Last week, we talked about making the same character but in miniature form, so this week, I figured he deserved to have a larger version as well. It’s actually a very simple design but I’ve always meant to do something more with it since there are only a few illustrations I ended up doing and something about the hood, cape, and lack of any distinguishing facial features has always been evocative.
These motocross figures came with the other ones I discussed last week. I couldn’t tell from the pictures, but they were quite differently constructed and much more difficult to disassemble. Luckily, the huge tolerances on the loose joints will make painting it easier, since I can’t get it apart to make sure the joint parts do not scrape on each other. I figured the overall wiggle factor of the figure (high) would work for a character that spends a lot of time gliding through the moonlight sky.
The face sculpts on these guys are hilarious!
Painted black …
The hood as been sculpted on …
At the time of this writing, I have sculpted the hood. I initially thought of sculpting of the face but instead just turned the head around so the back of the head is now the front. I think the only facial features I will paint on are eyes. After pairing it black with an airbrush, I moved the main joints around to see which areas the paint wore away from, then tried to Dremel those areas Dow. I think that is the best I will be able to do since the rest of the figure is held together with rivets I can’t easily remove.
This week, I wanted to continue seeing if the Aliexpress motocross action figure I found would work well as an articulated figure for both the Rocketeer and Logan from The Thirteenth Hour. I’ve been quite impressed by this humble, unbranded, inexpensive figure marketed (depending on the seller) as a motorcycle rider, soldier, or “worker.” I decided to keep the figure as intact as possible and just add epoxy clay to parts I wanted to modify since I tend to find sculpting easier than finagling with joints and sourcing parts, as the joints are much better than anything I could create from scratch. As mentioned, this figure I found really is quite versatile, and for Cliff, all that was needed was to add the chest bib, jodhpurs, and sleeve cuffs. Here he is after some sanding:
For Logan, I think all that will needed will be the front and back halves of his tunic, the scarf/hood neck piece, the belt as part of the pelvis, and perhaps a bit of volume to his (rather parachute-like) pants. I would like to make an Aurora as well, but sourcing female figures is more difficult. I may actually modify this male one to have a female torso (the strategy the 80s GI Joe 3.75″ toys used) since then I could keep the joints intact. The main challenge with Aurora will probably actually be her skirt if her legs are really mobile – I probably won’t be able to get away with the sculpted one I did for legs that could only move forwards and backwards – perhaps cloth?
In the meantime, I decided it was high time that the hunter from The Thirteenth Hour prequel, A Shadow in the Moonlight (read it free in the US!), needed his own figure. This one was made from two modified Hero Construx figures with the addition of some clay, black paint, a cape, bow, and quiver.
Lastly, I finished up the mini Rocketeer made in episode 389 (the sculpt along). Here he is solo and with a clear translucent buddy.
This week, I’m sharing a bit of a possible shortcut to making articulated custom action figures. I recently discovered a source of inexpensive GI Joe style figures (minus the pesky O-ring) that can be disassembled easily. I found these motorcross guys on the website/app Aliexpress. Bought one on a whim wondering if I could modify it. Turns out, it was quite easy!
Here’s the motorcross rider with a different set of legs I took from a figure from The Corps line. I wanted to see if they could be made to fit. With some modification, yes. Within seconds, I took out three screws and motorcross guy was in pieces!
Said modifcation referenced above is widening the joint space on the new leg to fit the bigger joint pegs on motorcross guy.
The neat thing about this style of legs (that GI Joe and its competitors used and now replicated with motorcross guy and his pals) is that a single screw holds it all together.
Next stop – adding clay to modify this body into a Rocketeer.
I’m curious to try this method to make a new wave of more articulated Rocketeer and Thirteenth Hour figures!
This week, I’m continuing projects from the last few episodes, painting the Rocketeer minifigure made during the sculpt-along episode as well as Rocketeer game piece.
Pictures of these figures after the first coat of paint. Once the paint fully dries, it will be time for another coat or two as well as the details, like the jacket buttons and helmet lenses. I also still have to paint the flames and smoke on the game piece figure.
I recently ordered a large figurine from the company Hero Forge, making it about as close to Logan from The Thirteenth Hour as I could. I was planning to sculpt a little onto the parts that I couldn’t make exactly the same and then cast the head for a custom Logan Hero Construx figures.
Here is the figure before …
And after. Once the clay is dry, still a fair amount of detail work needed …
The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #389 and Like a H90 and Like a Hood Ornament #47: Rocketeer Minifigure Resin Casting Updates and Making a Game Piece 2ood Ornament #46: Rocketeer Minifigure Sculpt-along
This week, I’m continuing a project started back in episode 384, making a little game piece of the Rocketeer. My progress on that project was forestalled due to a batch of bad silicone, and it took awhile to get a new batch. I ended up switching to a different line within the Smooth On catalog called Mold Star 16 (since I could find it), and it ended up working out great. To celebrate, I made little cup molds of all the pieces of the Rocketeer mini figure parts I made last time (arms, legs, torso, head) as well as finally making a mold of the Rocketeer board game piece I prepared for molding in episode 384.
I had fairly low expectations of how the game piece would turn out, but once I broke in the mold, it actually worked quite well despite the complexity and intricacy of the game piece.
I used one of the copies of the game piece to extract copies of the rocetpack and the helmet to modify the Hero Clix figure to the left (which I sanded down a bit to prepare it for the clay additions below – adding to the arms, making the chest bib with the buttons, and the jodhpurs). It will then need to be sanded down once cured to smooth it all out.
I attached the head using a pin to hold it in place (in addition to some superglue). I also angled the hed so it is looking a bit right, toward the upraised hand. It just felt more dynamic a pose. I just need to flesh out the smoke in back with some additional clay, sand things down, and then prime it for painting.
The first resin Rocketeer minifigure duplicate made from the figure we created last week. So far, I made four of them.
This week, we are trying something slightly new. I’m sculpting a custom Rocketeer minifigure from a base Flash figure (the DC superhero) with Aves epoxy clay in real time, and am doing my best to describe the process just through audio so you can do it at the same time if you so wish. If you want to follow along, here are the base materials:
Tools are pretty minimal, but it may help to have an X-acto knife, some tools or pieces of thin wood to shape the clay, some Vaseline to smooth over the clay, and a Dremel for cutting down parts of the figure (if you wish – I shaved down parts of the shoulder to make the figure less top heavy) and sanding the final product. Because of the size of the figure, it may also help to have a pair of reading glasses or a magnifying glass, though that is not required. Good lighting, though, is very helpful (a camping headlamp can really help).
We are going to be sculpting jodhpurs, adding the front bib of the Rocketeer’s jacket, adding cuffs to the sleeves, and making the helmet. The first four parts are basically adding pieces of clay and a bit of definition.
The next part is a bit more complex – adding clay to the head and then a piece of carboard to provide structure for the helmet’s fin. Adding clay to the outside of the cardboard piece will be stronger when it all dries than just trying to make the fin out of clay alone.
Here is the final result. After it all dries, I will do some final sanding to touch up a few spots. I will also be reworking the shoulder joints a bit so they fit better. I may also consider making molds of all the parts to be able to make resin casts of the pieces so make some duplicates.
I am using the same rocketpack I used for the Lego minifigures since the scale is about the same, though you could make your own (for the movie version – two torso sized bullet-shaped cylinders connected by a central rectangle). Next step after all this will be priming and painting.
If you made one of these along with this episode, send me a picture or tag me on social media! Would love to see wat you created.
This week, I’m discussing a discovery I made awhile back when considering how to showcase figures in The Thirteenth Hour DnD style campaigns we have been doing over on the Patreon via Discord. (I typically have a second camera set up to show an overhead view of the figures – so far, just during battles – this is an ongoing work in progress.) I thought it would be fun to include some miniatures but wasn’t sure how to find ones that would fit. Plus, I wanted them to be able to hold things in their hands and be somewhat customizable. Enter Mega Contrux minifigures.
Mega Bloks are a long time competitor of Lego that originally started as large scale bricks for young children, though just like Lego, they now have a number of highly complex, licensed properties more appropriate for the fingers and brains of older kids (and adults). Mega also has much more detailed, articulated, and realistically proportioned minifigures, and those are the ones I used for making The Thirteenth Hour minifigures. I started with a figure from their Assassin’s Creed line (I’m not sure who this guy is, but his costume has a number of similarities to the Imperial Ranger uniform – a tunic with large shoulders, grey pants, a hood, and a midsection piece that can be modified to make the triangular belt they wear).
Just like Lego minifigures, the Mega ones break apart for easy customization.
This skirt can be flipped around to make belts when painted.
From left to right – Aron, Blake, Lance, and Wander the wizard.
Wander was made very quickly with the same base figure with a tunic and wizard’s hat made of the same material. Added a bit of epoxy clay for hair and a beard. As you can see, there is a Lego baseplate in the background which I have used for positioning the figures during the game. One of the advantages of using these kinds of figures is that they have holes in their feet, making them easy to position. Mega figures also can use the full range of Lego hand held accessories (of which there are many), which makes it nice to customize them.
This week, I’m discussing packing for some of the upcoming toy projects I have been working on – 3.75″ Rocketeer action figures, the similarly sized Thirteenth Hour figures, and the Thirteenth Hour magnet dolls (the later two are basically part if the same project – the upcoming Once Upon a Dream LP launch. Each of these creative projects require some way to contain their respective parts, necessitating some kind of box with decorative coverart. While I can’t say it’s my favorite part of the whole process, I do think the packaging is of similar importance to the piece of art itself – the package is for protection, foremost, and makes it easier to ship, but it is also an accessory in its own right. It adds to the overall experience of the toy since it may add context, additional information or other pieces to collect, and a place to house the figure when it’s not being used.
This week, I’m working on Christmas decorations! Gingerbread cookies and ornaments! Here are some of the cookies I made with my kids and then decorated:
The Rocketeer and Logan rocketing through the air (so to speak).
Since I’ve been doing resin work for a number of years, I have a bunch of mini figures lying around, so I took two and made ornaments – one metallic blue Logan and a painted Rocketeer figure:
I also took one of the last Rocketeer figures I made (made with clear epoxy resin with blue mica powder mixed in) with silver highlights and made an ornament out of him, too. This one felt a bit like the tin soldier from the Hans Christina Anderson story. He came out of the mold in a way that all his parts were mismatched by a few mm, meaning they needed to be filed and Dremmelled even, and even then, did not quite fit together right. He is, as a result, somewhat skinnier and slighter in build than his brothers. HIs limbs did not quite fit in their joints very sturdily, either, but after enough reshaping, I got them in. I don’t think the joints are that sturdy, though, just because the resin I used was not terribly durable to begin with and due to all the reshaping that had to be done. However, I painted him up with silver highlights and decided that he just needed a new, different job befitting a Rocketeer – hovering in place as guardian of the tree. I’m glad I salvaged him from the trash heap or the Kingdom of Misfit Toys and think he looks great.
This week, I’m working on making a reusable case out of styrofoam to fit in a paper VHS case that will house The Thirteenth Hour action figures I made plus their accessories. I’m using a hot knife this episode to cut out styrofoam rectangles and then inserts in them to house the various parts. I’ll have to try isolating the sound of the knife cutting through the foam – it sounds really cool!
The first one I did to house Logan, Aurora, and their accessories.
Here they are! Now, just need to clean up the edges and make five more. These will be for special editions of the next Thirteenth Hour album, Once Upon a Dream, which is coming soon.
Speaking of albums, there is a Thanksgiving weekend sale going on until 12:59 PM UTC, 12/1/22. Grab Long Ago Not So Far Away, the first Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, on CD or cassette tape at 25% off list price on Bandcamp.
Use the following codes – thankful13cd for CDs and thankful13tp for tapes.
Plus, you’ll get a free gift thrown in (specify in checkout) – an adjustable Thirteenth Hour triple layer face mask (child or adult sized) or a iron/sew on patch.
This week, I finished a prototype of a 3.75″ Rocketeer figures made from adding clay to an Iron Man action figure I found in Walgreens. A few pictures:
This picture shows the almost completed prototype on the left and on the right, the second one which I succeeded in taking apart before adding the clay. I also modified the right hand to be able to hold a pistol. The black thing on the floor is an EVA foam so the pistol can slide into it:
These are the things I used to make the head. I cut the Iron Man head off at the neck (sorry, Iron Man) and inserted a screw into the base. I drilled a hole in the resin Rocketeer helmet and screwed the red base into it.
This was for the second version, since in the prototype, I wasn’t able to get the parts apart first, but the process was basically the same. Speaking of which, here’s the completed prototype:
In this version, there is no functional Mauser holster; it’s just sculpted on. Of course, in the Dave Stevens comic (aside from a few covers) and in the film, the Rocketeer has no holster. I think it the movie, he uses his pants pocket. But I figured, eventually, he might opt for a holster as being more secure and convenient. I drew him as having a holster in the game as well.
I have also made some sow progress on the Thirteenth Hour figures of the same size (3.75″). I had to recast most of the arms and legs, repaint them, and then individually fit them to the torsos again after the last mishap, so at this point, hopefully that learning experience will help when making the Rocketeer figures.
In the second part of the pod, we are reading Chapter 3 in Dragon Fall (1984) by Lee J Hindle.
This week, I give some updates on the making 3.75 inch Rocketeer figures from the 3.75″ Iron Man toy as reading the next part of Dragon Fall (1984) by Lee J Hindle.
A few pictures of the process of painting the figure. The next to last photo shows a duplicate I’m sculpting except this one should be able to be dissembled for resin casting.
This week, I talk a bit about a few concurrent projects such as making 3.75 inch Rocketeer figures from a 3.75″ Iron Man toy as well as the Rocketeer video game I’ve been working on.
The Rocketeer prototype so far with the mold for the pack as well as one of the resin casted packs and the helmet (ironically, the same size helmet that I used for the Lego Rocketeer minifigures).
I did successfully get a separate stock figure cracked open and will be sculpting some clay over these parts to look like the prototype to allow for making a resin copy.
Looking forward to painting this guy and adding some details. Speaking of painting …
I’ve been repainting The Thirteenth Hour figures (even parts that didn’t need to be painted) to reflect a simplified color scheme with more bold, primary colors. Also reworked Logan’s arms to hopefully fit better and be more stable.
I recently went to a Dollar Tree and found the Final Faction line of toys – only $1.25 each! It’s a surprisingly good value for the price. There are accessories, comics, and apparently, even a cartoon show. They may be good bases for making future Thirteenth Hour figures if I can get them apart (which I think should be easier than something like the Iron Man figure since there are screws in the back).
This is the first issue of the comic …
Someone writing it clearly had a sense of humor having a back page like this …
Just like in GI Joe, the back of the packing has a short bio and some stats. There’s also a QR code for the cartoon!
Progress of the Rocketeer game … Did a bunch of pixel art and story creation this week, adding to aspects of the world of the game, like this NPC enemy, a German foot soldier.
I finally figured out flying and shooting straight and added some backgrounds. There is now a full fledged short story behind the game as well.
More coming soon! Will get back to reading Dragon Fall next week.
The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #336 and Like a Hood Ornament #42: Toymaking Updates, Dave Stevens Fundraising Update, Rocketeer Cards, and Working on the Backing Tracking of a New Song
In the first part of this show, I share a bit about a new song I’ve been working on for the upcoming Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP, Once Upon a Dream. It’s called “No Hero.” I’m currently working on cleaning up the keyboard riff in the background since I’m old school and have to learn to play everything first before I can record it. One of these days, I’m going to have to go digital!
This past week, I’ve been working on putting the Thirteenth Hour action figures together. So far, here’s what they look like:
Logan …
Aurora …
Logan and Aurora …
I still have a few to fix / assemble. The ones in the center right are the original prototypes that I made the molds from, and I think I’ll go ahead and paint them as well also. Here are all the pieces and figures along with clear coated parts from the Lego minifigure Rocketeers I’ve been working on. These pieces, when done, will be auctioned off, with all funds collected donated to The Hairy Cell Leukemia Foundation (the complications of which took Dave Stevens from us) and Hero Initiative, which supports comic book artists.
Speaking of the Rocketeer, my brother gave me some vintage Rocketeer cards recently, which I’ve been slowly opening up. Here’s the next batch:
On the back, there is an ad for this souvenir magazine …
Inside, coincidentally, there’s an ad for the cards:
I recently discovered that the game Microsoft Flight Simulator X has a skin for the Gee Bee that is the same as the NR77V Gee Bee highlighted in the film (the one that crashes in the first few minutes of the film), which is the one that Dave Stevens showed in the comics (itself modeled after the City of Springfield model that crashed in the early 30s … though presumably, Cliff and Peevy found the remains and built it into the Gee Bee that was used the comics and the film). Nonetheless, check out these graphics! I know nothing about this sort of thing but next time this baby goes on sale …
Lastly, if you have questions for the show, 1/31/22 will have a listener Q and A segment. Thanks to all who submitted questions already! Get your questions in by 1/24/22 for inclusion in this month’s show! Email or anywhere on social is fine.
Thanks for listening!
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This winter, 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.
This week, we’re discussing new toymaking updates, reading the next section of the Howard the Duck novelization, and watching and discussing the second part of the 1994 film, The Crow.
Toymaking stuff first: I have a handful of Logan and Aurora 5 POA Kenner-style action figures that are ready for priming, painting, and final touches:
We are are reading the next section of the Howard the Duck from the movie novelization.
Then, we are wrapping up talking about The Crow:
As mentioned in the episode, the score by Graeme Revell provides a haunting backdrop to the film that sets the tone perfectly. You can find both the regular and deluxe editions on Youtube:
Although I believe there was a Crow skin you could download for the game Max Payne (which was very Crow-like in many ways), there were not video games made of the first film. There was one made of the sequel, though. Check out the hilarious AVGN review.
If you want to stay within the world of the first film, checking out the TV series, which is different from the film in some ways, is not a bad way to do it. The first episode is basically a retelling of the film with some adaptations to make the series continue.
Welcome to the second part of the Halloween editions of The Thirteenth Hour podcast! This week, we’re discussing a few toymaking updates, reading the next section of the Howard the Duck novelization, and watching and discussing the first part of the 1994 film, The Crow.
Toymaking stuff first: I have some working prototypes of the Logan and Aurora 5 POA action figures:
Another slightly related thing and a preview of coming attractions (hopefully helpful for this winter) is there will be some Thirteenth Hour masks for kids and adults coming soon:
We are are reading the next section of the Howard the Duck from the movie novelization.
Then, we are wrapping up Halloween by starting a two part segment on The Crow:
There is some great free running that happens on the rooftops in this film, as evidenced by this scene.
This is one of my favorite solos of all time and such a great example of how you can use music to convey heartfelt emotions without resorting to verbal exposition. This solo was inspiration for one of the tracks on a upcoming Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, entitled “Mourn of the Midnight Phoenix.”
The score done by Graeme Revell is great. One of my favorite tracks on the score is this one.
The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #306 and Like a Hood Ornament #33: Watching The Rocketeer Cartoon Episode 14, Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of The Rocketeer (6/21/1991)
The day this episode releases will mark the 30th anniversary of The Rocketeer. In celebration, I have a few special things for this episode, including a few accompanying video segments.
The first is the opening of the Diamond Select version of the Rocketeer figure:
The next segment is annotation of a short part in the film where the Rocketeer is caught in between G-men, gangsters, and Nazi storm troopers, eventually leading to those iconic scenes where he’s taking off by the American flag.
Although he is shown in both the comic (on covers mostly) and in pictures holding a Mauser C96 pistol, he never actually gets to use it in either the film or the original comic (more next week). This clip shows how he obtained it in the film:
This week, I’ll finish a little Rocketeer one screen game made with the app Pixicade. It will be a shooting game, since those are very easy to make the the built in physics engine the app has. Here is a preliminary drawing:
Now onto more family friendly things! Some pictures from the Rocketeer cartoon part of the episode:
Lastly, check out episode 43 of I Used to Like This One for a guest appearance I made on the show to discuss the 1991 film version of The Rocketeer for the 30th anniversary of the film.
Lastly, thanks for all who joined in for the live Facebook concert of Thirteenth Hour music with the custom Logan action figure that happened on 5/30/21. You can replay it here:
Set list:
1.) The Thirteenth Hour Theme*
2.) Empty Hands+
3.) Dragons’ Eyes*
4.) Forever Young (by Alphaville, acoustic guitar cover)
5.) Dreams Go Far*
6.) I Will Remember You (by Amy Grant, acoustic guitar cover)
If you would like to grab a little piece of The Thirteenth Hour, pick up a patch of Logan flying off into the sunset and bask in many of the things we discussed in this episode – silver flying machines, cloudscapes, and the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape – last week only! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
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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.
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.
This week, I’m continuing to work on the new custom action figure of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour, this one made by a character from from the show PJ Masks that I had to fix. I’m also in the process of painting the Lego Friends Rocketeer. My progress so far:
Some pictures from the episode:
Lastly, check out episode 43 of I Used to Like This One for a guest appearance I made on the show to discuss the 1991 film version of The Rocketeer. Next week, it will be the 30th anniversary of his film!
Lastly, thanks for all who joined in for the live Facebook concert of Thirteenth Hour music with the custom Logan action figure that happened on 5/30/21. You can replay it here:
Set list:
1.) The Thirteenth Hour Theme*
2.) Empty Hands+
3.) Dragons’ Eyes*
4.) Forever Young (by Alphaville, acoustic guitar cover)
5.) Dreams Go Far*
6.) I Will Remember You (by Amy Grant, acoustic guitar cover)
If you would like to grab a little piece of The Thirteenth Hour, pick up a patch of Logan flying off into the sunset and bask in many of the things we discussed in this episode – silver flying machines, cloudscapes, and the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
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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.
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.
This week, I started working on a new custom action figure of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour, this one made by a character from from the show PJ Masks that I had to fix anyway. I used Aves Apoxiesculpt clay to add to the base figure’s clothes to make them look more like what Logan wears in the book.
On the left, you can see some progress on the Lego Friends Rocketeer. Speaking of the Rocketeer, there is a Rocketeer game I alluded to in the episode you can download for your phone. More details here:
Lastly, check out episode 43 of I Used to Like This One for a guest appearance I made on the show to discuss the 1991 film version of The Rocketeer.
Lastly, thanks for all who joined in for the live Facebook concert of Thirteenth Hour music with the custom Logan action figure that happened on 5/30/21. You can replay it here:
Set list:
1.) The Thirteenth Hour Theme*
2.) Empty Hands+
3.) Dragons’ Eyes*
4.) Forever Young (by Alphaville, acoustic guitar cover)
5.) Dreams Go Far*
6.) I Will Remember You (by Amy Grant, acoustic guitar cover)
If you would like to grab a little piece of The Thirteenth Hour, pick up a patch of Logan flying off into the sunset and bask in many of the things we discussed in this episode – silver flying machines, cloudscapes, and the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
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.
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.
This week, I started working on a few of the action figure projects I mentioned the episode before last. I got a chance to do some of the preliminary clay sculpting. There is a little more to do, then some fine tuning with files and Dremels and such.
The figure on the left that currently looks like it’s wearing a diaper is from the show PJ Masks, which my kids occasionally will watch. If I can puff out the pants to resemble to baggy fatigue trousers Logan wears, sculpt in a belt – perhaps the yellow one Logan usually has on as part of his base uniform or the utility belt he is issued with lots out pouches and a sheath knife (more of a challenge but more interesting to sculpt those small details), puff out the sleeves of the arms a bit, then add a head than is not so disproportionately large, I’ll have another Logan custom.
On the right in the picture and in the video above, you can see some sculpting going on to make a Lego Friends figure look more like the Rocketeer.
The second part of the episode is watching The Rocketeer cartoon, episode 11, which is one of my favorites, as there is a toy Rocketeer in it!
Some pictures from the episode:
Lastly, thanks for all who joined in for the live Facebook concert of Thirteenth Hour music with the custom Logan action figure that happened on 5/30/21. You can replay it here:
Set list:
1.) The Thirteenth Hour Theme*
2.) Empty Hands+
3.) Dragons’ Eyes*
4.) Forever Young (by Alphaville, acoustic guitar cover)
5.) Dreams Go Far*
6.) I Will Remember You (by Amy Grant, acoustic guitar cover)
If you would like to grab a little piece of The Thirteenth Hour, pick up a patch of Logan flying off into the sunset and bask in many of the things we discussed in this episode – silver flying machines, cloudscapes, and the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
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.
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.
This week, I’m watching episode 10 of The Rocketeer cartoon and welcoming vocalist Tammy Infusino to the show (click on the picture below to go to her website).
Tammy did the vocals for many of the songs in the show, including the intro song, the suit up sequence, and a number of songs in the playlist below.
One of the songs Tammy sings, “A Beautiful View” comes up in the episode we are watching this week and also has a great visual to go with it. Check it out below!
Here are some of the other songs referenced in the podcast
Exchange – “Where the Truth Lies” (from the Prince Valiant cartoon intro)
Berlin – “Take My Breath Away” (from Top Gun)
Now that you’ve heard her belt out 80s style songs for The Rocketeer, check out Tammy’s original music on Spotify.
Here are some pics from episode 10, which has lots of great cloudscape shots.
Speaking of cloudscapes, pick up a patch of Logan flying off into the sunset and bask in many of the things we discussed in this episode – silver flying machines, cloudscapes, and the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
Speaking of Thirteenth Hour music, join Logan on 5/29/21 at 10:30 PM on Facebook Live for a Thirteenth Hour concert! Mostly originals from Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, but also a number of covers of songs that inspired the music.
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
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.
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.
This week, I’m discussing a few upcoming custom action figure ideas (a few Rocketeer ones, another Logan one) coming this summer.
A few pictures:
This little lady from PJ Masks has a broken hip. But if I can fix it, I think I might be able to use the body to make a custom Logan figure, since the tunic is pretty similar.
I’ve slowly been collecting pieces to make a 3 3/4” Rocketeer custom figure as well as a Cliff and Jenny set (made of Lego Friends pieces and a few other accessories).
The second part of the episode is watching The Rocketeer cartoon, episode 9.
Some pictures from the episode:
There are lots of great interior shots of the Bulldog Cafe in this episode!
Lastly, thanks for all who joined in for the live IG concert of Thirteenth Hour music with the custom Logan action figure that happened on 5/15/21. When I figure out how to get it onto another platform, I’ll have another concert there as well.
If you would like to grab a little piece of The Thirteenth Hour, pick up a patch of Logan flying off into the sunset and bask in many of the things we discussed in this episode – silver flying machines, cloudscapes, and the sun setting on another day signifying a hope for a better tomorrow. The patches come with a high quality mp3 download from Once Upon a Dream, the next Thirteenth Hour soundtrack LP.
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
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.
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.
This week, I’m making a silicone mold for the guitar I finished last week. While the mold for the synthesizer is quite easy, this one is a bit more complex since I’m going to be trying a trick I learned on youtube with a video (below) made by Crafsman, who I support on Patreon. (He has a lot of great resin casting and toy making videos; check him out!). The trick here involves the use of mineral spirits mixed into the silicone with the idea that over time, the mold will shrink as the mineral spirits dissolves out, leaving you a smaller mold. This effectively gives you the ability to shrink objects (in theory – I’ve never tried this before).
Since the guitar I made was a bit too big for Logan’s hands, hopefully, the technique will allow me to shrink it down by about 25%. Here’s the video in more detail described by the Crafsman:
By the way, the one piece mold for the synth I finished recently. Now it’s time to pour in the resin!
And the setup for the guitar mold seen from the top down. I ended up using a thin plastic box as an exoskeleton for the mold. It was what I had lying around, though it didn’t have a flat bottom and the flexible sides meant it had to be supported from both sides, as shown below, where the body and most of the neck of the guitar are already submerged in silicone. The toothpicks are meant as air vents.
The bottles on the sides are supporting the mold as it dries, so it cures straight (a consequence of me suing a somewhat flexible container). Now, it’s a matter of waiting a few days for the mineral spirits to diffuse out of the mold to see if this actually worked.
Last week, a friend of the show and frequent guest / collaborator, AC of ACToyDesign needed some help for funding a surgery for his dog, Mooge. In the span of the past week, Adam and Mooge actually exceeded their finding goal (click above for more info from Adam), so thank you to all that helped!
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
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.
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.
This week, I’m working on another accessory for the custom figure of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour that I started two weeks ago. Last week, I made a synthesizer, which is basically done, and today, I’m working on an acoustic guitar for Logan to sing with.
Here’s how the synth came out (from last week):
And here’s what the guitar looks like so far:
I also randomly made a little rectangle that will be one of the playing cards that Logan throws in the book. The #2 plastics in the background above, by the way, may be in a future project. I’ve always thought it would be fun to essentially recycle used plastics into useful things, like little toys. I just need to figure out how to do it safely.
These musical instruments will be for some upcoming (perhaps in 2021?) videos with Logan singing some songs, either accompanied by the synth or the guitar. Some will be his own songs, and a number will be essentially cover songs. I imagined that Logan would sound a bit like the singing rooster minstrel (voiced by folk singer Roger Miller) in the animated version of Robin Hood:
Lastly, a friend of the show and frequent guest / collaborator, AC of ACToyDesign needs some help this holiday season. Adam recently found out that his dog, Mooge, has lung cancer. (If you need further convincing that she is adorable, click on her pic above to go to her Instagram account). Her vets feel confident they caught the cancer early, and that she has a good prognosis. But … as anyone with a pet knows, surgery is expensive. That and follow up visits are estimated at around $7500 (!). This holiday season, please consider supporting or sharing Mooge’s gofundme to help raise funds for her treatment. Thank you!
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
Look for the episode Shawn, Colin, and I did on Willow on I Used to Like This One or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Check them out on Patreon to help support their work!
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.
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.
This week, I’m working on an accessory for the custom figure of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour that I started last week (that I am just about finished now). I’m making Logan his own synthesizer to play! He’ll use them for some upcoming videos. But today – we’re starting the sculpting process for the keyboard from Aves Apoxiesculpt, the hard drying clay I used to make the initial sculpts for all the minifigures I’ve done as well as the custom sculpt parts of the Logan figure that I wrapped up this past week.
Here is how Logan looks so far:
And here’s how the sculpt started:
The keys will all be from toothpicks. I’ve slid 21 keys (which will be the white ones) into the clay before it hardened. Here, I’ve added speakers and a central console. Once the clay hardens, I will further sand it and add a few more details that I want to show up on the final cast version. As you can see, I have yet to add the black keys. They’ll be smaller toothpicks glued on in between the keys. There will be 15 of those (3 total octaves).
“So I’m going to be playing this thing …?” Yup! And next week, a guitar!
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
Look for the episode Shawn, Colin, and I did on Willow on I Used to Like This One or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Check them out on Patreon to help support their work!
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.
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.
This week, I’m working on a custom figure of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour. In some ways, I’ve been planning this for years. It was the original reason why I got into clay sculpting, though I ended up going the direction of making minifigures entirely from scratch first. But I’ve been meaning to go back to try making customs. This isn’t the first custom I tried my hand at (the first custom figure was a mini of Aurora), but it is the first one I’m making where I’m actually using all these spare action figure parts I’ve been slowly collecting over the years from yard sales, flea markets, and the loose bins at comic con conventions where I attended as a vendor.
This first custom, detailed in episode 264, was only about 2″ tall and was part kit bash, and the rest was sculpted.
If you still have a cassette player, take advantage of the following deal and be transported to another world! SALE! While supplies last, grab Long Ago Not So Far Away on cassette! Just $1/tape! https://ko-fi.com/s/5579db9b27
Look for the episode Shawn, Colin, and I did on Willow on I Used to Like This One or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Check them out on Patreon to help support their work!
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.
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.
The hood as been sculpted on …
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