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.

Rain Saber – Inspired by Darth Zannah

Hello Everybody, I hope you all liked the slightly different Steve Austin Six Million Dollar Man hilt last week but this week I take you way back to Nov 2016 and revisit an old design with a new Blender rebuild. Viewers and followers with a very long memory may recall I created a design using the old software system I used for a Sith Apprentice named Darth Zannah.

Rain also known as Darth Zannah

ZANNA Staff

ZANNA Staff 2

ZANNA Emitter

Darth Zannah was a human female named Rain. During the Great Sith War all the Sith were wiped out by a cunning warrior named Bane using a mega weapon called a “Thought Bomb”. Bane was left as the sole Sith warrior, but for the faction to survive he needed an apprentice to carry on the ways of the Sith. That person was to be Rain. Rain was a Jedi sent with the Jedi Light Army to investigate the events and aftermath of the war. However she never made it to the location, as her ship was hit by gunfire and crash landed. Rain was injured and disorientated but a local named Laa took care of her. As fate would have it, her new friend was unfortunately killed by a second group of Jedi scouts which sent Rain into a fit of rage. She killed the Jedi in a Dark Side fuelled attack which Darth Bane detected. He tracked Rain down and she became his student. This led to the beginning of the famous “Rule of Two” where there are only two Sith members, one is the Master and the other the apprentice – ready to learn all that their Master can offer then have to overthrow the Master and take on their own apprentice. This would ensure the survival of the Sith Order and make sure each generation would be stronger and more powerful.

In a similar way I felt that my Zanna Saber was ok considering I used the old design software but I needed to improve on the design and now I use Blender 3D I have the technology to do so. Here are the pictures of my new updated staff, I call it Rain Saber…

Rain Saber 1

Rain Saber emitter and controls

Rain Saber swithes

Rain Saber emitter and CcverTech knob

Rain Saber emitter lit

Rain Saber ignited

Rain Saber Wireframe

This is the weapon of the first true “Sith Apprentice” and it was deadly. A double bladed staff which allowed Darth Zannah to battle much stronger and more formidable opponents. The staff has a menacing black and silver colour scheme and multiple controls for adjusting blade length and power settings. I was able to pick and chose where to add the silver accents, which is something I had no control of with the old software (well not without extensive photo editing of the preview images!). The proportions are more accurate now also.

Some viewers may be thinking, “I’ve seen that weapon recently…wasn’t it in The Phantom Menace film?” Well, yes you did in a way. Darth Maul, the apprentice of Darth Sidious used a double bladed staff after having had a battle with a person that used a wooden staff. The incident influenced Maul to build a double bladed weapon as a staff and discovered Darth Zannah’s design from a thousand years earlier. So here are a few Darth Maul version images….

Darth Maul Staff (Rain Saber) 1

Darth Maul Staff (Rain Saber) 2

Darth Maul Staff (Rain Saber) 3

Darth Maul Staff (Rain Saber) 4

Darth Maul Staff (Rain Saber) 5

Darth Maul Staff (Rain Saber) 6

They do look similar don’t they? It just goes to show a good design will always endure. We first see Darth Maul’s staff when he attacks Qui-Gon Jinn and the young Anakin Skywalker on Tatooine and Darth Zannah spent a lot of time on the desert planet named Ambria, so where better to do a Glamour Shot photoshoot than in a desert? Here are a few extra pictures…

Darth Maul staff “ANAKIN DOWN!”

Rain Saber desert picture 1

Rain Saber desert picture 2

Ooh a scavanged lightsaber part from The Rise of Skywalker

I think this just about wraps up this post, but wait, you may have seen a scavenged part in the last image? Well you will see that part on a saber in the new Star Wars film coming out in December and I have a special model in an upcoming post featuring this hilt! I hope you will come back and see that and other posts which will feature more staff designs, more Old Republic style designs and a set of designs I call my “Master Series”. But for now I’d like to thank all of you for checking this post out, your support is fantastic and word seems to be spreading about FTSabersite as my viewing stats show I am gaining viewers from new areas! So thank you very much and….Till next time…..

“Rain Saber” is a For Tyeth Edition design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019. “Darth Zannah”, “Darth Bane” and “Rain” are characters which appear in the Bane Trilogy of books written by Drew Karpyshyn.

Talon’s Allure Saber – For Allure Cosplay

Allure: the quality of being powerfully and mysteriously attractive or fascinating.

Hello Everybody, I promised myself I would as a sort of New Years’ resolution try to explore more around the Internet and read a bit more. I decided to check out YouTube for new saber videos when I stumbled across an “Unboxing Video” from a young lady named Allure Cosplay. Allure had purchased a saber but waited a year before making her video about it (view it HERE). Then around two weeks ago an update video appeared giving a review. I checked out the videos and discovered that Allure was also a Cosplayer (though at the time I didn’t realise how accomplished or popular she is!) As I was trying to expand my horizons and inspirations I went and looked at her YouTube channel and found that Allure has an amazing Darth Talon costume.

Allure Cosplay as “Darth Talon” Photo courtesy of 7SPhotography

 

I posted a few comments and got to “chat” with Allure and she in turn checked out FTSabersite. Well I just had to create a saber design for her Darth Talon outfit. And here it is….TALON‘S ALLURE….

Talon’s Allure Hilt

Talon’s Allure Emitter

Talon’s Allure Emitter 2

Talon’s Allure Switch

Talon’s Allure Body

Talon’s Allure Pommel

Talon’s Allure Pommel 2

Talon’s Allure Horizontal

Talon’s Allure Vertical Up

Hopefully this saber captures the same type of Allure that Allure herself possesses. The saber comes in a Transparent Red powder coat to enable me to recreate the “Sith Tattoo” effect that Darth Talon bears. The emitter has a Sith red blade and three aggressive claws and windows. Darth Talon is one of Darth Krayt‘s Hands (Sith apprentice) and assassin so her hilt had to look mean! The switch section has ergonomic ribs to provide a great gripping position. The pommel also has a recess for a second hand position when holding the hilt double handed. With all of my Sith saber designs, to represent their arrogance and lust for power and possesions I also added a couple of gold bands on the handgrip for some “Sith Bling”. They could also represent Talon’s yellow eyes!

Allure Cosplay also has a Facebook page, Allure Cosplay Facebook, as well as her  Allure Cosplay on YouTube channel and when I explored her pages I discovered fantastic photos of her in numerous costumes such as Garona from Warcraft, Gamora from GOTG and Allure is now working on an Overwatch costume based on Mechaqueen Pharah. Allure is so accomplished she even published her own cosplay calendar!

And speaking of calendars, you of course require photographs to put in one and I have to give a big thank you to Mr Lainez of 7SPhotography for allowing me to use the above image of Allure posing as Darth Talon. Thank you sir, you are a gentleman. And for my viewers and followers you can discover more of Mr Lainez’s fabulous cosplay based photos on his Facebook page which can be accessed via the link below:

7SPhotography Facebook Page

So please go and check out all of these pages, the talent displayed on them is phenomenal. I hope Allure Cosplay approves of this design and I will continue to watch her progress with the Mechaqueen Pharah costume.

And if you were wondering just how great Allure’s Darth Talon costume is, here is a picture from the Dark Horse Comic of Darth Talon:

I am approaching that dreaded time where I have to end the post, but first I want to give one final big thank you to Allure Cosplay and Mr Lainez and I hope we can keep in touch. I also need to say thank you to my viewers and followers for joining me again in 2018, I think it has been a good start and I have TWO more “SuperHero” hilts coming up, so please call back to see those….Till next time!

Allure Cosplay is ©Copyright of Allure Cosplay, 7SPhotography is ©Copyright of Mr Lainez. Image used with permission. “Talon’s Allure” is a For Tyeth Edition design, ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2018.

Plagueis Lightsaber – Weapon of the “Wise”

Hello Everybody, this design is a little later than usual but I decided that the Star Wars 40th Anniversary should be celebrated a bit longer. The anniversary celebrated Star Wars being released in theatres around the galaxy and the story of the Skywalker family. Well another “myth” or story we heard in Revenge of the Sith revolved around a mysterious character some people believed was Supreme Leader Snoke in TFA. Whilst in the theatre on Coruscant, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine retold a tale about Plagueis the Wise, a Sith Lord who had the power to manipulate the Force and Midichlorians to produce life and as a result cheat death. Palpatine also explained that Plagueis was so powerful the only thing he was afraid of was losing that power. Unfortunately for Plagueis, his apprentice killed him in his sleep (having first been plied heavily with alcohol). The Rule of Two dictated that there could only be one Master and one Apprentice at any given time. Plagueis’ apprentice had found a student of his own to teach and felt he could learn no more from his own master so killed Plagueis. Well that was part of the story, but you have been waiting for a saber design so here is Plagueis Lightsaber…

Plagueis Hilt

Plagueis Emitter

Plagueis Emitter 2

Plagueis Upper Body

Plagueis Body and Switch

Plagueis Pommel

Plagueis Pommel 2

Plagueis Vertical Down

Plagueis Vertical Up

This is my Plagueis inspired design. As Plagueis is part of the Expanded Universe/Legends stories and was only briefly mentioned by Palpatine, we haven’t seen an official canon image of him or his weapon. However there was a novel written by James Luceno and a range of Collectors Figurines based on him. I based this design on the illustrations taken from graphic novels etc. The saber has a very old look to it (akin to something from the Old Republic Era). The hilt is heavily weathered as if it has been lost a long time. I have to point out this saber DOES  NOT have a dedicated pommel. I used a Coupler with a blade plug inserted into the end to recreate the vented pommel seen in the illustration below.

Plagueis (note the vented pommel)

Plagueis Hilt as new.

With a little bit of tweaking it should be possible to use the coupler and blade plug as a pommel but I think it looks quite accurate considering  😀 The second picture above shows what the saber may have looked like when new and cared for. (There are also some people who believe Plagueis used a saber pike like the one supplied with the figurine, just for clarity!)

Well folks, that was some of the story about Plagueis the Wise. I hope you enjoyed it and the design. I need to take this opportunity to let you all know I may be posting less frequently from now on. There are two reasons, firstly I have posted every day for the past 8 months and in most posts I delivered a new design (some were from my valued Guest Designers) but now I need to slow down. Secondly finding a good strong theme to base a hilt on is getting difficult (be it finding a character or ship or Sports team etc). To make these designs stand out I need to do more work on them which takes time. So please bear with me and keep calling into FTSabersite as I continue working on new stuff. Your support is very much appreciated. Thank you all once more. Till next time.

Darth Plagueis was created by George Lucas and appeared in the James Luceno novel “Darth Plagueis”. All Trademarks/©Copyrights belong to their respective owners.

Bastion Legend Lightsaber – Emperor Roan Fel’s weapon

Hello Everybody, I have delved into my archives for this next saber as I am a little busy (I will share the news with you in my next post…Big Secret!). So today we travel back to the Extended Universe (non-canon) material and the conflict involving Darth Krayt and Cade Skywalker. The appointed ruler of the Galaxy at that time was a man called Emperor Roan Fel and he resided from his palace on the planet called Bastion. Bastion used to be called Corellia, the planet from which Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon came from many years before. As ruler of the universe I felt Emperor Fel needed a saber befitting of his position, this is my design…Bastion Legend…

Bastion Legend Hilt

Bastion Legend Emitter

Bastion Legend Emitter 2

Bastion Legend Reverse

Bastion Legend Switch

Bastion Legend Body

Bastion Legend Pommel

Bastion Legend Pommel 2

Bastion Legend Vertical Up

Bastion Legend Vertical Down

This saber I feel would suit an Emperor, it has a classic emitter, similar to the one on Luke Skywalker’s first saber. The switch gives the saber a sweeping grace as it pinches in then flares out to the grip. This grip features bold parallel grooves to give good non-slip characteristics, useful when ordaining Imperial Knights (you wouldn’t want an accident as you knight them!) The blade is a Cyan colour, which we haven’t seen much in movies or comics etc so stands apart.

The Galleries are nearly ready to Go Go…

This is again the end of my post, hopefully I haven’t rushed it or missed anything out. I hope you liked this nod to the old canon material, I like to make sure that the great works aren’t totally erased from Star Wars history. I have the Father and Son double set and the Galleries are nearly ready ^see above^ so I hope you can join me for those. Thank you for visiting and supporting FTSabersite today, it is appreciated. Till next time.

Emperor Roan Fel, the planet Bastion and Darth Krayt appear in Dark Horse Comics Legacy series and are Trademark/©Copyright of Dark Horse Comics ltd.

XR Lightsaber – Inspired by Exar Kun

Hello Everbody, I am delving back into Star Wars history to bring you this next saber and yes I know it’s about time! With so many distractions around nowadays and so many inspirations I wander off sometimes. This next saber is inspired by a character from the now “Old Canon” or Legends as it is known. He started out as a Jedi Padawan under the tutelage of Master Vodo-Siosk Baas (remember him? He used the wooden staff empowered with the Force, a bit like Chirrut Imwe!). However the Padawan was impulsive, over-confident and was fascinated by the Dark Side of the Force . So much so that he travelled to the moon of Dxun, where a tomb belonging to the ancient Sith Lord, Freedon Nadd existed. The spirit of Nadd sensed an opportunity to resurrect himself in the Padawan’s body. The Padawan was injured and only healed by the Sith Spirit when the Jedi committed himself to the Dark Side. This turn prompted the corrupted Jedi to build a new saber. Who was the Padawan? He was Exar Kun and this is my design for him…XR Lightsaber…

XR Lightsaber Hilt

XR Lightsaber Hilt 2

XR Lightsaber Half 1

XR Lightsaber Half 2

XR Lightsaber Vertical

Exar Kun used this saber to surprise his former Master, Vodo Siosk Baas, whilst attempting to rescue a fellow Sith accused of war crimes. I think it would be a surprise as this was a deceptive weapon. It was so short it appeared to be a normal Lightsaber but as you can see it was technologically advanced and had TWO blades in a compact form. It was also very aggressive looking with double clawed emitters and the signature Blood Red Sith blades. Exar Kun’s weapon was believed to be inspired by Darth Zannah’s Lightsaber staff. My design may not work in real life due to the size of the electronics needed and the limited space inside the hilt handle but I wanted to showcase the idea.

I will apologise that there are only five pictures of this hilt in the gallery but double ended designs are the same at both ends (usually!) so that explains the shortage. However I haven’t been idle in the meantime, as I have been writing up the biographies for the owners of the set of six sabers coming up soon. Lots of characters and colours! I hope you will return to see those but for now I will say thank you for visiting today and supporting the site. Till next time.

Exar Kun is a character from the Expanded Universe of Star Wars created by Kevin J. Anderson and appeared in 17 issues of Dark Horse Comics. Trademark and ©Copyright belong to Kevin J. Anderson and Dark Horse Comics.

 

Zanna Lightsaber Staff (The First of the Rule of Two)

Hello Everyone, today I am going way back to 980BBY, nearly a thousand years before the events of Star Wars. This is the time of the great Sith War on the planet Rusan, between the warring Sith Tribes and Brotherhoods. The Sith would promote a leader but the remaining members all had aspirations to be the Dark Lord Sith leader and would plot and gang up to overthrow the current head. This lead to a weakening of the Sith Order but one warrior, Darth Bane, saw what was happening and put in place a plan to resolve the problem. The plan was to use a deadly weapon called a “Thought Bomb” which when detonated would wipe out all Force sensitive Sith in the vicinity. As a result he would be the sole Sith left and he would take on an Apprentice. This Apprentice would be a young 10 year old girl called “Rain”. Rain had landed on the planet as her family’s ship was damaged in crossfire and she fell out of the ship as it crashed. The remaining family members thought she had died from the fall but she survived by landing on a soft fluffy creature called a Bouncer. She befriended this creature and recovered from the ordeal, until a Jedi recon squad inadvertently killed her new friend. Enraged, Rain attacked the Jedi. Normally this would be misguided but Rain was unbeknownst to her Force Sensitive and her attacks were fuelled by the Darkside of the force. She killed the Jedi but the disturbance attracted the attention of Darth Bane, who when he found her, took her on as his Apprentice. She reverted to using her birth-name and became known as Darth Zannah! Zannah had to construct a weapon as part of her training and built a double bladed staff, this is my interpretation of that weapon, this is ZANNA…

ZANNA Staff

ZANNA Emitter

ZANNA Upper Staff

ZANNA Switch

ZANNA Lower Staff

ZANNA Reverse Detail

ZANNA Staff 2

ZANNA Staff 3

Artist Impression of Darth Zannah

The staff has emitters that look like Darth Maul’s staff, which is no surprise as it is rumoured Darth Maul based his weapon on Zannah’s original, built around 900 years earlier! The design is functional with a central switch module to control both blades simultaneously. To break up the overall black look I used two dual-toned couplers to add a little decoration. The staff is powered by synthetic crystals, so has “Sith Red” blades but as you may be aware, Disney dismissed the idea of these crystals recently so this design is considered Non-Canon now. The original real world description of the weapon comes from the Bane Trilogy of books by Drew Karpyshyn (a great read btw if you can get copies!) I feel this staff has an important place in the Star Wars history as it was the weapon of the FIRST Apprentice in the famous “Rule of Two” doctrine introduced by her Master, Darth Bane.

Well this concludes my offering today, I had best stop before I go off and start ranting about how Disney should use and integrate the “old” stories! So once more I would like to thank you all for visiting and hope you will return to see more in upcoming posts. And please, if you like what you have seen here then tell your friends! Till next time.

Darth Zannah, Darth Bane and all related names and material are Trademark/©Copyright of Drew Karpyshyn.

Carnage Lightsaber – A new weapon for Darth Krayt

Darth Krayt began his life as A’Sharad Hett, the son of Jedi Knight Sharad Hett and his mother a Tusken Raider. He was raised in the traditions of both the Jedi and Raider cultures. Krayt’s father was killed by the assassin Aurra Sing. He was also part of the Clone Wars where he befriended Anakin Skywalker in a bizarre twist (more on this later). This wasn’t the only conflict he was part of and years later he fought in the Yuuzhan Vong War, where he was captured, tortured and experimented on. The experiments nearly killed him but his knowledge helped him survive. However the toll on his body and mind pushed him to turn to the Dark Side. Darth Krayt as he renamed himself rose in power and became the leader of the One Sith. One of his followers and friend Darth Wyyrlok, betrayed him and left him for dead a second time. Many years passed by with society believing him dead, but again his knowledge and power saved him. He returned and reclaimed his position as leader which lead to a climactic battle with Cade Skywalker, descendent of Anakin and Luke Skywalker and final barrier to his domination of the Galaxy.

Through all this he used a Lightsaber fashioned from bone and I wondered after all that time what would a new saber for him look like. I designed one and this is it. I call this saber Krayt’s Carnage.

Krayt’s Carnage Hilt

Krayt’s Carnage Emitter

Krayt’s Carnage Switch

Krayt’s Carnage Body

Krayt’s Carnage Pommel

Krayt’s Carnage Up

Krayt’s Carnage Down

Darth Krayt

Sorry this post is on the long side but Darth Krayt has over 200 years of history to fit into a small post! Thank you for sticking with me this far and checking this saber out.

Darth Krayt and Cade Skywalker appear in Dark Horse Comics. Star Wars and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm.