace. But today I return to the world of NFL football and some cats and dogs. The dogs I will come back to in my Travelogue but the Cats are the animals that inspired Cincinnati’s football team colours and franchise. Yes I’m talking about the Cincinnati Bengals football team with their big cat Tiger’s stripe decoration on their helmets and uniforms. The Bengals play their games in downtown Cincinnati at the Paycor Stadium in the AFC Northern Division. They have won 11 Divisional Championships and 3 Conference Championships but have yet to scoop the Vince Lombardy Trophy. But despite that they are a colourful bunch and I decided to pay tribute to them with this striking new saber, the Bengals Blade….

Yes, I have worked out how to recreate Tiger Camo and I’m really pleased how it turned out. It took a lot of tweaking to get the settings right to make the pattern but worth the effort. The saber hilt is once again shrouded with two colour matched plates in black and silver to complete the franchise colour scheme. On the bottom of the saber is the “Laces” detail which provides better grip of the hilt when battling the opposition. Again this hilt has some extra details inside and out and you can see them in Gallery Two….

The first image shows the emitter matrix crystal which is the final “focusing lens” which the blade passes through, The second shows the opposite end of the hilt and the “Tiger’s Eye” effect I tried to create with the speaker/ventilation grille and the black teardrop shaped pommel cap. The vent represents the eyeball whilst the black pommel sorta looks like the eye socket and eyelids. The pommel also features an official Bengals logo which is for once a pasted on texture but looked good. Finally there is the “Cat’s Eye Opal” main crystal in the saber’s crystal chamber reveal. I think the Head Coach, Zac Taylor and players the likes of JaMarr Chase, Tae Higgins and Jake Browning would be happy with this one. Now I’ve talked about BIG cats but in my intro I mentioned dogs too, well it’s time to meet two of my new canine friends as we venture to Christchurch’s Antarctic cemter,….Travelogue Time….

Today in Christchurch, New Zealand I visited the International Antarctic Centre, a museum and attraction that educates about the beautiful southern continent and how it has been explored. New Zealand along with the UK set up a research base on Ross Island named Scott Base (after Captain Robert Falcon Scott RN, who led two expeditions to the area of Ross Sea) all the way back in 1957 as part of the Commonwealth Trans Antarctic Expedition (TAE) and International Geophysical Year (IGY) projects. From Scott Base many experiments and studies have been carried out researching human impact on the nature of the planet. And the exhibition centre in Christchurch is fantastic at sharing that knowledge. There are full sized replicas of the aircraft interiors of the planes used to get to Scott Base (known as Snowbirds), there are snow mobile tracked vehicles and Ski-mobiles to try out (just like a Speederbike!). And to experience just how cold Scott Base is….the centre has a climate controlled room where you can don protective clothing and then they lower the temperature and lights to recreate Antarctic weather….complete with wind! I felt like I was back on Hoth…ahhh! The centre also has big 4D screen exhibits showing documentaries and spraying you with Seal sneezes….but the best part was meeting the wildlife, Penguins! You couldn’t get too close to the little clown birds but some animals you could go and pet, here are the Huskies Benni and Nanouk!….

Normally Huskies are full of energy and raring to run, but in the slightly warmer climate of Christchurch and the centre they were a little more sleepy! But Benni still seemed to sense the Force in me and came over to check me out! I gotta say they were beautiful, the coat of fur being coarse and soft at the same time….and those eyes! I was glad to meet them but I soon had to leave and yes, you’ve guessed it we’re out of time…but if you want more info on the centre you can check out the website found here: https://www.iceberg.co.nz/

I thoroughly enjoyed working on the Bengals hilt and nailing the pattern texture and I hope you enjoyed it, and the trip to Antarctica to meet the Huskies. I’d like to say another massive thank you as your support has pushed the viewing figures past 11,000 views now which is amazing! Thank you all so much, the views, comments and likes keep me inspired to create more and I hope you’ll return for future posts (I have new sabers, vehicles and gadget props lined up). So to all my readers/viewers new and regulars thanks and…..Till next time…..

“Bengals Blade” is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the Cincinnati Bengals NFL Football Team. The design, 3D model and renders were created by For Tyeth and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2023. The Cincinnati Bengals and all associated names, logos, and related material are Trademark and ©Copyright of the Cincinnati Behgals (Owner/President, Mike Brown) and the NFL football league.