Padawan Outpost “Iota” Xenopixel V2 lightsaber – For Tyeth’s New Saber!

Helloooooo Everybodies! It is almost that day again when all the ghouls and ghosts come out to play and I have a beautiful new saber to show you that I purchased recently…..AND I have a horror movie to share with you! Now you may have read in my previous posts and comments references to a new “toy” that I had ordered, well it arrived and I am over the moon with what I got. The new toy is a lightsaber from Padawan Outpost called the “Iota” and it has some very cool features. All of my sabers up till now were the type similar to a torch or flashlight with a very high powered LED in the handle that shone down a polycarbonate tube. They were also limited with what special effects they could do, but my new saber has a technology called Xenopixel installed that allows it do some incredible stuff. The blade isn’t hollow and is filled by long strips covered in small individual LEDs, and these LEDs can be triggered on/off all at once or one at a time to create different illusions. This also makes the blade appear brighter because less light energy is wasted having to travel down a hollow tube. Anyhoo, I can’t really describe the saber and do it justice….you need to SEE it….so Happy Halloween here is your horror movie for this year – For Tyeth Reviews the IOTA!…

I made a ton of mistakes in filming this. I forgot to mention certain features and I called the Xenopixel blade a “Scrolled” blade – I was thinking “Scrolling” and “LED” and managed to merge the two words together! But I was so excited getting this hilt and I filmed this by my self with no tripod – just a handheld smartphone and a laptop. Back to the saber though, as you can see it has some spectacular special effects. You can activate various effects called “Pre-Ons” before the blade ignites. These include effects that make the saber blade appear to “stutter” or appear from different sections of the blade (in one case the light appears at the base and the tip then expands to join in the middle!) Or you can just have the classic Luke or Vader in a corridor effect where the blade “grows”. The blade, because it is filled with hundreds of small LEDs can be set to any colour or as you saw in the video to a “Rainbow” – this is known as a Blade Style. The blade also has a “Fire Blade” and “Ghost Mode” where the blade is active but only lights up when it is moved (keep the blade still and the light disappears like a ghost). Another available Blade Style is “Blaster Blade” where again the blade is switched on but only lights up when the Activation Button is tapped which sends “bolts” of light along the blade and looks like a laser gun firing. I didn’t want to video those really due to how bright they are and the flashing could affect people with photosensitive Epilepsy.

But that is just the blade and lights, a lightsaber also usually has sounds and this saber has 21 built in sound fonts or themes. There are sounds from Kylo Ren’s saber, Rey, Darth Vader, General Leia and of course Luke Skywalker…not to mention Dooku, Maul, Cal Kestis from the PC game Jedi Fallen Order….way too many to list. But then on top of that you can add MORE sounds purchased or downloaded from the Internet and install them using the built in SD card! When certain sounds become unfashionable you can update with new ones.

The sounds also feature SmoothSwing technology. This is the fancy sound effect that makes a saber sound more realistic by mixing sounds triggered by sensors in real time. Hasbro toy sabers have one sound for when the saber swings whereas this saber can have up to 16 swing noises that are played continuously and correspond to your movements. Swing the hilt gently and it whispers a Vroom but swing harder and it sounds more WWHOOOSH!

That all sounds like a lot but there is still more features! The saber can be updated with new functions and settings using the SD Card and a Configuration File (instructions for the saber to operate). This means I can set the saber to detect certain movements or gestures and trigger specific effects…I can even do this with the Force….

Yep! I am most powerful…I can activate my blade without using the button! OK this is what’s known as a Gesture Function but it looks cool. I can set the saber to detect a “stabbing” motion and it will ignite the blade.

Finally, the saber even plays music tracks that you can have playing in the background as you fight your little siblings or friends. Imagine having the Phantom Menace “Duel Of The Fates” music playing while swinging your saber around with Qui-Gon Jinn sound effects! (Or Maul if you are a Sith!).

It can glow green just like Qui-Gon’s too!

All in all this lightsaber is fantastic for the price, the amount of features and tech is amazing. Xenopixel really immerses you into the Star Wars world and you can forget where you are! But I know I’m getting near the end of this review and I have a few mentions I need to make.

If you are interested in obtaining a saber like tis one you can find it and more at Padawan Outpost which can be found at: https://padawanoutpost.com/

Padawan Outpost is based in the London area of the UK but ships internationally. They have a full range of sabers available but you will have to check their site regularly as stock can sell out quickly. I MUST ALSO POINT OUT THAT I AM NOT CONNECTED TO OR EMPLOYED BY PADAWAN OUTPOST – I am just a happy customer (I also bought a basic saber from them last year).

Thanks so much for checking my review out. I am no YouTube expert reviewer but it is kinda fun now I have done one. Now I have scared you all for Halloween, I hope you will return for future posts on FTSabersite as I still have more saber designs to showcase, more LEGO creations and just maybe some more Cosplaying. I am For Tyeth, the FOR in the Force, Till next time…..

One last message to my dear friends “Mr and Mrs D” at this difficult time for them…..I light my sabers and remember…..

This For Tyeth review is independent and my own opinions. The video and photos are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2021. Padawan Outpost and their product image and logo are ©Copyrighted and Trademarks of Padawan Outpost.com , UK.

Ultimate Works “Flyte” – For’s new saber (and more)

Hello Everybody, I hope you are all well and staying safe. Today I don’t have a saber design to show you….shock and horror! No saber? Well not one of my sabers no, but I am going to show off my new custom lightsaber I recently purchased and added to my only other saber. I have wanted a new saber for a while so I can say I am an actual “collector” rather than just a Star Wars fan with one saber, so I had a bit of fortune earlier in the year and I got some money back that I was owed . With the credits I got I bought my boots, outfit and robe….I just needed a saber. Eventually one became available to purchase that was just too good of a deal to turn down, and it is called the “Flyte” lightsaber from a manufacturer named Ultimate Works. I saw the list of features and the price and had to get one. It came within 1 week of ordering (that’s fast from Hong Kong to the UK) and when it arrived it looked like this…

This saber is a beauty, and has some nifty features. For one it has sound, but it doesn’t just have one set of effects – it has SIX sets of sounds (a set of sounds is known as a Soundfont or Font for short). So this saber can have the hum and clash sounds of Rey’s lightsaber…or the crackle and hisses you hear from Kylo Ren’s! The saber also has the ability to swap those default sounds for new ones you can purchase and download. You then use a USB cable to upload the fonts into the saber like you would transfer files on a computer. The USB cable can also recharge the battery that powers the saber, so no more buying batteries or looking for spare ones! Oh and I mentioned multiple sounds…but I forgot to mention this has multiple blade colours too by having an RGB LED installed. This LED bulb has three smaller LEDs inside, one Red, one Green and one Blue. By programming the electronics I can set how bright each colour is and mix my own colours (a bit like Colour Balance on a TV set.) So this saber can be red or blue as well…

Due to the sensor in my digital camera the blue looks a bit purple and the red looks orange but they are red and blue…oh and not just these three colours…here’s a slideshow of a selection of what’s possible….

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With this technology I can have any combination of lights and sounds to mimic any lightsaber in existance. And even more tech is installed on this beauty. The sounds on some lightsabers you can purchase are very “static” meaning no matter how you swing the blade the noise remains the same, well in this hilt there are sensors that detect which direction and how hard you are swinging and it processes the sounds accordingly. So if you just wiggle the blade it will sound “whum, whum” but if you swing like a baseball player the noise is louder and harsher “WWWHHHUUUM!, WWWWWHHHUUUM!” This saber even flashes different colours when it hits another blade or when you tap the switch it will flash and make the noise of a laser blaster so you can “deflect” enemy fire! It is just unbelievable how good this hilt is and it has earned a place next to my first saber. Here they are next to each other…

Don’t they make a nice pair, hang on! There’s three sabers!

Er, I seem to have miscounted! I see three sabers in this picture…and you would be correct…there is another….light…saber! Yes, not only have I received an Ultimate Works saber but a new company based in the UK has set up selling lightsabers and they too had an impressive offer so I was able to buy a “Mystery Box” saber from them too.

The company is called Padawan Outpost and is based in London so I didn’t have to pay any import tax and the hilt had free UK shipping…and I purchased a Mystery Box saber. I had no idea which hilt I would get or what features it would have, but for £59 ($78) the price again was too good to pass up. I could have received a movie inspired replica (costing £200+) but I was sent a model called the ECO Zeta, and it is sooo cool. It is a base model with the basic electronics installed but it is awesome and looks beautiful….here take a look….

The Zeta comes in a classy rose gold colour and too features SIX fonts (however these fonts aren’t swappable), has a recharge function too and yep, you guessed it it has RGB colour change blade. And to demonstrate my Force powers I took a quick video of the saber to show you it working. I’ll apologise immediately and say that I turned the sounds to muted so I don’t bend any copyright laws and the whirring and clicks you hear are my camera trying to focus!

How about that! I am one with the Force and can control my saber without touching it. Jedi Mastery 😀

Now I am approaching the end of this exciting post but first I need to point out I am in NO WAY AFFILIATED with either Ultimate Works (available via The Pach Store) or connected to Padawan Outpost. I am just a very satisfied customer who is happy with my purchases. As such I am going to leave links to both vendors so you can check them out for yourselves .

Padawan Outpost website features 19 models of hilt in three price/specification tiers and can be found here: https://padawanoutpost.com/

The Pach Store is the online outlet for Ultimate Works and have a range of hilts in three specification tiers and can be found here: https://www.thepachstore.com/collections/custom-sabers

Both companies were swift and efficient, their packaging (outstanding and recyclable) and shipping options were good and I hope to purchase more from either company in future.

I might have to as Mrs Tyeth has taken a liking to the Zeta hilt and has sort of owned it for herself!

Thanks so much for looking in on my new expanded saber collection. I hope you liked the new sabers and don’t worry I will post a full ensemble gallery of me in my robe and costume, using these hilts when I get the belt and pouches I am shopping for. As always your support is fantastic and we have broken the 25,000 views milestone this week, so even bigger thanks. Till next time….

Ultimate Works “Flyte” is a lightaber design built and sold by Ultimate Works via The Pach Store web retail store. The design and Intellectual Property are Trademark/Copyright of Ultimate Works.

The “ECO Zeta Saber” is available via Padawan Outpost and the name “ECO Zeta Saber” is Copyright of Padawan Outpost.

For Tyeth’s First Build – The Update!

Hello again Everybody! Yes this is post number two and it has some exciting news for me. A long time ago in a cave workshop, For Tyeth bought a new lightsaber handle that looked like Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinns’s. Unfortunately, it was just a hollow hilt with no electronics so it didn’t light up or make any “Swoosh!” “Swish!” or any other noise actually…however I intended to install some electronics and make it a fully operational custom hilt! Here is my saber arriving and a picture of the hilt itself…

Yes way back in March 2018 the Stormtrooper brought me a OneReplicas Qui-Gon Jinn replica saber and the next two pictures show how it looked. I love the hilt but as I mention…it was just a display piece. You can read my initial post here https://ftsabersite.wordpress.com/2018/03/16/first-look-at-my-new-hilt/

Fast forward 2 years and I finally had the means and opportunity to start constructing the internal electronics to make this hilt function. I had priced up circuit boards (also known as a soundboard) that produced the light and sound effects in custom sabers but whenever I found one I felt would suit my needs it was either too expensive, hard to purchase (because the vendor operated through Social Media sites not a website) or they sold out. Long story short, the Force and the planets aligned recently and a new soundboard was launched and I finally had some funds to buy one. I also purchased a few other parts needed to complete this project…here is a quick gallery of parts….

The first image shows the circuitboard or Soundboard and this particular one is produced by KR Sabers, a UK based supplier of replica hilts and parts to build your own lightsabers. (I WILL JUST ADD HERE THAT I AM IN NO WAY ASSOCIATED WITH ANY OF THE MANUFACTURERS OR VENDORS MENTIONED IN THIS POST – I AM JUST A CUSTOMER AND AM NOT RECIEVING ANY PAYMENT OR GRATUITY). Now I have cleared up the legal stuff I’ll continue to discuss the items I bought. So the soundboard can store a set of sound effects on a Micro SD memorycard which can be updated when you get bored with the noises. It also controls the lighting and effects of the blade. It does this by sending varying amounts of power to three individual LED diodes (bulbs) which are red, green and royal blue in colour. In a similar way to how a TV mixes colours so too does the soundboard electronics meaning this saber, when installed can have any colour blade I program it to have….it also flashes a bright accent colour when the blade hits another, just like the movies! The second image shows an LED assembly and there are three small dots (in this case two red and one white) that are in fact LED bulbs mounted on a polycarbonate base disc called a Star. The LED shown is a Red/Red/White meaning it would shine red and flash a white colour but mine has three colours so I can program any combination. This is all very good but there is one thing I have to point out…the LED Star assembly is less than 1inch in diameter….less than 25mm so this thing is TINY and I have to solder wiring onto it! Then the saber needs power and unfortunately working Kyber Crystals aren’t available on planet Earth so I had to buy a couple of high power rechargeable batteries called Li-On 18650 cells. All of this and a speaker and the activation switch, have to be installed into a plastic printed chassis/frame then inserted into the hilt….oh and that measures at 1 inch in diameter internally so it s going to be a very, very tight fit!

This is a redacted screenshot of my order form with a few of the other needed parts in the list of bought items – there is a battery charger, the speaker for the sound effects, the LED and a polycarbonate deuling blade. And I have to say I was so impressed with the service and their delivery time. (AGAIN, I AM NOT ENDORSING ANY COMPANY) I ordered this package of parts on Sunday evening (the 20th) and by 9:40 am on Monday morning (the 21st) I had recieved an email with my tracking info saying the parcel had been prepared. I had it on my doorstep on Tuesday afternoon….less than 48hrs after I placed the order,,,phenomenal.

I still have some sundries I need to buy (such as the various lengths/gauges of wiring, soldering supplies like flux and solder itself and a few various other bits) before I actually start building anything but I have come a big step closer to realising my dream of building a “real-life” saber, I will post further updates on my progress and hopefully it won’t take 2 years for the next installment! Thanks for looking in and I hope you cal back to see if I succeed in becoming a fully fledged Jedi Installer. Till next time….

Some images courtesy of KR Sabers via their webstore https://thesaberarmory.com/ Images are Trademark/©Copyright of KR Sabers/The SaberArmory.

For Tyeth/FTSabersite has no affilation/connection to KR Sabers/The Saber Armory, I am just a customer describing my purchase and am recieving no payments or gratuities.

Korbanth Graflex 2.0 installed by DK44 Designs

Hello Everybody, today I am very, very excited as I get to share with you a lightsaber that has been assembled by a good friend of this site DK44. And this lightsaber is a Graflex replica hilt! DK44 bought this hilt as a replica kit from a company named Korbanth and assembled and installed the lights, sounds and blade (plus a little extra something I’ll get to later). What is astounding is that this was DK44’s first full saber build project! He did build a Saberforge Adaptive Saber Parts (ASP) lightsaber but that was fully modular which screwed together fairly easily, with no need to solder wires or cut and shape parts. This saber was built very much the same way as the original lightsaber was way back in 1976 by the special effects artists John Stears, John Mollo and Roger Dunlop . This particular hilt is made to look like the one seen used by Finn and now Rey in The Force Awakens. Here is DK44’s Graflex Lightsaber…

Graflex Hilt

Graflex Emitter

Graflex Emitter 2

Graflex Emitter 3

Graflex Emitter 4

Graflex Switch Box circuit card

Graflex Body and Grips

Graflex Pommel and D-Ring

As you can see this is BEAUTIFUL! Sorry to raise my voice but I love this hilt. The saber is a work of art (although DK44 says he wishes he could have done better!) and has everything that you associate with the Graflex saber. The emitter with the slanted opening and metal collar that extends through the tube to form two tabs, which are affectionately called “Bunny Ears” by fans. The collar and tabs are actually the mechanism that held the flash bulb in place when the handle was used as a photographic flashgun. Just behind these Bunny Ears is the red topped activation button and below that there is the “Glass Eye”. The activation box is really the clamp that attached the flashgun to the side of the camera. But if you slot a carefully shaped piece of circuit board between the two jaws of the clamp it looks like a switch! Next down the hilt is the famous T-Track grips, the black ridged parts that form the distinctive handgrip. And to finish the hilt off there is the Graflex pommel with the D-Ring to hang the saber off your utility belt! Though I doubt this saber will be hanging on a belt it has a very nice custom stand (built by a mutual friend of DK44 and mine called Kouri, who is a whizz with 3D printing and prop making.) But you will have noticed I haven’t mentioned the blade…well I have a SECOND gallery with this beauty activated and in all it’s glory with a very special REVEAL surprise….

Graflex Emitter and Blade Plug

Graflex and blade

Graflex and blade 2

Graflex and Blade holder

Graflex and lit Glass Eye feature

The Special Crystal Reveal!

Graflex lit in daylight

Graflex night time action!

Yes this saber has what is called a Crystal Chamber Reveal, which shows that this saber has a “heart of Kyber”. The electronics allow the crystal to light up and actually pulses and flashes along with the blade. This feature is usually found on expensive higher end replicas but DK44 decided he wanted one in his (and with help from another friend called Vechaljian he was able accomplish the feat). The colour matches the effects seen in the film perfectly thanks to an LED that can mix two colours to make the blue light and has a white bulb that flashes when the saber hits something! I think you’ll agree this is impressive.

I’d like to thank DK44 for sharing this fantastic saber with us on this site, he was gracious enough to provide me with great photos and a full description to help me write this post (did you notice he lined up his photos like the images for my designs? Thanks man!) This shows what is achievable with determination, patience and Talent!

I am now once more approaching the end of ths special post so thanks DK44 and also to you my viewers and followers. Your support is much appreciated and I hope you will return to see future posts featuring more designs from myself and my friends…and who knows there may be more “real life replica hilts” to come! Till next time.

DK44 Designs is © Copyright of DK44 and is used here with permission. Graflex is a Trademark of Folmer Graflex Photographic Co. of New York. All Star Wars/The Force Awakens names, logos, images and other related material are Trademark/© Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm.