SCOMP Saber – Inspired by R2-D2’s Communication Connector (2 of 2)

Hello Everybody, again I am posting twice this weekend! And this hilt is my way of thanking you for enduring THREE Astromech themed hilts! The hilts did vary in subtle ways and had little twists but this hilt is brand new all the way from the pommel up! In the Outer Rim of the UK our terrestrial television station has been showing a Star Wars season and they just showed Star Wars itself and it provided me with inspiration for this hilt. Now, George Lucas and his production crew created the whole film on a limited budget and the scenery and props where improvised from recycled materials. Costumes, props, lightsabers and droids were all built from everyday objects and scrap. One of Artoo’s “eyes” is actually the directional air nozzle from the overhead air conditioning panel of an aeroplane. But another part that caught my attention was the arm Artoo uses to interface with computer terminals…it was only when I watched the film 2 weeks ago I noticed it looked like a lightsaber. So I set to work on rebuilding the SCOMP connector into a lightsaber and here it is…

SCOMP Saber Ignited

SCOMP Saber 2

SCOMP Saber Pommel

SCOMP Saber Switch/power graph

SCOMP Saber Interface port connector

This is (I hope) a good representation of the device Artoo owns to communicate with computer terminals but turned into a saber, In a way you could say I have recycled an object for a new purpose just like the talented artists of LucasFilm did back in 1976 (one of which was a man called Tony Dyson, who built the majority of Artoo). The saber has a Jedi style blue blade which projects from the nozzle shaped part that connects to the terminals. It features the coloured segments that appear on the real life(?) mechanism (the copper and yellow coloured rings). I even managed to include the little bits of red wiring and as a really special touch of authenticity I included the two foil wound electrical resistors. The resistors are the two little capsule shaped objects with silver wires. In real life electronics they are used to control the amount of electricity flowing through a part of a circuit. They are also used in custom lightsaber replicas to protect the delicate LED lights from getting burned out! They come in a range of values and are colour coded, and in this case the brown resistor is a 39ohms resistor while the blue one is rated at 4.02 megaOhms just like the real prop has! (BTW these resistors would not be suitable for a real replica!) The nozzle shaped part just remined me of what is known as a “Thin Neck” saber where the emitter is mounted on a tube so there is a narrowed  section forming a neck section. Famous thin neck sabers include Obi-Wan Kenobi’s last saber (from Star Wars) and Luke Skywalker’s green hilt. Here are a few more pictures just to finish off this offering…

SCOMP Saber Interface port connector

The real prop (note the colours!)

Oh I also built a terminal socket too!

The scene from the film, SCOMP in use.

Ok…I had a little fun and built a SCOMP terminal socket too and the two fit together! Hopefully the pictures will show how close to it I got.

I am approaching the end of this post as I need to go and rest ready for next week, when I will be bringing you a very tribal style saber inspired by Marvel’s recent record breaking blockbuster movie. I hope you enjoyed SCOMP and will join me again next week to see my latest creation. Thank you so much for joining me for both of today’s posts so, Till next time….

“SCOMP Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2018. “R2-D2”, “Artoo” and all other names, logos, images and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm.

R2 Saber -For’s gift to the Iconic Astromech (1 of 2)

Hello Everybody, yes as you can tell this is another Astromech Droid based hilt. But this one is for the most iconic and famous of them all…. R2-D2! This plucky droid’s adventures stretch back over 8 movies, 4 animated series, a radio show (yes radio!) and will more than likely appear in Episode 9+1! Artoo is nearly as old as I am having first appeared on screen way back in 1977 over forty years ago. In all that time he has saved the day over and over. Well I felt he deserved a saber in recognition of this. I made a hilt for him last year called SensorScope but that was using the old software I used…this hilt is built entirely from scratch in Blender 3D. I call this new hilt simply R2 Saber….

R2 Saber Hilt

R2 Saber Domed

R2 Saber Vertical Up

R2 Saber – His head came off!

R2 Saber – Hidden Emitter Flute

R2 Saber – Emitter Close Up

This saber is based on the Astromech hilt body I used in my previous designs but as I have promised I tried pushing the boundaries and improving on previous sabers and this hilt has a “hidden” surprise. That surprise is, that where R5-PHT had an exposed emitter, R2 Saber has a hidden emitter under his domed head. The emitter is made to look a little more elegant in gold and is fluted to give it an interesting shape. This required that I made sure the emitter part would actually fit inside the domed blade plug cap. To achieve this I started using the “Wireframe” editing view. This as it sounds displays your model as a framework of interconnecting wires, a bit like early 3D space video games like 3D Tank and those Tomy binocular shaped games had. Here is a picture of the Wireframe view in Blender for comparison…

This image just shows the domed blade plug, the highlighted emitter part and the upper switch section of the saber but as you can see it is already pretty complex! However using this view mode I can ensure the orange bit sits snugly inside the domed cap making this view a very powerful tool. I can line up, resize and reshape parts all from this perspective and allows much more complicated designs. So now you have seen the work in progress you will want to see the glamour shots right? Here they are….

R2 Saber Glamour 1

R2 Saber Glamour 2

R2 Saber Glamour 3

R2 Saber Glamour 4

R2 Saber Glamour 5

R2 Saber full portrait.

OK I have tortured you all with Astromech sabers for three weeks so as a way of saying sorry would you like to see a second saber today? Well I am going to post a new saber that is based on R2 but with a difference – it is a “Thin Neck” design based on one particular part of Artoo’s anatomy. The design is called SCOMP Saber and you can find it by clicking HERE ! (I promise it is a completely new design with a few neat bits!)

I think that just about wraps up the Astromech designs, I hope you enjoyed them and liked their progression. Next week I have a new design based on the recent “Blockbuster” Marvel movie that broke nearly every record at the box office. I think my new friend “Obi-Wan Wakanda” might like it. So please go and check  SCOMP out and hopefully you will call back for the Marvel blockbuster themed hilt next week. Thank you all so much for today’s visit whether you are a first time visitor or regular viewer/follower…I appreciate the support. Till next time….(or my second post!)

“R2 Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2018. “R2-D2”, “Artoo”, StarWars and all other names, logos, images and related content are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm.

R5-PHT Saber – Inspired by the Imperial Astromech

Hello Everybody, I haven’t see you all since…well yesterday actually! Yes I have posted twice this week and in my second post of the week I have my second Astromech Droid inspired hilt to present to you. The droid is called R5-PHT and appeared briefly in SOLO – A Star Wars Story so is very new to the saga and lore. Technically you could argue this is just R5-D4 in different colours (and it does share a lot of similarities) but I learnt a new modelling trick to add a new feature. In real life custom sabers they are illuminated with very high powered LED lights. These can if shone directly into someone’s eyes cause injury so saber manufacturers created a device called a blade plug which is inserted into the emitter when the blade has been removed. This filters most of the light to allow people to look at the coloured light safely. This new hilt has a blade plug, so I now present R5-PHT…

R5-PHT Saber Imperial Astromech

R5-PHT Saber side

R5-PHT Emitter (without plug)

R5-PHT Pommel

R5-PHT Body Grip

R5-PHT Switches Close Up

R5-PHT Full Length

This hilt is similar to R5-D4 from my last post but has a gloss black and silver finish to match it’s character counterpart. I actually got to meet this droid when I attended my local Comic Con. He was posing for photos with his master Darth Vader….

Yours Truly and R5-PHT

R5-PHT and Vader (domed head)

R5-PHT and Vader (flat head)

R5-PHT actually has an interchangeable domed head which allows him to conduct different missions and it was the “Flat Head” version that inspired my blade plug design which you can see in these next pics…

R5-PHT Blade Plug

R5-PHT Blade Plug inserted

The plug slots into the hole left when the polycarbonate blade is removed. This protects the lens of the LED light and also allows people to look at the saber while it is lit without blinding themselves. The silvery white sections are translucent which diffuses the light making it safer to look at. It also acts as a bit of decorative detail when you aren’t swinging the saber around with a blade in. The plug’s segmented design reflects the panels on the top of R5-PHT‘s flat dome head. Now to wrap this design up a few “Glamour shots”…

R5-PHT Saber in the “workshop”

R5-PHT Saber on the Death Star 1

R5-PHT Saber on the Death Star 2

Phew! There you have it R5-PHT Saber. Now the new modelling trick I learnt for this hilt is called a “Boolean Modifier”. This function of the Blender software allows me to add an object and basically “liquefy” it so it is malleable. I can then press any other object into the first and it will leave an impression (just like pressing a stamp into modelling clay). This helped make sure the stem of the blade plug was the same diameter of the blade so it would fit the hole in the emitter. Clever!

Ok I am very pressed for time now and will have to finish here. But first I will let you know next week I have not one, but two hilts based off the most famous Astromech in Star Wars history (“beep BRap Whoop!!” No I can’t mention your name yet but I think everyone can guess it!”) I hope you will return to see these new hilts, they have a few surprises. But for now thank you for visiting today, whether it’s your first visit or you’re a regular viewer you are all welcome and much appreciated. Till next time…

“R5-PHT Saber”  is a “For Tyeth Editions” design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2018. R5-PHT is a Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm. The above images of Darth Vader posing with R5-PHT belong to the R2 Builders Club UK and The Sentinel Squad UK.

R5-D4 Saber – A saber for Red

Hello Everybody, today I continue the Star Wars designs with the first of my updated Droid designs! I designed a couple of hilts and applied new colour schemes to them a while ago (including Chopper and K2-SO) but I felt that they weren’t quite right. I was limited by having to rely on the parts available in the virtual saber builder software I used to use. However now I have the power of Blender (and it feels like real power – I’m having to be careful not to turn into a Sith!) I can create bespoke pieces of my own. So, as you can tell from the title this is for the unfortunate Astromech we saw in Star Wars A New Hope, R5-D4 or as Luke called him, “Red”. Again I wanted to push my boundaries and skills and this is the first of three droid hilts. So “Come on Red”….the audience wants to see you….

R5-D4 Body

The first bits of detail

Taking shape nicely

Added the optics

The finishing touches

These work in progress pictures show that R5-D4 is basically a tube to begin with but after some pushing, pulling and reshaping the outline of a basic Astromech appears. Astromechs have many panels and compartments and I tried to add a few of them as slightly recessed areas, which provide convenient gripping characteristics! I also made the blue and silver grill as a separate part then combined it with the body. This ensures that I can model the part and if I make a mistake it doesn’t ruin the work I have done on the hilt already. The same applies to the silver grills situated below. I then had to add the “optic sensors” which are 4 metallic parts that form R5’s face as it were. I noticed that R5’s “neck” section wasn’t quite right so I modelled the row of square windows that circle between his head and body. Ok we’re part way through the build so I will add a few more pics here…

Nearly forgot the red accents

Full length front view

Side on detail shot

The business end!

R5-D4 Saber was starting to look the part, however, the longer you tinker with a design, the more things you “find” that you want to alter or fix. Well I realised I had forgotten to provide a way to activate or switch the saber off! I fixed this by modelling the two red arm-like appendages that run horizontally across his body. In real life saber building there are special types of switches called “Tactiles” which can measure as small as 5mm square and just a few mm tall. I imagined using one of these switches attached underneath the red arms to form the On/Off switch. Then it was a matter of tweaking parts and repositioning to get the hilt in proportion(ish!)

Well that is just about all there is to tell about shaping the saber, and most of you will be able to tell that the blade comes out the top of R5’s head – a bit like his bad motivator that shot out of his dome when Luke’s uncle bought him from the Jawa’s. Now some believe that R5 was “Force Sensitive” and knew that Luke had to meet Artoo Detoo to save the galaxy and so purposely malfunctioned. Others believe that Artoo sabotaged R5 while in the Jawa sandcrawler so he could complete his mission. Either way this saber blows it top every time it is ignited! And here are two final images for you…

R5-D4 Ignited!

Hey droids aren’t allowed in escape pods!

And there you have it, R5-D4 Saber all lit up and motivated! You may have noticed that R5 tried hopping into an escape pod in the last picture…yes, I have learnt how to add background images to my finished models now (by the way that’s the Tantive V!) just for a bit of fun.

I am out of time for this offering and I hope you liked it. I have a further two droids to bring to you, one you will recognise instantly and a second much newer addition to the Star Wars saga. On top of those, I have two hilts based off films due for release in December, a tribute to the highest grossing super hero film ever, the TLJ tribute and finally….my latest build a cyborg! (cough,cough…hint,hint!) Hopefully you will continue to come back and see what these hilts are in my future posts but for now thank you so much for visiting today (and if you are a regular viewer thanks for your continued support) it is much appreciated. Till next time….

“R5-D4 Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-18. “R5-D4”, “Astromech” and all  other Star Wars related names, logos, images and material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm.

 

Chopper Lightsaber – Inspired by C1-10P

Hello Everybody. Today I have to take us back to the Star Wars universe in a BIG way as the whole Star Wars franchise has been shaken to it’s foundations. It was the series finale for the popular animation Star Wars: Rebels and in that final episode it has been established that “Time Manipulation” is a thing! Yes Disney must have seen my Flux Capacitant Back to The Future(Back to the Future) hilt and now Star Wars characters can interact and alter timelines with the Force! This is big enough news as it is but it also drew my attention to the fact that I hadn’t created any hilts based on this section of Star Wars. So I have to rectify that and what better way than to create a hilt for the most popular droid in Rebels…C1-10P or as you may know him….CHOPPER! Now Chopper is the heroic, if somewhat ageing and cantankerous droid who acts as the maintenance team for the Ghost, the ship belonging to Hera Syndulla, Kanan Jarrus and of course Ezra Bridger. Chopper may be older and irritable but he has many tools and gadgets to help him get any job done…but again this droid has no lightsaber…until now. May I present my saber for Chopper…

Chopper Hilt

Chopper Emitter

Chopper Emitter 2

Chopper Switch

Chopper Body

Chopper Pommel

Chopper Vertical Up

Chopper Vertical Down

Chopper Horizontal

This saber I think would suit the eponymous droid nicely. I tried hard to match his distinctive colour scheme with the powder coating. The basis for this hilt is my Astromech hilt I used for R2-D2 and R2-KT (but don’t worry I know Chopper is a C-Series droid – just in case you thought I made a mistake!). So the saber has the same functionality and parts as my Sensorscope Saber and should compliment Chopper’s built in tools. He used his tools and gadgets on many missions including one to infiltrate the Imperial Naval Academy on the planet Lothal. He powder coated himself black to look like an Imperial droid – how ingenious was that?! And speaking of tools and ingenuity I have some personal news that is very exciting for me and I hope you think so too. I will tell you about it below…

Wow! I can’t believe my optics, that saber looks like me! (Copyright Disney/Lucasfilm)

The big news I have to share is I am about to begin building my first saber! No, not one on a computer screen, but a real nuts, bolts and metal lightsaber with electronics and everything! I can’t afford all the parts in one purchase but I will be placing an order to buy the hilt itself on Monday. The other parts including the lights and sound making electronics will be bought every few months or so and when I have everything I will begin a  new section on the site charting my attempt to become a real lightsaber builder. It’s going to be a heck of an adventure! (And you may just recognise the lightsaber when it’s finished ; ) )

Well after that little bit of news I am afraid I am out of time. I wish to thank everyone for looking in on this design and for all your support of me and the site. I appreciate your company and I hope you will all return for future posts where I finally get to post the 80’s action cartoon inspired hilts I promised and maybe I ‘ll be able to post a few details about any saber part deliveries I receive in my mailbox! Till next time.

“Chopper Lightsaber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is ©CopyrigtofForTyeth/FTSabersite 2018. “C1-10P, Chopper”, “Hera Syndulla”, “Star Wars:Rebels” and all other names charcters, images and logos are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm.

 

 

 

R2-KT Lightsaber – Inspired by Katie’s Droid

Hello Everybody, my best laid plans have been put on hold due to the fact  my friend with the hilt I hoped to showcase is having technical issues sending me the pictures. However while working those problems out I had the chance to browse WordPress and I came across an interesting post topic shared across two blogs. The two blogs are authored by two young ladies called Mei-Mei and the second is called Kiri. The topic they shared was a Star Wars Mandala Challenge, where both ladies colour in the same picture from a book of SW themed mandala pictures then compare them. Well both decided to colour in the picture of an Astromech droid and both chose to colour it as R2-D2. I commented that they had missed an opportunity and could have filled the pictures in to look like another less known droid with a beautiful and moving tale behind it called R2-KT. R2-KT is a droid that was built by the R2 Builders’ Club who heard that the daughter of the founder of the 501st Legion cosplay group was terminally ill with brain cancer. The young girl was called Katie Johnson and as her condition deteriorated and forced her to be bed bound she wished she had a droid to look over her while she slept…just like Padme Amidala had with Artoo. The R2 Builders’ Club raised funds and collected parts and made that wish come true in the shape of R2-KT a pink and white droid with a “heart of gold”.  R2-KT accompanied Katie through her final days and this design is my tribute to the brave girl and to the talented, kind hearted people who built R2-KT…

R2-KT Hilt

R2-KT Emitter

R2-KT Emitter 2

R2-KT Switch

R2-KT Body

R2-KT Pommel

R2-KT Vertical Up

R2-KT Vertical Down

R2-KT Horizontal

Of course this saber is a repaint of SensorScope Lightsaber – Inspired by R2-D2 but I still think the colour scheme fits the hilt well. The design represents the sensor array the pops up from the famous silver dome of an Astromech. The story of R2-KT doesn’t end here however, as word of Katie’s story reached George Lucas who filmed her a special message and after Katie eventually passed on to the Living Force, the droid travelled the world visiting children’s hospitals and raising funds for charity. The toy company Mattel made an R2-KT Hot Wheels car, and Dave Filoni went even further and made the droid part of official Canon by having the Astromech appear in “The Force Awakens” and the animated “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” series. The appearances in TFA were brief but did happen and here’s proof…

Yep that’s R2-KT looking after Poe Dameron’s X-Wing fighter at the Resistance Base! You can read more at the Star Wars Databank and on Wookiepedia-The Star Wars Wiki.

Now back to the posts that prompted me to rework this design. The two blogs are as follows:

Jedi By Knight (A Nerdy Girl’s Blog) is written by Mei-Mei, and her mandala can be seen by clicking HERE .

Star Wars Anonymous  is written by Kiri, and her mandala can be seen by clicking HERE .

And I guess it’s only fair that I share my attempt at colouring in some pictures, here are R2-KT and my Jedi Interceptor..

The “real” R2-KT

My R2-KT colouring attempt

And my Jedi Starfighter!

I hope you liked this post and my feeble colouring in efforts (I don’t do a lot of art!). Next week I may be talking about some film that’s being released on the 14th Dec (have you heard about it?  😀 ). I’m hoping my birthday present is a ticket to see The Last Jedi. And my friend’s fantastic saber will appear very soon so please call back to see these posts, but for now thanks again for your support it means a lot. Till next time.

R2-KT was built by The R2 Builder’s Club and appears in “The Force Awakens” and “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” which are Trademark/© Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm Ltd. “R2-KT Lightsaber” is a For Tyeth Edition and is © Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2017.

SensorScope Lightsaber – Inspired by R2-D2

Hello Everybody, as the picture above shows I have managed to finish my tribute to the second droid we saw in Star Wars all those years ago! This is a saber inspired by R2-D2 the Astromech droid we first saw during the battle on the Rebel Stockade Runner, the Tantive V. Artoo had a chance meeting with Princess Leia (or was it the will of the Force?) who gave him the plans for the Empire’s super weapon the Death Star, and with C-3PO escaped in a life pod to the planet of Tatooine below. This wasn’t the little droid’s first adventure but I’ll tell you a bit more later after I present my design…SensorScope Lightsaber…

SensorScope Hilt

SensorScope Emitter

SensorScope Emitter 2

SensorScope Switch

SensorScope Body

SensorScope Pommel

SensorScope Vertical Up

SensorScope Verticl Down

SensorScope Horizontal

I think this looks a bit like our heroic little droid, the colours are as close a match as is possible to get. I went through a few ideas for this design, first I thought of just designing a saber that Artoo may have carried inside himself, like he did for Luke Skywalker. Then I considered basing it on a particular part of Artoo himself, to make it a bit more personal to him, then I learnt how to add the new Powder Coat colours and this final version came to mind. I made the hilt look like the Sensor Scope that projects from Artoo’s domed head (he used it to scan for Luke in Empire Strikes Back and for Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi).Then came the powder coat to leave you in no doubt who the hilt is based on. Here is what the hilt looked like before…

It still looks ok, but the new paint scheme lifts the hilt and gives it that bit extra! And Artoo is a droid with a bit extra in the courage department, remember when he saved his previous owner, Queen Amidala and the crew of the Royal Starship? Well Artoo has now been elevated from the situation of having an owner to being an owner. He is now the proud (hopefully) owner of a For Tyeth Edition saber.

I also have to give mention to the man inside the machine we know as Artoo, Kenny Baker who sadly passed away last year. Without this great actor we wouldn’t have the fond memories of R2-D2 we all share today, so thank you Mr Baker, we miss you.

I hope you have enjoyed this tribute to the droid that saved the day so many times. And there’s that word again…Time….and it’s running out for this post! Before I leave you all I’d like to say thanks for visiting today and checking out my work. I have a few more designs in the pipeline for future posts and I hope you’ll join me to see those! Till next time.

R2-D2, C-3PO, the Tantive V and all other names, images and related materials are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm.