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.
Happy new year, and welcome to 2023! This first episode of the new year is all about time. Though time exists independent of all of us and will go on and on regardless of whether we exist in it or not, it is a finite resource for us living creatures. I think of an expression (which I might be paraphrasing) that my mother, who studied economics in college sometimes used (one I thought was humorous due to the extravagance of the words) – “diminishing returns of marginal utilities.” If I’m getting this correct, the “marginal utility” part describes the satisfaction that one experiences by consuming one unit of something. While economists are usually referring to “utility” in terms of as a product, I think the concept applies to some nonpurchasable items as well, including time. In some cases, the more time you have, the less you value it; yet when you have less, it becomes more and more precious. Gaining even a bit more would yield a net positive marginal utility. But none of us, regardless of our station in life, can get more of it. We all have however much time we are given, and none of us know how much.
There is a quote from the novel “The Sheltering Sky” by Paul Bowles that is inscribed on Brandon Lee’s tombstone (it came up in one of his last, if not the last interview he did prior to his death) that is particularly poignant and gets at this idea:
“Because we do not know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. And yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, an afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you cannot conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four, or five times more? Perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless.”
Rocketeer creator Dave Stevens echoed similar sentiments when it came to his own work in ways I think many artists will be able to relate to. In the podcast, I include a segment from one of Dave’s journals read by Billy Campbell from the documentary Dave Stevens: Drawn to Perfection.
When I was initially writing The Thirteenth Hour as a teenager, I think I was trying to put these idea into words in my own way. I suppose I had a different view of time since I was younger, but looking at it decades later, I think that is one of the underlying messages of the book – taking life by the reins and making the most of it, that the world can what you make of it if you believe in your dreams and don’t sit passively by, letting time pass you by.
Interestingly, the Buddhists have a slightly different take on this since they believe in do-overs. Life, from a Buddhist perspective, is about suffering, and escaping this cycle of birth and rebirth is to finally find peace (a.k.a. nirvana). But for those of us still in the world, there are some interesting insights in this drawing below of the samsara (wheel of life). There is a segment of the wheel below (the one with the animals in it) that is called, not surprisingly, the animal realm. The Buddhist view of non-human animals is that they are not as evolved, not as intelligent (human-centric, I know) and so creatures born into this part of the samsara earned their lot in life though past negative karmic action. I don’t know if I agree with that, but I think you can also use aspects of this as an analogy for parts of human existence. When we are in the animal realm, we are focused on survival – just getting through the day. But when we get a breather and have better resources, we can enter into the higher realms where we have increasing ability to reflect on our situation and focus on more than day to day needs. Times like the new year sometimes give us cause to stop, pause, and reflect on where we want to go. So in this episode, I not only reflect on some of the positives of the past year and some goals for the one to come.
This week, I’m starting the process of casting part of the game piece that came with the Rocketeer board game to make a helmet and rocketpack to modify a Heroclix figure into a Cliff Secord! We will pick this up in the new year (once I get some new silicone).
In this episode, we’ll be taking the Rocketeer game piece, adding some vents (toothpicks) to the protruding parts of the figure when it’s upside down, since the pour spout will be the base of the figure. I’ll be using the helmet and pack to hopefully add to the Technocrat figure
These toothpicks will form the vents once the mold is made to carry the air out and hopefully help the areas that protrude fill.
Turns out there wasn’t enough silicone to fill even this K-cup container, so we will shelve this project until next year. But, I was able to case the upper body, which should be enough for my original intention.
And here are some cast torsos next to the original Hero Clix game piece. To be continued!
Lastly, last week, I was talking about a film called Max Q with Billy Campbell who plays a very Cliff Secord type of character. If you liked the Rocketeer, you’ll probably like this film as well. I really enjoyed it. Sadly, it’s very hard to find, though a kind soul uploaded it to Youtube. Check it out! The entire playlist of all eight parts is here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQt_32e40QXFA5414DrH8SiyMtyax_VmP
The Thirteenth Hour Podcast Episode #383 and Like a Hood Ornament #45: Troll, Dave Stevens – Drawn to Perfection, Max Q, Airbrushing Rocketeer Figures, and Cleaning up a Resin Minifigure with Hot Water
This week, I thought I’d start by sharing a few things I have seen recently. They all relate to the Rocketeer / previous show guestBilly Campbell in some way, though that was mainly coincidental. If you get the chance to check out a Norwegian film Billy has a small role in, Troll (it’s on Netflix), I think you’ll definitely enjoy it if you like monster movies in the vein of Godzilla. Interestingly, Billy plays a paleontologist whose last name is “Secord” … coincidence? Hmmm …
In addition, a documentary about Dave Stevens also was just released. If you have any interest in Dave, the Rocketeer, or comic book writers and artists in general, it was really well done. They do a nice job at capturing the inherent loneliness that sometimes besets almost anyone who engage in a creative disciple (most of whic, in my opinion comes from the fact the artist alone know what is inside and there are always translational errors in making that vision something real in the world bound by time, skill, and other finite resources.
Interestingly, I happened to see this comic magazine from 1983 on eBay the other day. It was an impulse buy mainly because it had an interview with Dave Stevens in it. Thought I would include it here since it just came in the mail and is very much in line with what was discussed in the documentary.
Lastly, while I was looking for Dave Stevens stuff, I randomly found a film called Max Q that also has Billy Campbell in it. He again plays a flier ut this time a shuttle commander. So far, it has reminded me a bit of Spacecamp, one of my favorite films as a kid, and I’m quite enjoying this look at the space shuttle (which NASA no longer uses) as well as the score of the film. Not sure where you can watch it, but a kind soul uploaded it on Youtube, which is where I found it to begin with.
Welcome to a special edition of The Thirteenth Hour Podcast with guest Billy Campbell (a.k.a. the Rocketeer)! This was initially done as a thank you for supporters of a series of charity auctions of custom Lego Rocketeers done to benefit the nonprofit Hero Initiative. You may also be watching this if you are a listener of The Thirteenth Hour podcast and unlocked this interview by answering a few trivia questions related to our guest. Or, you are watching this at some future date, probably for a slightly different but related charity project. However you got here, thanks for joining, and thank you to Billy Cambell for a fun, wide-ranging conversation about the Rocketeer, comic books, drawing, Dave Stevens, and more.
Next, I thought we’d wrap up with some more hands on stuff. I’ve been experimenting with using an airbrush to lay down at least the first few coats on the Rocketeer action figures
Lastly, I record a section where I am using hot water to warm a resin figurine I made of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour to make the cleanup of flashing and other bits that would need to be sanded or filed away a bit easier. I’m not sure if you can do this with all resin but at least the clear stuff it works for.
Welcome to a special edition of The Thirteenth Hour Podcast with guest Billy Campbell (a.k.a. the Rocketeer)! This was initially done as a thank you for supporters of a series of charity auctions of custom Lego Rocketeers done to benefit the nonprofit Hero Initiative. You may also be watching this if you are a listener of The Thirteenth Hour podcast and unlocked this interview by answering a few trivia questions related to our guest. Or, you are watching this at some future date, probably for a slightly different but related charity project. However you got here, thanks for joining, and thank you to Billy Cambell for a fun, wide-ranging conversation about the Rocketeer, comic books, drawing, Dave Stevens, and more.
Speaking of Dave, none of this would have happened were it not for his many talents (writing, penciling, coloring, etc). Dave Stevens’ high flying hero went on to capture the nostalgia of a bygone era – the sights, speech, and zeitgeist of the golden age of aviation and the promise of the world of tomorrow – much of which eventually ended up on the silver screen in the 1991 movie. Unfortunately, Dave left this world for the next adventure all too soon. In honor of his work (40th years since the Rocketeer comic was first published – 1982), we wrap up the episode by speculating in “what-if” fashion about Cliff’s adventures in the early days of World War 2 in a Choose Your Own Adventure style interactive story.
Now, this episode is just a preview (about 20 minutes), but you can unlock the rest, annotated with pictures and video, by answering these four questions:
1.) In 1991, Billy Campbell played Cliff Secord, Gee Bee pilot, and of course, the Rocketeer. In the late 90s, Billy played another flyer in the film The Brylcreem Boys with Irish actor Gabriel Byrne. While Mr. Byrne wasn’t in The Rocketeer, he was in another Disney film made around the same time. Which one?
a. Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken
b. White Fang
c. Shipwrecked
d. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
2.) Billy Campbell currently calls Norway home, and Shipwrecked was a Norwegian film directed by Nils Gaup. Earlier, in 1987, Mr. Gaup wrote and directed another adventure film, released in Norway as Ofleas. The US title was:
a. The Neverending Story
b. Time Bandits
c. The Young Magician
d. Pathfinder
3.) Speaking of the 80s, Rocketeer creator Dave Stevens penned the comic of the Rocketeer’s first flight in 1982. The Rocketeer comic had some information on Cliff’s background that wasn’t in the film. In the comic, prior to being a stunt pilot, Cliff was:
a. a circus performer
b. a grocery store stockboy
c. a mechanic
d. a short order cook
4.) Speaking of the Rocketeer, one of the beloved parts of the film, comic, and cartoon is the Bulldog Diner, modeled after a real Depression era diner shaped like a bulldog. The Great Depression spawned many infamous diner dishes using available resources. Which one of these real dishes was known as SOS (shite on a shingle)?
a. prune pudding
b. Hoover stew
c. peanut butter and mayo sandwich
d. creamed chipped beef on toast
Put you answers in the password field below, all lowercase, no spaces, to access the rest of the episode (with pictures)!
This week, I’m joined by special guest Obi of Obi’s Toybox as we talk all about one of our mutual favorite topics – the Rocketeer! We were introduced by our mutual friend, Adam from AC Toy Design. The Rocketeer is a pretty hopeful, optimistic film, so I think it’s no wonder that people that like it tend to be nice people. Yet, I seldom meet folks in day to day life that know much about the film or the comics, so aside from my family and this podcast, I mostly keep that interest to myself. So it was a rare pleasure to be able to talk with someone else on all manner of things Rocketeer related. A few things we touched on for reference:
The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #34 and Like a Hood Ornament #40: Toymaking Updates, Watching the Rocketeer Cartoon Episode 19, and Reading The Howard the Duck Movie Novelization Part 11
Welcome to the first 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 the Halloween episodes from The Rocketeer cartoon.
Toymaking stuff first: with the spare resin that comes from making other things, I’ve been saving a bit for these little helmets to become (once finished) to Rocketeer helmets for the Lego Rocketeer minifigures to be donated to charity auctions:
There’s always resin left over after a project, so I generally pour it off into another easy to use mold, like this one. Some of those projects:
The Beverly minifgures – still got to clean up the flashing along the seam lines and touch up a bunch of other parts (basically consisting of lots of filing, sanding, etc. edges and other parts, perhaps also strengthening the guitar necks). Then they will be ready for painting (at least the non glow in the dark ones).
Lastly, it’s rough, but I finally have a prototype cast Logan made from flexible Smooth-On Smooth Cast 45 D resin for the limbs and head and Smooth-On Smooth Cast 300 resin for the torso. I might try to make one that is all made of 45 D since I might be able to make it translucent, which would be fun. Now, it’s just a matter of fine tuning the casting process to make sure the limbs can reliably fit inside the torso – which they did on the initial non-cast prototype but somewhere along the lines, something got lost in translation after casting and tolerances that were tight are no longer.
We’re also watching the next episode of the Rocketeer cartoon (number 19) … the Halloween episode! Some screenshots:
You can see Kit’s dressed up like a WW1 pilot for Halloween, making her look just like Cliff in the beginning of the film or in various pages of the comic by Dave Stevens.
We are are reading the next section of the Howard the Duck from the movie novelization.
The author added another humorous aside calling back to our episodes on The Wizard of Loneliness, where “Lord, love a duck” was a frequent utterance.
The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #323 and Like a Hood Ornament #39: Toymaking Updates, Watching the Rocketeer Cartoon Episode 18, and Reading The Howard the Duck Movie Novelization Part 10
This past week, I have been waiting for some new resin to arrive for the Logan and Aurora Kenner style figures. In the meantime, I have been working on these Lego Rocketeer minifigures to be donated to charity auctions. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
The packs and helmets are being resin cast. As I mentioned in the episode, I think I will use magnets to attach the rocketpacks, at least the ones not intended for kids. (Rare earth magnets and small children are a bad combo).
We’re also watching the next episode of the Rocketeer cartoon (number 18) … Some screenshots:
… and readung the next section of the Howard the Duck from the movie novelization.
The author added this especially humorous segment:
The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #322 and Like a Hood Ornament #38: Toymaking Updates, Watching the Rocketeer Cartoon Episode 17, and Reading The Howard the Duck Movie Novelization Part 9
This past week, I made a mold for the Logan and Aurora Kenner style figures. There will need to be another one, since the torso halves are being made with different resin.
Today, we are again working on the start of a new music track, this time with the iOS app Auxy (laying down the backing percussion and some notes in the verses) as well as watching the Rocketeer cartoon episode number 16, one of my kids’ favorites. Some pictures from the episode …
I don’t know if this was written intentionally, but the part where Kit and Valerie go back and forth about stealing / borrowing a statue remind me of the part in the 1991 movie where Cliff and Peevy do the same thing (though the statue they “borrow” if of Charles Lindburgh, not the Rocketeer).
It’s hard to see in the above screenshot, but the dinero Kit and Tesh are holding in this scene has Rocketeer helmets on it where the Presidential head usually is 🙂
Lastly, about a year ago, there was a tragic explosion in Beirut, Lebanon (the country where half of Kit’s family comes from). Things had been bad for some time, but the explosion and COVID really have done a number on the people of Lebanon. Last year and recently, I made little posts on Twitter about it, mainly to raise awareness in a positive light (things on Twitter seem to have a habit of turning negative / political very quickly). As I mentioned there, although Kit’s obviously not a real person, if she were real, she would be trying to help in some way, and if it’s one thing the world needs more of right now, it’s more everyday people who embrace their inner “heart of a hero,” just like our friends, Cliff and Kit.
When I think of those sentiments, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from another high flying aviator, astronaut Ellison Onizuka (RIP).
“… the people who make this world run, whose lives can be termed successful, whose names will go down in the history books, are not the cynics, the critics, or the armchair quarterbacks.
They are the adventurists, the explorers, and doers of this world. When they see a wrong or problem, they do something about it. When they see a vacant place in our knowledge, they work to fill that void.
Rather than leaning back and criticizing how things are, they work to make things the way they should be. They are the aggressive, the self-starters, the innovative, and the imaginative of this world …
Your vision is not limited by what your eye can see, but by what your mind can imagine. Many things that you take for granted were considered unrealistic dreams by previous generations. If you accept these past accomplishments as commonplace then think of the new horizons that you can explore …
Make your life count – and the world will be a better place because you tried.”
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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.
The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #311 and Like a Hood Ornament #35: Watching The Rocketeer Cartoon Episode 15 with Production Coordinator Esther Gonzalez Murray
Today, Esther Gonzalez Murray rejoins the show (she was last on for episode 294) to watch and discuss one of her favorite episodes. Both of the segments that make up this episode are a lot of fun. The show has really hit its stride by this point, as just about all the characters and villains have been introduced at least once, so even though each episode is generally meant to stand alone, there is some collective sense of history at this point that is nice.
Some pictures from the episode … the first two involve a plot where the rocketpack is malfunctioning and gets captured by The Great Orsino (Cliff’s NY Adventure reference), who covers it for his stage act. His assistant Deany, takes control of it for a short time and uses it to do good, but, ever helpful, not before first helping Orsino try to fly it in circles by holding him down with a tether (reference from the film where Cliff and Oeevy try something similar with a Charles Lindbergh statue).
Thanks, Esther, for rejoining the show!
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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.
Today, we’re taking a short break from toys and looking at the Rocketeer cartoon to discuss the Rocketeer’s sidearm, which we touched on last week at bit when looking at the clip in the 1991 film where he acquires a Mauser C96 pistol.
I always thought it was odd Cliff is often shown (in both movie stills and the original Dave Stevens comics) holding a gun despite holding one for less than a page in the comic and for only a few minutes in the film.
In this page of the original Rocketeer saga, what is shown is the Mauser select fire M172. You can tell by the 20 round extended magazine and the selector switch on the left hand side.
On this sketch done prior to inking and colors, you can see that the original idea was to draw something more akin to the older, more established Mauser C96 (usually chambered for the 7.63 mm x 25 round coming in an internal 10 round box magazine) – the one shown in the 1991 film and in most of the drawings that Dave Stevens did.
Regardless of which version of the pistol was intended, this episode touches on some history and aspects of handing and usage and what might Cliff might have had to think about had he used the Mauser pistol he is associated with more.
For background, I read about the pistol in question in this book (plus a number of other videos you can find on Youtube).
This picture shows the stripper clip method of loading – the main way the C96 would have been loaded since there was no detachable magazine, though on the M172, the bullets could have been loaded one at a time in the magazines also.
The Mauser pistols came with hollowed out wooden holsters that could serve as shoulder stocks as well as protecting the gun from damage or foul weather. The airsoft version I’m using below also a similar (but plastic) stock.
I’m using a gas blowback airsoft version of the select fire Mauser M712 (the one pictured in the original comic) made by the Taiwanese company WE. While the Rocketeer is often shown next to an American flag, you might think more Americana would have gone into the character design. But I think Dave Stevens intentionally picked something distinctive looking that fits with the aesthetics of the costume. The fact that Cliff does not “buy American” (so to speak) and use something like a Colt Peacemaker or a 1911 fits with the character in many ways, who is a compilation of a bunch of archetypes from the mid to late 1800s (the cavalry style leather jacket, jodhpurs, and riding boots) to the 1930s (the GeeBee and the art deco styling of the rocketpack and helmet). The intricate, well machined Mauser pistol falls solidly in between, a Victorian, already somewhat overengineered and steampunkish design by the late 1930s that was nonetheless still widely used not only by the Germans but by many other countries as well, especially China, where it even had its own nickname (盒子砲, literally “box gun,” named after the distinctive box magazine). Interestingly the Mauser M712 was apparently quite popular there pre-WW2, as an arms embargo prevented rifles and machine guns from being imported (apparently pistols that could become carbines with fully auto capacity was an adequate workaround).
There is a video segment to this podcast which can be found here:
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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.
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
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
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
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
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.
The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #300 – Special Anniversary Podcast Edition and Like a Hood Ornament #27: Watching The Rocketeer Cartoon Episode 8 with My Daughter
Welcome to episode 300! This show has been going in some fashion since 2014 and continuously since early 2015 so in commemoration, I’v gathered together a few clips from past episodes and time when I’ve been guests of fellow podcasters discussing some aspects of The Thirteenth Hour.
We start off with a short clip from my first podcast in this format (since the first 15 had been just reading aloud from an earlier draft of The Thirteenth Hour pre-publication to try to catch errors). Here is the full episode:
Some years before, when I was living in New England, I was interviewed on his radio show, The Author’s Hour, fellow author Wayne Barber hosted me on his show. There’s an excerpt here about what The Thirteenth Hour is about and what so many of the things touched upon in this show have been about over the years. The full interview is here, back on episode 31 of the show:
Just one episode before, my brother, Jeremy, had just been on (my first guest!) to talk about the homebrew games we attempted to make in the 90s (which we circled back to in episode 298 with Ric and Paul). The full episode (#30) is below, but Jeremy comes on the show briefly today to talk about what he’s been up to. Find more of his writing over at https://pixelgrotto.tumblr.com/.
Our next guest for today, Adam from @mom_gave_them_away, who has been on the show a number of times before (see below for one of those times) comes on to share what he has been doing and what he is passionate about. One of the great things about the show (and the reason I’ve kept doing it these past 6 years) is that through it, I’ve met so many talented, creative people I probably wouldn’t have encountered otherwise.
At the same time we recorded the show linked above (#220), we also recorded one for Adam’s show. I’ve included a clip in this episode (about Spacecamp and other 80s movies), and you can listen to the full episode on Spotify above or on his Patreon.
I picked flying scenes to represent so many aspects of The Thirteenth Hour since I think that is what so many of those 80s films and songs did in a way – it was escapism in the purest sense, and I think the idea of flying, or rather the freedom of the open air, has always been something that I have found attractive (probably one of the reasons I liked and still like the Rocketeer so much). I recently finished a painting of Logan and the Rocketeer zooming through a lilac purple cloudscape getting at exactly these images called “Wingmen.”
I just recorded for this episode a little video going of me opening a new Rocketeer action figure that recently came out. Man, what I would have given for something like this as a kid!
To do the next episode of The Rocketeer cartoon (#8), this week, my daughter joins for the whole segment. It was a happy little coincidence that in the first clip on this show (from episode #16), she was an infant, and here, she’s almost 7. It was a great thing to be able to do with her.
Some pictures from the episode:
Lastly, stay tuned for a concert involved Thirteenth Hour music, a custom Logan action figure, and Logan stories next week, 5/15/21 at 10:30 PM EST on Instagram Live @the13thhr.ost. It will look something like this:
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, we’re continuing to go through episodes of The Rocketeer cartoon, one at a time, this time with Episode 7. As before, you can watch along with the episode as I go though it in real time.
Some pictures from the episode:
I also found a new Rocketeer podcast! Check out Rocketeer Radiofor more great Rocketeer info. I listened to all the episodes in like a day and am looking forward to the next one.
If it weren’t for hopeful films like The Rocketeer, there probably wouldn’t a Thirteenth Hour, and you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog. In the pixelart patch below of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour flying off into the sunset, you might be able to spot some of those influences – the silver flying machine, the cloudscape, 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.
In the meantime, you may be interested in a few select Rocketeer related episodes :
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, we’re continuing to go through episodes of The Rocketeer cartoon, one at a time, this time with Episode 6. In this one, my daughter (who is dressed up like Kit for Halloween in the banner above) joins for the last few minutes at the end to talk about an episode where Kit goes chasing after her piggy bank.
Some pictures from the episode:
If it weren’t for hopeful films like The Rocketeer, there probably wouldn’t a Thirteenth Hour, and you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog. In the pixelart patch below of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour flying off into the sunset, you might be able to spot some of those influences – the silver flying machine, the cloudscape, 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.
In the meantime, you may be interested in a few select Rocketeer related episodes :
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, we’re continuing to go through episodes of The Rocketeer cartoon, one at a time, this time with Episode 5. In this one, we meet a boy genius / mad scientist / dumpster diver by the name of Rolland, who fancies himself a metal clad character named Dr. Doodlebug as as well as a pilot-less plane still being beta tested named Ava.
Some pictures from the episode:
If it weren’t for hopeful films like The Rocketeer, there probably wouldn’t a Thirteenth Hour, and you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog. In the pixelart patch below of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour flying off into the sunset, you might be able to spot some of those influences – the silver flying machine, the cloudscape, 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.
In the meantime, you may be interested in a few select Rocketeer related episodes :
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, we’re continuing to go through episodes of The Rocketeer cartoon, one at a time, this time with Episode 4. This episode is actually available for free on Youtube so even if you don’t have access to the full season, you can watch this one in full and follow along in real time as we watch it.
Some pictures from the episode:
Assistant Writer (a.k.a script coordinator) Dan Salgarolo joins today to talk about some behind the scenes insights into the creation of the show, the music, the animation, and much more. For example, on the “Songbird” episode above, Dan shared some insights into how studio execs thought it might be too complex of a story for young child to understand, and yes, though it does deal with some adult emotions (daredevil flier has a traumatic experience in the air, gets saved by the Rocketeer, but loses her nerve and doesn’t fly again until Kit and Tesh wheedle (i.e. bribe with pie) their way into her life.) I don’t think that kind of story is too complicated for kids to understand, since childhood is an array of dealing with things you don’t understand, are too complex for you to do, or that might scare you, but I get their concern about the part where May Songbird falls out of the sky. The upside is that we get to see a return of Cliff Secord! (The character animation in this episode and the first episode are the first time Cliff returns to the screen in almost 30 years). If you ever had any desire to be part of the writing department on a TV show or a movie, tune in to see what day to day operations look like. We also get to talk about the process of writing and what happens as ideas go from conception to their final forms. Thanks so much, Dan, for joining the show and look forward to talking to you again for a future episode!
If it weren’t for hopeful films like The Rocketeer, there probably wouldn’t a Thirteenth Hour, and you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog. In the pixelart patch below of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour flying off into the sunset, you might be able to spot some of those influences – the silver flying machine, the cloudscape, 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.
In the meantime, you may be interested in a few select Rocketeer related episodes :
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.
The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #294 and Like a Hood Ornament #22: Watching The Rocketeer Cartoon Episode 3 with Production Coordinator Esther Gonzalez Murray
This week, we’re continuing to go through episodes of The Rocketeer cartoon, one at a time, this time with Episode 3. As before, you can follow along in real time. This is my son’s favorite episode! The Rocketeer’s best friend, Tesh, gets a gear upgrade and ends up with a shiny trike he dubs the Sonic Flash. We also see a great art deco statue of the original Rocketeer.
In one part of the second episode, a plane Laurel and Harley (above) steal, looks remarkably like the Boeing P-26 (below).
I’m doing the first part of the episode solo, and then production coordinator Esther Gonzalez Murray joins me for the second half to discuss more on the making of the show. Unfortunately, there was a recording glitch during our interview where my mic was doing weird things, so in a lot of parts, I sounded like the teacher on Charlie Brown even after a lot of post production editing. So, in the end, I cut most of those parts out so your ears don’t bleed. But – you don’t really need my occasional comments (you can hear me talk in like almost 300 podcast episodes, after all), since Esther’s insights and memories stand well enough alone. Thanks, Esther, for joining the show to offer your insights. Look forward to taking with you on future episodes! Learn more about her on Twitter.
Before I forget, at a few points the music and outro sequence get discussed. Here’s the outro – I could watch this sequence all day! I’ve talked about the first person point of view of flying into the clouds on this show quite a bit (like the cloudscape meditation video we made episode 290)
Also, one of the things Esther mentioned on the episode is a real life Bulldog Cafe (like in Dave Stevens’ comic and the 1991 film)in LA. See the Idle Hour Gallery for more info! Next time I’m in LA, sometime after this pandemic, I know where we are going … !
If it weren’t for hopeful films like The Rocketeer, there probably wouldn’t a Thirteenth Hour, and you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog. In the pixelart patch below of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour flying off into the sunset, you might be able to spot some of those influences – the silver flying machine, the cloudscape, 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.
In the meantime, you may be interested in a few select Rocketeer related episodes :
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, we’re continuing with going through episodes of The Rocketeer cartoon, one at a time, this time with Episode 2. As before, you can follow along in real time. In both parts of episode 2, the dogs steal the show.
I’m doing the first part of the episode solo, and then show writer Brian Hohlfeld joins me for the second half to discuss more about one of the episodes he wrote as well as more on the making of the show. Thanks, Brian, for joining the show to offer your insights. Look forward to taking with you on future episodes! Learn more about him on Twitter.
If it weren’t for hopeful films like The Rocketeer, there probably wouldn’t a Thirteenth Hour, and you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog. In the pixelart patch below of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour flying off into the sunset, you might be able to spot some of those influences – the silver flying machine, the cloudscape, 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.
In the meantime, you may be interested in a few select Rocketeer related episodes :
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’s show starts a few month period where we’re going to go through the episodes of The Rocketeer cartoon, one at a time, starting with the first episode. There are a lot of great odes in this one for fans of both the 1991 movie and Dave Steves’ comic, so if you have the means to watch it (the series is on Disney Plus but also available for purchase or rent on Amazon).
This is all gearing up for two things – episode 300 of the show as well as the 30th anniversary of The Rocketeer’s initial summer release this year! So I figured what better way to celebrate those milestones than trying to bring some attention to the cartoon, the most recent iteration of Dave Stevens’ creation. I hope that the more positive energy I (and other Rocketeer fans) throw at the flames (which, to be honest, are usually more like embers in the grand scheme of things for people to get excited about), the better.
If it weren’t for hopeful films like The Rocketeer, there probably wouldn’t a Thirteenth Hour, and you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog. In the pixelart patch below of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour flying off into the sunset, you might be able to spot some of those influences – the silver flying machine, the cloudscape, 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.
In the meantime, you may be interested in a few select Rocketeer related episodes :
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.
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