“Speedster – Flame” a proper Hot-Rod Speeder!

Hello Everybody and welcome to today’s offering and this time it is scorching hot! Well, it is painted in a hot colour scheme…. You may recall I have designed a new Speeder-bike style vehicle based on the BARC Speeder-Bikes and I have shown you a few variants in different colour schemes and model types (the double sidecar for example). Today I felt that I wanted to show off a true “Hot-Rod” styled Speedster with a flaming paint job. I know that George Lucas (remember him? The guy that created Star Wars…before Disney?) had a love of custom cars and hot-rods and so I decided on this version in tribute. Lucas’ first major film was a movie titled “American Graffiti” and it featured a (very) young Harrison Ford and a certain Ron Howard. It was a “coming of age” comedy-drama centred around the culture of “Cruising” and Rock ‘n’ Roll which were popular within Lucas’ generation. It was also produced whilst Lucas was working on his other sci-fi movie “THX-1138”. Anyhoo, I have babbled on about the background and need to showcase the new Speedster, here is Gallery One…..

This Speedster comes in a classic black, trimmed with red and features a neat flame pattern on the Cameo pendent shaped upper fuselage panel and the two outrigger wing plates. I was able to colour match the flame textures to the material I used in Blender on the model textures so they are almost seamless. Whilst I was rendering the images however I discovered I had made a mistake and had created some pictures of an earlier version which has the flames going vertically up on the panels BUT on one or two images I had made a modification which I forgot and placed the flames horizontal. I didn’t want to have to re-render the images so we will have to pretend and imagine the flames aren’t painted but are really pixelated display panels (like you see in window displays and at sports stadiums, you know Diamond Screens)….and the flames react and move in sync with the Speedster’s moves. For example as the Speedster takes off….

Whilst the Speedster is resting on the ground the flames go vertical but as it lifts up and starts to move forward the flames rotate and display horizontally as if blown by the rush of wind! OK? We don’t make mistakes here…we just have (Bob Ross the artist’s) Happy Accidents! Besides I think the streaking flames look good. I hope you do to as I’m afraid this post has to be a short one again and I will have to end soon. Once more I need to re-assure you that I still have much more to come in future posts including the Puss in Boots darkside inspired version, a repaint of a TIE-Defender, another Marvel movie Katana…and a saber based on a very famous landmark building found somewhere on Earth!

And now I have to say my usual big thanks to everyone for sticking by me and FTSabersite through this unpredictable period I have been going through. I’ve not been 100% certain as to whether I was coming or going as I have been so busy, but I still managed to post. As Yoda said, “Do…or do not, there is no try!” So thank you for the support and whether you are a regular visitor/friend or are new to FTSabersite, you are all appreciated! Till next time…..

“Speedster – Flame” is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the Speeder-Bike BARC vehicles seen in Star Wars The Clone Wars. The design, nodels and renderings were produced by For Tyeth in Blender 3D and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2023. “Speeder-Bike BARC” and all other names, logos, images and Star Wars related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm Ltd.

“Tobi Saber” – for the cybernetic boy Jedi

Hello Everybody, today we venture back into the Star Wars Visions universe and take a look at the story of a cybernetic boy scientist who dreams of being a Jedi Knight. This droid is named To-Bi and he works with his creator and father figure Mitaka on a project to “terraform” planets. During the pairs’ experimentations To-Bi makes it known he wants to be a Jedi and also asks what is in the basement of their home. Mitaka tells To-Bi that to become a Jedi he needs to find a Kyber Crystal and construct a lightsaber, which To-Bi starts to search for. He wanted to look in the basement but was forbidden to go down there. .. but he decides to disobey and he sneaks downstairs. Upon venturing into the forbidden room To-Bi discovers an inoperative shuttlecraft which he then begins playing in and pretending he is a Jedi on a mission. Unfortunately the radios are functional and he transmits a message which is overheard by dark forces…namely a Sith Inquisitor. Inquisitors were used to hunt down the remaining Jedi after Order 66 wiped most of them out. Even worse though, the Inquisitor traces the transmission and shows up at the scientists’ home world.

Upon learning that an Inquisitor has arrived Mitaka confides to To-Bi that he was once a Jedi but as he was injured so couldn’t continue (Mitaka had lost both his arms). Mitaka hides To-Bi in a secret hideaway along with his broken lightsaber hilt. There is a bit of a commotion and when To-Bi finally emerges from his hiding place a terrible realisation happens….the laboratory has been ransacked and ….Mitaka has been killed. I think I have talked enough about the story so I had best show you the first gallery of “Tobi Saber”….

This is a rebuild of Mitaka’s hilt which To-Bi takes into hiding with. In the cartoon we don’t get to see really clear images of it as the action is frantic so I had to make some decisions and use artist license as to how it looks but I think it worked. This saber has clean lines with a pair of shroud plates on the emitter which kind of follows the aesthetic of Cal Kestis’ lightsaber from the “Jedi Fallen Order” computer game. Back to the story and To-Bi continues his creator’s work and during this endeavour he discovers a truth…To-Bi is himself powered with a Kyber Crystal! To-Bi manages to repair the hilt but all this renewed activity is sensed by the Inquisitor who returns. Now I had best show you Gallery Two with a few close ups…

Yes! To-Bi was a Kyber Crystal powered droid and it turns out the Inquisitor detected that and tracked back to confront the new source of possible Jedi. Then there was….well I don’t want to spoil the ending so I’ll end here. Sorry folks but I was going to have to end soon as my posts have been cut short recently for security reasons surrounding my on Jedi Mission. Hopefully you will have still enjoyed my posts. And as a treat here is a quick image of To-Bi as he prepares to face the Inquisitor…

I think he looks kinda heroic, let’s just hope that he is successful and defeats the Inquisitor. Check out Star Wars Visions to find out if you haven’t seen it already. And just some quick news, it seems that a second series of Visions is coming to screens very soon (or by the time this post publishes it may be out already!). I am all over the place at the minute and things are disorganised but please hang in there and call back next week as I do have another new design to showcase….a flaming hot Speedster!

But for now I will have to bring this post to a close, thanks as ever for checking in today and having a look. Whether you are a regular viewer or a newcomer it means a lot that you have supported me and FTSabersite. If you have enjoyed today’s offering please comment, maybe leave a like and if you’re not subscribed then consider signing up to get notifications of my latest posts! Stay safe and….Till next time….

“Tobi Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the character of “T0-Bi” from Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars Visions anime series. The design, models and renders were created by For Tyeth/FTSabersite and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2023. “T0-BI” and Star Wars Visions, along with all other names, logos images and related material are Trade,ark/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm Ltd.

TIE Defender Elite “Skerris” – a recreation of the Galactic Empire’s new TIE Fighter

Hello Everybody and welcome to today’s post and before we go any further I need to say fasten your seatbelts! This weeks post we venture back to my “Shipyards” division as I showcase my attempt at building a new TIE Fighter design. The TIE version in question first appeared in the animated Star Wars Rebels show during an episode titled “Flight of the Defender”.

TIE Defender Elite on the left. ©Disney/Lucasfilm

The fighter was a new design developed by Grand Admiral Thrawn, the Chiss military genius (you can read about him in this post: https://ftsabersite.wordpress.com/2021/04/24/tactician-v2-strikeback-thrawns-second-saber/) and was far superior to regular TIE-Fighters and Interceptors. The Defender had shields for a start which other TIEs didn’t posses and the new ship was fast because it had a Hyoerdrive unit built in so didn’t need boosters or Star Destroyers to transport them. But while I watched the cartoon I noticed that the Defender was good but to me looked a bit too slender so I decided to redesign and make some tweaks. This is the result of my efforts the TIE Defender Elite “Skerris”..

My redesign is slightly more bulky around the wing supports but I think the ship still has a sleek aggressive look. The distinctive wings each have two laser cannons plus two laser guided missiles between each wing plate. The plates also have carbon fibre-like solar panel texturing giving it the classic TIE Fighter checkerboard pattern to it’s wings. The fuselage is much closer to an original TIE but with an extended larger rear section. The Defender in the cartoon seemed too small at the back to be able to house the shield generator, Hyperdrive AND it didn’t have the Twin Ion Engines that give a TIE fighter it’s name. So my larger fuselage allowed me to add the Twin Engines (so technically this is a Tri Ion Engined ship!) Here is a picture of the Disney version again showing the rear and how small it is…

This rear fuselage seems too small to accommodate it’s tech. ©Disney/Lucasfilm

And now here is Gallery Two showcasing some up close details…

Hopefully these pics will give you a good idea of the shape and build of my version – I think it retains the sleek aggressive shape but looks more solidly built. In the last image you can see the lower two “exhaust ports” for the Twin Ion powerplants but you can clearly see the extra central exhaust and slotted vents arranged around it. These extra ports work like the Vectored Thrust nozzles on modern fighter jets like the American F22, F-35 and Russia’s Sukhoi SU-30 and 35 planes. This starfighter is also very agile as a result.

I named my fighter the “Skerris” variant after the Galactic Empire’s Ace pilot, Vult Skerris. Skerris was an instructor at the Empire’s SkyStrike Academy where the “topguns” of the galaxy trained. After working on developing the Defender Skerris was given the command of Defender Squadron One leading a mission to apprehend Senator Mon Mothma.

These last two images show the Defender out and about both in deep space and in the hangar of the Star Destroyer I designed a year or two back. I’m pleased how my tweaks on this ship turned out and feel the ship would be formidable against the Rebels. Luckily the Empire don’t own any of my variants!

And with that I must end this post, again I can’t divulge too much about my current situation but I hope you will call back next week to see a modification to my Puss in Boots themed saber. Thanks so much for visiting today and supporting myself and my site, all of the interactions motivate me and keeps me designing. Till next time….

“TIE Defender Elite Skerris” is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the TIE Defender seen in Disney/Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars Rebels”. The 3D model and mods were modelled in Blender 3D by For Tyeth/FTSabersite and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2023. The “TIE Fighter” and all it’s variants are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm (as are all names, logos, images and related material).

“Data Viewpad” with some secret plans!

Hello Everybody and welcome to this week’s post. Can you believe we are already at the end of January? Well after the excitement of seeing Shredder from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles last week we return to the Star Wars universe for a new non saber prop build. As you know I might be carrying out a “Jedi Mission” as we speak (or am I?…Hm?) and I realised I needed a device of some sort to store my travel documents and mission briefing files on. I wanted something portable and secure and it was whilst watching an episode of The Clone Wars cartoon that I saw what I needed….a Data Viewpad!

Detective Tan Divo with a police issue Data Viewpad

The Data Viewpad was in an episode telling the story of a murder in the Senate which was investigated by Coruscant Detective Tan Divo. He was a sort of cross between Peter Lorrrreee and  Lieutenant Columbo. Now these devices are much like tablet computers found on Earth but these compact computers have many more uses and larger data storage capacity. But where to get one from? I had to look online for an Intergalactic Refurbishment Store. I checked what stock they had and found a reasonably priced Viewpad with one previous owner, so I bought it! This is what it looked like….

Unfortunately as you can see this Viewpad didn’t seem to have been wiped before I purchased it! What’s that on the display? Is it the plans for the….No it can’t be, can it? Only kidding this is actually the 3D model I made of a Viewpad, complete with screen and multiple control knobs plus a Trackball mouse controller. The device has two cylindrical handgrips, one either side that also incorporates the memory modules and can be removed and fitted with larger data storage capacity drives. The viewer also has a Data-Term connector on the top edge, similar to a Ribbon cable to connect this to any computer terminal to access it. This is a seriously powerful piece of equipment! Ok, I just have time to show you a few more pictures, so onto Gallery Two….

As I mentioned before this Viewpad has many functions apart from just storing and viewing data files. You can use it as a Comms device that sends/receives voice and data such as the Death Star plans… or it can be an entertainment media player so you can travel and watch your favourite Star Wars content over the Galactic Communication Grid (bit like the internet). The last picture shows a scene from last week’s episode of “The Bad Batch” and shows Tech using a similar Viewpad to analyse data from a Podrace to help him try and win a race.

Tech with a Viewpad (© Disney/LucasFilm)

So, as you can see this is a very trick piece of kit! I might even see if I can use Blender 3D on it….you never know it might work! Unfortunately what I can’t get this device to do is give me more time to type up longer posts! Yes as you might guess I am running short of time but before I go I’d like to give you an update on what I have in store for future posts. I have more Star Wars inspired builds including FOUR new starships, …there are new sabers too (one of which I designed for myself and a second that will pay tribute to the secret location of my mission). There are even some cartoon and animated movie tie-ins all coming very soon.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and my Data Viewpad , it was a fun build. I also want to say thank you for visiting today and giving me your support. Whether a first time viewer or regular visitor to FTSabersite you all motivate me to keep creating and it means a lot. Now I have to say bye and disappear so I can continue my Jedi duties…..Till next time…….

“Data Viewpad” is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the portable datapads seen in the Star Wars franchise movies and cartoons. The original 3D model and renders were created in Blender 3D by For Tyeth/FTSabersite and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2023. “Star Wars”, “The Bad Batch”, “The Clone Wars” and all other names, logos, images and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm.

“Speedster – Ronin” Edition – Inspired by Star Wars Visions

Hello Everybody and welcome to today’s post. I have another of my BARC Speederbike inspired models today and this time it has some custom artwork on it! I watched the Star Wars anime inspired show “Visions” and one of the best episodes was titled “Ronin” which centered around a lone, mysterious warrior with a red bladed katana lightsaber. He travelled the lands and stopped off at a village to have repairs done to his droid. However, the remnants of the evil Empire (?) arrived and attacked the village whilst demanding “rent monies”. The locals resisted and a skirmish broke out forcing the lone warrior to step in and defend the locals. That warrior was Ronin, for whom I recreated his saber in a previous post (you can view that post using this link: https://ftsabersite.wordpress.com/2022/10/22/ronin-katana-inspired-by-the-traveller-warrior-in-star-wars-visions/). Ronin was a mix of a traditional Japanese Samurai and a Jedi but with a dark Sith looking set of robes (so we don’t truly know his status, either light side or dark side following). Ronin was very iconic and popular, featuring on the advert posters.

Ronin is the dark character at the bottom of this image and I thought he would feature higher up and more prominently. So I decided I would “promote” him and feature him on a Speedster…so here is the first of a set of custom speeder-bikes, this is Speedster-Ronin….

I had recently seen some examples of “Cameo” styled jewellery pendants that feature an oval panel with a carving of a facial portrait in the middle. I realised that those “Cameos” were a similar shape to some of the panels on my Speedster so I wondered, “Could I add Ronin’s image onto my bike on those elliptical parts?”. The answer was yes and I found Ronin’s image on the poster and felt that might look good applied as a custom hotrod style paint-job. The process involved selecting the areas I wanted to paint and creating a “secondary material” which was the poster image that I could position on top of the selected areas and paste the image on. Early on in my 3D modelling efforts I did use this technique to add logos and details (such as nameplates on my Knight Rider and Red Dwarf inspired sabers) but I never thought about using the trick to create hot-rod style decoration like this. I think it worked well. Anyhoo, too much chat…here is Gallery Two…..

I reckon this looks like a suitable mean machine street cruiser, and certainly has presence (I know I can sense it’s presence!). Jokes aside though I am afraid I will have to end this post shortly as life in Tyeth Towers is getting very busy as preparations for my “mission” intensifies…I am in the process of compiling TWELVE weeks of articles because I have no idea when I am going to be called into action or for how long….I have to be prepared for action. So that means I have more Speedster variants in the works, some “classical Rapiers with Claws”, oh yes and some more Katanas with claws…more Visions hilts, some original designs, more props….I think you get the message – I still have tons of projects to show to you! So I hope you will all call back to FTSabersite to check all of this out in future posts. (And I haven’t even listed everything…plus I am watching the new season of The Bad Batch so that might inspire me too!)

So for now I will have to end here but thank you all for checking out this Speedster design and for all the support you show me. Whether you are a new reader/viewer or one of my regular friends of this site all the comments and likes mean a lot to me. If you like what you see maybe you could subscribe if you aren’t already and tell your friends about FTSabersite. Thanks again, Till next time……

“Speedster – Ronin” is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the BARC Speeder-bikes seen in Star Wars movies and cartoons. The “Speedster” design was created , built and rendered by For Tyeth in Blender 3D and all models/images are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2023. “Star Wars”, “Visons” and all other names, logos, images and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm Ltd

“Zhima’s Fifth Saber” Inspired by Star Wars Visions The Ninth Jedi

Hello Everybody, well today we are rapidly nearing the festive season so I had best deliver this final saber design before I take my Christmas break. Today I have another saber inspired by the animated show Star Wars Visions and the episode “The Ninth Jedi” which tells of a reclusive Jedi Master’s attempt to rebuild the Jedi Order after many decades of decline. This Master named Juro, enlists the help of a lightsaber smith to construct a batch of sabers for a new group of Force Sensitive individuals that could bring the Jedi back. There were seven potential Jedi who received a cryptic message to invite them to a Jedi Temple floating in space to collect a saber (if they are worthy). The sabersmith was called Lah Zhima but unfortunately Sith Jedi Hunters discovered his activities and tried to stop him delivering the weapons to the Temple. Zhima was taken captive but his daughter, Kara, escaped with the sabers and she battled to get to the clandestine meeting place with eight lightsabers. They looked like this….

These hilts were designed and built to reflect the personality of the wielder that brandished it so, the Kyber Crystal would “tune in” to the person and cause the blade to take a particular colour based on the person’s character. The potential Jedi were aboard the floating Temple and when Kara arrived they each chose a hilt while they awaited the appearance of Master Juro, who was late turning up. And speaking of late, I won’t keep you waiting any longer, here is my latest offering, “Zhima’s Fifth”….

As you may be able to tell this is an attempt to model the saber seen in the middle of the line up of sabers seen in the screen capture image above. I chose this hilt as it was the one in full view so was easier t replicate. It isn’t 100% the same but about 90%. I managed to recreate the bell shaped emitter with the twin fins and embedded brushed gold activation button. The saber has a traditional Tsuka Ito style wrapped handgrip which is finished off with a brushed gold hexagonal pommel block. I think my recreation is identifiable, which is more can be said for the potential Jedi!

Back to the story, the recruits were waiting for Master Juro to appear and while they stood around they picked their sabers and it was then that they ignited the weapons…..and a startling event occurred. It was expected that each saber would have either a blue, green or maybe yellow or purple coloured blade befitting a Jedi knight BUT THESE LIT UP RED! The Kyber Crystals in each hilt detected that the recruits were actually SITH darksiders not lightside Jedi! Kara and Master Juro’s protocol droid were out numbered….but then the droid transformed and it’s bodyshell opened to reveal Master Juro was sat inside! He had been watching events from inside the droid as he suspected that the Sith had learnt of his plans and would try to stop him…he was correct. Now before I carry on I had best show you the second gallery with the detail shots….

This saber has a nice blue Jedi coloured blade because I modelled it but the collection of hilts constructed by Zhima were definitely red. So Master Juro and Kara had to battle the seven recruits and after a…. wait I can’t reveal what happened just in case you haven’t seen the episode yet (you should check it out if you haven’t seen the Visions series). And that just about brings this post to a close but first I have a few things to let you know about.

First I have been busy “flying” again in the online simulator I discovered recently and I decided to pay a “Virtual Visit” to a blogging friend of mine and I took a screenshot so if you recognise the location I might have “visited” you! Here is my snapshot….

And as I mentioned at the start of this post we are approaching Christmas (if you observe the holiday) and as such I will be taking a break next week as it is Christmas and I’m getting older (literally as my regular viewer/readers will know my Level Up day happened this week – I’m nearly 900 years old now!) However, I will be busy and I’m putting my end of year extravaganza post together and it has been a busy year! I hope you all have a happy peaceful holiday season however you celebrate /enjoy the time. I might have time to post my annual Ecard.

I have to finish now but thank you for looking in on today’s post and for all the support you have given me, it’s much appreciated. Please stay tuned to this site as there is still so much more I have to post yet, including sabers, speeders, props and other SW related stuff into the new year. Till my New Year Extravaganza….happy holidays ….see you next time!

“Zhima’s Fifth Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the hilt seen in the Star Wars Visions episode “The Ninth Jedi”. The model and renders were created in Blender 3D by me, For Tyeth and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2022. Star Wars Visions and all related names,logos, images and other material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm ltd.

“Binary Twin Speedster” – Speederbike and sidecar combo.

Hello Everybody and welcome back! Today I’m afraid we have to go back to the cold climes of Hoth as I revisit my Speedster speederbike design and bring to you my updated sidecar combo version! You may recall a few weeks/months back I teased you all with a couple of “silhouette” images of an upcoming design, well today I unveil that new speedster but first here are those two images…

The outlines kinda hinted at some sort of dual passenger type of vehicle and hopefully you guessed what the shapes were. I was in the process of “painting” up the sidecar combo and programming it’s software (as you’ll see in a picture later!). So you have seen the single seater speedster and have waited long enough…here is Binary Twin Speedster….

The rationale for this design stems from the fact that on planets with hostile environments it is better to have a “Co-Pilot” to oversee the navigation and monitoring of a vehicle’s systems whilst the “Pilot In Command” steers and controls the speedster (or aeroplane or Starfighter) so I came up with a speeder that carried two personnel. This also means that it has twice the power and storage for carrying equipment with two chassis connected together. In a small way I was inspired by the Bespin Twin Cloud Car vehicles from Empire Strikes Back – those little orange double bubble flying cars. My Binary Twin Speedster however is firmly a ground based vehicle as you have seen. Now I think it’s time for a second gallery of pics showing a few details….

As this Speedster is deployed to the planet Hoth it needs a Co-Pilot to navigate the barren white wilderness of the snow plains. To do this it is equipped with a sidecar fitted with an advanced sensor array and “Virtual Imaging” technology that scans and recreates a virtual 3D image of it’s surroundings that can be overlaid onto the viewscreen. Even if there is a blizzard and you have zero visibility using just your own eyes, you can still see using the all weather sensor scopes. The navigation is linked to systems on board either a Star Destroyer or cruiser, and location data is sent back and forth much like GPS global positioning systems here on Earth. The speeder’s systems are controlled using buttons embedded into the handgrips either side of the screen (these handles are also useful for holding onto the bike so you don’t fall off!) The last two pictures show the bike’s system screen and the transparent “Head Up Display” matrix I used as the overlay.

Now I think this post has been quite cold so how about I warm it up a little and give you an update on my recent adventure back into Flight Simulating? Well, I left you last week flying over the crater of Mauna Loa and a cockpit eye view. In the past week I flew back to the main island of Oahu and landed at Honolulu International Airport from where I unloaded my “passengers” then took off again and flew around the coastline of the island!

The first image is the aircraft flying away from the volcano on Kona Island whilst the second shows me as I approach touchdown at Honolulu after navigating round the island of Hawaii. And yes I flew over some locations seen in Magnum PI but more importantly I was able to pay my virtual respects to the men and women who lost their lives way back on 7th December 1941 at Pearl Harbour (situated to the west of Honolulu – you fly over the harbour if you land on the runway I used). Having done that I switched to another plane and location and carried out a “Mock Mission” in preparation for next year…..(?)

Thank you so much for checking this double design out today but I’m afraid I have to leave you now on that cryptic cliffhanger ending. If you’d like to see more lightsaber designs and Star Wars 3D modelling then please call back for future posts. Also feel free to comment, leave a like if I deserve one and maybe subscribe if you aren’t already, then you won’t miss a thing on FTSabersite. All your support is much appreciated and keeps me going so …..Till Next Time…….

“Binary Twin Speedster” is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the BARC Recon Speederbikes seen in Star Wars – Return of the Jedi and Rebels. The 3D model and renders were created by For Tyeth/FTSabersite and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2022. “Star Wars: Rebels”, “Return of the Jedi” and all names, logos, images and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm Ltd.

“The Twin Saber” – Inspired by Kare from Star Wars Visions episode “The Twins”

Hello Everybody, today we visit the Anime adventures set in the Star Wars universe and the “Visions” animated series. This time I focus on the episode titled “The Twins” which revolves around a brother and sister who were conceived by a group of Darkside/Sith Acolytes with the intention that the pair gain control of the galaxy using a super weapon. That super weapon is a massive double hulled Star Destroyer that carries an even bigger hyper cannon between the ship’s two fuselages…and that cannon is powered by a Kyber Crystal. The episode begins with Master An, the sister, making final preparations before using the super cannon and she talks with her protocol droid, explaining how she and her brother were created to carry out the mission to dominate the galaxy. The droid is concerned about An’s safety as the armour that she wears is powered by Sith energy and it seems it is consuming her beyond what was intended. An however dismisses the droid’s concerns and ploughs on with the plan. BUT…just as the weapon was about to fully charge…the Kyber Crystal is stolen – and only two people had physical access to the crystal….Master An and her brother, Kare.

It turns out that Kare, who was also created by Sith alchemy isn’t as corrupted by the Darkside as his sister is and he feels a twinge of consciousness that compels him to stop his sister before it is too late. This leads to an inevitable clash between the two siblings. Kare manages to partially escape with the crystal in his X-Wing but his sister uses the Force to pull his spaceship back to the super destroyer. A battle of wits and lightsabers ensues as Kare tries to convince An to “do the right thing”. Anyhoo…too much talking you need to see some pictures and I was able to screengrab these pics as reference…

The saber is quite distinctive and has a “Darth Vader-esque” appearance but has a blue blade – unusual for a Sith. The hilt also has a large unique black emitter shroud and large red activation switch and belt hanger loop. These images are from the animated show, so shall we see how close I got to modelling this lightsaber? OK here you are, Gallery One of The Twin…

Considering I only had two good reference images to work from, I came pretty close to replicating Kare’s lightsaber! And I am really happy how this turned out as I think I got most of the details. The emitter has a neat detail with a strip of light that edges the shroud matching the blade. During the battle the Kyber Crystal is destroyed but An is still intent on domination and resorts to using her battle armours’ full power to harness the Darkside. Kare needs to stop her but how? Well he realises that he can use a shard of the Kyber Crystal in his saber to supercharge it. Which he does. Now here is Gallery Two showing a few closeups and the main feature of this hilt…

I managed to model the very unusually shaped emitter, I added a few bits of exposed wiring, I even fitted the belt hanger loop….but again the star of this hilt is the Crystal Chamber. This time the chamber is located under the hinged activation switch box, which can swivel open to expose the chamber housing and cradle. This saber has a piece of the blue Kyber that was destroyed…but it still had a bit of power in it. Was it still powerful enough to defeat Master An and her Master Plan? You’ll have to watch the show if you haven’t already!

All I can say is that Kare came up with a very “out of the box” solution to his predicament. I hope you enjoyed this offering because I really had fun building this one. My designs/models are getting to the point that they are looking more real than ever which I am proud of. Anyhoo, I still have much more to offer and show you all, so I hope you’ll all return to see that in future posts. Till then thank you so much for your visit today and the continued support I receive – it is awesome and keeps me designing and posting. Till next time….

“The Twin Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design based on the hilt seen in Star Wars Visions episode “The Twins”. It was modelled and rendered in Blender 3D by For Tyeth/FTSabersite. All models and renders are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2022. “Star Wars Visions”, “Master An and Master Kare” and all other names, logos, images and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm ltd.

“Mando Super Commando Saber” – Inspired by Maul’s Mando Mercs

Hello Everybody, I have been extremely busy this past week both with designing and with making preparations for a BIG secret mission for me next year that requires a lot of planning so I am a little tired but I do have a nice saber to show you today. The saber is another of my “Trooper Phase Two” themed hilts but one with a twist. It is inspired by the group of soldiers from the planet Mandalore known as “Death Watch”. This group were a fierce bunch that caused trouble during the latter stages of the Clone Wars and was led by a man named Pre Vizla. Pre Vizsla was a member of Clan Vizsla, a once highly respected family but which became more mercenary during a civil war on Mandalor.e This turmoil eventually led to the group being taken over by Darth Maul (who had survived the encounter with Qui-Gon Jinn and had formed his own crime syndicate called the Shadow Collective). The Death Watch soldiers were similar in appearance to Jango Fett, Boba Fett and the Mandalorian Din Djarin (from the Disney+ show) however when Maul became their leader they changed their colours, literally. Here is how they looked:

The Death Watch painted their armour to match the colours of Darth Maul’s famous tribal tattoo pattern, red and black. Some members also added horn decorations to their helmets in Maul’s image. Ok, I have chatted enough, you want to see the saber I’m betting so here is Gallery One….

As you can see this is the saber I built for Clone Commander Cody which I showed you a few weeks ago but this saber has a much more aggressive red and black theme. You may have also noticed that the emitter has some appendages attached now in the shape of a set of horns! These are to mimic the horns of Maul and the ones found on the Super Commando helmets. The horns make the emitter look so much more different that I’m going to include a gallery just for the emitter, here it is…..

In the first picture you can see the emitter blade matrix where the plasma blade originates from, whilst the other pics give various angles of the “helmet” design of the emitter. The final image is one of the Super Commando’s helmets for comparison. However, I didn’t just add the horns to look pretty, I intended that these acted as controls for the saber to adjust power levels, blade length and the middle horn is a release lever/catch to open the saber’s body to reveal this….

Yes, this saber also has a crystal chamber! And I have modified the chamber from my previous version – if you look very closely you can see that the crystal is made from the same transparent material I used on the “Margrave Saber” display case lid. The material holds a glowing inner lozenge shaped crystal. The chamber has added gold accents on the silver barrels.

Back in the Star Wars storyline, the Super Commandoes broke free from Maul’s leadership when Sabine Wren and Bo Katarn returned to Mandalore and wrested the leadership position away from Maul and Vizsla. Sabine and Bo worked together to help re-unite the Mandalore people and Bo eventually adopted the mantle of the ruler of Mandalore. (You can see more about Sabine Wren here: https://ftsabersite.wordpress.com/2020/08/22/the-artisan-staff-inspired-by-sabine-wren/)

Now I think that just about wraps this “Commando Trooper” saber up. I hope you liked the theme and it’s backstory inspiration. As I mention I am very busy planning my mission but fear not as luckily I still have quite a bit of material ready to post over the next few weeks/months. This includes more sabers, non saber prop objects, some custom painted vehicles and I am working on my end of year review too! So I hope you’ll return to check all that out. In the meantime, I need to thank you all for visiting today and supporting me – as always it’s much appreciated whether this is your first visit or if you are a regular viewer/reader. Please feel free to have a look around my site and if you’d like to leave a comment, like a post or two, or even subscribe to get notifications of new posts that would be great and helps a lot. Till next time……

“Mando Super Commando Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and was modelled and rendered in Blender 3D by For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2022. The 3D model and renders are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2022. “Star Wars”, “Mandalorian Super Commandos” and all other names, logos and related materials are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm Ltd.

“Margrave Saber” – Inspired by Star Wars Visions episode “The Ninth Jedi”

Hello Everybody and welcome back to the warmth of Tyeth Towers as I bring you a new saber design from the world of Star Wars “Visions”. “Visions” is a series of animated short stories produced by famous Anime and Manga studios. The cartoons have a very Japanese style to them and the fifth episode titled “The Ninth Jedi” centres around an individual named Margrave Juro who attempts to reform the Jedi Order many decades after it disbanded. However as always darkness lurked and the followers of the Sith had other plans. Margrave Juro was mining the Outer Rim territory planets for Kyber Crystals and he enlisted the services of a Sabersmith named Lah Zhima to build the lightsabers to put the crystals in. The Margrave then sent out a coded message to potential “lost Jedi” inviting them to meet up at a floating Jedi Temple to receive a gift of a lightsaber ready for them to restart the Jedi Order. And to reassure the recruits, the Margrave had a lightsaber ready which he gave to a Padawan named Ethan. The saber looked like this…..

This saber was crafted by Lah Zhima but the remainder of the hilts weren’t ready yet and before he could deliver them, he was taken captive by agents of the Sith Order. Zhima’s daughter however escaped with the hilts and attempted to finish her father’s mission. The daughter named Kara was Force sensitive but wasn’t fully attuned or trained to use it. Despite this she manages to escape the Sith spies and travel to the floating temple meeting place where the Jedi were waiting for the Margrave and the sabers to arrive. So I had best show you Gallery One of the saber I remodelled in Blender so you can see how close I got to replicating this beauty…I named my version “Margrave”….

As you can see I attempted to recreate this regal looking hilt as closely as I could, but with out using pasted on graphics for the details. All of the gold filigree markings, banding and logos are physically modelled in 3D which makes this saber more intricate than it looks. I had to divide the handgrip’s cylinder to create panels which I could re-arrange and colour gold to create the patterns. The Jedi logo is another “extruded” piece which I modelled then “wrapped” around the hilt.

Back to the story and Kara….she arrives at the meeting place where the 7 other Jedi were waiting but when they are handed “their” sabers to test, when ignited all the blades lit up SITH RED! The Padawans were really Sith agents in disguise…there to wipe out the Margrave and any true Jedi that turned up. It was now that the Margrave made his entrance – and unbelievably he had been present all along hidden, disguised as a droid! The Margrave, Kara and the true Padawan Ethan battled the Sith spies. So before I spoil anything I best show you Gallery Two of my tribute saber….

From the images I was able to pick out from the show I couldn’t see an activation switch on this hilt, or see what was located in the emitter or pommel openings so I created a “dartboard-like” shaped object that I used to form both an illuminated switch as well as an insert for the emitter and pommel! I think the design pattern works with the hilt. And I almost forgot…in the image above taken from the show you can see that the first lightsaber built was presented in a display box sooo I felt I should build a case for my version…Gallery Three….

This display case is slightly different than the box used in the show as I wanted to try something out. For a while I have struggled with Blender to create transparent or glass objects that show up in my pictures (due to how Blender formats rendered images). I could model the glass but it was either completely clear so you couldn’t see it or was “blanked out” with a solid colour and not see through at all. But this time I found the correct setting and this display case has a removable glass lid!

Ok back to the Ninth Jedi and the story….Kara begins to become attuned to the Force and her lightsaber begins to change colour to reflect her connection to the mystic power. But I can’t tell you any more about what happens in case you haven’t seen it yet! I can say there are more lightsabers in this particular episode which I have worked on so you will see those (and some more from other episodes) in future posts. Star Wars Visions has been a good series and if you haven’t seen it, I recommend you search it out!

This brings me to the end of this “Visions” post – and thank you so much for checking it out, I hope you liked it. As I mention above I still have more hilts from this series to show you all, plus I have more Star Wars inspired Speedsters and vehicles for future posts so I hope you’ll return to FTSabersite to check them all out. For now, thanks again for your support, all the comments and likes keep me inspired and are appreciated. Till next time….

“Margrave Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions saber inspired by the lightsaber seen in Star Wars Visions “The Ninth Jedi” episode. The 3D model and renders were created by For Tyeth/FTSabersite in Blender 3D and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2022. “Star Wars Visions” and all it’s names, images, logos and related content are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm Ltd.