“Republic” saber – Inspired by The High Republic era

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.

Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm 2021.

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.

Cade Legacy saber – The Last Skywalker rebuilt

Hello everybody, today I revisit an OLD design I posted from way back in 2016. It was built using the old online Adaptive Saber Parts (ASP) software that I used to use and I always said to myself “If only I could make it better and my own model and not use the ASP system”. For a while I was stuck with ASP but eventually I was able to switch to Blender and started building my own models…but I always got sidetracked and never got around to “reforging” the Cade Skywalker lightsaber. https://ftsabersite.wordpress.com/2016/08/31/cade-the-last-skywalker-lightsaber/ Yes today I present my Blender model of Cade Skywalker’s lightsaber from the Expanded Universe/Legends stories seen in Dark Horse Comics. Here is the original hilt using ASP…

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The first image shows the ASP preview render whilst the second picture shows Cade’s hilt (which belonged to his father Kol Skywalker before him). I think I did pretty well to match the Wookiepedia reference picture but as I said earlier, I knew I could make a better version if I learnt 3D modelling. I eventually got around to building a new Skywalker hilt and here it is…

The first image shows a test build and render to see if I had the basic shape but I quickly realised I had made a mistake and forgotten to add an accent ring around the handgrip near the emitter – I need to learn to take my time and not overlook details (I still do it all the time 😀 ). I quickly fixed this omission and set to work adding a few extra details. These included the activation switch, a recharge and data port along with the two little gold coloured anchoring posts you can see peeking out of the handgrip. These detail parts are actually connected to another component in the hilt you can’t see just yet. The component is a special capsule that holds the electronics in place inside the hilt (this part is called a chassis by real life saber builders). I have a few new hilts that feature this “Capsule” system coming in a future post. But for now here are a couple more close up detail pictures…

These pictures show from top left – the emitter with a “Tombstone” ventral fin. Next is the activation/control section showing the switch and input port, as well as the two gold attachment posts. The third shows the T-Track grips that hark back to the original Graflex lightsaber that belonged to Anakin – Cade’s ancestor from 130+ years earlier. The final image shows the pommel and attachment point for a belt hanger loop.

I also thought I’d have another go at making some “artwork” and made a quick poster of Cade Skywalker himself. I used an image from Dark Horse Comics and cut him out then added a gradient background and some transparency effects to create the blends. See what you think.

Ok it’s not going to win any art awards but I like to keep my skills current and I think I did a fair job cutting around Cade. Anyhoo I am drawing near to the end of this post but as always I have to give a big shoutout and thanks to you all for your visit today and support. Whether you are a regular caller to FTSabersite or this is your first trip here you are welcome and appreciated. I hope you will return to see many more new designs including hilts inspired by The High Republic (Disney’s new franchise project) some sabers inspired by famous blasters and maybe a few more hilts for fans of Star Trek – Enterprise. Till next time….

“Cade Legacy” is a For Tyeth Editions design modelled and rendered in Blender 3D. It is based on the weapon of Cade Skywalker who appears in the Expanded Universe/Legends comics published by Dark Horse Comics Ltd. The 3D model and renderings are Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2021. The name, images and character of Cade Skywalker are Trademark/Copyright of Dark Horse Comics Ltd.

“Coaxium Grandeur” Saber for the noble…and a new hobby?

Hello Everybody, I hope you are doing well (and to my friends who contacted me recently I wish you both speedy recoveries – my Force Meditations are with you). Today I present a very heavily decorated hilt that runs on my Coaxium Capsule power source pommel which I designed for “Coaxium Saber” and “Copper Coaxium”. I posted my last hilt, the Praetor Power V2 on the Ultrasabers’ forum site and folks there kinda liked it and one member especially said “I’m a sucker for red hilts”…well this next hilt is definitely red and is powerful as well as regal looking. This is Coaxium Grandeur…

I really went all out on this hilt to make it stand out…and it is quite complex hence the reason why I only have 6 images of it for the gallery. The model and it’s texturing is so complicated it took forever to render the images to look correct. But I think the effort and wait was worth it. The hilt has a modified capsule pommel that I used as an emitter so both ends of the saber had a similar theme with the chrome and hex-head screw decoration. They both have the cut out windows to allow both the blade and Coaxium crystal helix to shine out. The handgrip is adorned with an array of chromed ridges to assist grip and give the hilt an interesting elegant visual. The ridges are created by dividing the grip using a function called “Loop Cuts” which as it sounds creates a set of loops around the hilt. These loops can then be modified and made into solid geometry just like the rest of the model. The loops are aligned with the shape of the model so when applied to a regular cylinder the loops would be lateral to the tube (matching the top and bottom edges)…but if you angle the top and bottom of the tube so they are slanted then the loop cuts are applied in a slanted orientation. I then thickened the loops to form ridges and applied the chrome to them. The ends of the hilt body were still slanted so I just reshaped them back to being perpendicular to the tube. I also added a new activation switch with a nice bezel plate to add to the regal/noble/High Republic style look. To finish I added the red and chrome coloured texturing, a purple blade to match the Coaxium Helix, a Covertech Knob belt attachment to hang the saber from and I had a finished saber. I think my friend on the forum will love this one.

And that just about wraps up…..WAIT! Incoming news! For Tyeth may not quite be feeling like his normal self! In news coming in For Tyeth may have fallen into madness as he has purchased some…blasters? Yes, I have purchased some “so uncivilised” blasters in the form of a pair of Nerf foam dart guns. But don’t worry I am not going mad, I have a plan. I have nearly finished my Jedi costume (I got a new undershirt for it recently and just need a decent belt and accessories now) and pondered on what props and accessories I could add to it. Well I have a saber so I thought “How about a blaster pistol?” With the popularity of “The Mandalorian” and bounty hunters I figured I could try my hand at modifying a foam dart gun into a movie prop! So I found an online store and managed to snag TWO Nerf Firestrike pistols which I was going to modify. If you haven’t seen them before they look a bit like this…

I only have one problem…I’ve kinda fallen in love with how cool these Nerfs are and am now hesitant to mess about with them! They are so much better quality than the old dart guns I had access to as a kid and these ones even have “red dot targeting laser beams”! I will probably buy another 1 or 2 and keep these two to play with (I’ve been shooting darts at the light switches in my flat turning them on and off! – I know I’m a BIG KID!) I will have another think about this new hobby and I’ll get some paints and parts together and if I can make something decent I may even consider selling them. I’ll keep you all posted.

And for a little more on nostalgic NERF blasters please take the chance to check out my friend TheVintageToyAdvertiser’s post…https://thevintagetoyadvertiser.org/2020/08/11/nerf-its-nerf-or-nothin/ (Myself and Mrs T are thinking of you my friend, hope you are back to full force soon).

But that does wrap up this post, thank you so much for taking time to check it out. I hope you like “Coaxium Grandeur” and it lived up to the name. I still have many more new sabers (and maybe pistols) to show you in future so please be sure to call back and see what’s in store. You are an amazing community and I appreciate all of your support. So comment, like and subscribe if you like what you see here and please call back next week. Till Nerf Time….(next time!)

“Coaxium Grandeur” is a For Tyeth Editions design, built and rendered in Blender 3D. The 3D model and renders are Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2021. “NERF” and Nerf Firestrike” are Trademark/Copyright of Hasbro Toys and the product image belongs to Habro.

Praetorian Power Version 2 – it’s red, black and brand new

Hello Everybody, today we return to the Star Wars Universe at last (I got kinda sidetracked recently) as I bring you a new saber I designed after I checked my viewing stats and noticed someone had looked at my old “lightwhip” saber I built using the old software I used to use. That saber was “Praetor Power Whip” and I based it on the “Electro Chain Whip” weapon carried by Supreme Leader Snoke’s Elite Praetorian Guards.

Praetor Power IGNITED!

This design used the old modular saber builder that Saberforge provide – but I heavily modified and improved it by adding a custom colourscheme and I photo-edited a flexible whip blade. But even back in 2018 when I made this I knew I could/wanted to improve on it. So today I bring you a totally new design from the ground up. This is Praetorian Power V2….

Initially this was going to be a claw or bone inspired hilt, there is a slight curve like a claw and the emitter and pommel have aggressive shrouds making it look sharp. But I knew the handgrip needed some detailing and added some ridges (which added interest and additional grip) and it was whilst I was viewing it in preview mode the saber reminded me of something. I was using the “MatCap” function that uses a clay model style of presentation so you can see how details stand out and I thought I had seen the “plates” of the handgrip on a certain character – the Praetorian Guards!

This is the Praetorian with the “Electro Chain Whip” which inspired my original 2018 design – but just look at the arm/sleeve of the costume – it looks just like the segmented handgrip of my new saber. I felt the outfit whilst cool did look a little flat at times because it was plain red with no contrast colour (the dark areas where just shadows) so I added a few black accents to my hilt especially the ring of raised ridges just below the emitter. The Praetorian weapons used in The Last Jedi didn’t appear to have any activation switch visible so I omitted to add a switch and instead envisaged that there is a sensor in the handle to activate the blade. The blade is also a standard blade not a whip as I feel the flexible blade has a lot of drawbacks, one being just how difficult it is to use. However, the blade does have a nice electric blue colour to represent the “electro” aspect of the original weapons.

In these detail pictures you can better see the ring of accent plates circling the hilt , providing a convenient “choke point” to grip the saber. You will also see the elongated “Bunny Ear” tabs on top of the emitter to make it easier to know which end is which as both ends have similar pointed shrouds. You might be able to see that the ridges are curved and actually flow /vary as you go down the length of the hilt – this was the result of adding the ridges then I used the “Curve Modifier” to bend the hilt. It makes the handgrip look like the sleeve of the Praetorian Guard outfit and some folks might even think it looks like the shell of a prawn or crustacean. Finally two of my favourite parts of this hilt are the inserts in the emitter and pommel. These inserts were made using a cog wheel shaped part then I rounded all the edges then added a cone on the pommel insert and a tube like piece on the emitter insert to represent the module where the blade emits from (the holes around the edges represent the receptors that absorb the blade’s energy as it cycles around). I think this is a suitable upgrade for the Praetorians.

That just about wraps up this design but I did enjoy getting back into the Star Wars realm. I hope you liked the Praetorian V2 and I want to let you know I have a few more original designs inspired by the recent “The High Republic” material coming out from Disney/Lucasfilm, along with a Halberd design (medieval inspired double weapon) AND a series of hilts with an interchangeable core! So there is plenty to come in future posts. Thank you to each and every viewer/reader for taking time to check this hilt out, you are always welcome and appreciated whether this is your first visit or if you are an FTSabersite regular. Till next time….

“Praetorian Power Version 2” is a For Tyeth Editions design and was modelled/rendered in Blender 3D – it is Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2021. “Elite Praetorian Guard”, “Electro Chain Whip” and all Star Wars names, logos, images and related material are Trademark and Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm.

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.

FT’s Review of 2020 and look forward to 2021….What a year.

Hello everybody welcome to my last post……of the year that was 2020! Don’t worry I’m not quitting blogging just yet – even though this past year has made me think about it. What a year it has been, viruses and operating system crashes….laptop failures….premature and sad deaths….and a terrible pandemic sweeping the planet called Covid 19.

January started with mixed reviews of the final film of the Star Wars Skywalker saga with The Rise of Skywalker. By the end of the month it also had the UK worried about a new illness discovered in two Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in the city of York. Covid had already been detected in China during December but this was the first time I had heard anything about this killer illness. But in more positive news I did model and create a couple of hilts from the movie Rise of Skywalker. I got to see the film on the 20^th December and by the 22^nd I had built these…not bad for a beginner!

February was a good month (sort of) as I finally resolved an issue with my bank and received some compensation for mis-sold insurance. This meant I had a little bit of earth cash and I needed a new laptop as my existing one from 2007 was nearly at capacity and was struggling to perform what I wanted. So I knew I couldn’t afford a complete new setup so I decided to purchase a higher spec refurbished model. I thought the machine would last a year or two while I saved the full amount needed for a new desktop. I was wrong but more on that in a little while. In February I posted a few designs ranging from hilts inspired by LucasFilm’s new Mandalorian tv show on Disney+ along with a hilt from Mulan too. I also had the honour of building a model based on my friend PsychoSith’s beautiful artwork and a well known custom saber company in Portland Oregon was selling off cheap lightsaber parts in a “scratch and dent” sale. These parts were either Quality Control rejects or parts that were damaged in the building process and the company’s owner was selling them to amateur builders to use. Well one of these bargain basement deal pieces caught my attention so I made my own 3D version and turned it into a full hilt – I like to recycle! Oh and I built a saber for Zorro….yes a lightsaber Rapier!

March was another mixed bag as the first deaths were announced (UK) and worries about the Coronavirus grew and a Partial National Lockdown was implemented to contain and control the spread of the disease. It was also during March I started having tech issues with my new I5 laptop. I put the issues down to the problems Windows 10 had on certain computers and tried to work round any glitches. BUT I ended up having to re-install the operating system. I lost some of my files…but miraculously I salvaged some later. Some of the files and designs included these interesting items…another Rapier for Inigo Montoya, a saber for a Doctor Who fan I know and a new item, a Holocron for Darth Logos.

Please join me for Part Two of this review – click the button below!

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Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays from For!

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate today. I hope all of you are having a great day with your families and are having fun (while staying safe). It has been a strange year and a hectic one, so I sorta forgot to make a Christmas card this year to post so I hope you don’t mind me “recycling” an old one I had…but it does show the lightsaber which I received 5 years ago for Christmas and which set me on my journey!

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  My Christmas “Decorations”!

So, from the Tyeth household, thanks for the gift of your support and I hope you all have the best of times.

Till next time…..please saber safely if you got a new lightsaber,

I’d hate to hear about any Christmas accidents!