The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #357: Making Minifigure Packaging and Finishing Night of the Comet Minifigures
https://archive.org/download/podcast-357/Podcast%20357.mp3
This week, I wanted to share the final product of the Night of the Comet minifigures! They’re done! I figured out how to make the lettering on Sam’s cheerleader uniform and do the packaging so the two figures can both nest in a protective case.
This short video shows how I made the coverart to look like the original poster.
This is what the Night of the Comet coverart looks like. Like the other similar ones I’ve done, I’ve used Chinese characters for the title – in this case, a literal translation of Night of the Comet (彗星之夜). I’ve taken to not using the English title with these toys partly since it makes it a little harder for the movie studios / eBay to flag it as objectionable for copyright reasons. However, the biggest reason for the dual language packaging is that it reminds me of the imported toys (which were mostly robots and little figurines from places like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan) I remember seeing on the streets of Chinatown when I was a kid in the 80s. Like the others I’ve made so far, these will be charity auctions, this time to raise money for the US nonprofit alliace4girls. I don’t know if this was something that was done intentionally when NOTC was written, but it’s a bit unusual for the time since it’s an action movie with two female leads who not only survive but thrive by virtue of their own resources. So I figured pairing with a nonprofit that helps support and empower girls and women would fit.
There are now three such figures in these cases!
Making the cases for the NOTC figures. I used paper covered foam for these (don’t know if I will use that material much in the future, though).
This technique for foam pieces looks promising – using a hot knife or soldering iron to essentially cut though the foam easily with little to no mess and cleaner lines than with a traditional blade.
By the way, I had the chance this past weekend to make it to a drive in showing of a double feature of Chopping Mall and The Last Starfighter. It was a fun time! More coming on a Patreon exclusive episode with additional pictures, audio footage from the event, and more!
Sam, Reg, and Cliff all approve of the drive in action.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
This spring, if you’re looking for an adult of child mask, check out Thirteenth Hour mask combo package on Etsy. This fall, it became really hard to find good quality masks for our kids as they were going back to school. There are still long wait times for some of the companies we like best, so I thought, why not try to find an alternative? I eventually settled on the triple layer masks available for printing on by the company Flashbay. They were one of the few companies I found that were transparent about their third party safety data (Junior: https://static.flashbay.com/images/certificates/Junior_REACH.pdf?v=1617870020, Adult: https://static.flashbay.com/images/certificates/Sky_Performance.pdf?v=1603078812) which is nice. I was impressed by how well these masks performed on the filtration tests, even after repeat washings. Also, I really liked how both the ears and nose piece could be adjusted for a good fit.
The Thirteenth Hour mask combo also comes with Thirteenth Hour hand sanitizer! (But of course.)
There are now Thirteenth Hour toys! If you’d like to pick up one of these glow in the dark figures for yourself, feel free to email me or go to the Etsy store I set up (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio) and get them there.
If the past few months have got you needing a break, you may want to chill out to this 80s synth throwback track for a upcoming LP with the accompanying music video:
Empty Hands, the synth EP soundtrack to the novella, Empty Hands, is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.
Stay tuned. Follow along on Spotify! There is also a growing extended Thirteenth Hour playlist on Spotify with a growing number of retro 80s songs.
As always, thanks for listening!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!- Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
- Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
- Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
- Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
- Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify. Join the mailing list for a digital free copy. You can also get it on CD or tape.
- Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
- Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
- Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book? Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!
The Thirteenth Hour 