“Dangercar Saber” – A Secret Agent Mouse saber

GOOD GRIEF! I s it time for another post already? Er hello everybody I guess it is time for today’s post. And today instead of a saber for a cartoon cat I have a design inspired by a cartoon mouse! Probably the most famous mouse to eve be a Secret Agent….Danger Mouse. Danger Mouse is a 1980’s UK cartoon created by Cosgrove Hall Productions that centres around a mouse who is the world’s first and only Secret Agent Mouse that battles crime and works to thwart the evil plans of a “Terrible Toad” named Baron Silas Greenback. Danger Mouse (or DM) was loosely based on the TV character “Danger Man” and of course James Bond but DM was a hero and a bit of a coward at the same time. Lucky for DM he had a hapless sidekick in the shape of a Hamster assistant named Penfold – though Penfold got into more predicaments than he helped the pair get out of. If you haven’t seen Danger Mouse then here is a quick look at him…

DM was a suave secret agent and in real life was voiced by the legendary actor David Jason, who most readers may associate as playing the part of trader Delboy Trotter in the UK sitcom “Only Fools and Horses”. His sidekick Penfold was voiced by comic actor Terry Scott who appeared in the “Carry-on” series of movies (in the 70’s and 80’s) and a TV sitcom named “Terry and June”. The show was a big hit in the UK and was as a result the first animated show to appear on Nickelodeon (along with Belle and Sebastian) . DM became popular in the US too being likened to Rocky and Bullwinkle. But back in the UK….DM battled Baron Greenback for TEN series/seasons and during which time he called upon the use of a special car the Mark III Danger Car. Well my friend TheVintageToyAdvertiser (find his site here> https://thevintagetoyadvertiser.org/) and I were chatting a while ago and the idea of a DM saber cropped up and I thought “I just made a Ferrari themed saber for Magnum PI…why not make a DM Dangercar Saber?” So I did and here is Gallery One….Tally HO!!!!

This saber is based on the Mark III Dangercar which was a yellow sports car (similar to a Lotus Esprit like James Bond famously drove) and also had numerous gadgets and gizmos. But the most famous trick this car could perform was it’s ability to fly! It could extend wings out just like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and take to the skies and it is this flying mode I have recreated here (hence no wheels!). The car saber also has a proper transparent and reflective windshield part near the “cockpit” and seats which act as the saber activation controls. The saber also has the folding red winglets and on the bonnet/hood of the car you can see the famous DM logo badge. The main handgrip is sleek leading to a rear end that has a few more details. But first here is Gallery Two showing a few close ups..

These pics clearly show the sportscar influences and the windshield/cockpit/winglets. I’m also pretty happy how the logo turned out as it follows the contours of the bodywork nicely. The rear of the saber has a red vertical tail fin, along with the rear quarter “engine cover” bulges. Then to finish this saber off I included a pommel part that has tail-lights, a license plate, rear bumper/fender and a radiator grille that acts as a cooling vent and sound grille for the lightsaber. Once again I think I did pretty well converting a car into a saber but so you can judge for yourself here are two images, one of the cartoon car itself and the second, an actual real life replica built by a fan to drive on the road!

And that my friends just about wraps this secret agent mission up. DM and Penfold are about to return to their base (which is a secret lair built under a red London postal box!) and I must return to the shadowsof wherever I am at the moment (can’t say much about my whereabouts…but it’s awfully moist here!)

Before I go however I must as always give out my thanks to TheVintageToyAdvertiser for another of his challenges, they do put me to the test! And I need to say thanks to all of you, my friends and readers. Whether you are a first time visitor or a regular caller to FTSabersite thank you for the support and I hope you will call back for more lightsaber and 3D model making inspired by Star Wars and pop culture. There is so much more to come including Star Wars Visions inspired hilts, FOUR new starfighters I have designed and a few sabers for a Marvel film due out in November of 2024! Till next time….

“Dangercar Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by Cosgrove Halls Productions animation “Danger Mouse”. The design, 3D model and renders were created by For Tyeth in Blender 3D and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2023. “Danger Mouse”, the “Mark III DangerCar” and Penfold along with all other names, logos, images and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Cosgrove Hall Productions 1981-2023.

“Max Interceptor” Saber – Inspired by Mad Max the Road Warrior

G’Day everybody and welcome back to my final telling of the tale of Max the Road Warrior. Max Rockatansky was an Australian police officer in the time after a terrible war resulted in a lack of resources and a collapse in societal behaviour. The Outback became even more lawless and biker gangs roam and pillaged in an attempt to get “black gold” or Juice for their vehicles. In what was left of the suburban areas folks tried to live as normal but it became ever more difficult. Max took his young family out to have a picnic one day but unfortunately he ran across one such biker gang. This gang had been investigated/pursued by the police including Max and his colleague friend, Goose, and in the action Goose was brutally killed in a bike crash. This damaged Max psychologically and tried to find comfort with his family with the picnic….then the confrontation occurred. Max was pushed over the edge….

Mad Max Interceptor

Max was driving his family to the countryside when he suffered a flat tire. He found a salvage yard and whilst bartering to get a new wheel his wife and child wandered off to look at the scenery. The biker gang turned up and there was a confrontation and Max’s wife and son were brutally attacked and killed. Max lost it and went on a crazed one man crusade to find the gang and gain vengeance. And he used his vehicle, the Pursuit Interceptor as a weapon. So I based my Max inspired saber on that vehicle, this is “Max Interceptor”….

As this hilt is modelled after a police car I made sure it was a tough utilitarian design with automotive detailing. The saber is solid with a very distinctive emitter and pommel. You will notice that the hilt is also a lot more black than the multicoloured Pursuit Interceptor I posted a picture of above. This saber is based on the car AFTER Max made some modifications. He emptied the boot/trunk to install larger fuel tanks, then added a new sleeker radiator grille and headlights…..then there was the Supercharger block on the famous V8 engine!

The Pursuit Special Interceptor and on the right, the mighty V8!

So, as you will have worked out, I modelled the emitter to represent the mighty engine block and supercharger. I gave the saber a black paint job but retained the yellow, red and blue stripes to hark back to the fact this used to be a police cruiser. The handle itself has a 3D modelled texture to provide MAXimum grip during combat. And finally, the pommel also features some 3D texturing with what appears to be tire treads….and that’s because the pommel is made up from the Interceptor’s rear wheel! Here’s the next gallery and some close ups….

The emitter has quite a bit of detail modelled into it, including the drive shaft socket for the radiator fan (this forms the actual emitter mouth). Above and below are rows of bolts that hold the upper and lower halves of the cylinder block together. Along the sides you can see the channels that indicate the row of four pistons that form the V configuration. The “power bulge” or inlet for the supercharger on top of the emitter also acts as one of the activation switches for the saber. Max famously boobytrapped his car so vigilantes and enemies couldn’t steal his ride, and so too is this saber rigged. It can be set to activate either by pressing the Supercharger OR by twisting the pommel cap or a combination of both ….very nasty if you tried to switch it on incorrectly as you’ll blow the saber up! Not very Jedi like I know but it is very Max-like.

And this vehicle carried Max through the Wastelands of Australia till it was finally stolen then destroyed in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. It was his home as he travelled and encountered the Toecutter gang, Bartertown and the tribe of Tomorrow Morrow people. And maybe just maybe….out on the road Max is wandering still with a For Tyeth saber by his side.

That just about brings this telling to an end and this Mad Max inspired series. Thanks so much for checking it out and please take a look at the others I posted in recent weeks. Also thank you for all the positive comments about my Uhura and Nichelle Nichols inspired tribute last week, it meant a lot to me to know I did a good job. However that isn’t the end, I still have many more designs and prop models I have built so please call back to see those in upcoming posts. Till next time…..

 “Max Interceptor” saber is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the movie franchise Mad Max . The design, 3D model and renders were created by For Tyeth/FTSabersite and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2022. “Mad Max 3 Beyond Thunderdome” is a Warner Bros/Universal Pictures movie directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie. “Max Rockatansky”,, “Thunderdome” and all other names, logos, images and related material are currently owned Trademarks/©Copyright of Warner Bros/Universal Pictures 2021.

“Blaster Master Saber” – Inspired by the character from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

G’day Everybody and welcome back to the second part of the “Telling” of Max Rockatansky and his adventures in the wastelands of the aftermath. Two weeks ago I be telling you about how Max, a former police officer, became the Road Warrior – a lone wanderer who lost his family after they were killed by a biker gang. Max travelled the desert wastes of Australia (caused by a nuclear war) in his old police cruiser which he modified to help him survive. The car had turbos and expanded fuel tanks to hold as much “Juice” as possible. It was also equipped with booby traps….however in the film Beyond Thunderdome his car was stolen and Max was stranded in the desert. He managed to track his car and the thief back to an outpost called Bartertown. He eventually negotiated entry into the settlement and searched for his car. A deal went bad and because of a feud between two members of Bartertown, Max got entered into a gladiatorial fight in the Thunderdome. Here he fought one half of a character known as “Master Blaster”.

Master and Blaster (aka MasterBlaster)

MasterBllaster was in fact two people, a large hulking giant named Blaster that carried his companion, named Master, around on his shoulders. They lived symbiotically but Master wanted to control Bartertown. The problem was that Aunty Entity, an Amazonian-like woman (played by Tina Turner) ruled Bartertown. Max came to Aunty’s attention due to his efforts to regain his car, and Aunty decided to manipulate Max into a situation where he had to fight Blaster in Thunderdome in an attempt to retain her control of the outpost. Well I think it’s time to show you my version of Blaster in lightsaber form, this is Blaster Master Saber…

I attempted to recreate Blaster and build a saber that was imposing and leather clad. I also tried to recreate the iconic helmet. The emitter is obviously intended to be the helmet with glowing eyes created by cutouts to allow the blade to shine thru. It also has the metal rings that adorn the helmet, and in my design these rings also act as the controls for the saber (they are press switches). The blade is an orange colour that replicates the lights in the underground power plant facility where Blaster and Master live (the power plant is fuelled by Methane gas produced by pigs which they keep). The hilt body is clad in a thick, heavily stitched leather wrapping similar to Blaster’s singlet trousers. And finally I gave the hilt a no-nonsense pommel to look like his boots. Finally one small detail on the helmet is the wire mesh texture inbetween the ribs of the metal cage that forms the headgear. I was tempted to try and 3D model the mesh using a Wireframe but realised it would make the model too complex so I settled on using graphics to show a mesh pattern. I think it works still. Anyhoo, you can decide as I bring you Gallery Two with some close ups….

So, MasterBlaster and Max were fighting for survival in the ‘Dome and Max discovered that Blaster was vulnerable to high pitched noises and used a Bosun’s whistle to deafen and disorientate Blaster, eventually giving him the upper hand. Max was in position to end the battle but in the process he knocked blaster’s helmet off as the giant fell to the floor. As Max approached, about to deal the fatal blow….he saw that Blaster had Down’s Syndrome. Shocked, Max refused to kill Blaster as he believed Blaster was being used just as he had been manipulated by Aunty Entity. Refusing to kill broke the rule of Thunderdome of “Two men enter…One man leaves” and Entity was furious. She had Blaster killed anyway and exiled Master to a life in the pig pens beneath the outpost. This would have been tough for the now lonely Master who himself suffered from Dwarfism. Then Entity dealt with Max by having him stripped of his possessions and tied to a donkey which was then forced out into the desert. Eventually the donkey collapsed and Max freed himself, only to come into contact with a tribe of children descendant’s of the survivors of a plane crash years earlier. They though Max was a hero who fell from the sky, the Captain….but that be another “Telling” for another time…..

A few interesting facts: The Master was played by Angelo Rossitto, who had Dwarfism and measured just 2 feet 11 inches in height. Blaster however was portrayed by TWO actors, the first being the giant man named Paul Larsson that measured in at 6 feet 8 inches tall (and was a plumber from Sydney in real life)….but the “face” of Blaster was played by actor Stephen Hayes, who did indeed have Down Syndrome – and was one of the first, if not THE first person to land a substantial film role whilst having the condition.

And that just about brings me to the end of this “Telling” , I hope you enjoyed the post. I have one final Mad Max themed hilt to come but I also have a tribute to Lt Uhura from Star Trek, a Magnum PI themed red sports car saber, some new land/air speeder vehicles….and a whole collection of Phase Two Trooper lightsabers all coming in future posts. I hope you’ll return to check those out. But for now thank you so much for your support and visit today. I couldn’t blog without an audience of fantastic followers and you have kept me blogging for SIX years now – I received a notification from WordPress this week congratulating me. So thanks again and Till next time…..

“Blaster Master Saber”  is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the movie Mad Max 3 Beyond Thunderdome. The design, 3D model and renders were created by For Tyeth/FTSabersite and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2022. “Mad Max 3 Beyond Thunderdome” is a Warner Bros/Universal Pictures movie directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie. “MasterBlaster”, “Mad Max”, “Thunderdome” and all other names, logos, images and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Warner Bros/Universal Pictures (1985).

“Thunderdome Saber” – Inspired by Mad Max 3 Beyond Thunderdome

G’day Cobbers……this be the telling of a man, a myth….a Max. The man was Max Rockatansky also be knowing as “The Sky Captain” who came to our space after the big explosion and the black gold ran out. He was to save us and return us to the big shining Tomorrow-morrow Land. But first Max had to survive a journey….through Bartertown and the THUNDERDOME! Yes today folks we travel “down under” to Australia of the near future and the world of Max Rockatansky. Max was a former police officer whose family was killed by a rogue biker gang that prowled the wastelands of Australia after a nuclear war. Max set out to bring his own form of justice onto the bike gang and hunted them down, earning the name the “Road Warrior”….then later he came upon an outpost town named Bartertown. Here he tried to get more “Juice” for his vehicle but fell foul of the trading post’s traditions and ended up fighting in the Thunderdome.

Well, back in reality my friend The Vintage Toy Advertiser (his site: https://thevintagetoyadvertiser.org/) “challenged” me to design a saber (or two) inspired by Mad Max and this is the first of three designs I have accomplished. This saber is inspired by and modelled on the infamous “Thunderdome” fighting arena seen in the third movie. The dome was a metal cage which two combatants entered and fought to the death to settle arguments and disputes. The dome had two rules…Two men enter, one man leaves, and the second rule was “There are no rules”. Inside were a variety of weapons as well as Bungy-cord harnesses which allowed the fighters to jump and climb about the inside of the locked dome – and allow them to grab weapons hanging from the roof. Well that brings me to the first gallery of pictures….prepare to enter “Thunderdome”!

This saber is based on my previous “Rapier” designs I made for Inigo Montoya and Zorro and I used the “basket handguard” to replicate the Thunderdome itself. The dome was made of metal grating so I created a half sphere then added a Modifier to turn the sphere into a “Wireframe” mesh which I then thickened the struts to form the cage structure. I then added the single (and locked) cage door on one side. To give the dome an old frontier look I applied a texture of flaking painted metal. The dome protects the users’ hand and covers the activation switch module that I shaped to look like a coffin (morbid I know, but it does represent the rule of only one man leaves the dome). The leather handgrip is reminiscent of Max’s jacket and the clothing worn by his adversary, the Master Blaster. But more about Master Blaster in a future post, for now I will present the second batch of images and some closeups of the details.

In the first image you can see how the dome would look if it were a freestanding object. You can also see the “doorway” that I added which is highlighted silver. The second image shows the “coffin switch” and leather detailing. The switch is basic but the whole Bartertown and Mad Max setting is dystopian and kinda apocalyptic so I didn’t want a fancy activation box…just something that looked thrown together and functional. The leather I am really pleased with as I am getting better at setting the texture up to show off the details – I have nailed the function which creates the illusion of “bumps and ridges” known as Bump Mapping. This makes the stitching on the leather appear to pop out (and the grain also looks as if it is rough). Finally just as a reminder of the rules of Thunderdome, I added the text around the pommel which reads “Two men enter….One man leaves” in a metallic silver to match the doorway. I managed to find a suitable background image that looks like the post apocalyptic outback too.

This is just the first basic saber I did to get me in the mood and I have TWO more Mad Max themed sabers to showcase in future posts but I also have news of a new arrival at “Tyeth Towers”. I mentioned a week or two ago that I was awaiting a parcel from America…well it arrived and here is a sneak peek at what that parcel contained….

My new saber…a beautiful gift!

You might recognise this lightsaber as it is modelled on the one owned by Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi. This is a fully working replica and was gifted to me by an extremely generous member of the saber community as thanks for my designing. I will have a special featured post showcasing this hilt more coming soon.

And that just about wraps up this edition, thanks so much to The Vintage Toy Advertiser for his newest challenge to me, and thank you to all my viewers/readers. You are all very much appreciated and I hope you enjoyed this post and will call back to check out my new saber and all the new designs I have coming up (the Mad Max trilogy and a new collection of “Phase Two Trooper” lightsabers). I’m off to visit Tomorrow-Morrow Land…….Till next time…..

“Thunderdome Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design inspired by the movie Mad Max 3 Beyond Thunderdome. The design, 3D model and renders were created by For Tyeth/FTSabersite and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2022. “Mad Max 3 Beyond Thunderdome” is a Warner Bros/Universal Pictures movie directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie. “Mad Max”, “Thunderdome” and all other names, logos, images and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Warner Bros/Universal Pictures (1985).

“Sabermarionation” A Saber for Gerry Anderson Day (with The Atomic Mage)

Hello everybody….Stand By For Action, anything could happen in the next 30 minutes. Today is a big day for two reasons, firstly my good friend The Atomic Mage (The Vintage Toy Advertiser also formerly known as TVTA) is posting his first BIG post on his new blog (click here to visit : https://theatomicmage.wordpress.com/) and he has asked me to do a collaboration with him to celebrate another great talent…namely Gerry Anderson and his puppet television and live shows from the 1960’s to the 2020’s. So shall we begin?

The Atomic Mage informed me last week that April the 14th is International Gerry Anderson Day and asked if I could design/build something special for the event. I immediately set to work and in just over 24 hrs I had an idea and had sent an initial picture to his Mage. The design was inspired by one of Gerry Anderson’s most famous shows, Thunderbirds..but Mr Anderson had been in the TV industry since the 40’s as a producer/writer etc and had his first notable credit with “The Adventures of Twizzle”. Next up was a show named “Supercar” and was a puppet/animatronic based show that along with “Fireball XL5” set the basis for Thunderbirds. I won’t labour too much on the history of Mr Anderson’s work as I’m sure his Mage has much more detailed stories to tell, but it was Thunderbirds that I used as inspiration for this new design. I was a fan of Stingray, an aquatic themed puppet show with a super submarine but that didn’t lend itself to being converted into a saber…but there was a Thunderbird vehicle I thought fit the bill…Thunderbird 3!

I immediately saw some potential in this striking red ship and I began modelling to convert TB3 into “Sabermarionation”. I came up with the name after the name of the technique Mr Anderson gave to his style of puppetry which was “Supermarionation”. These were puppets which contained and used electronically controlled features for the face and mechanics of the vehicle models. Ok enough talking, I’m sure you want to see pictures and the first batch is a slide show of the modelling process I went through to build the 3D model…

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As you can see I started with a cylinder then modified the thickness along it’s length to mimic the fuselage body. I managed to add the “cooling fins” halfway up the ship. Then I added the outrigger struts which held the secondary engine nacelles. When I finished the nacelles and realised the model would work I added a bit of colour which helped me add detailing. Finally I added the texturing and lettering – all of which is firmly embossed onto the skin of the model and I added a belt clip attachment (the black wheel appendage known as a Covertech). It may not look like I did much to convert this but that was the beauty of picking TB3, I just needed to thicken the upper fuselage and nose cone to form a handgrip and the engine exhaust and nacelles formed a ready made emitter! To activate the saber all you have to do is twist the handgrip. Now again I think it is time to see this hilt in some Glamour Shots…

Hopefully these images show off the saber and all it’s details. I am particularly pleased with the lettering and the outrigger struts, because if you look closely at the struts you will see I even added the small black oval adornments that give Thunderbird 3 a sort of squid like profile. And the final image I was just feeling “arty” and wanted an atmospheric picture to show off Gerry Anderson’s creation best.

Thunderbirds 1 to 5 weren’t Mr Anderson’s only creations, he and his designers (including his then wife Sylvia) came up with many characters and vehicles for many more shows including “Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons”, “Joe 90”, the aforementioned “Stingray” and later in the 70’s the shows “UFO” and “Space 1999” with it’s famous Eagle starships. Long time followers of mine may recall I made an Eagle saber way back in Feb 2017!

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  Eagle One Reference

Some other creations included…

There was a pink Rolls Royce known as FAB 1, then the SHADO Moonbase Intercetor from UFO, Captain Scarlet’s Spectrum Pursuit vehicle and in the 1980’s the show Terrahawks featured characters such as Zelda, Cystar, and Yung Star – all cybernetic mystic aliens that try to invade Earth but are thwarted by the forces of The Earth Defence Squadron or Terrahawks as they are known due to the ships they fly. They also each had an army of droids, Zelda had an army of Cubes whilst the Terras had the Zeroids…..WAIT A MINUTE! I think Atomic Mage has been snooping in my workshop! Can you see the spherical shaped droid face in that last picture? That is Sgt Major Zero and he was going to be my “Special Mystery Guest”! I figured I hadn’t worked hard enough so I decided to model and refurbish the Sgt Major and give him a Blender 3D polish….oh well here is my Special Guest….Sgt Major Zero….

I will say first off that the Sgt Major’s panels are orientated differently, it is hard to find original Zeroid body panels nowadays 😁 but he is still a fully functioning droid and has made friends with my other robotic buddy “dROYd”! The body shell is made of a nice space alloy and features the rank markings of a Sgt Maj, as well as a gold rim around his eye socket housing. The adaptor sockets on the side of his dome are again firmly embossed 3D objects molded to follow his curved surface, just like the text on the saber above. Other details include articulated glowing eyes (I can animate them if needed), roundels on either side of his head, cooling ducts on the rear and a basic pedestal for him to sit atop when he isn’t rolling about. Sgt Maj Zero was a great character and may have influenced Lucasfilm into designing a rolling spherical droid known as BB-8!

Mr Gerry Anderson and some of his creations

Well I think that nearly brings me to the end of this tribute to Gerry Anderson and my first collaboration for Atomic Mage’s new blog. I hope you enjoyed it and if you haven’t seen any Anderson produced shows then check them out. You can also visit the official Gerry Anderson Website using this link: https://www.gerryanderson.co.uk/

Thank you for joining me and The Atomic Mage in celebrating Gerry Anderson Day. Thank you Atomic, for your challenge to me, I hope I passed the test and am ready for International Rescue. And my special guest Sgt Major Zero would like the last word, so from me For Tyeth stay safe and Till next time….take it away Sarge….

I couldn’t have put it better myself!

The Atomic Mage can be found at: https://theatomicmage.wordpress.com/

“Sabermarionation” is a For Tyeth Editions lightsaber design inspired by the work of Gerry Anderson and the tv show Thunderbirds. “Thunderbirds”, “Thunderbird 3”, “Stingray” and all other Anderson creations/shows, names, logos, images and related material are Trademark/©Copyright of Anderson Entertainment 1960-2021. All 3D models and renders were created by For Tyeth/FTSabersite and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2021.

For Tyeth News – A slight change in Schedule

Hello Everybody, today I have good and bad news (of a sort). Firstly my very good friend and “Challenger in Chief” – The Vintage Toy Advertiser (https://thevintagetoyadvertiser.org/2021/04/05/tvta-is-retiring/– )announced that after 10 stellar years of blogging about vintage toy advertisements and catalogues (as well as a lot of “pop culture” stuff for good measure too) he is closing down his office, so ending an era. But the good news is that TVTA has plans to start up a smaller, less time consuming blog in the future so he isn’t disappearing into the “Living Force” just yet! I mentioned that TVTA was my “Challenger in Chief”….well before he closes his current site he informed me that on April 14th is “Gerry Anderson Appreciation Day” – a day dedicated to the television genius that brought us shows like UFO, Stingray, Joe 90 and of course most famously….THUNDERBIRDS! To mark this day TVTA plans to post a tribute (either on his current site or as his first offering on his new site) and asked me if I could also come up with something for the day. I couldn’t turn down this request and I have been busy this past 3 days hammering out a design for a Gerry Anderson inspired saber, but this means that today I don’t have a regular post as I will be posting the Anderson saber on Wednesday 14th to co-ordinate with TVTA.

“BUT TYETH WHAT ABOUT US? We don’t have any eye candy today!”….Yes I am sorry but I hear you, which is why I have a few pictures of some up and coming designs I have in the FTSabersite pipeline. You didn’t really think I was going to neglect you all did you? Course not, so here is a sneak glimpse at my FTSaberCore Saber collection….

These are a set of sabers that if ever built would feature interchangeable electronics, so you could get a black and gold hilt along with a silver version and switch the internals between the two – meaning you would only need buy one electronics kit. I think these are pretty nice looking but there is more coming in future posts including more “High Republic” themed hilts (and a special Super Hero model with matching plinth!), a Frontier saber….and more Blaster inspired stuff! So plenty to look forward to (and maybe a costume!).

That brings me to the end of this slightly shorter/different post. I have to say a MASSIVE thank you to TVTA, you have become one of my best friends (not just online but in general life) and you have made me a better designer with all your “Toy Challenges”….I mean who would have thought I could create sabers based on Charlie’s Angels, Starsky and Hutch…..AND the Ghostbusters’ ECTO-1? I had to think well outside the box on those recommendations and I learnt so much. I also learnt about Chirashi pamphlets (Japanese/Asian cinema posters) the comic world of “Weird War Tales” and discovered a wealth of vintage furniture and homeware images from your catalogue collection (these helped me look at the art of design differently). As such I look forward to the launch of your new site and what that brings!

And I want to thank you viewers, for all the support you have shown me and TVTA, it is appreciated by both of us and I hope you will continue to call back to FTSabersite to see all the new stuff I have coming up AND keep supporting TVTA and his new site (I’ll post links when he sets everything up!). So remember Wednesday 14th I’ll have the Gerry Anderson Tribute and then I ‘ll return to my normal scheduled postings. Till next time….

“FTSaberCore Collection” are a set of sabers designed and modelled in Blender 3D by For Tyeth/FTSabersite and are ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2021.

Bionic Battle Saber – Inspired by the Six Million Dollar Man and toys

Hello Everybody, today I am taking on another “The Vintage Toy Advertiser Challenge” and it will take us back to the 1970’s TV show starring Lee Majors…The Six Million Dollar Man. The show which was loosely based on a novel titled “Cyborg” written by Martin Caidin tells the story of an Airforce Test Pilot – Colonel Steve Austin. Steve Austin was testing a new vehicle called a “Lifting Body” known as the M2-F2, but suffered a near fatal crash. He survived but suffered massive injury resulting in him losing his right arm, both legs and his eye. During the opening intro sequence of the show you see a real life crash of an M2-F2 piloted by Bruce Peterson which took place on May 10th 1967. Peterson survived the horrific crash with just(?) a broken wrist and severe damage to the skin of his face (he did later lose his eye due to an infection that got into the injury), but in the TV show Steve Austin needed to be rebuilt…and you hear a government official state “we can rebuild him….faster, stronger….better! We have the technology!” And they did just that, giving Austin new bionic legs, an arm and a bionic eye. During the intro sequence there were lots of data screens and wireframe images of the medical operations so I had best show you the wireframe “techy” image I have of this new saber before I explain everything about it….

Now observant viewers may recognise this as looking a little bit like a rocket ship…and you would be sort of correct! The SMDM tv show was such a success that the toy company Kenner Toys brought out a range of toys and action figures. There was a Steve Austin figure with “bionic features” such as a spring loaded arm that lifted a model car engine. There was also an “Oscar Goldman” figure, Oscar being Austin’s boss after his recovery. Then there was this, the Bionic Transport and Repair Station (BTRS)…

The Bionic Transport and Repair Station

The Bionic Transport and Repair Station 2

The BTRS was Steve Austin’s special transport rocket which also opened up and doubled as an operating theatre/repair station for his bionic parts. There was an operating theatre light cluster in the base, an X-ray unit (with glow in the dark images to represent the different body parts) and a myriad of tubes and cables to run “diagnostics” on Austin. So my challenge was to replicate this toy in saber form. Not my greatest challenge to be fair as it is already tubular in shape and looks Sci-Fi, but I had a lot of details to add to make it pop. To start with I built the booster rocket base (which formed the theatre light cluster) and then worked my way up…so here are the pictures as it took shape…

Bionic Battle Saber base 1

Bionic Battle Saber base and body

Bionic Battle Saber base, body and nosecone

The complete Bionic Battle Saber/BTRS

Work in progress on the cockpit

Cockpit details.

So, as I mentioned I didn’t have much to do technically with this build but there were a lot of tiny details that I needed to add to solidify the look and leave you in no doubt what inspired it. The booster base acts as a pommel, featuring the four side pod booster engines as well as the main central booster and all the panelling. The main body of the hilt represents the main-stage body of the BTRS and houses the cockpit (more on this below), and the “stars and stripes” flag on the front. This flag is a 3D part, not just a graphic applied onto the model and I planned to use this flag as the activation switch for the hilt. The whole hilt body has little details like oxygen cylinders on the underside and various vents and panels. Two of the panels feature the name Kenner etched into them as TVTA asked that I incorporated their logo into the design somehow. The saber is topped off with a blue nose cone that acts as the emitter. However…beneath this nosecone you will have noticed the glass window and maybe you will have picked out the figure of Steve Austin himself! I actually modelled a cockpit section and then pasted a picture of Austin inside that section. But I didn’t just leave it like that, I divided the panel the image was on and manipulated it so that it formed the contours of Austin’s face, head and shoulders…so he is actually 3D too! The saber wouldn’t be a saber with out a blade of course and this hilt has a red blade, not because Steve is a Sith Darksider but because it matches with his famous red athletics “tracksuit”! You can see it in the images below, one is the real Kenner toy, one is my 3D model…

The Bionic Transport and Repair Station and Steve Austin figure

Bionic Battle Saber

The Kenner Bionic Transport and Repair Station toy

The Six Million Dollar Man show spawned numerous made for TV films and the show ran from 1973 to 1978 and the films ran into the 1980’s. And it seems the toys have lasted even longer! So I’d like to thank TVTA once more for giving me the challenge of recreating this piece of nostalgia and I hope you all like it. (BTW I did actually own the Steve Austin, Oscar Goldman figures and I had a Bionic Transport Repair Station, so this one brought back memories for me).

I think that just about wraps up this design and as I said above I hope you enjoyed. I will be returning to the galaxy far, far, away next week as I have some staff weapons I need to show you all and I think you may recognise at least one of the owners. I’d like to thank all of you, my viewers and followers for again taking time to visit today and I hope you will return for my upcoming posts. Your support has been fantastic and much appreciated. Till next time…….I have the technology!

“Bionic Battle Saber” is a For Tyeth Editions design and is ©Copyright of For Tyeth/FTSabersite 2016-2019. The design was inspired by The Six Million Dollar Man tv show and the toys produced by Kenner Toys inc.  Respective Trademarks and ©Copyrights belong to Harve Bennett, Kenneth Johnson, ABC Television and NBC Universal Television Distribution and Kenner Toys/Hasbro.