Commando Speeder: Quadbus – This one’s a stretch – FT Lego Forge

Hello Everybody, today is a slightly better day for me as I have been having fun with my new saber and blasters I showed you last week. Mrs Tyeth bought the big “Minigun” style blaster from a charity/thrift store and thought it was complete, unfortunately when she managed to bring it home I found that the “Ammo Box” that clips to the side to hold the ammo belt was missing. Luckily I decided to set up an online shopping account and found a cheap replacement Ammo Box and placed a bid….and I won! So now I have a “Fully operational battle blaster”! I will feature it here next week so stay tuned for some “For Tyeth Foam Flinging”. But I need to show you my latest Lego creation and this one is a stretch.

I have been working a series of models based on Airspeeders and transports and today I expand the collection. The first speeder I built had one engine, the second had twin engines so doubling up again this week’s build has….FOUR engines. I have been watching the Lego Star Wars cartoons recently and in a few episodes we see the Padawan learners of the Jedi Temple on adventures in their “school bus” and I thought “Hey, I could build a transport vehicle a bit like a bus that holds multiple figures”

Image via Bricklink

so I set to work starting with the engine…..

I began with one engine and a single control vane, then made duplicates as I knew one or two wouldn’t be enough for this slightly more bulky vehicle. I struggled at first wondering how to arrange the pods but then I remembered a ship called the QuadJumper seen in The Force Awakens (the QuadJumper is the ship blown up by Tie Fighters that are attacking Rey and Finn on Jakku before Rey decides to borrow the “piece of garbage” we know as the Millennium Falcon!). So I built a couple of assemblies that positioned four engines in two stacks that fit either side of the vehicle. The last image shows a Starboard (right sided) engine assembly. Next I had to build a fuselage big enough to accommodate a few minifigures. I took the Commando Speeder and stretched it, along with adding a sealed passenger compartment then attached the two engine assemblies to either side….this was the result, the QuadBus!….

I was extremely pleased with this as it had the same sort of look and vibe of the many shuttle transport buses seen darting around the skies of Coruscant during the Prequel movies. I planned to make this a bus, however while putting it together it felt more like a high end personal transport for two or three figures so I had a Chauffeur Pilot in the cockpit section and two “passengers” in the aft compartment.

This gallery shows off the lines of the ship from various angles and a few close ups of the detailing including the opening cockpit canopy and passenger compartment window/doors. With the four high powered engines I don’t think this “bus” would have any problem nipping in and out of traffic and would be quite a comfortable ride….much more comfy than the original BikeSpeeder I built that started this series of models!

So I had fun practicing my “Target Shooting” and swinging my new saber about, plus I came up with a new Lego design but….back in the real world the current situation in the eastern Europe and Ukraine has gotten worse and as I feared the war seems to be becoming an “entrenched” battle. Casualties are mounting and needless suffering is growing with more people leaving the country if they can. And here in the outer rim of the UK I feel frustrated still that there isn’t much I can do in real terms. However I can send out a message to let the people of Ukraine know I am wishing for a swift peaceful end to the suffering they are subjected to and I had an idea how I could show support…by rebuilding the QuadBus…in the colours of their national flag!

I think this works!

And that brings me to the end of this week’s post – thank you so much for checking it out. I am having more and more fun creating these Lego designs and will hopefully have more for upcoming posts. I will also have a full feature on my latest and greatest Nerf blaster, the Havok Fire I showed off last week. So please call back to FTSabersite to see all this and more in the next few weeks. Thanks again and remember you are all very much appreciated, I couldn’t run a blog without you, Till next time….

“Commando Speeder: QuadBus” is a For Tyeth Lego Forge design. It was designed and modelled in the LEGO Digital Designer software and the screenshot renders were produced in Blender 3D. All model designs and artwork are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2022, The “Lego DIgital Designer -LDD” belongs to the LEGO corporation and is Trademark/©Copyright of the LEGO Corporation.

Commando Twinspeeder – Another FT Lego Forge build

Hello Everybody, now I normally don’t comment too much on my private life but I have been helping to care for an elderly relative and that relative had to go into a residential care home as she needed way more assistance than Mrs Tyeth and I could cope with. So this past week has been hectic with the “big move” and everything else I have been dealing with. BUT this is a Star Wars lightsaber and stuff website so I best show you something from a galaxy far away. As I have been busy I’m afraid I just have a modified version of my recent Commando Speeder model I posted a fortnight ago….but it is in a new paintscheme! So here is a reminder of the base model…

Commando Speeder original

I felt this speeder was a bit lop-sided and asymmetrical so decided to balance it out by adding another engine and wingplate section. This would make it twice as powerful and twice as fast (theoretically) and so I had to find a nice open space to test it out so how about a trip to Bespin and the famous Tibanna Gas Clouds? OK, here’s the Glamour Gallery in the Gas Clouds….

As you can see this one is a real flyer! I had to “de-tune” the engines a little or else it would have achieved orbital flight….remember that the engines I borrowed are from a Naboo N-1 Starfighter (the famous yellow and chrome fighter seen in The Phantom Menace). But I think the new speeder looks more stable and balanced now. These engines do allow me to experiment and in a future post I have a four engined model that does go orbital.

In other news, hopefully I should be getting my new (sort of new) Nerf blaster tomorrow and in the new week my new saber will be here. What? I didn’t mention anything about a new saber? Oh, yes…well it turns out that a very generous member of a forum I use was so impressed by my talent and contribution to the lightsaber community that he wanted to do something nice for me. He saw comments I had posted stating I liked a particular lightsaber and he had a spare one that he wanted to gift to me! So hopefully I will have a new hilt to add to my collection.

However, as good as this news is, things are not great everywhere. I normally restrict myself to commenting on things I can have an impact on or on subjects such as the passing of inspirational people like Peter Mayhew, Eddie Van Halen or Freddie Mercury…but a lot of extraordinary people have lost their lives this past week in an event of madness. I won’t drag myself into the politics of who’s in the right or wrong of the situation…I will just say that there is NO NEED FOR THE ACTIONS THAT ARE TAKING PLACE IF WE ARE LIVING IN A CIVILISED WORLD. Unfortunately….it seems that some people aren’t in the same world.

I just hope the madness and suffering ends swiftly and peacefully….I will say that needless deaths have been suffered on both sides of the argument but I have to post this image in solidarity for the brave oppressed people of Ukraine.

Thanks for reading, till next time….please be kind to each other and find a peaceful solution….

Commando Bikespeeder – A For Tyeth Lego Forge Speederbike (aka Trident)

Hello Everybody, today we return to the world of the Lego Digital Designer and see what Star Wars build I came up with after my Commando Carrier Speeder model a fortnight ago (see it here: https://ftsabersite.wordpress.com/2022/02/05/commando-speeder-another-ft-lego-forge-creation/). I liked the Commando Carrier but felt it might just be a little bit sluggish (despite having a Naboo N1 Starfighter engine) and troopers might want something a bit more agile to travel around the battlefield. I figured I’d build a Speeder Bike and “added a few special modifications myself”. In the past we have seen the famous Speeder Bikes on Endor in “Return of the Jedi” and recently the character named Cobb Vanth had a Speeder in The Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett. Lego themselves have made a Speeder named the Freeco Speeder so I took inspiration from all three.

The first image above shows a Lego Imperial Speeder Bike and Biker Scout from RotJ, the next two images are Cobb Vanth’s speeder and the last image is the Freeco Speeder from Lego, so I wanted something combining ideas from each. I figured a single seat speeder with a storage rack and the N1 Starfighter engine would be cool so here is what I came up with, the Commando Bikespeeder….

I configured this speeder for the harsh climate of Hoth and I kinda like this one a lot (especially as all the white parts are matching colour). It is agile, having angled outrigger wingboards that surround the N1 engine pod. Basically this is a rocket ship bike! It is fast, powerful and agile. On the top of the engine nacelle is the rider’s seat and control sticks – and a set of wedge shaped headlights. The front view of this speeder is quite aggressive with the three wingboard tips and the massive engine. This bike has a Clone Wars era Republic Trooper aboard and you will notice that he has an R2 unit perched on the back using the storage rack!

On the outboard wings there are vents for cooling, even on a snow planet like Hoth the engine heats up quite a bit. There are also two disruptor lance weapons – the long pipes with the blue barrel ends. You will also be able to see the hinge joints I used to attach the wingboards to the main body. I love these pieces of Lego as I can ratchet the wings up and down slightly to give the impression that they are controlling the vehicle. They are also the same hinges I used to attach the cargo pods on the Mandalorian Infiltrator model I built (See the Infiltrator here: https://ftsabersite.wordpress.com/2022/01/22/a-lego-mando-infiltrator-moc-my-own-creation-or-is-it-inspired-by-johnson-tings-artwork/)

All in all, I am really happy with this model as it feels “Star Warsy” and looks as if it could be a vehicle from in universe. And as I mentioned in previous posts I still have a few more variants of this Bikespeeder and the Commando Carrier, including “stretched” versions. But for now I am nearing the end of this post and you all know what that means.

Yes, it’s time for me to say a big thank you for checking this Lego Forge design out, I hope you enjoyed it. I have the “stretched” versions and repaints of both Speeders to come in future posts and back in the realm of lightsabers, I have a few Katana variants and a saber for a Law Enforcer….“Your move…..Creep!” (< bit of a hint). But for now thanks and remember you’re all very much appreciated and your support means a lot to me. Till next time….

“Commando Bikespeeder” is a For Tyeth Lego Forge My Own Creation design (MOC). It was built in the Lego Digital Designer and the renders produced in Blender 3D. “Lego Digital Designer” is ©Copyright and belongs to the Lego Group. The design and renders are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2022. Star Wars and all related names, logos, images, and vehicle designs are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm ltd.

Commando Speeder – Another FT Lego Forge Creation

Hello Everybody, well it’s time for another post and design so I’m returning to my second hobby again, Lego. With the current news situation of rising fuel prices and costs of living I felt I needed to get a new mode of transport and looked to the Star Wars universe to see if I could get a “new cheap set of wheels” to get around in. But guess what, I found that in the galaxy far…far over the horizon that they seem to have ditched wheeled transports! Even as far back as the original Star Wars film in 1977 the “cars” had no wheels as seen with Luke’s X-34 Landspeeder…

It just hovered! But it did look cool and worked over sand. Then in Empire Strikes Back we had the famous Snowspeeders that attacked the lumbering AT-AT walkers on the snow planet Hoth. Progress into Return of the Jedi and you had Speeder Bikes on Endor. So I decided I would try to design a speeder as LEGO have just released a model of a Speeder Bike as seen in The Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett. I didn’t just want a single seat speeder as sometimes Mrs Tyeth might need a lift somewhere so it had to have multiple seating so a X-34 Landspeeder style seemed best to work on. Then I realised that in The Phantom Menace, the Naboo resistance fighters had a nice landspeeder…

I decided on building a utilitarian landspeeder capable of carrying a couple of troopers. This was what I came up with…

This speeder is designed as a light Commando Speeder, holding two occupants and is powered by a large multi exhaust engine that can vector for improved agility. The observant of you may recognise the engine as being similar to that found on a Naboo N-1 Starfighter – and you’d be correct! I recycled the engine from the N-1 and removed the long tail spine – however the side skirt “wings” do still feature those spines. The cockpit is basic but functional and all the heat produced by the massive engine is vented through the radiator grille situated behind that cockpit. Now even as I type this I have already modified this basic speeder with extra engines and I have even lengthened the “fuselage” to carry more passengers but those extended designs will feature in a futre post. In the meantime I decided to get arty and photo-edit the Commando Speeder into a more life-like scenery (the Lego render backgrounds are a bit …meh!) So here are a few edited images…Glamour Shots!….

I kinda like this Speeder – it’s just a shame it’s only a Lego model. But I had fun designing it and I am surprising myself all the time with how quick I can come up with builds and learning the techniques used to assemble these models. I can’t wait to show off the “Extended” versions (oh and there’s a single seat “bike” variant too!).

But for today that just about wraps this post up as you can see from the last image, the suns are setting and I need to go rest. Thank you so much for checking this design out, I hope you liked it – if it becomes popular who knows I could start a dealership. I hope you will all return to see more sabers and speeders in future posts. Whether this is your first visit to FTSabersite or if you are a regular, all the support is fantastic and has kept me going so cheers. Till next time…

“Commando Speeder” is a For Tyeth Lego Forge creation. It is an original MOC (My Own Creation) inspired by the Speeder vehicles seen in Disney/Lucasfilm Star Wars movies/shows. The models were built in Lego’s Digital Designer and later photo-edited in GIMP. All models and renders are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2022. “Star Wars”, “X-34 Landspeeder” and all other SW names, logo, images and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm.

A LEGO “Mando Infiltrator” MOC (My Own Creation) ….or is it? Inspired by Johnson Ting’s Artwork

Hello Everybody and welcome back to today’s second post! And this one is another that has a twist in it’s tale! As you will know if you’re a regular viewer that I discovered the Lego Digital Designer (aka LDD for short) application last year and decided to give it a try. I like messing with building bricks almost as much as messing with sabers but I don’t have the money or space to indulge in buying/displaying Lego toys….but with the Digital Designer I was able to recreate real official sets and create my own bespoke creations. Well, I posted pic of my Lego Jedi Interceptor that I built in LDD on the Ultrasabers’ fan forum as a few members there are avid Lego fans. One particular member named The Dutchman was writing a fan-fiction story and had an idea for a Mandalorian “Infiltrator” spaceship and posed the question if I could make a ship in Lego. He sent me a picture of what he had in mind. This picture:

The “Inspiration” for this build.

My friend described this to me as if it were an obscure design from an old Star Wars computer game that he wanted to “re-purpose” as the ship for his story’s character. I saw the image and liked the design immediately but thought it might be difficult to replicate in building bricks….but you know me I like a challenge! So I set to work and got carried away – within an hour I had already built the main base shape for the ship and I sent pictures to my friend. These were the first builds….

Not bad for noob brick builder! I managed to get the cockpit modelled, the hanging engine pods on the wingtips, the sloped rear cargo door….even the “Droid Sensor Probes” ejection bay on top of the fuselage. My friend was ecstatic with the model and wanted to use it for his story as planned. He asked if I could render some more images for his story but I needed to polish the model a bit and make the model appear “smoother” by adding tiles that didn’t have Lego Studs on to streamline the ship. To do this I wanted a few more reference images. I couldn’t find any reference to this ship on any website relating to Star Wars which I found strange, but then I saw a small thumbnail image of a “Dropship Design” and clicked on it. The link led me to an Artstation style website that stores images and the picture I found there had another link written on it. I again followed the link and discovered that this ship was created by a highly talented person named Johnson Ting, a graphic designer that produces concept art for games such as “Destiny 2” and “Gears of War”!

Anyhow I had modelled the ship in Lego form and I refined my model by adding the smooth tiles and I added a few “Play Features” too. So here is a gallery of my model…

You can see I modified my original model’s cockpit by enlarging it to fit a Lego Mini-Figure, I repositioned the sensor launch bay slightly to smooth the ship’s lines and added many little details like lights and door control panels (using printed tiles) . I made the “play features” by adding opening storage lockers into the engine and cargo pods, the cargo ramp/door hinges open/closed and inside I made a small levitating cargo trolley that slides inside the cargo bay (on a set of rails built into the walls of the interior!)

On the underside of the ship I added a set of folding undercarriage but unfortunately I just realised the picture I have above shows an early version of the model..D’oh! But the landing struts are there as you can see in Picture 2 of the first gallery. You can see the Droid Sensor bay and the opening cargo pod lockers much clearer in this gallery.

All in all, I didn’t think this was too shabby considering it was the second ship I had modelled and this one had no instructions (I recreated Lego’s Jedi Interceptor from downloaded PDF instructions found on Lego’s website). So I don’t know if this counts as “My Own Creation” or not as Johnson Ting originally drew up this fantastic spaceship in….2012! He states on his website that he didn’t think they were very good…what? I think I can claim the Lego Model variant as my work but it wouldn’t have been possible without Mr Ting’s wonderful artwork first. Maybe he will let me share the design? I will leave a link to Mr Ting’s website which has a portfolio crammed with images from his various projects. The link to his site is: https://johnsonting.art/

Today has been a busy posting day for me (two posts you lucky people) and it’s getting to the point where I have to end, but first my thanks and farewells. To Mr Ting, thank you so much for designing such an awesome ship, I really thought it was from a Star Wars game so it fooled me – for a while till I discovered your site. And to all of you my viewers/readers/visitors…thank you also for taking time to check out my Lego Creation today. I hope you like it and will also check out Mr Ting’s site. For me I have more to show in upcoming posts including some “Speeder Bike” designs inspired by The Mandalorian show and a new saber for the most famous Bounty Hunter in the Star Wars Galaxy! Remember whether you are a first timer on FTSabersite or a regular caller, you’re much appreciated….Till next time…..one final farewell….

RIP Marvin (Michael) Lee Aday Meatloaf – You took us to Hell and Back and we thank you for it.

“Lego Mando Infiltrator” is a For Tyeth Editions Lego build inspired by the artwork and design created by Johnson Ting. His artwork and concept are ©Copyright 2012 and can be found on his website (link in post above). The Lego model and renders are the work of For Tyeth/FTSabersite and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2022.

“Tipoca” – A My Own Creation Lego Playset based on Kamino’s Capitol City

Hello Everybody, today I return to the wonderful world of brick building and to the watery world of Kamino! Whilst watching The Bad Batch I was inpsired to design the collection of sabers for Hunter and the rest of Clone Force 99, but it was also around this time that I started messing with the Lego Digital Designer software. And this got me thinking. I decided I wanted to try a large model to go with my Theed City streetscape I modelled and I decided to replicate the city on Kamino.

Tipoca City, Kamino. Disney/Lucasfilm.

I must have had a lapse in sanity as Kamino is very distinctive with it’s domed superstructures and oil drilling platform style legs…so I came up with the idea of building the “interiors” as if I had removed the domes. However Tipoca City the capitol of Kamino does have a lot of corridors and platforms so I attempted to replicate those including a few important “locations”. I built a lobby chamber where Obi-Wan is greeted by Taun We and Lama Su and discovers that a “Rupublic Clone Army” has been created. I built a pod to represent the quarters belonging to a certain Bounty Hunter and his famous son….and I included a barracks for a bunch of clones….oh and as if that wasn’t enough I added TWO landing pads similar to the one below!

Tipoca Landing Pad. Disney/Lucasfilm.

OK, so now onto my first gallery….

In these pictures you can see the system I employed to create “pods” for each location and how I used corridors to connect each pod, then on the extremes I added the landing pad locations. You will notice that the model is “skeletal” in that I only built half of the corridors and left sections open in the pod walls. This was to facilitate easier play access should anyone build this (or something along these lines). The pods, corridors and platforms all sit atop large pylon legs, some of which have walkways as seen when Obi-Wan battles the Bounty Hunter and falls off the platform using a grappling hook to save himself. He swings onto these walkways.

So back on top of the model and if you look closely you can see Lama Su and Taun We’s chamber with a table and two suspended chairs…

Lama Su’s lobby with suspended chairs!

whist at the opposite end of the corridor is chamber that looks like a type of medical bay with two “Cloning Pod” cubicles complete with clone patients inside.

Cloning Bay with Incubation pods and controls.

There is an oxygen tank as well as a control panel for the cubicles. At the far extremes of the model are two oblong modules one in white and a second grey coloured section. The white module is the living quarters for the Bounty Hunter and his son, and it even has a Mandalorian helmet and a jetpack in the closet!

The Bounty Hunter’s Quarters at the far end of the platform.

Whilst the grey coloured section is the barracks of, yep you guessed it, Clone Force 99 – The Bad Batch! In this module I included a weapons/equipment rack with blaster rifles and mission backpacks and there is a sleeping bunk with a blaster pistol mounted on the wall beside it.

Venturing to the outside of the model and you can see I added two landing pads. One has Obi-Wan’s Jedi Interceptor sat on it and the second landing pad is empty. I tried to make a model of Bounty HunterJango Fett’s ship but that was a bit complex and existing models by other builders were the wrong scale to fit. But the second landing platform does have a gun turret tower as seen during Kenobi and Jango’s battle scene as the bounty hunter attempted to kill Kenobi and escape with Boba Fett, his son. I think that covers all the locations so I will just post a few more random pics…

The first image in the above gallery was my attempt at being “arty” and I tried to capture an atmospheric picture of Kenobi’s Interceptor looking through the windows of the corridor out to the storm swept landing pad. And that I think is everything included in this model. I may return to this build when I have learnt how to model the domes and add them to the pods.

But I am drawing to a close on this post, as always thank you so much for checking this Lego build out. I might try and build an “Interior Only” model of the Death Star for a future post but I do still have other lightsaber designs waiting to be posted and I may have a glove to display for my good friend The Atomic Mage. If you liked what you see here then if you haven’t already comment, like and maybe subscribe. Please be sure to call back and check out these upcoming posts, the support you show me is fantastic and keeps my working busy! So Till next time…..

“Tipoca” is a For Tyeth LegoForge creation (My Own Creation-MOC) and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2021. “Tipoca City”, “Kamino” and all other Star Wars names, logos, images and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm. “Lego” and “Lego Digital Designer” are Trademarks of the LEGO Corporation.

Theed Street Scene My Own Creation (MOC) For Tyeth Lego Forge

Hello Everybody and as I type this it is Nov 5th which is “Guy Fawkes Night” or “Bonfire Night” here in the UK which is usually celebrated by having firework displays. So if you are having a fireworks party or going to one PLEASE do it safely – be Firework Safe and COVID Safe…..I’d hate for anyone to have an accident. OK, onto today’s post….and we’re travelling to Naboo and Theed City!

For the past few weeks I have been messing around with the LEGO Digital Designer application allowing me to build virtual LEGO models. It has been great fun to play with as I wait for the batteries in my sabers to charge up, and one of the models I have created is a section of Naboo’s capitol, Theed City. It took a while and I have probably made construction errors that would make LEGO experts cringe (like using the wrong brick part for a doorway or methods to align pieces) but I managed to come up with a build to represent a “courtyard” surrounded by buildings and I included a few Federation Battle Droids (roger, roger) and an AAT Tank model which I downloaded from Eurobricks.com. Here is the first gallery….

I attempted to build the scenery from the Phantom Menace where Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi leap from a walkway down onto the street below and attack a group of droids escorting the Royal Palace occupants (Captain Panaka, Governor Sio Bibble, the Queen and her handmaidens along with a few Palace Trooper guards). The LEGO builder didn’t have enough dedicated Star Wars figures to represent Panaka, Bibble etc so I added the tank and droids standing around….but look closely and you will find one Jedi somewhere ready to drop down into action!

I was also able to add a few bushes around the scene but for a long time I struggled to find the pieces I needed for the flowers and windows – I am using a 13inch laptop and the screen is so small and there’s so many pieces in the builder it’s hard to sort out the bits that fit together! But eventually I managed to assemble a few plants and inserted those into the model. And they actually made quite a bit of difference, however I am not sure if it is my screen but the buildings seem to look a bit green and not tan as they are meant to look. It’s something I will look into as I continue to modify and improve on this model. But I had best show you the “flowery” pictures…so here is gallery two….

I am still learning what I can and can’t build with this LEGO software but I can say I have a few other models to show in future including a Mandalorian Assault Ship and a scene from a very wet planet which I made a CLONE of (<little bit of a hint which planet). Both of these models I think are better than this one as I crammed more details in. But hopefully you will return to see them and decide for yourself.

I am getting to the end of this slightly shorter post but I just wanted to let you know I am still working on some new sabers inspired by the Star Wars Anime series “Visions” and I hope to have another update on my costuming adventures. I hope as I said before that you will join me for those posts but I’d like to say thank you for visiting today and checking out this LEGO creation, whether this is your first visit to FTSabersite or if you are one of my regulars, you are all appreciated and motivate me to keep designing. Stay safe if you are celebrating this weekend and Till next time…..

“FT’s Theed Street MOC (My Own Creation” is a For Tyeth Lego design built using the LEGO Group’s “LEGO Digital Designer” software. The edited screenshots are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2021. “LEGO”, the “LEGO Digital Designer” and all other names, logos and elements are Trademark/©Copyright of the LEGO Group.

For Tyeth’s New Condo – I built it brick by brick

Hello Everybody, today I return to the world of brick building and the Lego Digital Designer. I recently posted how I got a Jedi Interceptor made of Lego and I thought I needed a place to park it when I wasn’t out and about saving the galaxy (or visiting the local corner shop for supplies!). So I decided to build myself a landing pad and condo. I wanted it to have facilities for my Interceptor along with space for a workshop and a nice area to live in. This is what I came up with…(but be aware it is a work in progress and will be expanded soon…)…

This new complex has two “islands” as it were, one is the Interceptor “hangar” facilities area and across the bridge there is the living quarters. The landing pad has a nice raised landing cradle that supports the ship in it’s landing configuration and also allows access for maintenance. The landing pad has “runway” lighting and guidance equipment to make landing easier. There is a twin level garage and storage facility which I will soon be filling with various equipment and stores but you might be able to see one equipment rack already installed holding a spare lightsaber and a blaster rifle for defence, I will need all the space I can get soon so I decided I needed a second “wing” to my abode and so added the second “island” for habitation purposes. Here are a few more pictures of my living quarters…

In the first picture you can see a close up of the equipment rack I mentioned before, but the rest of the pics show some of the other facilities. First up is a “Home Cinema” with widescreen TV and rows of seating. This is useful in case I need to do any briefings for Jedi missions – I can use my home cinema as command centre. Don’t worry if you have realised that the walls seem to be missing, there is an “X-Ray” function in Lego’s Digital Designer software that allows a user to toggle the visibility of various parts to ease building and for taking screenshots of interiors. My father in law was a highly regarded builder and brick layer so I know how to construct a house! In the next image you can see my new lightsaber workbench where I will be assembling all my “virtual” lightsabers. I even added a soldering station and testing module (the white console on the right side of the desk….and ooh there’s another saber on the floor!). The fourth image shows a nice little sleeping chamber – and no it’s not for me…that bed is WAY too small to fit me…this is for the new addition to the Tyeth family. I will talk about the new arrival in a moment. The last image was just a picture of yours truly looking out to the horizon awaiting delivery of my new friend!

And to news about my new friend, well the little one has left the Gulf Coast of America, visited Miami and has been flown across the Atlantic and arrived in London. I am currently waiting for UK Customs to clear my friend then the postal service can deliver my new guest. And you will love the new addition….I do already and they will be very helpful when it comes to building my sabers – they are VERY tech savvy! I’m sooo excited.

Anyhoo, that just about wraps up this Lego themed post so thank you for checking it out. As I mention I will be making modifications to my Lego home in future. I am also working on some Mandalorian themed lightsabers and I am of course working on a Welcome Post for my new friend so there is still more to come in future posts. Thank you for your support today, whether you are a new caller to FTSabersite or one of my regulars you’re all very much appreciated. Till next time….

“For Tyeth’s Condo” is a Lego Digital Designer model MOC (My Own Creation) and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2021. Lego, “Lego Stud”, the “Lego Digital Designer” and all related names, logos, images and related materials are Trademark/©Copyright of the LEGO Group.

For’s New Interceptor – It looked bigger in the Advert!

Hello Everybody and welcome to something completely different! Today I have a new ship to show you, but it isn’t one I can actualy fly unfortunately but I still love it. I already have a Jedi Starfighter (a Delta 7 variant) which some of you may have seen but I have always liked the idea of owning an ETA-2 Actis class Interceptor. Here is the Delta 7 that already own, it is old and battered up like me but still looks ok…

OK, I know it is made of LEGO but I built this before any official model of this was made by Lego using a set I bought from Legoland Windsor when I visited in the early 2000’s. But when I saw the ETA-2 I loved that ship too. If you haven’t seen an ETA-2, it is a twin engine, highly agile fighter with folding wing plates, though you may have seen Obi-Wan and Anakin flying them at the start of “Revenge of the Sith”. The ETA-2 looks like this…

Anakin Skywalker’s ETA-2 Interceptor

Mrs Tyeth regularly visits her mother but recently had to stay over a lot longer than she’d planned leaving me “home alone”. Mrs T felt bad for me and whilst out shopping for her mother noticed a bag of Star Wars Lego in a Salvation Army Charity shop (like a thrift store for US readers). It was labelled “2 Star Wars Starfighters” so Mrs T bought it for me as a treat. Well when I got the bag of bricks it turns out one fighter was actually an off-brand Apache AH-64 helicopter (not bad) but the good news was the rest of the bits were yellow and grey! I went online and downloaded the instructions from LEGO.com for Anakin’s Interceptor and managed to build part of the ship. I wasn’t sure all of it was there as the model is made of a lot of small pieces…but I kept building and got closer to completing it. I was nervous as I thought “You watch, the last half dozen bits will probably be missing!” But it was a complete model…every part was there and it looked like this when finished….

Sorry my pictures are a little blurry but my camera phone has a bad lens I think. BUT you can see that this is indeed the Interceptor I always hoped I’d own one day. This official model set was released in 2014 and has been retired so I didn’t think I’d get one, but somehow Mrs T spotted this and bought it! It didn’t have any minifigs but I had an Artoo and a Rey figure I could put in to “finish” the model.

This is good news and fortunate for me but what does it have to do with designing I hear you ask, well I also hunted down an old piece of software produced by the Lego Company – The Lego Digital Designer!

LEGO’s Digital Designer software

This is a virtual 3D Lego building set in computer form, allowing you to go wild and build many official and non stock models from the bricks/pieces you can see on the left hand side of the image above. So I downloaded and installed it and attempted to follow the instructions and build my ship in 3D! My first attempt was close but I couldn’t find the folding wing plates in the software, so it wasn’t quite the same. It wasn’t bad for my first attempt though, here is a quick look…

My first FT Interceptor build attempt.

As you can see the winglets are too large and have the “Lego Studs” on them but they do hinge properly. Anyway, I had seen pictures of Lego models with the winglets and knew they had to exist and whilst researching I found that some LEGO enthusiasts make these models in the designer and upload the 3D files to a website for others to download and import into LDD (the designer). I downloaded a model built by a person named ADHO15 and it had the parts I was looking for! So here is a comparison and Gallery One!

I think the model looks much better with the proper winglets but unfortunately the cockpit canopy still doesn’t have the printed windows on – however that reveals more of the interior including my updated cockpit controls I added and the handsome Jedi figure piloting this ship (< that’s meant to be me BTW 😁) For being a 3D LEGO model this is really cool and at a glance looks like the real thing. To show how good this ship is here is Gallery Two…

In these pics you can see the new control panels I added along with the recoloured seat pieces that just make the interior more solid and cohesive. The original model is a little bare so in this virtual build I repositioned the clip to hold a lightsaber hilt – you can just see it behind my head atop the headrest. Looking at the undercarriage side of the model you can see the folded wingflaps and laser cannons, plus a small white cylinder…that’s Artoo! You can see his dome in the last picture showing him in his droid socket – ready to battle the destructive Buzz Droids! Finally I have a few arty pictures to show you in Gallery Three…

The first pair of images show how good a job the LEGO designers did with this model kit as I tried to recreate the opening shot of “Revenge of the Sith”. The third and fourth pictures are screenshot renders, pic three from the LEGO software and pic four is an edited one I did in my photo edit software GIMP. And look who’s stood in front of it….ME and my lightsaber!

OK I think that just about wraps up this very different For Tyeth Edition – this one is a For Tyeth LEGO Forge creation! As I mentioned the LEGO software allows users to create any model so I may in future post a few other builds I have done (I am working on a Docking Bay to land in and Hoth’s Echo Base models). Though for now it’s time for me to finish with my thank you messages.

So thanks to Mrs Tyeth for getting me such an awesome present! Thanks too go to the LEGO Company for both the real life bricks and the 3D software to play with. More thanks go to ADHO15 whose model I downloaded to obtain the winglets. However as always my biggest thanks go to you, my readers and viewers for checking this out and your support. Whether this was your first visit to FTSabersite or you are my well known regulars, you’re very much welcomed and appreciated. I hope you will return for future posts as I return to sabers including a “Gunslinger” hilt, more “Armourer” variants and the news regards my new action figure and costume purchases….PHEW! Finished. Till next time….

“For’s Interceptor” is a For Tyeth LEGO MOC (My Own Creation mod) built and rendered in LEGO Digital Designer (owned/Trademarked by LEGO Company). Further photo edits were made by For Tyeth in Blender 3D and GIMP – all rendered images are © Copyright For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2021. Star Wars and all related names, logos and material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm.