Babu Frik’s Torch Saber – Babu’s welding Lightsaber

Hello Everybody, today I am very busy dealing with parcels arriving and departing, new sabers, editing a new video….but with all that going on I still managed to design a new saber for my new friend Babu Frik! Today I will share that with you all. You will recall a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be named the winner of a giveaway draw held by Darth Rage on YouTube….well I won a Babu Frick talking plush toy. There was only one problem, Babu likes to tinker with droids and machinery and…I discovered he likes messing with sabers too.

He was eyeing up my collection so I had to do something to stop him wanting to mess with my sabers so I designed a hilt for him. You might just be able to see something orange protruding from the box Babu is sat in – that is his welding torch/soldering gun he uses to do electronic work on droids.

Babu’s Welding Torch/Soldering Gun

I saw this and had a “Light Bulb” moment…that would make a neat curved lightsaber handle! And if I combined the functions of a saber with the functions of his tool he’d have an awesome lightsaber – and might leave mine alone. OK, so I had best show you what I came up with, here is Babu Frik’s Torch Saber…

This is a lightsaber Multitool! It features welding and soldering functions combined with a lightsaber blade all in a nice curved handgrip…it is in his colour scheme and I even added his name on it (he’s so possessive of his tools and toys I thought it best to put his name on it so nobody tries claiming it!)

Onto the features of the hilt, I had to reshape the nozzle slightly to accommodate a blade socket but hopefully it doesn’t change the shape/profile of the saber too much. Next is the copper/orange powder coated banding I added – Babu likes browns and orange and I thought orange would pop on this hilt. His name is embossed onto each side of the emitter and leads down to a nice curved section that really identifies this as Babu’s tool. Below the curved neck, there is the trigger activation switch and in the next pictures you can see I even added hex head topped screws to hold the trigger in place!

These pictures just show a few of the detailing elements I added (as the actual toy part is just a smooth part with no real details except the tip is orange). As mentioned you can see the screws holding the trigger on, then the colour banding on the emitter to identify this as Babu’s property. The last two images show the pommel and the “Control Matrix” – a series of small black buttons that control all the functions of this multitool saber. I really hope Babu likes this saber and leaves mine alone in future!

I am nearing the end of this post but I do have news, some good and some unfortunate. The unfortunate news is that one of my real life replicas has had an issue and needs repair but the good news is that it is en route to be given some TLC and hopefully I’ll have a fully functioning saber again when it is returned (and boy, was organising a courier to transport it a pain!). In even better news though I have received the parcel I mentioned I was waiting for last week and I have a FIFTH saber to add to my collection….all thanks to a YouTube creator named Lord “Nick” Nitro from SabersCrucible. I was one of two fortunate winners of a new saber in a Subscriber Giveaway Lord Nitro held, and it arrived. I will chat more about it next post and there will be pics and maybe another quick video!

So that’s about it…thank you so much for checking Babu Frik’s Torch Saber out, I hope you all like it as much as Babu seems to. I have much more to showcase including more sabers (real custom sabers and my digital designs) along with more LEGO creations, more costuming news (hopefully) and anything else that pops up in future. I sincerely hope you’ll all return to see these upcoming posts. Your support is fantastic and keeps me creating.. So thanks again and Till next time…..

“Babu Frik’s Torch Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design modelled and rendered in Blender 3D. The design and renders are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2021. “Babu Frik” is a character from the Disney/Lucasfilm movie “The Rise of Skywalker” and is Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm.

Rey’s “Crown” Lightsaber – Inspired by The Rise of Skywalker saber.

Hello Everybody! Today is the day that I complete my The Rise of Skywalker saber collection so….

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! DANGER, WILL ROBINSON! Oops! Wrong franchise! If you haven’t seen the new Star Wars movie then you may not want to continue reading as this post may contain info on events and stuff that may or may not happen in the film ok?

If you are still with me then I assume you have seen the film and I can now say I have built the saber that appeared for about 10 seconds at the very end of The Rise of Skywalker. And I have to have a little boast because I did predict what happened way back in September of 2016! Let me explain, a long time ago when The Force Awakens was big news, I posted an article about the new character Rey and her staff and in it I predicted she would make a lightsaber out of her staff! I did! Here is the link to that post Scavenger’s Twins Lightsabers (a pair of sabers for Rey)  Ok, I did give her new sabers a green and purple blade but this was before Disney changed the canon Lore that dictates lightsaber colours! I said that Rey would use the end of her staff to form the handle and I used an online virtual saber builder app (provided by Saberforge) to mock up how it might have looked like. I think I came pretty close (maybe I had a Force Vision!) but always knew I could do better and build a near exact replica so now I have Blender 3D I have and here is a gallery showing my 2016 attempts and a few preview images of my new 2020 Blender hilts…

A hint towards my next two sabers

Scavenger One Vertical Up

Scavenger Two Vertical Up

My 2020 Blender 3D Rey Crown Lightsaber

My 2020 Blender 3D Rey Crown Lightsaber 2

Wow! That was actually a bit of a scary flashback for me! To think how far I have progressed from the early days of FTSabersite and those basic pictures I produced. But back to the new saber, I modeled this as soon as I had finished the Leia saber when I got home from the cinema. I had both saber models built within 48 hours of watching the film but as I mentioned in the Leia post last week I couldn’t post the designs as I didn’t want to spoil anything for you all. However other members in the lightsaber manufacturing industry have posted their versions this past week or two complimenting themselves how fast they did it. Well….if you had read my year in review post and took a close look at the title image you might just see…Rey’s new saber!….Take a look behind the spectacles!….. Yep! There it is! Rey’s new lightsaber in all it’s glory and posted before my compatriots posted theirs. OK I’ll stop boasting now but I was kinda proud that I had come up with the designs so quick and that they are fairly accurate. But you will want to see a few close up Glamour Shots, so here they are….

Rey’s “Crown” saber first build

Rey’s “Crown” saber first build 2

Rey’s “Crown” saber with added leather wrap

Rey’s “Crown” saber with added leather wrap 2

Rey’s “Crown” saber with added leather wrap 3

The hilt is the end of Rey’s staff and has an emitter that is reminiscent of Darth Maul’s saberstaff. But Rey’s saber has a set of diamond shaped plates that hinge open and closed when the saber is switched on/off. These plates form the shape of a “crown” around the blade. The blade is in my renders, a yellow colour but there has been an argument online as to what colour the saber is, some say yellow, while some say it is amber….it is just like the Blue/Black or Gold/White dress incident all over again. But mine is “Optimism Yellow” which is the colour as described by the producers of the film. The hand wrap is made of a leather like material and is physically wrapped around the hilt handle as a strip! Finally there is the activation switch…that is the round cog shaped wheel below the emitter. Instead of depressing a switch or sliding a slider to operate the saber, you actually rotate the cog clockwise/anti-clockwise to switch it on or off. Want to see a video to demonstrate? Of course you do….so here you go another quick animation for you….

I managed to get away from just rotating the camera around the hilt and I even got some close up zoomed in detail shots of the “Activation Wheel Cog” in action! Plus I added some Snap!Hiss or sound effects as the saber lights up and switches off.

I am getting near to the end of this post and as I mentioned above this was the final hilt in my The Rise of Skywalker Collection so I thought you might like to see ALL my models in one place so I gathered them together and posed them for a family glamour shot….I hope you like it….

The For Tyeth Rise of Skywalker Collection!

At the top is the famous Darkside Rey folding staff (see the post HERE ) below that is Rey’s repaired Graflex saber once owned by Anakin and Luke Skywalker (see that hilt HERE ). Next down on the left is Leia Organa’s saber from last week’s post (click HERE to view that) and of course finally we have Rey S….well, Rey’s new saber!

Phew! That was another long post but thank you so much for checking it out, I hope you enjoyed this series of designs. I really enjoyed building them but now I have to search the galaxy for new inspiration for designs as the Skywalker saga has ended…but I think I can find some new original designs in my head. I hope you will return to see those in future posts. Thank you so much for all the support, comments likes and follows you have left, whether you are a first time visitor or a regular to FTSabersite, you are all valued and appreciated. Till next time….

“Rey’s Crown Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions model and animation and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2020. It is inspired by the design seen in the movie The Rise of Skywalker and all other Star Wars names, images and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm.  

“Leia’s Knightsaber” for Princess/General Leia – Inspired by TROS

Hello Everybody, today I have a BIG SPOILER WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! There may be details in this post that might hint at events or situations in the new movie The Rise of Skywalker. If you haven’t seen the film and don’t want to know anything about what may have happened then I don’t mind if you stop reading here! But if you’d like to see one of the newest saber designs in Star Wars then read on, I have preview images, full colour renders and an animation of what I think is a very classical saber.

So, if you are still with me, part way through the film we see Rey attempt to escape her destiny, for a while, by flying back to Ach-too and hiding on the island. She destroys the ship she arrived in and as the ship burns Rey throws the Skywalker legacy saber into the flames. Only for a certain person from the past to catch the saber and hand it back to her so she could continue her training. Rey had been training with General Leia at the Resistance Base. The figure from the past convinces Rey to continue to her destiny and gives her something that his sister would have wanted Rey to use in her quest. That object was a lightsaber. And not just any lightsaber. It was so beautiful that I had to model it in Blender as soon as I returned from the cinema….this was what I came up with…

Leia Knightsaber first model attempt

Now this is pretty close to the hilt seen in the movie considering I made it from memory! I had no reference pictures to work from but I knew there were a few tweaks I needed to make. Soon a few pictures were posted on forums and message boards and I saw how I needed to fix the switch and pommel. About twenty minutes work later I had come up with this….

Leia’s Knightsaber – Second build.

As you can see I reworked the switch, reshaped the pommel and defined the triple ring bands around the hilt. I also took the opportunity to thicken the neck tube. I felt I had this design finished (I didn’t add the loop to hang it on a belt as it just gets in the way) so set to work making it the proper colours and materials. Here is my glamour shot gallery….

Leia’s Knightaber 1

Leia’s Knightaber 2

Leia’s Knightaber Emitter

Leia’s Knightaber handgrip rails and triple bands

Leia’s Knightaber top down view

Leia’s Knightaber Thin neck close up detail

Leia’s Knightaber pommel

Carrie Fisher wanted a pink/purple saber

The saber is elegant in rose gold and silver with the same blue blade as the Graflex. And it shouldn’t be such a surprise that this hilt is so beautiful…it was built and used by Leia! This is the weapon of a Jedi….and yes Leia trained with Luke after Return of the Jedi but when she saw a vision of a possible future stopped training and the hilt was kept in storage by her brother. But I mean, this saber looks so sleek and elegant. The ringed emitter and thin neck is reminiscent of Luke’s and Old Obi-Wan’s hilts. It is also this trinity of characters I think the banded rings represent, one for Luke, one for her “only hope” Obi-Wan and the third representing herself. I have also shown the saber with a purple/pink blade as Carrie Fisher always stated that purple was the colour she would have liked to wield had Leia been given a saber to use in the films.

And that brings me to the subject of films and video. I have managed to compile a little video and because I have learnt a new animating trick I can nearly double the length of the clip. So here is that new animation….

I am still getting to grips with cinematography so it is a basic orbit around the hilt but I feel that shows off the saber best. But I did try to find a suitable location to film this video at…it looks very much like the planet Ajan Kloss, location of the Resistance Base.Finally, I have a couple of Darkside versions, just because I had the thought “I wonder how the story might have panned out had Leia given in when she was tortured by Darth Vader on the Death Star all those years ago”…would she have turned to the Darkside? We know the answer, Leia was too strong and survived but here are the dark hilts for show…

Leia’s Darkside version 1

Leia’s Darkside version 2

Leia’s Darkside version 3

Leia’s Darkside version 4

Ok folks, I sincerely hope you like this model and the wait and the teasers were worth it. I certainly hope I did justice to the legacy of both Leia the character and the fabulous actor Carrie Fisher. I have so far now built three of the hilts seen in The Rise of Skywalker but I still have one final hilt to showcase that we see at the end of the movie which has caused some heated debates online. So I would be honoured if you would call back next week as I complete my Rise of Skywalker collection.

Thank you so much for checking this saber out, I hope I haven’t spoiled too much (I don’t think I did) and thank you for all your support. Whether you are a first time viewer or a regular visitor you are much appreciated as you have now propelled me past 16,000 views! Incredible. Till next time….

“Leia’s Knightsaber” is a For Tyeth Editions model and animation and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2020. This saber is inspired by the hilt seen in The Rise of Skywalker which is Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm.

Happy New Year! FT’s review of 2019

Hello Everybody and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Yes we have entered a new year and a new decade…we are in 2020! But before we dive into the new adventures ahead I thought I’d take a 20/20 hindsight review of 2019 (< See what I did there? 2020 hindsight? 😀 ) And boy was I busy during the past 12 months!

I counted my posts and the designs I had shared and I have posted over 45 sabers plus variations in the space of 52 weeks …so lets jump back to January and take a look at what I posted….

January started with a saber inspired from a Star Wars computer game known as Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic (SW KOTOR) and the first saber you build in the game. I also posted the first in a series of hilts inspired by Ralph McQuarrie’s Stormtrooper concept art, even a saber based on the 80’s TV show Charlie’s Angels. Finally I posted a lightsaber staff for Satele Shan, another character from SWTOR the sequel to SW KOTOR.

Padawan One Saber

Angelic Saber inspired by Charlie’s Angels

Satele-ite Saber inspired by SWTOR

Trooper Saber inspired by Ralph McQuarrie

February featured designs from Resident Evil, Lord of the Rings, a saber for Superman and a hilt for Padme Amidala. I particularly liked the Superman hilt I built for my friend TheVintageToyAdvertiser as part of a series of challenges, and the Lord of the Rings hilt because I had to make sure I did a good job and pleased both Star Wars fans and LOTR fans – Not Easy!

Alice Saber inspired by Resident Evil

Barad-Dur Saber inspired by LOTR

Supermobile Saber for Superman

Aggressive Negotiator for Padme Amidala.

Again I really liked the LOTR hilt as I got creative, making the pommel resemble the Eye of Sauron! However, even Padme’s hilt had custom etching and an activation swith made to look like her pendant given to her by little Ani!

Marching on in March,I presented my crossover hilt designs for another Sci-Fi franchise – Star Trek (yes I said it!). I created a hilt for the Klingon warriors and one particular half Klingon named B’Elanna Torres from the show Voyager. A new character appeared in the movie SOLO called Enfys Nest so I posted a design in her honour and back on earth I had another challenge from TVTA. He wanted a saber based on Starsky and Hutch and the famous red car, the Gran Torino!….

B’Elanna’s Blade for the Klingon Lady

Gre’Thor Blade for the Klingon Warriors

Swoop Saber for Enfys Nest

Starsky and Hutch Saber says it all!

The Swoop Saber had a hidden Crystal Chamber built into it, while the Starsky and Hutch hilt had a blue police light as the on/off switch and even had working headlights buried in all the chrome bodywork!

OK folks, that covers the first three months! To continue our journey through 2019 please click the link to go to page two where we will discover what April brought!…see you on page two…..

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Some new “things” that may (or not) appear in the movie Rise of Skywalker!

Hello Everybody, just a quick post with two images to show I can’t relax and have a few days off…after watching the new movie I tinkered in my workshop and came up with these…

MysteREY saber 1

Princess’ Knightsaber

Full colour articles and pictures on these two hilts will appear on FTSabersite very soon when the “spoiler-free” period ends for The Rise of Skywalker!

I am going to take a few days off over Christmas and I hope all of you have a happy, peaceful festive period however you choose to observe it! Thanks for looking in on this quick announcement, I hope you’ll join me for the full reveals.Till next time….

These two hilts are For Tyeth Edition models/renders and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019. The Rise of Skywalker and all names, images, logos and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm.

For Tyeth’s Rise of Skywalker Review

Hello Everybody, I have just got back from my local cinema after viewing The Rise of Skywalker. And I gotta say it was better than the negative comments would suggest I saw and read online. Of course this is just my first thought opinions, other people may not like it but I have been watching these films for over 36 years and I enjoyed this one. It was an adventure from the moment we hear John William’s Intro Theme.

I can’t say too much obviously but I will say some things/characters that weren’t handled well in The Last Jedi were “put right” and dealt with better this time around. Also don’t blink during the first half hour as it is fast moving.

I mentioned I had watched these movies for around three decades so I did see a lot of nostalgic nods to previous films which was fun. I also got to see Threepio get an important job to do in the story aside from saying “This is madness….we’re doomed!” which was cool. The music was outstanding as usual with John Williams winding his way through the film holding it together, binding the contents – I sometimes think he and his music are the Force! There were funny lines and throwbacks that made me chuckle.

On the acting side of things, all of the on screen talent gave great performances…and regards the actual story, I only had one major niggle.

There was a good solid end to the finale that made sense and made me happy and sad at the same time….how else could it have ended? A balance.

So this has been my initial thoughts on The Rise of Skywalker. Again others may disagree (I’m not the most experienced film critic!) but I thought it was worth my money to view it. Oh wait! I got tickets as a birthday present but you know what I mean and finally….yes I was inspired by one or two things that may or may not have appeared in the movie so I will be busy over the festive period making 3D models!

Thank you for looking in on this, my mini first thoughts review. If you are planning to go and see TROS I hope you find it as entertaining as I did. And I hope you will return and let me know what you thought of it (but please don’t spoil it for others ok!). I’ll be taking things easier over the next week or two so if we don’t get to chat I hope you all have a great holiday season however you choose to observe it! Till next time….

The Rise of Skywalker is in cinemas around the globe now and is  Trademark/Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm.

Skywalker-Risen saber – A Master Series saber.

Hello Everybody, well! it’s less than a week to the release of the new film Rise of Skywalker! Can you believe that? And as it is such an exciting time for fans I felt I needed a BIG saber for possibly the BIGGEST Master of them all….Luke Skywalker! We didn’t really see him use his iconic green bladed hilt he constructed and so I thought why not show my version of this hilt today. This is my “Master Series” model of that iconic saber complete with a few hidden features. I did make a few videos and would have stitched them together to make a more polished production but unfortunately I had a few issues with my laptop again…but I did my best. Now Luke constructed his saber in a cave on Tatooine using the plans he obtained from Obi-Wan Kenobi’s homestead. There was a scene in Return of the Jedi of Luke completing his saber but it was cut out of the final edit, however here is that scene found on YouTube…

So I took a trip to a desert planet and set to work building my tribute saber and this is what I came up with…this is Skywalker-Risen…

Skywalker-Risen Saber 1

Skywalker-Risen Saber 2

Skywalker-Risen Saber 3

Skywalker-Risen Saber 4

Skywalker-Risen Saber 5

Skywalker-Risen Saber 6

I said a few posts back that I didn’t know how I was going to top my Graflex inspired saber model but with this hilt, I think I may just have surpassed any hilt I have modeled to date! I managed to recreate the beautiful emitter with the thin neck, complete with the copper accented drum part. Then comes the distinctive black and silver ribbed “grenade” grip part. Connected to the grenade handgrip is the main body of the hilt with the famous Control Box you can see Luke poking into with his screwdriver in the video. The control box has matching black and silver stripes on the top panel and is surrounded by decorative copper rails. On the side of the box are two triangular accent function lights and two black activation buttons. The hilt is finished off with a pommel that harks back to Obi-Wan’s saber from Star Wars ANH which looks like a tap/faucet knob…and it comes complete with  a triangular belt hanger loop!

This was a really detailed build and just to show you how detailed here is a picture of the model as I was building it…

As you can see there seems to be something going on inside the hilt, a lot of things to be precise! Yes, there is a crystal chamber in the handgrip AND a chamber in the pommel….and if that wasn’t enough, the control box cover slides open!

Look closely inside the control box and you will even find components fully modeled including Hex Head topped adjustment screws (these are what Luke is adjusting in the video above to set the blade length and power settings) and there are four power regulator capsules (which are actually real world resistors which I modeled). To show when the saber is correctly set the two LED indicators shine green! Here is another short little animation showing the Triple Reveal in action…

As you can see this hilt really is unbelievably complex! How I constructed it in a cave I don’t know, I just knew that if Master Luke managed it then I too had to. And to give you an idea of the conditions in that cave take a look at this…we’re going out on location in this video…

Again, I apologise for the video being short but I was on location and experiencing Technical Issues (hopefully in the New Year I will have a new laptop! Hopefully!)

Ok I have a final batch of images to give a slightly better look at all the little details and fancy bits and there is a DarkSide version of this hilt as well just for balance….

Skywalker-Risen Control Box closed

Skywalker-Risen Control Box open

Skywalker-Risen twin chamber open

Skywalker-Risen Triple features

Skywalker-Risen Darkside

Skywalker-Risen Darkside 2

Skywalker-Risen Darkside 3

Phew! This is a LOOONG post! But I have one final crowning feature to show you all. So far my hilts have had static non moving blades, as I struggled to master the animation feature to recreate the extending blade and combining it with the glow effect….well watch this next clip and get ready for the “SNAP!-Hiss”…

I finally nailed the animation tricks needed to make the blade extend (and retract) and I thought I’d add a little sound effect too! Just in time for the new and sadly last movie in the Skywalker saga. I hope you enjoyed this design and my tribute to Master Skywalker’s saber, I certainly pushed every limit I could think of to accomplish it!

That just about wraps up this post but first I need to thank you (for reading this far and…) for all the support you have given me. Whether you are a first time visitor or a regular thanks so much for your time, likes and comments, you are very much appreciated. Now I have more new designs still to come in future posts and I will be writing a few posts about The Rise of Skywalker (I’m giving myself a birthday treat and getting VIP tickets to see it!) I hope you will return to see all of that and more! Till next time…

“Skywalker-Risen” is a For Tyeth Editions design/model and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019. “Luke Skywalker”, “Star Wars – The Rise of Skywalker” and all other names, images, video and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm.

“Blissfull Sabers” for Zorii Bliss

Hello Everybody, today I bring toy you not one but TWO new hilts, well a matching pair of sabers for a mysterious female character who will appear in the new Star Wars film The Rise of Skywalker in about 2 week’s time! (Wow time has flown!) A while ago Vanity Fair released some promo teaser images and one was of a mysterious woman dressed in a burgundy and gold bodysuit and helmet. The outfit immediately reminded me of a few things…first was Daft Punk because of the helmet but I also remembered a movie and tv show with rocket/jet pack wearing characters. The TV show was an old Saturday morning cinema style serial called “King of the Rocket Men” from 1949. The movie came out around 1991 and was called “The Rocketeer” made by ….Disney! Both lead hero characters wore rocket packs and distinctive helmets. Here is the poster for the Disney film…

Image Copyright Disney Studios

The movie set around the 20’s/30’s has a distinct Art Deco style and look to it, but it is that helmet just look at it! Now take a look at the Vanity Fair image of Zorii Bliss and her helmet…look familiar?…..

Image Copyright Vanity Fair/Disney/LucasFilm

Ok, it is a little bit more futuristic with the paneling and air vents/radiator parts on the back but that looks spookily like the Rocketeer. Zorii also has what looks like art deco styled patterns on her belt and bicep bands. I saw this and just knew I needed to create a hilt for this character. So I set to work and came up with this hilt…

Blissfull Saber 1

Blissfull Saber Emitter

Blissfull Saber Switches

Blissfull Saber Pommel and Belt Clip

Blissfull Saber full length

I really went to town with this design and used the burgundy of the suit as the handgrip and added the antique gold and gloss black accents. The emitter is modeled on Zorii’s helmet viewed side on. The switches I made to look like the old rotary dial controls found on 1930’s/40’s radios to fit the art deco look. The pommel looks like the decorations found on pillars and columns of art deco buildings with the geometric carvings. I was pretty stoked and happy how these turned out but I had only seen a picture of Zorii from the waist up and a new image was released (the one above) that revealed Zorii had two curved handled blasters. I liked those blasters and thought “How would this saber look if it was curved?” So you know me….I bent the saber! Here are the pictures of the update…

Blissfull Bend Saber Emitter

Blissfull Bend Saber Switches

Blissfull Bend Saber Pommel

Blissfull Bend Saber full length

I used the same function in Blender 3D that I used to bend my Aquaman Bend Lightsaber hilt. I had to create “cuts” in the hilt then draw a curved line which the software then maps the model onto and bends the shape to the line drawn. Anyhoo, you may have noticed that in the last picture there are TWO hilts and you would be correct. I modeled a matching saber to form a pair (and I mirrored the second hilt so each one can hang off Zorii’s belt like a pair of pistols). Oh yes and did I mention that the mysterious Zorii is portrayed by Kerri Russell? That is why you can see the actress in the title image above! And as these hilts were for such an intriguing character I decided to add one final  touch, an embossed pattern to replicate the mysterious geometric art deco designs on the handgrips too! Here is a final batch of images of the matching pair…

Blissfull Saber pair 1

Blissfull Saber pair 2

Blissfull Bend Saber pair 1

Blissfull Bend Saber pair 2

I forgot to mention that I added a yellow “Darksaber” style flat blade to match the flat rounded rectangular shape of the hilts’ cross-section. Phew! That was a lot of images again but I think I have covered everything now. Not a lot is known about Zorii except for the facts she is a human from the planet Kijimi and was the leader of a gang known as The Kijimi Spice Runners….and has a past connection to Poe Dameron! We will find out more when Rise of Skywalker hits cinemas on the 20th of December (UK date).

I am nearing the end of this post, but before I go I need to say a big thank you to evrybody who has visited and supported me these past three and a bit years, I have now passed the 15,000 views mark. So thank you all, new viewers and all my regulars you are fantastic and much appreciated. I hope you enjoyed these hilts and really hope you will return for future posts as I have my final Master Series hilt coming up along with a whole batch of new original designs and I’ll be chatting about the new film. Till next time…..

“Blissfull Saber” and “Blissfull Bend Saber” are For Tyeth Edition designs and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019. “Zorii Bliss”, “The Rise of Skywalker” and all other Star Wars related names, images and material are Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm. Promo image Copyright of Vanity Fair.

“Greyflex Saber” – Rey’s repaired Graflex

Hello Everybody, I hope you liked last week’s Mandalorian inspired design and today I hope to go one better than that. And to achieve this I am bringing you another of my “Master Series” line of sabers! This time I bring you the Graflex, or rather as I call it, the “Greyflex” saber belonging to Rey in The Rise of Skywalker. This hilt was originally constructed and used by Anakin Skywalker. He eventually “lost”the saber after his defeat to Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafaar (in Revenge of the Sith) when Kenobi left Anakin in a lava pool and walked away picking up the fallen saber and taking it with him. Around 20 years later Obi-Wan met up with Luke Skywalker on Tatooine and he returned the saber to Luke as it was “Your father’s lightsaber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight.” Luke then carried and used this till he “lost” it and his hand in his duel with Darth Vader in Empire Strikes Back. The saber fell down the ventilation shaft of Bespin City and wasn’t seen until Rey discovers the saber in Maz Kanata’s basement during The Force Awakens. As if this wasn’t enough of a story, the evil Kylo Ren wanted the saber and at the end of The Last Jedi, he and Rey fight over who owned the hilt and the hilt was seriously damaged as it was torn in two pieces!

That you would think was the end for the iconic lightsaber right? Well, no, in the trailers for The Rise of Skywalker we see Rey using a saber and it is the Skywalker family lightsaber that she has repaired. Here is a before and after comparison of the hilt…

“The Grail” Graflex saber from Star Wars on Tatooine(?)

“Greyflex” repaired Graflex

The center section of the saber where it broke in two has a new band clamped around it and a new activation style box. It must have taken a lot of skill to repair the saber as it was severely damaged and Rey had no one to guide her, only possibly some information in the books she took from Luke’s hideaway. There are a few subtle differences I’ll describe later but here are a few more pictures….

“Greyflex” repaired Graflex

“Greyflex” Saber 2

“GreyFlex” Saber 3

The new Flex Clamp Band

As mentioned the saber broke in the middle so this is where the biggest difference obviously is. That difference is the new Clamp Band and activation box. This caused a bit of disquiet in the Star Wars saber community when fans saw Rey had just repaired the hilt with what they called a “Band-Aid” and hadn’t built her own new saber. I felt a little like that at first but now I have modeled the new saber myself I am beginning to like it more. The remaining differences are the glass eye portal has been refitted and the grip section has been modified. The black T-grips are slightly shorter and one has been modified with a slot cut into it.

You can see the belt slot cut-out on the lower T-Grip

This slot allows Rey to hang the saber from her cloth belt/cumberbund as it slides onto the belt like the pocket clip on a pen top. This means that Rey’s version of the hilt doesn’t have a D-Ring loop to hang the saber, it just has a smooth flat unmarked pommel cap. So onto a few more pictures I think…no better still MOVIE TIME!…..

The eagle eyed viewers among you will have noticed the saber in the animation has a D-Ring pommel…I rendered the video with one, then newer pictures came out showing the ring-less pommel! I didn’t want to re-do the whole video so I left it be, but I did add a few crystal chambers! So here are a few more pictures…

“Greyflex” Saber chambers studio

“Greyflex” Saber Glamour shot

“Greyflex” Saber top view

“Greyflex” Saber bottom view

“Greyflex” Saber Glamour Shot

Phew, there’s a lot of pictures for this hilt don’t you think? I will admit there is only one “work in progress” picture but I do have a special 24 carat gold special treat for you this week, I learnt a new function in Blender that produces a unique effect. That function is called MatCap, which allows the user to apply a single texture over the whole model to help when using sculpting tools to shape parts. However it also allows you to render images quickly to check how a model looks and I have a few “MatCap” style images to share…enjoy…..

“Greyflex” Saber or should that be Goldflex?

“Greyflex” Saber or should that be Goldflex? 2

“Greyflex” Saber or should that be Goldflex? 3

“Greyflex” Saber or should that be Goldflex? 4

Now that just about wraps up this bumper edition design. I think I have outdone my Mandalorian hilt. Now I just have to congratulate and thank you for getting this far!

Thank you all so much for checking this hilt out and all the support, likes and kind comments you give me, it is much appreciated. I still have a pair of sabers for a mystery woman who will debut in The Rise of Skywalker, another Mandalorian hilt, some unique original sabers for some friends of mine and a final “Master Series” saber for the last Jedi Master….I sincerely hope you will all return to see those in future posts. Till next time…..

“Greyflex Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019. “Rey”, “The Rise of Skywalker” and all other Star Wars names, images abd related materials are Trademarks/©Copyright of Disney/Lucasfilm.

 

The Rise of Skywalker final trailer has dropped – For’s first thoughts

Hello Everybody, well we are less than 58 days out from The Rise of Skywalker’s big release and today the final trailer for the final installment of the saga debuted! I watched it and er, well it looks big, it looks interesting but I am worried there is a lot to of issues to cover in a short time. There was also news of problems and re-shoots, I’m really not sure “how this is going to end”. So if the link works and doesn’t get taken down let’s take a look at the trailer shall we?….Lights!…..Popcorn!…..ACTION!

This trailer has all the usual cryptic teachings from a wise whispering Master (no, not me – they never asked me to) and we see Rey showing her agility in two locations…or is it really two Rey’s? Hmm! We see our heroes looking down onto the tent city we saw on the desert planet in the first trailer. There looks to be a massive space battle with Lando back in “his” pilot’s seat right in the middle of it. Rey is feeling lonely. Then Kylo turns up out of the spray. There is wildlife…in the form of space horses. And there is that evil cackle of a voice “Your coming together…..will be your undoing!” oh er! I won’t mention the Iron Throne as that’s from a different franchise, but I will say whoever that is sat in it “has the high ground” so things may not turn out great for the good guys and gals! (But at least the John Williams music sounds epic)

I’m not much of a film or trailer critic but I thought as this is possibly the final chapter of the saga that has accompanied me since I was a youngling I had to write this post. So thanks for looking in on it. Are any of you my loyal viewers planning on seeing the film and if so what do you think will happen? I plan to get my VIP tickets as soon as I can (well they are a belated birthday present) and who knows I might even see if I can take my saber with me for a final salute.

Again thanks for visiting and please call back this weekend for my scheduled post. Till next time…..

“The Rise of Skywalker” is the final installment of the Skywalker saga and is Trademark/©Copyright of Disney/LucasFilm. The video clip is provided via StarWars,com UK on YouTube. Tickets are on sale now and the film releases on the 19th December for UK cinemas and the 20th in the US.