The Thirteenth Hour Podcast Exclusive Preview: A Conversation with Catherine Mary Stewart about Night of the Comet

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast Exclusive Preview: A Conversation with Catherine Mary Stewart about Night of the Comet

https://archive.org/download/podcast-cms-preview/Podcast%20CMS%20preview.mp3

This past summer, I recorded an interview with actress Catherine Mary Stewart (Night of the Comet, Weekend at Bernie’s, The Last Starfighter), who supported a little Lego project I did kind of on a whim – making Lego minifigures of Samantha and Regina Belmont from Night of the Comet, one of my favorite movies.  

This is just a 10 or so minute preview of the full interview, as the original was meant as a surprise thank you to the auction winners of the figures. 

But!  You can unlock the rest of the conversation by answering the questions below.   Your answers will be the password. 

1.) In the 1984 film, Night of the Comet, Regina  (Catherine Mary Stewart) is shown playing an arcade game.  Which game?

a.) Pac Man

b.) Pong

c.) Tempest

d.) Mario Brothers

 

2.) In another 1984 film with Catherine Mary Stewart, roles are reversed, and she plays the girlfriend of an arcade game ace.  That film was:

a.) Wargames

b.) Real Genius

c.) Sixteen Candles

d.) The Last Starfighter

 

3.) According to Catherine Mary Stewart, her previous training in which discipline helped prepare her for the physicality (e.g. fights, stunts) in Night of the Comet?

a.) dance

b.) dirt bike racing

c.) synchronized swimming

d.) falconry

 

4.) In this film, Reg and Sam face off against killer zombies.  In 1986, Kelli Maroney, who was Sam in Night of the Comet, was in a film where she faces off against killer robots.  Both films feature a key component of US 1980s culture.  That was:

a.) Teddy Ruxpin

b.) the shopping mall

c.) trickle down economics

d.) video rental stores

 

Go to https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/749825591 and enter your answers as the password (no saces, all lowercase) to access the conversation.  I annotated the audio with pictures and some video, so there are some additional tidbits on the vimeo version that provide a bit more context to the audio.

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #357: Making Minifigure Packaging and Finishing Night of the Comet Minifigures

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #357: Making Minifigure Packaging and Finishing Night of the Comet Minifigures

https://archive.org/download/podcast-357/Podcast%20357.mp3

This week, I wanted to share the final product of the Night of the Comet minifigures!  They’re done!  I figured out how to make the lettering on Sam’s cheerleader uniform and do the packaging so the two figures can both nest in a protective case.

This short video shows how I made the coverart to look like the original poster.

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A post shared by Joshua Blum 📘🎨 Author & Artist (@the13thhr)

This is what the Night of the Comet coverart looks like.  Like the other similar ones I’ve done, I’ve used Chinese characters for the title – in this case, a literal translation of Night of the Comet (彗星之夜).  I’ve taken to not using the English title with these toys partly since it makes it a little harder for the movie studios / eBay to flag it as objectionable for copyright reasons. However, the biggest reason for the dual language packaging is that it reminds me of the imported toys (which were mostly robots and little figurines from places like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan) I remember seeing on the streets of Chinatown when I was a kid in the 80s.  Like the others I’ve made so far, these will be charity auctions, this time to raise money for the US nonprofit alliace4girls.  I don’t know if this was something that was done intentionally when NOTC was written, but it’s a bit unusual for the time since it’s an action movie with two female leads who not only survive but thrive by virtue of their own resources.  So I figured pairing with a nonprofit that helps support and empower girls and women would fit.

There are now three such figures in these cases!

Making the cases for the NOTC figures.  I used paper covered foam for these (don’t know if I will use that material much in the future, though).

This technique for foam pieces looks promising – using a hot knife or soldering iron to essentially cut though the foam easily with little to no mess and cleaner lines than with a traditional blade.

By the way, I had the chance this past weekend to make it to a drive in showing of a double feature of Chopping Mall and The Last Starfighter.  It was a fun time!  More coming on a Patreon exclusive episode with additional pictures, audio footage from the event, and more!

Sam, Reg, and Cliff all approve of the drive in action.

 

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #356: Making Night of the Comet Minifigures!

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #356: Making Night of the Comet Minifigures!

https://archive.org/download/podcast-356/Podcast%20356.mp3

This week, I wanted to share a little bit of a recent project.  After finishing the Lego Rocketeer and resin Beverly Switzler figurines, I thought it be fun to do figurines of Reggie and Sam from the 1984 cult classic, Night of the Comet.

If you haven’t seen the film, it’s great! You can actually watch it for free on YouTube, that is until YouTube flags it and takes it down.  But until they do, it’s available here: 

Ever since I first saw this film over 20 years ago, I’ve been trying to get people to watch it.  It used to be only on VHS, but now you can also find it on DVD. If you can catch it, it’s a lot of fun.

Anyway, I used the model bases for the Lego friends minifigure line to create the main characters, which are more elongated and a bit more realistic looking that the traditional, squat Lego minifigure body.

Prior to painting Sam’s cheerleader outfit …

After painting … still working out how to do the lettering on Sam’s uniform (see below):

This scene, by the way, is available here:

The lettering on Samantha‘s cheerleader uniform is too small to realistically paint, but I think I should be able to edit some images on Photoshop that I can print out.  The tricky part, as always, is getting the dimensions right, but I think it should be doable. 

Like the Lego Rocketeer and Bev figures, I think I going to house them in a clamshell case and auction them off on eBay as charity auctions. 

More updates shortly!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #347: March/April 2022 Question and Answer Session

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #347: March/April 2022 Question and Answer Session

https://archive.org/download/podcast-347/Podcast%20347.mp3

 

This week, we have out last question and answer session!  

My brother, Jeremy, who will be on soon to discuss the film Highlander, returns this month with these questions:

1) Do you have any preference between the fantasy and sci-fi genres, and if so, why do you think that’s the case? I’m asking because some people are strictly in favor of one versus the other, and then there are those who hate traditional “elves and orcs” fantasy but really love Star Wars, which is basically “wizards in space.

 

 

2) The villain of The Thirteenth Hour, Klax, underwent quite a few changes in all of the novel’s drafts, moving from a fairly 2D bad guy to somewhat sympathetic in the final product. What makes a memorable villain in your opinion and who are some of your favorite bad guys?

 

 

 

 

3) What are some of your favorite fantasy creatures? The Thirteenth Hour has dragons and unicorns but not too many other fantastical beasts – are there some creatures that you’re interested in featuring in later books?

 

 

Check out Jeremy‘s work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG.  You can support his work on Ko-fi and get access to in-depth, exclusive Batman content here.   If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley.  Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show!

 

These next five comes from frequent show guest Adam from @mom_gave_them_away, who was just on the show for episodes 340–341 on Rambo/First Blood.

 

4.) I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about your favorite superhero. Let hear one for Marvel, DC and an independent publisher.

 

 

 

 

5.) The movie that scared you the most as a kid?

 

 

6.) You have to live off of one food forever, what is it?

 

 

7.) Your clone, John Rambo, has to live off of one food forever. What is it?

 

 

8.) What’s your favorite fictional female character?

 

 

Find more of Adam’s work on the interwebs at ACtoydesign and his shop of original resin toys.  He does a number of podcasts as well – I Have Spoken (a Star Wars podcast), Death by Podcast (a vintage horror podcast), and You like Toys (a Patreon exclusive podcast about toys and nostalgia). 

Thanks, everyone, for your contributions!  It was a good time these past three months as an experiment to how user generated questions would go.  Patreon members – stay tuned for more of these for the Patreon exclusive episodes in the future or to ask questions for the main podcast.

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #342: February 2022 Question and Answer Session

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #42: February 2022 Question and Answer Session

https://archive.org/download/podcast-342/Podcast%20342.mp3

This week, I’ve got a few quick updates and will be digging into the second set of questions that came in.  I really appreciate all the thoughtful questions!

Before we begin, I have finally finished the Lego Rocketeer including their boxes.  Now just need to list them and get them ready for auction for two charity organizations in Dave Stevens’ name.

My brother, Jeremy, who was just on for episode 337 to discuss The Black Cauldron and who will be on soon to discuss the film Legend, returns this month with these questions:

1) What was it about films like The Neverending Story that resonated with you as a child and served as fuel for the style of ’80s fantasy that The Thirteenth Hour represents? In your mind, what do you think is stylistically different about ’80s fantasy films as opposed to the stuff that came after? (like The Lord of the Rings movies or modern day shows like The Witcher).

2) The Thirteenth Hour straddles a lot of genres and defies classification – you could call it a fantasy/young adult book, but that doesn’t quite hit the mark. What are some of the restrictions and quirks of these genres that bothered you as a kid and still bother you as an adult? (i.e.: the tendency for fantasy series to be long multi-book affairs that get a little drunk on their own worldbuilding and politics; the fact that most YA books have to fit within the mold established by Harry Potter or The Hunger Games to survive)

3) Did you ever envision The Thirteenth Hour as a comic? In a perfect world, what would a comic adaptation of the story look like in your eyes? Would you go for a long running series that expands on the mythology that you wrote, or maybe a big one-shot a la Dave Steven’s Rocketeer work that’s self-contained?

Check out Jeremy‘s work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG.  You can support his work on Ko-fi and get access to in-depth, exclusive Batman content here.   If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley.  Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show!

 

These first five comes from frequent show guest Adam from @mom_gave_them_away, who was just on the show for episodes 340–341 on Rambo/First Blood.

4.) Favorite Gene Wilder role, not necessarily favorite movie?

5.) Favorite toy line as a kid?

 

6.) Within that favorite toy line, what’s your favorite figure?

 

7.) Can you nail down your favorite year of the 80s?

 

8.) Did you take piano lessons, and if so, do you remember your first lesson?

 

Find more of Adam’s work on the interwebs at ACtoydesign and his shop of original resin toys.  He does a number of podcasts as well – I Have Spoken (a Star Wars podcast), Death by Podcast (a vintage horror podcast), and You like Toys (a Patreon exclusive podcast about toys and nostalgia). 

Two of my favorite GI Joe figures – Lady Jaye and Snake Eyes from the GI Joe 80s cartoon.

I don’t a lot of the toys from my youth currently with me, but have found a few in later years.  The little blue Prius from Japan is there representing Micro Machines and the Japanese import that was my first GoBot.  The blue robot is a GoBot that was my favorite as a kid, and the Air Raider pilot (which was one of the ones I had as kid), represents all the smaller size figures I liked playing with as a child. 

Thanks, everyone, for your contributions!  It was a good time.  We’ll do it again next month (for the episode to be released on 3/28/22).  If you have questions, feel free to email me them at writejoshuablum@gmail.com.

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