“Shredded Saber” – inspired by Shredder of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character

Hello Everybody, today we are going to visit a franchise I haven’t commented or designed for since maybe 2017! Whilst modelling my Katana there was a detail I added to it that reminded me of a person/character from popular culture and I couldn’t believe I’d not realised sooner. OK, long story short, back in 2017 I produced a set of saber designs for the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, their Sensei Master Splinter and one for the arch enemy Shredder. I used the old software I had access to back then and always thought I could do better if I had bespoke 3D design applications to work with. The original design was ok and I was pleased with it at the time but I had that nagging sensation. You can check out the original design and post by clicking this link: https://ftsabersite.wordpress.com/2017/04/08/shredder-lightsaber-for-the-turtles-arch-enemy/ .So fast forward to 2022 and I modelled a Katana including a version for Marvel Studio’s MoonKnight. This saber had a specific part that triggered my nagging sensation and I had an design epiphany. The design I came up with is for Shredder once again but this time is bespoke and updated! This is “Shredded Saber”….

Shredder was originally a martial artist named Oroku Saki, who lived in Japan. He was enamored with a young woman named Tang Shen. Unfortunately, she was in love with another man named Hamato Yoshi and there was bound to be conflict. The situation led to Oroku challenging Hamato to a fight to settle the love triangle “honourably” but Tang Shen persuaded Hamato to flee rather than fight. The pair fled to New York and eventually Oroku followed, after he had joined a criminal gang and trained to be a Ninja.. The criminal gang, called “The Foot” made Oroku the leader of the American arm of the organisation and Oroku used this to his advantage in taking revenge. He tracked down the lovers and in a sneak attack he killed Tang Shen….then attacked Hamato. During the fight Hamato’s pet rat, named Splinter, was freed from his cage when it was knocked over. Splinter despite being just a rat ATTACKED Oroko – scratching his face. Oroku brushed off the rodent and swung his katana which grazed the rat’s ear causing him to scamper away and run into the sewers. Later in another incident, four baby turtles and a container of “Nuclear Goop” were released into the sewers also. This Goop ended up mutating the turtles and Splinter who discovered the reptiles. The animals became the characters Master Splinter and Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo and Raphael – the turtles. Oroku Saki continued his criminal activity and adopted a disguise that we know as the Shredder costume. And it was this costume’s helmet that inspired me! Here is the helmet and a few comparisons…

Well look at that! I didn’t realise when I came up with the MoonKnight Katana that I had inadvertently made a version of Shredder’s helmet decoration! The last two images show just the claws and emitter and in the final picture I added the pommel decoration onto the cylinder. That logo is actually the emblem of Shredder’s gang “The Foot”.

And that I’m afraid is just about all the time I have and I’ll have to finish shortly. I have mentioned I am in the planning stage of a big “Jedi Mission” that is coming soon but I am on standby awaiting the final documentation and briefing papers to arrive before I get the “GO” signal. And I am getting very nervous. So I am finishing off some upcoming posts and I have a ton of new stuff I hope you’ll come and check out – ranging from sabers of course all the way through to new on-screen used props, speederbikes, a couple of starships……and sabers for a Cat and a Mouse!

I’d like to finish by thanking all of you for today’s visit to my site and all the support you show me. It helps keep me motivated knowing folks out there enjoy what I do Till next time…..

“Shredded Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the Shredder character seen in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle franchise. The 3D design, model and renders were created by For Tyeth in Blender 3D and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2023. The Shredder, Splinter, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT and all character names, logos and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of VIACOM International Inc. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles appeared in Mirage Comics.

Splinter Lightsaber – A Saber for the Turtles’ Sensei

Hello Everybody, today I have the final saber in my collection of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles themed hilts. This time the saber is for the Turtle’s mentor, father figure and martial arts teacher, Splinter. Splinter is the pet rat which escaped from his cage in Hamato Yoshi’s home when The Shredder attacked and killed Hamato and the two men’s love interest, Tang Shen. Splinter the rat had watched his owner for many years learning Martial Arts and that education would come in handy later in his life. Splinter fled to the sewers of New York where he survived…but then his life would change when he was exposed to a “Nuclear Goop”. Shredder and his gang “The Foot” broke into a science lab to steal a chemical but the authorities arrived and in the clash a substance was released and drained into the sewers…Splinter got covered in the goop and soon began to mutate. He began to take on human traits, started walking upright, he grew bigger and stronger…he even began to speak and  trained himself in Martial Arts he learnt from Yoshi. I know you all like Lightsabers so I will now present the design for Splinter’s new saber, this is Splinter’s Lightsaber…

Splinter Hilt

Splinter Emitter Plug

Splinter Emitter

Splinter Switch

Splinter Lower Body

Splinter Pommel

Splinter Pommel 2

Splinter Vertical Up

Splinter Vertical Down

In this saber I tried to capture a traditional, elegant hilt a revered Master would wield. The blade is an amber colour, a reminder of the sunlight Splinter lived in as a pet. The emitter has a bird like design carved into the Tsuba (handguard) representing peace, harmony and balance…some of the lessons he tried to teach his four protégés. The lower body section is a bit more of an ergonomic choice to help him control his saber. The curves provide him a much better grip for his paws. The pommel cap is a traditional looking katana style to remind him of his roots.

I’m glad Splinter likes his saber…and look I made the headlines!

 

Well now Splinter has his new saber I will finish the condensed version of his story. He discovered that he wasn’t the only creature that was affected by the chemical slime, he found four abandoned young turtles who after being trained grew to become the heroes we have met already. Through fate these Turtles and Splinter would become the saviours of New York and cross paths with Shredder many times.

I am nearing the end of this post and the Turtles series of designs. I hope you enjoyed my tributes to the “Heroes On A Half Shell”. Thank you for visiting and supporting me and this site, I appreciate your company. I continue to work on new stuff so please do call back and see what I come up with next. Till next time.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT and all character names, logos and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of VIACOM International Inc. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles appeared in Mirage Comics.

Raphael Lightsaber – For the Fourth Turtle

Hello Everybody, I thought I would get some backup in today after the slight interruption from The Shredder yesterday, and that backup comes in the form of the fourth Turtle…Raphael! Raphael was described as the most aggressive of the Turtles, headstrong and he liked confrontation. His character was later toned down a bit when the producers of the animated series and the movies wanted a more humorous feel to the shows. He was also the Turtle most likely to crack a joke, usually breaking the “4th Wall” and addressing us, the audience. Raph (to his friends) used ninja throwing stars called Shurikens but most famously wielded a pair of trident shaped short swords called Sai. Today Raph also gets his long awaited upgrade to a For Tyeth Edition, so here is Raphael Lightsaber…

Raphael Hilt

Raphael Emitter

Raphael Switch and Coupler

Raphael Body Grip

Raphael Coupler and Pommel

Raphael Pommel

Raphael Horizontal

As Raph is a “Rough and Tough Turtle” (hey great name for a range of toys that, ©Copyrighted by For Tyeth!  😀 ) I made his saber with the couplers that have the Grenade style grip ridges. This means he has a distinct saber (to avoid those arguments with his brothers) and it won’t slip out of his fingers…ergonomic! The saber still has a “Nuclear Goop” coloured blade, Turtle half shell emitter and flipper feet pommel. There is also a bonus youngling version of the saber for thos “little rascal Raphaels”…

TAP! TAP! TAP!

Er, you’ve just done it Raph…sticking your head out through the screen and talking to me and my viewers! And speaking of viewers I hope you all enjoyed this series of sabers, I have one more to go and that will be for the Turtle’s mentor, Splinter! I hope you will return to see that and all the other new designs I have coming up in future posts. Thanks and…Till next time.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT and all character names, logos and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of VIACOM International Inc. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles appeared in Mirage Comics.

Shredder Lightsaber – For the Turtle’s Arch Enemy

Hello Everybody, I have been “persuaded” by a very large individual with a rather dangerous looking costume covered in blades, to post a design for him. That individual is The Shredder, or Oroku Saki as he was originally called. Shredder is the arch enemy of the TMNT and their mentor Splinter. What started this feud was an affair between Shredder and a man called Hamato Yoshi. Both were both martial artists…and both loved the same woman, it could only spell disaster. The situation culminated in a confrontation but Tang Shen, the lady in the middle of the triangle only had feelings for Yoshi and convinced him not to fight Shredder. Yoshi and Shen fled to New York and Yoshi got a construction job. Shredder followed them and killed Shen in a sneak attack, he then killed Yoshi too on his arrival home. During the fight, Yoshi’s pet rat called Splinter escaped from it’s cage and ran into the city sewers. However Shredder would meet this rat again later, but first I have to present my design for this criminal mastermind , here is Shredder Lightsaber..

Shredder Hilt

Shredder Emitter

Shredder Emitter 2

Shredder Switch

Shredder Body

Shredder Pommel

Shredder Pommel 2

Shredder Vertical Up

Shredder Vertical Down

I attempted to create a sinister looking saber that had both an Oriental look and the style of the Shredder. So the emitter projects a red blade and has the three claws to represent the Trident shaped ornament on the top of Shredder’s helmet and the blades covering his costume. The rest of the saber looks like that of a criminal mastermind, ostentatious but well used. Shredder became the head of a criminal gang called “The Foot” and during a break in at a science lab the gang released a “Nuclear Goop” that spilled into the sewers and infected a certain Rat and some infant turtles. These creatures were mutated by the goop and became four hero turtles and their mentor Splinter! They then continued the battle with Shredder where the poor Yoshi left off.

Er, once again maybe not! The picture above shows Shredder (played by James Saito) and I think he approves. But I will have to end the post here, I have a never ending production line to attend to. I have a saber for Splinter coming up, a new NHL team saber and another MotoGP inspired hilt. So there is a lot to look forward to. Thank you so much for visiting today and I hope you liked what you saw. Till next time.

The Shredder, Splinter, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT and all character names, logos and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of VIACOM International Inc. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles appeared in Mirage Comics.

Donatello Lightsaber – For the Technical Turtle

Hello Everybody, following on from the top of the range technology of yesterday I bring to you a saber for the technically minded Turtle, Donatello! Donnie (to his friends) is considered a genius and has a big interest in gadgets, gizmos and anything with science and technology behind it. He was also considered as “Second-in-command” due to this great knowledge, he won many games of Trivial Pursuit against his brothers. As far as weapons are concerned Donnie uses a wooden Bo staff with a hidden short bladed sword in one end (like the old Victorian gentleman’s canes with a blade). However today is the day he receives his upgraded weapon courtesy of For Tyeth Editions, this is Donatello…

Donatello Hilt

Donatello Emitter

Donatello Emitter 2

Donatello Switch and Coupler

Donatello Body

Donatello Coupler and Pommel

Donatello Pommel

Donatello Horizontal

This saber should appeal to Donnie, it has tons of tech inside and it is colour coded just for him. I reckon it is a good match for his purple bandana. I imagined that Donnie would appreciate a slightly more powerful hilt so incorporated vented Couplers to help keep the temperature of the weapon down, that makes it more efficient…very green! And just for good measure there is a youngling version of this hilt too, though Donnie might want me to make an even smaller version to use as a laser pointer for his science presentations!

Well I hope Donnie likes his….what? You want to know something Donnie?

Er, I’ll get back to you on that Donnie! I think he likes the design and I hope you all did too. I am approaching the time when I have to end the post (hey Donnie, could you design a time machine possibly? 😀 ) but before I go I want to thank you all for visiting today. Your support is appreciated so please call back to see what more new sabers I have coming up. Till next time.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT and all character names, logos and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of VIACOM International Inc. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles appeared in Mirage Comics.

Michaelangelo Lightsaber – Mikey wants a “pizza” the action

Hello Everybody, straight off I will apologise for what seems like a bad joke, but the recipient of my next design does like the Italian delicacy…A Lot! I am referring to Michaelangelo, the youngest of the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and indeed he has a love for Pizza. He loves it so much that during one episode of the cartoon series he had to be hypnotized to reject it, though the hypnotic suggestion was removed by the end of the story! Many of you will be familiar with Mikey as the Turtle with the catchphrases and Nunchucks, however, today I upgrade his arsenal too. So here is my next design, this is Michaelangelo…

Michaelangelo Hilt

Michaelangelo Emitter

Michaelangelo Switch and Coupler

Michaelangelo colour coded Body

Michaelangelo Coupler and Pommel

Michaelangelo Pommel

Michaelangelo Vertical Up

Michaelangelo Vertical Down

This saber is based off the Leonardo Lightsaber hilt so is similar but as mentioned elsewhere the hilts are colour coded so the Turtle siblings don’t argue about which saber belongs to which Ninja. There is enough discord because Mikey is the fastest and most agile member of the four and he does like to remind Raphael about the fact while outmaneuvering him. Mikey is so good at gymnastics because Splinter, the Turtles’ mentor, has to reprimand him for lack of focus (sounds like a young Anakin!) and make him do extra practice. This is unfortunate as Mikey was described as the “turtle with the most raw talent”. So because Mikey easily gets distracted I made sure his saber was distinct, nice and Orange, that should get his attention..

Well, from Mikey’s reaction above I’ll take that to mean he like his new weapon, and as a bonus there is a youngling version of this hilt too, but Mikey might be tempted to use it as a PIZZA CUTTER!

I guess the youngling saber could be used to serve pizza with 😀 Anyway, I’m afraid all this talk of food and sabers has made me hungry and reminded me I need to get back to work designing! This means I have to bring this post to an end but Id like to say thanks to all of you for calling in today, I appreciate the support. Please come back for future posts to see the remaining TMNT series hilts and my MotoGP inspired designs, I’d be glad to see you all again. Till next time.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT and all character names, logos and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of VIACOM International Inc. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles appeared in Mirage Comics.

 

Leonardo Lightsaber – For the Leader of the Group

Hello Everybody, Cowabunga dudes! Today if you hadn’t guessed I introduce the Heroes on a Half Shell, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles…well Leonardo for today. In the comics (of which there were at least three different publishing houses distributing them) Leo was the level headed and calm leader of the team of four. Leo was also the member most attuned and respectful of their teacher, Splinter’s, lessons. However in later comics and the animated series and films Raphael, who we will meet soon, assumed the role (the producers probably felt that Raph and Michaelangelo were more popular with audiences). The situation of Leo not being as popular is unfortunate as he was the one Ninja Turtle that had swords! Yes Leo wielded two Katana sabers, but today he gets a long overdue upgrade…a For Tyeth Edition! So enough of me babbling on, here is Leonardo’s Lightsaber….

Leonardo Hilt

Leonardo Emitter

Leonardo Emitter 2

Leonardo Switch and Coupler

Leonardo Body and Coupler

Leonardo Pommel

Leonardo Vertical Up

Leonardo Vertical Down

Now this saber has a few features, starting with the “Nuclear Goop” green blade, looks just like the slime responsible for transforming our reptile friends into martial artist adolescents! That blade projects from the shellback shaped emitter, but if you look at the second picture of the emitter it looks a little like the head of a turtle (or terrapin) sticking out from it’s shell. This saber has two silver coloured Coupler pieces either side of the colour coded leather grip. As there are four teenagers and four sabers, you need a way to tell whose saber belongs to whoever! Leo has the silver bands and blue grip to match his bandana, we will see the others in upcoming posts.

And not forgetting the little Ninja Turtles out there!

The above picture shows the youngling version of the Leonardo Lightsaber. I designed both as I had a conversation with a very good friend and blogger, The Princess of Paperback about designing some Father and Son, and Mother and Daughter matching sabers. As a result each of these hilts have a double design, in this case a more simple version without the Couplers (which makes the hilt shorter, perfect for little hands!). If you have a few minutes after reading this post you might like to check out The Princess’ blog where you will find great reviews of books of all genres, interviews with the authors and there’s even a movie section… just click the link I provided above (aren’t I kind 😀 )

Time is nearly upon me so I will have to end here and return to my dojo to practice my saber skills, gotta keep up with Leo you know! So thank you all for visiting today and the support you give me and this site. Please call in again to see the remaining TMNT sabers and more motorcycle themed hilts coming soon. Till next time.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT and all character names, logos and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of VIACOM International Inc. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles appeared in Mirage Comics.