“Blissfull Sabers” for Zorii Bliss

Hello Everybody, today I bring toy you not one but TWO new hilts, well a matching pair of sabers for a mysterious female character who will appear in the new Star Wars film The Rise of Skywalker in about 2 week’s time! (Wow time has flown!) A while ago Vanity Fair released some promo teaser images and one was of a mysterious woman dressed in a burgundy and gold bodysuit and helmet. The outfit immediately reminded me of a few things…first was Daft Punk because of the helmet but I also remembered a movie and tv show with rocket/jet pack wearing characters. The TV show was an old Saturday morning cinema style serial called “King of the Rocket Men” from 1949. The movie came out around 1991 and was called “The Rocketeer” made by ….Disney! Both lead hero characters wore rocket packs and distinctive helmets. Here is the poster for the Disney film…

Image Copyright Disney Studios

The movie set around the 20’s/30’s has a distinct Art Deco style and look to it, but it is that helmet just look at it! Now take a look at the Vanity Fair image of Zorii Bliss and her helmet…look familiar?…..

Image Copyright Vanity Fair/Disney/LucasFilm

Ok, it is a little bit more futuristic with the paneling and air vents/radiator parts on the back but that looks spookily like the Rocketeer. Zorii also has what looks like art deco styled patterns on her belt and bicep bands. I saw this and just knew I needed to create a hilt for this character. So I set to work and came up with this hilt…

Blissfull Saber 1

Blissfull Saber Emitter

Blissfull Saber Switches

Blissfull Saber Pommel and Belt Clip

Blissfull Saber full length

I really went to town with this design and used the burgundy of the suit as the handgrip and added the antique gold and gloss black accents. The emitter is modeled on Zorii’s helmet viewed side on. The switches I made to look like the old rotary dial controls found on 1930’s/40’s radios to fit the art deco look. The pommel looks like the decorations found on pillars and columns of art deco buildings with the geometric carvings. I was pretty stoked and happy how these turned out but I had only seen a picture of Zorii from the waist up and a new image was released (the one above) that revealed Zorii had two curved handled blasters. I liked those blasters and thought “How would this saber look if it was curved?” So you know me….I bent the saber! Here are the pictures of the update…

Blissfull Bend Saber Emitter

Blissfull Bend Saber Switches

Blissfull Bend Saber Pommel

Blissfull Bend Saber full length

I used the same function in Blender 3D that I used to bend my Aquaman Bend Lightsaber hilt. I had to create “cuts” in the hilt then draw a curved line which the software then maps the model onto and bends the shape to the line drawn. Anyhoo, you may have noticed that in the last picture there are TWO hilts and you would be correct. I modeled a matching saber to form a pair (and I mirrored the second hilt so each one can hang off Zorii’s belt like a pair of pistols). Oh yes and did I mention that the mysterious Zorii is portrayed by Kerri Russell? That is why you can see the actress in the title image above! And as these hilts were for such an intriguing character I decided to add one final  touch, an embossed pattern to replicate the mysterious geometric art deco designs on the handgrips too! Here is a final batch of images of the matching pair…

Blissfull Saber pair 1

Blissfull Saber pair 2

Blissfull Bend Saber pair 1

Blissfull Bend Saber pair 2

I forgot to mention that I added a yellow “Darksaber” style flat blade to match the flat rounded rectangular shape of the hilts’ cross-section. Phew! That was a lot of images again but I think I have covered everything now. Not a lot is known about Zorii except for the facts she is a human from the planet Kijimi and was the leader of a gang known as The Kijimi Spice Runners….and has a past connection to Poe Dameron! We will find out more when Rise of Skywalker hits cinemas on the 20th of December (UK date).

I am nearing the end of this post, but before I go I need to say a big thank you to evrybody who has visited and supported me these past three and a bit years, I have now passed the 15,000 views mark. So thank you all, new viewers and all my regulars you are fantastic and much appreciated. I hope you enjoyed these hilts and really hope you will return for future posts as I have my final Master Series hilt coming up along with a whole batch of new original designs and I’ll be chatting about the new film. Till next time…..

“Blissfull Saber” and “Blissfull Bend Saber” are For Tyeth Edition designs and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019. “Zorii Bliss”, “The Rise of Skywalker” and all other Star Wars related names, images and material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm. Promo image Copyright of Vanity Fair.

BOBA Legend Saber – The man with five lines

Hello Everybody, today I bring you the second of the Mandalorian inspired hilts I have made and this one is based on the original Mandalorian bounty hunter we saw in a Star Wars film or series. That man is Boba Fett, the mysterious bounty hunter that cashed in Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt. We first see Boba in Empire Strikes Back when he is hired by Darth Vader to hunt down Han and the Rebels. However, believe it or not, Boba Fett despite all his popularity only spoke FIVE lines of dialogue in all the time he was onscreen. He also met an unfortunate end whilst fighting Luke Skywalker on Jabba’s Sail Barge skiff when a semi-blind Han inadvertently struck Boba’s jetpack and sent him out of control into the Sarlacc Pit. In a book which has been released since Return of the Jedi came out hints that maybe Boba survived this ordeal as a set of Mandalorian armour was found on Tatooine near the famous Sarlacc Pit…so if Boba is alive he may be looking for some new weaponry…how about a saber? Well…I just happen to have one he may like…here is BOBA Legend Saber…

BOBA Legend Saber 2

BOBA Legend 3

BOBA Legend 4

This is the same hilt as the “Mandalawrian” hilt I built but there are some subtle differences. As you can see it has been re-coloured in Boba’s famous green, grey, red and black. I added a yellow panel on the side of the hilt to represent his shoulder pauldron/armour but I think my favourite modification is the new visor area. I re-coloured one of the chrome ridges to red and it looks just like his helmet face plate…

And in the image above you might just be able to make out a dent over his left eye, and I even added a dent on my hilt…it’s just under the letter “D” of editions in my watermark…

BOBA Legend 5 (Note the dent under the D of my watermark)

BOBA Legend Mandalorian logo

BOBA Legend Emitter

BOBA Legend Jetpack nozzle pommel

The saber has a Mandalorian logo on the handgrip but interestingly it has been reported recently that George Lucas has stated that Boba and Jango Fett (his clone father) aren’t actually native Mandalorians. I can’t be 100% certain of this as I have only seen one YouTube video on this topic but I will look for further details to find the truth. And speaking of YouTube, FTSabersite may be featured in a big way on that social media platform soon – however secret negotiations are ongoing and I’ll let you know more when details have been finalized – but keep your eyes open!

I’m sorry this post is a little shorter than usual but this hilt only needed minor tweaks to create it’s new looks. I hope you still enjoyed the design however and rest assured I am continually working on new designs and models. I have a pair of matching hilts for a mystery lady from The Rise of Skywalker, some bespoke designs based on a classic Original Trilogy hilt, a few sabers for my friends including a very Nerdy friend and….I have the final Master Series hilt with glamour shots and animations galore all coming in future posts.

Please call back to see all of that and maybe even more but for now I’d like to say a big thank you for your visit today. Due to all your support I am fast approaching the 15.000 views mark which is unbelievable so, whether you are a first time visitor or a regular viewer/follower thanks so much it is really appreciated. Till next time….

“BOBA Legend Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019. “Boba Fett”, “Jango Fett” and all other names, images and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm.

“Greyflex Saber” – Rey’s repaired Graflex

Hello Everybody, I hope you liked last week’s Mandalorian inspired design and today I hope to go one better than that. And to achieve this I am bringing you another of my “Master Series” line of sabers! This time I bring you the Graflex, or rather as I call it, the “Greyflex” saber belonging to Rey in The Rise of Skywalker. This hilt was originally constructed and used by Anakin Skywalker. He eventually “lost”the saber after his defeat to Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafaar (in Revenge of the Sith) when Kenobi left Anakin in a lava pool and walked away picking up the fallen saber and taking it with him. Around 20 years later Obi-Wan met up with Luke Skywalker on Tatooine and he returned the saber to Luke as it was “Your father’s lightsaber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight.” Luke then carried and used this till he “lost” it and his hand in his duel with Darth Vader in Empire Strikes Back. The saber fell down the ventilation shaft of Bespin City and wasn’t seen until Rey discovers the saber in Maz Kanata’s basement during The Force Awakens. As if this wasn’t enough of a story, the evil Kylo Ren wanted the saber and at the end of The Last Jedi, he and Rey fight over who owned the hilt and the hilt was seriously damaged as it was torn in two pieces!

That you would think was the end for the iconic lightsaber right? Well, no, in the trailers for The Rise of Skywalker we see Rey using a saber and it is the Skywalker family lightsaber that she has repaired. Here is a before and after comparison of the hilt…

“The Grail” Graflex saber from Star Wars on Tatooine(?)

“Greyflex” repaired Graflex

The center section of the saber where it broke in two has a new band clamped around it and a new activation style box. It must have taken a lot of skill to repair the saber as it was severely damaged and Rey had no one to guide her, only possibly some information in the books she took from Luke’s hideaway. There are a few subtle differences I’ll describe later but here are a few more pictures….

“Greyflex” repaired Graflex

“Greyflex” Saber 2

“GreyFlex” Saber 3

The new Flex Clamp Band

As mentioned the saber broke in the middle so this is where the biggest difference obviously is. That difference is the new Clamp Band and activation box. This caused a bit of disquiet in the Star Wars saber community when fans saw Rey had just repaired the hilt with what they called a “Band-Aid” and hadn’t built her own new saber. I felt a little like that at first but now I have modeled the new saber myself I am beginning to like it more. The remaining differences are the glass eye portal has been refitted and the grip section has been modified. The black T-grips are slightly shorter and one has been modified with a slot cut into it.

You can see the belt slot cut-out on the lower T-Grip

This slot allows Rey to hang the saber from her cloth belt/cumberbund as it slides onto the belt like the pocket clip on a pen top. This means that Rey’s version of the hilt doesn’t have a D-Ring loop to hang the saber, it just has a smooth flat unmarked pommel cap. So onto a few more pictures I think…no better still MOVIE TIME!…..

The eagle eyed viewers among you will have noticed the saber in the animation has a D-Ring pommel…I rendered the video with one, then newer pictures came out showing the ring-less pommel! I didn’t want to re-do the whole video so I left it be, but I did add a few crystal chambers! So here are a few more pictures…

“Greyflex” Saber chambers studio

“Greyflex” Saber Glamour shot

“Greyflex” Saber top view

“Greyflex” Saber bottom view

“Greyflex” Saber Glamour Shot

Phew, there’s a lot of pictures for this hilt don’t you think? I will admit there is only one “work in progress” picture but I do have a special 24 carat gold special treat for you this week, I learnt a new function in Blender that produces a unique effect. That function is called MatCap, which allows the user to apply a single texture over the whole model to help when using sculpting tools to shape parts. However it also allows you to render images quickly to check how a model looks and I have a few “MatCap” style images to share…enjoy…..

“Greyflex” Saber or should that be Goldflex?

“Greyflex” Saber or should that be Goldflex? 2

“Greyflex” Saber or should that be Goldflex? 3

“Greyflex” Saber or should that be Goldflex? 4

Now that just about wraps up this bumper edition design. I think I have outdone my Mandalorian hilt. Now I just have to congratulate and thank you for getting this far!

Thank you all so much for checking this hilt out and all the support, likes and kind comments you give me, it is much appreciated. I still have a pair of sabers for a mystery woman who will debut in The Rise of Skywalker, another Mandalorian hilt, some unique original sabers for some friends of mine and a final “Master Series” saber for the last Jedi Master….I sincerely hope you will all return to see those in future posts. Till next time…..

“Greyflex Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019. “Rey”, “The Rise of Skywalker” and all other Star Wars names, images abd related materials are Trademarks/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm.

 

The Mandalawrian Saber – He’s here to take you in!

Hello Everybody, today I have a special saber based on the new Disney/LucasFilm TV series which has just debuted on Disney’s new streaming service Disney+….The Mandalorian. Now I don’r have access to Disney+ as it hasn’t launched in the UK (boo!) and I can’t afford the subscription even if it was available here. However from the trailers I have been able to see on YouTube and pictures seen online I gathered this show centers around a mysterious character known as The Mandalorian, who is a bounty hunter during the time between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. He seems to be a modernised version of Boba Fett the famous bounty hunter that eventually captured Han Solo for Jabba the Hutt. The Mandalorian has similar gadgets, body armour and iconic Mando style helmet as seen here…

Copyright Disney/LucasFilm 2019

The Mando is armed with an imposing blaster rifle but I felt a character like this needed a saber….well you know me, I built one for him! And here are a few images of that saber. I call it the MandaLAWrian!…

Mandalawrian Blue 1

Mandalawrian Blue 2

Mandalawrian Blue 3

The hilt is modeled to represent the Mamdalorian’s body armour and helmet and is a pale blue and silver in colour (the images look dark blue but that is the environment image casting coloured light onto my model- look closely on these models and you can even make out reflections of the scenery sometimes). The emitter has ribbed panels that mimic a rifle barrel both inside the emitter and on the outside while below that on the hand grip is a symbol called the Kyr’bes, the logo of the Mandalorian clans. The symbol depicts a skull of a Mythosaur. The pommel is quite interesting, I don’t know if this particular Mandalorian has one but Boba Fett was famous for having a jet pack, so I modeled the pommel to represent the exhaust nozzle of such a backpack…

Bounty Hunter Jetpack

Mandalawrian Pommel (jet nozzle!)

And the “crowning glory” of this hilt is the activation switch that I modeled to be a touch sensor shaped to look like the Mandalorian’s helmet and visor details. The black “visor” segment is a touch panel like those on your smart phones…just swipe your thumb up the “visor” to activate and sweep down to switch off! I even modeled the little lugs found over the “ears” of the helmet. Boba Fett’s helmet actually had a radio transmitter built into these parts. I’m not sure if the Mando has radios in his but here are a few closeups of the helmet/switch section and one final full length glamour shot….

Mandalawrian Blue helmet details 1

Is this the Mandalawrian?

Mandalawrian Blue full length look.

As I say I haven’t seen the new show but I think I have created something suitable for the biggest baddest bounty hunter this side of Black Spire! Now he is fully equipped to round up the rogues of the galaxy and bring them to justice.

That just about wraps up the Mandalawrian Saber, thank you so much for checking it out. I really appreciate all the support and kind words you leave in the comments section, so whether you are a first time visitor or one of my loyal long time followers, thank you so much. Please remember to click to follow if you haven’t already so you will know when my next sabers are posted, you won’t want to miss them…I have My Master Series hilts to come, another Mando saber for Boba, a few new Obi-Wan Kenobi inspired sabers, one for a mystery lady in The Rise of Skywalker…..and one for Rey! That’s a lot of hardware!….Till next time…..

“Mandalawrian Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019. “The Mandalorian” name and image along with all other Star Wars related material is Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm 2019. “The Mandalorian” is available now on Disney’s new streaming service Disney+

 

He’s coming for you this Saturday!

He has broken cover and debuted on Disney+ and this Saturday he will make an appearance (of sorts!) here on FTSabersite! So if you are a lawbreaker, or you’re on the run or have a death mark on your head beware…this saber will bring you in alive or cold!

Hopefully all you law abiding viewers will join me this Saturday….Till then…..

Image ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019.

New Dark Dragon Katana – Blender Version

Hello Everybody, whilst reminiscing recently about past heroes for my Halloween “Spidey Saber” I also decided to delve into my archives of past designs and I found one that I felt needed a Blender update. You see many years ago I used a different software package to produce saber designs and it was provided as an online App by the company Saberforge. The problem was, that even though I was “designing” I was using parts developed by SF. However I did push the boundaries of what their Virtual Builder could do. I created a hilt with a Crystal Chamber pommel (before SF had crystal chambers!) and I also made a hilt for a fellow blogger named Cherrycola22. This hilt was a Japanese styled Katana, which I made out of three sections.

Sakura No Hana – Cherry Blossom

Cherry Blossom Hilt 2

I liked this design (and the  variants that I also created seen HERE) but now I felt I could do better. So I set to work with Blender which gives me so much more creative freedom and updated my 3-Part Katana Collection. And first up in this series is a hilt I named Dark Dragon Katana….

Dark Dragon Katana 1

Dark Dragon Katana 2

Dark Dragon Katana 3

Dark Dragon Katana 4

Dark Dragon Katana 5

Dark Dragon Katana 6

The hilt is much longer than a “traditional” hilt which gives the user much more tactical reach and leverage. Also being able to grip the saber at various positions alters the dynamics of the users attacks, so he or she can alter their grip and change the range/distance they fight from. This can confuse an opponent as they are never sure if you will use short range stabbing techniques or longer range sweeping melee strikes – giving you an advantage. I also modeled a Jedi Order inspired Tsuba handguard to tie the design into both Japanese sword styling and the Star Wars In Universe galaxy. As this hilt was designed to give a combat advantage I didn’t add a regular activation switch that could hinder grip and instead imagined that there is a sensor incorporated into the Dragon logo that could be triggered to ignite the weapon. And as I am rambling on about the “Technical Details” maybe I should post a few wire frames pictures of the hilt being modeled…

Dark Dragon Katana Wireframe 1

Dark Dragon Katana Wireframe 2

Dark Dragon Katana Wireframe 3

As you can see the hilt is structurally pretty basic but it is the simplicity that gives the weapon it’s tactical flexibility. The hilt consists of three sections and two silver  couplers, the Tsuba on the emitter and a pommel. However, if you wanted to have a regular length hilt (or shorter Katana/Japanese weapons known as Tanto or Wakizashi) you can unscrew the sections and remove the lower grip and pommel then replace the pommel to form a two section hilt! Here are a couple more pictures showing the short 2 piece Katana and a close up of the grip Dragon logo..

Dark Dragon Katana Two Piece

Dark Dragon logo

The two part saber is much more like a “traditional” length hilt (approx 12 inches). But I’d like to mention the Dragon logo, as this is taken from my earlier “FT’s Lightside Dragon” which I posted way back in December 2017 after I learnt to apply transparent textures (Wow Dec 2017?…I feel old!  😀 )

Ok, I think that covers the boring technical bits and backstory to this design, now I just have a few Glamour Shots to finish with, here you go…

Dark Dragon Katana scenic 1

Dark Dragon Katana scenic 2

Alright then, now I think that really does cover everything and it just leaves me to say a big thank you for checking this design out. I hope you like the Blender Updates of my “older” designs. I do have many more new original sabers coming soon, inspired by characters from Disney/Lucasfilm’s new movie and TV series. There are also more “Master Series” hilts to post…in fact I have over 13 more sabers I need to post! I hope you will return to check those out too, but whether you are a first time visitor or a regular viewer of FTSabersite thanks again, you are all much appreciated. Till next time….

“(New)Dark Dragon Katana” is a “For Tyeth Editions” saber design and is Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019. All “For Tyeth Editions” designs and material contained within FTSabersite are Copyright of For Tyeth 2016-2019.

Coming For You Soon!

Just a quick sneak peek of a new saber….

you had better make a run for it!

 

Image ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019.

“Spidey Saber” a lightsaber in a Halloween costume

Hellooooo Everybodies! Today I am looking back to a Halloween when I got dressed up as my favourite superhero…Spider-Man! I was a youngling at school and one year we had a Halloween Fancy Dress Disco. I got my dark blue jogging suit, a pair of bright red football socks, an old red T-shirt, a red balaclava, some sunglasses and a big black marker pen then set to work making my costume. I cut out different shapes from the t-shirt which I stitched onto the jogging suit to represent the torso pieces of Spidey’s outfit and I drew a web pattern on them with the marker pen. I did the same to the socks and balaclava. I used to wear spectacles as a kid and had clip-on sunglasses so I used those to make the mask lenses. I even had paper party streamers to recreate Spidey’s web shooting trick! I came second in the competition! But Spidey has always stuck with me and this Halloween I figured I’d brush the cobwebs off a saber dedicated to our favourite wall climber and here it is…

Spidey Saber work in progress

Spidey Saber added switch

Spidey Saber added Web Shroud

Spidey Saber pommel wed detail

Spidey Saber darkened background

Ooh what’s that living in the emitter?…SPIDER!

I have attempted a Spider-Man themed hilt before when I used the old software I had access to but I always felt I could do better and hopefully with this hilt I have. I modeled it in the classic Spidey red and blue colour scheme with nice silver accents and webbing. And the webbing is particularly interesting on this model as it isn’t just a graphic representation, it is actually 3D modeled! If you zoom in on the pictures you will see the web is actually raised ribs. This I achieved by making a wireframe as you can see with the emitter shroud then I thickened the wires that made up the frame. This made the wires look solid. I also added a few webs located in the pommel and the emitter. Both the pommel and the protective Blade Plug decoration have a web with a Spidey logo seated in the middle, again all 3D modeled. I wasn’t sure which looked better, the hilt with the emitter shroud or without so I posted both as the saber without the shroud was part of the development of the design (but could be a stand-alone design). And you may recall I mentioned I was a fan of things being balanced? Light and Dark, day and night, Good and Evil? Well Spidey had a run in with an evil “clone” of himself in the form of a parasitic alien that enveloped him. Peter Parker managed to escape from the alien but the creature found a new host in a guy named Eddie Brock and became known as “VENOM”! Well…as it’s Halloween here is a taste of Venom!….

“Venom Saber” without shroud

“Venom Saber” with shroud

Venom had the look of Spider-Man but was black and silver in colour and had big eyes and sharp pointed teeth, he was also sort of elastic and could stretch and change shape as if made of liquid rubber. So I gave the Venom version of this hilt a glossy black base colour and silver webbing accents. To really make the “Venom”stand out from the “Spidey” version I gave it a toxic green blade.

Now, you remember I mentioned “brushing off the cobwebs” above? I wasn’t kidding, take a peek at this image I made and have a look at the cobwebs clinging to the backdrop and the saber…I modeled those too!

Those webs get everywhere, are very sticky and took me forever to sweep them away 😀 ! But I think I have tidied this design up nicely and that just about brings me to the end of this Halloween special. I’d like to thank you all for checking out this design and for supporting me and my site. And especially to the kind viewers from Spain who have dropped in recently (I noticed your visits!) Thank you so much it’s much appreciated, whether this is your first visit or if you are a regular visitor. Till next…….WAIT! This is Halloween and you really need a fright so I ‘ll leave you with an old picture I posted three years ago….It’s ME!…Happy Halloween Nightmares!….

P.S. As I am posting this earlier than normal I think I will have a rest over a long weekend so there won’t be a post this Saturday but rest assured I’ll be back next weekend for more saber shenanigans. Till next time….

“Spidey-Saber” and “Venom-Saber” are For Tyeth Editions creations inspired by Marvel Comic’s and Stan Lee’s characters. The sabers are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019. Spider-Man, Venom and all other related names, images, logos and material are Trademark/©Copyright of Marvel and Sony Studios.

The Grail Graflex Dark Edition Saber

Hello everybody, well we had quite an exciting week with the release of the final trailer for the final Skywalker saga Star Wars film, Rise of Skywalker! And what can I say? It’s certainly not guaranteed that there’ll be a win for the Lightside….I have to say the trailer’s scenes looked pretty dark and gloomy….:(  But that got me thinking, with a lot of my designs I try and bring you a “Lightside” and a “Darkside” version of each hilt and as I posted the iconic “The Grail” Graflex Lightsaber model I built which is definitely a Lightside hilt….what would the Darkside sibling look like? I decided to have a look and created some new dark material textures and came up with the shadow version…The Grail Graflex DE (Dark Edition)….

The Grail Graflex DE 1

The Grail Graflex DE 2

The Grail Graflex DE the business end

The Grail Graflex DE the “Glass Eye”

As you can see this saber looks very stealthy and sinister just by changing the texture. I managed to create a slick gloss metallic texture that didn’t create a lot of speckles in the rendered images. It is suitably dark but still allows detail to be seen. And you might have noticed I have a picture showing the underside of the emitter which has a red “Eye. This is a small window that is part of the flashgun and is located just below the emitter and was the Light Level Meter sensor aperture called the Graflex “Glass Eye”. When the flashgun was modified by fans when they built their own replicas, they discovered that the blade shone out through the eye. A nice little feature I forgot to mention in my last post. Here is the photo of the Graflex attached to the camera and you will be able to see the small round hole beneath the reflector dish and bulb socket…

The Lightside version also has the “Glass Eye” as can be seen slightly more clearly in this next picture…

So I have now shown you the light and the dark Graflex and as I am very big on keeping things in balance here are the two hilts in “mirror” image…

I posted the Lightside Grail hilt on the Ultrasaber’s forum and it was warmly received with some members leaving nice comments on how much detail I had managed to capture in my model. I think they were quite impressed. Because I created the mirror image picture above I thought I would do a side by side comparison of my model with a real life replica image…

Real life Graflex replica

“The Grail” Graflex Saber

I think I have done OK considering this was the first Graflex I have built! However, not only did the members of the forum compliment my model, they also provided suggestions for other variations. One member had the idea of adding red accents to the hilt such as the ridges of the handgrip, so I like to tinker and I modeled a full “Sith” version for pure evil Force users…and here it is….

The Grail Graflex Full Sith 1

The Grail Graflex Full Sith 2

I modified the T-Grip ridges and coloured them a deep red, just like dried blood and as a nice bit of “Sith Bling” I illuminated the activation switch. You may recall I mentioned the switch is actually the display screen from an old pocket calculator. Well the screen would have lit up when the calculator was powered on and so the screen part works fabulously when it is backlit!

And once more that just about concludes this design. However, the story doesn’t end here for the Graflex, as it appeared in the second Star Wars film, The Empire Strikes Back (ESB)…but it looked slightly different and as such I have modeled the variant from ESB and I also have the versions that appear in The Force Awakens and the new film Rise of Skywalker….all coming in upcoming posts! I hope you will return to see those but for now as always it’s thank you time. Whether you are a first time visitor or a regular viewer thank you for your support and looking in on this post. If you liked what you saw then please spread the word about FTSabersite and join me again next weekend for another new model. Till next time….

“The Grail Graflex Dark Edition” is a For Tyeth Editions model and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019. It is inspired by the Roger Christian designed Lightsaber prop seen in Star Wars – A New Hope. “Star Wars” and all related names, logos images are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm.

 

The Rise of Skywalker final trailer has dropped – For’s first thoughts

Hello Everybody, well we are less than 58 days out from The Rise of Skywalker’s big release and today the final trailer for the final installment of the saga debuted! I watched it and er, well it looks big, it looks interesting but I am worried there is a lot to of issues to cover in a short time. There was also news of problems and re-shoots, I’m really not sure “how this is going to end”. So if the link works and doesn’t get taken down let’s take a look at the trailer shall we?….Lights!…..Popcorn!…..ACTION!

This trailer has all the usual cryptic teachings from a wise whispering Master (no, not me – they never asked me to) and we see Rey showing her agility in two locations…or is it really two Rey’s? Hmm! We see our heroes looking down onto the tent city we saw on the desert planet in the first trailer. There looks to be a massive space battle with Lando back in “his” pilot’s seat right in the middle of it. Rey is feeling lonely. Then Kylo turns up out of the spray. There is wildlife…in the form of space horses. And there is that evil cackle of a voice “Your coming together…..will be your undoing!” oh er! I won’t mention the Iron Throne as that’s from a different franchise, but I will say whoever that is sat in it “has the high ground” so things may not turn out great for the good guys and gals! (But at least the John Williams music sounds epic)

I’m not much of a film or trailer critic but I thought as this is possibly the final chapter of the saga that has accompanied me since I was a youngling I had to write this post. So thanks for looking in on it. Are any of you my loyal viewers planning on seeing the film and if so what do you think will happen? I plan to get my VIP tickets as soon as I can (well they are a belated birthday present) and who knows I might even see if I can take my saber with me for a final salute.

Again thanks for visiting and please call back this weekend for my scheduled post. Till next time…..

“The Rise of Skywalker” is the final installment of the Skywalker saga and is Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm. The video clip is provided via StarWars,com UK on YouTube. Tickets are on sale now and the film releases on the 19th December for UK cinemas and the 20th in the US.