For Tyeth Blender 3D Concept Sabers

[For Tyeth]

Hello Karmack,

That is awesome that you had access to a Torino! Interestingly the Torinos used in the show were actually underpowered! They fixed the problem by upgrading the rear axle and gearbox so the 351 Windsor had a bit more "Pop". As a result though the car had to stay under 50mph or it would cause the RPMs to go too high and damage the engine. Both cars were painted in "Bright Red paint code 2B" which was a factory standard but the white stripes, 5 spoke wheels and jacked up suspension were added by the Transportation Manager of the series.
And funny you should mention the headlights, this was one of the teaser images I posted on my site...


One final image I used as reference (and just so we can admire it)

[Infinit01]

Hope all is well with your family, For.  I really like the Grand Torino saber that you designed and enjoyed how you captured the front end of the vehicle to create the emitter for the saber. It really reminds me of a car that would belong in movies like Blade Runner or The Fifth Element.  Really cool

[For Tyeth]

Yes, that red and white Grand Torino is an iconic vehicle 

For, your designs are incredible!  I can't wait to see your future projects!

Hello TheDutchman....I just posted a reply to Karmack and I included a picture of the car itself! I loved this car as a kid and had a Corgi Toys die-cast replica, but it didn't have the stripes on it so I fixed that by painting some on using typewriter correction fluid!

I am so glad you like my work, I try and add little details that really tie a design to the inspiration and those little details make the difference. I have quite a few new designs still to come including a "Red Fury" Stormtrooper design, a hilt based on a Star Destroyer, two Marvel Exo Suit themed hilts, a pair of hilts for Darth Vader and his apprentice....and finally I have my new version of the Thor hilt I recently lost in a technical glitch. Hopefully there should be something for everyone in that collection!

Thanks so much for your support and kind words. Point on it's way to you also.

[For Tyeth]

Hope all is well with your family, For.  I really like the Grand Torino saber that you designed and enjoyed how you captured the front end of the vehicle to create the emitter for the saber. It really reminds me of a car that would belong in movies like Blade Runner or The Fifth Element.  Really cool

Hi Infinit, things have calmed down now with my elderly relative, and fortunately I am back at home and feeling better thank you very much. I hope you had a good shower party (I saw you mention it on your YT channel).

The Torino as Karmack and TheDuthman also pointed out is soo iconic I really had a lot of details I could work with - the hard part was making sure the design still looked a bit like a saber! Making the emitter flare out as I did gave the saber the look of the front end of the Torino, but it also formed a type of "winged" Tsuba. Then flaring the pommel section represented the distinctive jacked up rear end of the car!

Thanks again for looking in and for your well wishes. Point on it's way.

[Karmack]

Hello Karmack,

That is awesome that you had access to a Torino! Interestingly the Torinos used in the show were actually underpowered! They fixed the problem by upgrading the rear axle and gearbox so the 351 Windsor had a bit more "Pop". As a result though the car had to stay under 50mph or it would cause the RPMs to go too high and damage the engine. Both cars were painted in "Bright Red paint code 2B" which was a factory standard but the white stripes, 5 spoke wheels and jacked up suspension were added by the Transportation Manager of the series.

Yeah, my Dad's was a '76 IIRC, but it had been updated.   It had the C4 transmission, the same one I had in my '77 Cougar XR7, except that my XR7 had an overdrive gear, which meant I actually got pretty good mileage on the highway despite the huge car and huge engine.  :-)   

Mine was silver with gray accent on the roof and the interior was gray leather.  It was the "diamond jubilee" package as I recall, had spoked wheels and slightly oversized tires.  After we did some work on the engine, it would scream, too.

*sigh*  I miss that car...

[For Tyeth]

Hi again Karmack,

You were very lucky indeed! The Torinos used in the pilot show and season one were originally '75 models and then they got 76s for season two. However as you can imagine there were continuity problems with varying specs so sometimes you would see a car with electric operated wing mirrors and in the next scene it might have manual mirrors! The funniest part though was the fact the car had a bench seat and whenever the car took a corner it threw David Soul and Paul Glaser into each other as they would slide along the bench. They eventually managed to get bucket seats installed.

And for the record my car owning history extends to an '83 Toyota Celica 2.0ltr ST coupe which had flip up headlights, full cruise controls on the steering wheel hub, electric windows and sunroof. It was in midnight blue/black with tan interior. It also had racing transmission and Krypton tuning. Sadly after I took it to my brother's garage for some work his mechanic took the car for a test drive and wrapped it around a street pole!

[Karmack]

Hi again Karmack,

You were very lucky indeed! The Torinos used in the pilot show and season one were originally '75 models and then they got 76s for season two. However as you can imagine there were continuity problems with varying specs so sometimes you would see a car with electric operated wing mirrors and in the next scene it might have manual mirrors! The funniest part though was the fact the car had a bench seat and whenever the car took a corner it threw David Soul and Paul Glaser into each other as they would slide along the bench. They eventually managed to get bucket seats installed.

And for the record my car owning history extends to an '83 Toyota Celica 2.0ltr ST coupe which had flip up headlights, full cruise controls on the steering wheel hub, electric windows and sunroof. It was in midnight blue/black with tan interior. It also had racing transmission and Krypton tuning. Sadly after I took it to my brother's garage for some work his mechanic took the car for a test drive and wrapped it around a street pole!

Ewwww!   I hope they replaced it?

My first car was a maroon '76 Buick Century.  Then I had a '77 Ford LTD II, then the Cougar.
After the Cougar I had an '81 Ford Escort wagon.  Then another Cougar, this one an '86.
Then we had an '85 Buick Century, followed by a '95 Cutlass Ciera.
Then a '99 Dodge Caravan (short model), followed by a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan (which I still drive) and my wife's 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan.

The Cougar to Escort switch happened when I got married.  :-)  The second Cougar was a "Second car" I had for a short time when the wife and I were both working.  When she became a stay-at-home mom the Cougar and Escort were traded for the Century.  We swapped that car for the Cutlass Ciera (a four-door) when the '85 Century fell apart.  Then we traded that for the '99 Caravan when our second daughter was born and we've been in Caravans ever since.  :-)

IN all that time, I only ever went into debt for the Ciera, and only for a very short time.  Every other car has been bought for cash. 

I have 330,000 miles on my Caravan, and the wife's is around 140,000.   Both are going strong.  :-)

[Infinit01]

Hi Infinit, things have calmed down now with my elderly relative, and fortunately I am back at home and feeling better thank you very much. I hope you had a good shower party (I saw you mention it on your YT channel).

The Torino as Karmack and TheDuthman also pointed out is soo iconic I really had a lot of details I could work with - the hard part was making sure the design still looked a bit like a saber! Making the emitter flare out as I did gave the saber the look of the front end of the Torino, but it also formed a type of "winged" Tsuba. Then flaring the pommel section represented the distinctive jacked up rear end of the car!

Thanks again for looking in and for your well wishes. Point on it's way.

You're welcome and I'm glad that everything's settled down. This is a great saber once again and it's something different and not in the SW universe.  I enjoyed viewing it and looking for inspiration that you grabbed. 

Thank you for the congrats, have a point back.

[For Tyeth]

Hi Karmack,

No, the fates conspired that my health took a turn for the worse and I couldn't afford to run a car around the same time so my brother ducked out of replacing it (and the rest of my family backed him up as he was the favourite son.) I haven't had any other cars since, I have admired plenty though.

And that's quite a car history you have. I think Kojak used Buick cars come to think of it.
I see the cars became much more "responsible" as your family grew!

(p.s. not surprisingly, I don't have any contact with said brother anymore!)

[Karmack]

Yeah.   The '77 Cougar was my last "fun" car.

When I hit it big, though, my ultimate vehicle: Customized 1955 Ford F100.   :-)

[For Tyeth]

Hi Karmack,

Sorry just had to log off quick - I had a visitor at my front door I had to talk with.

I thought you were going to say when you hit it big you were gonna buy a new Sabre....a General Motors Le Sabre!

A '55 Ford F-100 is just as nice though, they always seem to be featured on the car customisation shows. I think Boyd Coddington hot rodded one on his show years ago before he sadly passed away.

[Karmack]

There will, of course, be a saber rack in the back window...   ;-)

[For Tyeth]

There will, of course, be a saber rack in the back window...   ;-)

Or you could get a set of lightsaber windshield wipers, I have seen those on internet shopping channels.

[MavRick]

Digging that Torino saber!

All this talk about vehicles reminds me of my hot rod pickup. Just like the millennium falcon, She didn't look like much be she had it where it counted!
 I had a 1973 ford F100 with a 390 ci big block that was bored .030 over , a Holley 4 barrel carb, Elderbrock aluminum intake and a C6 automatic tranny.
 It would pass everything but the gas station.

[For Tyeth]

Digging that Torino saber!

All this talk about vehicles reminds me of my hot rod pickup. Just like the millennium falcon, She didn't look like much be she had it where it counted!
 I had a 1973 ford F100 with a 390 ci big block that was bored .030 over , a Holley 4 barrel carb, Elderbrock aluminum intake and a C6 automatic tranny.
 It would pass everything but the gas station.

Hi MavRick, your vehicle sounds very economical! The Torinos in Starsky and Hutch were actually limited to 50mph or less due to the gearing used to give it a bit more "Pop". However Paul Michael Glaser so despised the car he did everything in his power to destroy them, from breaking the speed restrictions all the way to running the wheels into the kerbs when parking or drifting round corners. This resulted in so much damage to the car's frames that the door on one car wouldn't shut properly because of the warping.

Anyhoo, glad you liked the design and that it brought back some memories (that's what I try to do with my designs - create emotional connections to folk)
Next up is the saber that belongs to the trooper at the village....FN.....?

point on it's way.