#makingtoys

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #317 and Like a Hood Ornament 37: Reading The Howard the Duck Movie Novelization Part 5, Rocketeer News, and Toymaking Updates

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #317 and Like a Hood Ornament 37: Reading The Howard the Duck Movie Novelization Part 5, Rocketeer News, and Toymaking Updates

https://archive.org/download/podcast-317/Podcast%20317.mp3

Some interesting news this week.  The Rocketeer is supposedly getting a sequel!  Now, I am not holding my breath, since there have been sequel rumors for years, and so far, they have all died on the vine.  But it is exciting, nonetheless.  Even if nothing comes of it, if it generates some interest in Dave Steven’s original comics and the 1991 film for a new generation, I view that as a win.

One thing that does seem more tangible, since it is slated for a release next month, is a beautiful Rockeeter board game.  Now, I gotta be honest, board games have never really been my thing.  Half the time, when I read the instructions, I go, “What?  I don’t understand what the hell you are supposed to do.  Who wrote these things?”  Also, maybe once my kids are older and we can all play them together, it will be a different story, but most of the ones more complicated that Candy Landy require a level of concentration pretty much making them a no-go for the little ones.  But … that is not to say that will always be the case!  Plus, game or no game, I would buy this one for the little miniature Rocketeer figurines alone (which I was thinking of trying to make a few months ago – this saves me the trouble)!  I will be looking forward to this one this fall for sure.

Speaking of The Rocketeer, I am using a Reaction Rocketeer figure as the base of the body for a 5 POA Kenner-style figure of Logan from The Thirteenth Hour.  The head will be modified from a figure of the Charlie Sheen character from Red Dawn.  Just need to do a few more touch ups and then make it all go together smoothly.  More to come shortly.

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Here are a few pictures of the Beverly minifigure I have been working on for the past few months:  Just about done, I think.  Just a few touch ups here and there.

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And now, speaking of which, back to the duck!

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This is the section in the story where Howard meets Phil (a young Tim Robbins).  There are some really funny asides the author, Ellis Weiner, added for this segment:

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Lastly, all proceeds to The Thirteenth Hour Studio on Etsy over Sept will be donated to the Red Cross (RedCross.org) for Hurricane Ida Relief. Check the link below to support those affected, still in the midst of the pandemic, with 80s retro art (music-books-toys).

 
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Stay tuned for more!
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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #316: Reading The Howard the Duck Movie Novelization Part 4

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #316: Reading The Howard the Duck Movie Novelization Part 4

https://archive.org/download/podcast-316/Podcast%20316.mp3

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This week, we’re again taking a short break from the 30th anniversary of The Rocketeer by celebrating the 35th anniversary of my another of my favorite films, Howard the Duck.  The zaniness continues in the movie novelization of Howard the Duck by Ellis Weiner, based on the screenplay by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, though with a number of humorous and satirical additions that were unique to the novelization.  Some of those are also found in the three part comic adaptation that came out about the same time as the film and novel.  A few screenshots: 

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As mentioned in previous weeks, there is a Howard the Duck documentary, Howard the Doc, currently being created with interviews from some of the original writers / cast / crew. I do believe it is the only one that has ever been attempted for this first of all Marvel movies.

It is in the final stages of production. Their team needs some love / support / bucks to help complete the project, and you can support them on Indiegogo. Some crowdfunding platforms don’t result in any funding going to the creators if the final goal is not met, but in this case, the filmmakers will get it every penny that you contribute even if the final target is not met. If you have love for the 1986 film, comic, the original cast/crew, or 80s movies in general, please consider taking a look at the campaign, sharing on your social media, or contributing. Hopefully, then we can all see the final product!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/howard-the-doc-documentary-finishing-funds

Some screenshots of the production with Ed Gale (who was inside Howard), Jeffrey Jones (a.k.a. the principal who get booted in the face in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), and Lea Thompson.

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The minifigure that I am making of Beverly, along with a portrait of Howard, is now a perk if you contribute at the $125 level.  Check out the fundraiser above; I believe it is ending on 8/30, so spread the word! 

Stay tuned for more!
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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #315: Reading The Howard the Duck Movie Novelization Part 3

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #315: Reading The Howard the Duck Movie Novelization Part 3

https://archive.org/download/podcast-315/Podcast%20315.mp3

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This week, we’re again taking a short break from the 30th anniversary of The Rocketeer by celebrating the 35th anniversary of my another of my favorite films, Howard the Duck.  The zaniness continues in the movie novelization of Howard the Duck by Ellis Weiner, based on the screenplay by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, though with a number of humorous and satirical additions that were unique to the novelization.  So far, I’m liking the novel version of Howard more than the movie version (some screenshots below from the film of this segment). 

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In this part of the chapter, we learn a little more about Beverly Switzler, the frontswoman of Cherry Bomb, an all female band essentially created for the film.  Howard, sleeping in a garbage can, meets Beverly, who has just played a disappointing gig and gets accosted by some overly intrusive “fans.”  He fakes some “quack fu” and scares the things away, though as in the film, Bev hardly sits passively at the sidelines.

I found some drawings I believe done by Joe Tompkins, the costume designer for the film.  There’s a collection of sketches he did that you can see from the film for Beverly and Howard (click below for more info):

beverly howard costume

howard sketch

Speaking of the film, there is a Howard the Duck documentary, Howard the Doc, currently being created with interviews from some of the original writers / cast / crew. I do believe it is the only one that has ever been attempted for this first of all Marvel movies.

It is in the final stages of production. Their team needs some love / support / bucks to help complete the project, and you can support them on Indiegogo. Some crowdfunding platforms don’t result in any funding going to the creators if the final goal is not met, but in this case, the filmmakers will get it every penny that you contribute even if the final target is not met. If you have love for the 1986 film, comic, the original cast/crew, or 80s movies in general, please consider taking a look at the campaign, sharing on your social media, or contributing. Hopefully, then we can all see the final product!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/howard-the-doc-documentary-finishing-funds

Some screenshots of the production with Ed Gale (who was inside Howard), Jeffrey Jones (a.k.a. the principal who get booted in the face in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), and Lea Thompson.

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Stay tuned for more!
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Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #314: Reading The Howard the Duck Movie Novelization Part 2

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #314: Reading The Howard the Duck Movie Novelization Part 2

https://archive.org/download/podcast-314/Podcast%20314.mp3

img_4596
This week, we’re again taking a short break from the 30th anniversary of The Rocketeer by celebrating the 35th anniversary of my another of my favorite films, Howard the Duck.  The zaniness continues in the movie novelization of Howard the Duck by Ellis Weiner, based on the screenplay by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, though with a number of humorous and satirical additions that were unique to the novelization.  So far, I’m liking the novel version of Howard more than the movie version.  

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An example of some of the bits of humor thrown in by author Ellis Weiner that doesn’t make it onto the screen. Sometimes these movie novelizations were kind of phoned in, but so far, this one really goes above and beyond the call of duty. 

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Here is the section where we meet our heroine, Beverly.  There is a little more detail about her and her band mates here than in the film, which is one of the nice things that these movie novelization did when done well.

Speaking of the film, there is a Howard the Duck documentary, Howard the Doc, currently being created with interviews from some of the original writers / cast / crew. I do believe it is the only one that has ever been attempted for this first of all Marvel movies.

It is in the final stages of production. Their team needs some love / support / bucks to help complete the project, and you can support them on Indiegogo. Some crowdfunding platforms don’t result in any funding going to the creators if the final goal is not met, but in this case, the filmmakers will get it every penny that you contribute even if the final target is not met. If you have love for the 1986 film, comic, the original cast/crew, or 80s movies in general, please consider taking a look at the campaign, sharing on your social media, or contributing. Hopefully, then we can all see the final product!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/howard-the-doc-documentary-finishing-funds

Some screenshots of the production with Ed Gale (who was inside Howard), Jeffrey Jones (a.k.a. the principal who get booted in the face in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), and Lea Thompson.

img_4818img_4819img_4820

Stay tuned for more!
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Continue reading →

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #313: Reading The Howard the Duck Movie Novelization Part 1

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #313: Reading The Howard the Duck Movie Novelization Part 1

https://archive.org/download/podcast-313/Podcast%20313.mp3

 

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This week, we’re taking a short break from the 30th anniversary of The Rocketeer by celebrating the 35th anniversary of my another of my favorite films, Howard the Duck.  When I was creating the Aurora character from The Thirteenth Hour, Beverly from the film was one of the influences I used in creating Aurora’s character.  Awhile back, I found an old copy of the movie novelization so figured this would be the perfect time to read it on the podcast.  It’s based on the screenplay by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, so I’m thinking it may give some background info that might help explain some parts of the film.  And this intro section does not disappoint – it is totally bonkers!

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If you’re a member of the Patreon, check out the exclusive podcast they dropped this past weekend for more on the making of a Beverly minifigure.  Will be posting periodic updates as the initial clay sculpt gets finished and the molding / casting process gets underway. 

Stay tuned for more!
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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #145: A Conversation with Adam from Mom_Gave_Them_Away on Instagram Part 2, Take 2

Episode #145: A Conversation with Adam from Mom_Gave_Them_Away – 80s Toys and Cartoons Extravaganza Part 2 – Take 2

https://archive.org/download/Podcast145_201805/Podcast%20145.mp3

Due to some difficulties I had getting podcast feeds to pick up this episode, I’m trying an experiment.  Show notes are available here

 

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #145: A Conversation with Adam from Mom_Gave_Them_Away on Instagram Part 2

Episode #145: A Conversation with Adam from Mom_Gave_Them_Away – 80s Toys and Cartoons Extravaganza Part 2

https://archive.org/download/Podcast145_201805/Podcast%20145.mp3

Adam from the Instagram account that he runs, mom_gave_them_away (dedicated to 80s toys, mostly action figures, and other 80s memorabilia), rejoins us this week for the second part of our conversation on 1980s childhood nostalgia.   If you grew up during that era or just have an interest in some of the things kids were playing with back then, do yourself a favor and check out his site – it’s a virtual encyclopedia of information on toys and other memorabilia from the 80s!  This episode, we again cover a diverse array of topics – starting with molding and casting, to Adam’s custom action figure business (see below), and many more 80s toys and their obscure associated cartoons. Like last week, here are some 80s cartoon intros and commercials to get you in the mood:

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors – the intro to Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors is quite typical of the era – lasers, explosions, rings that shoot fire, and men singing the name of the series over and over in the intro 🙂

Silverhawks – “partly metal, partly real”

This unbelievably epic commercial was for Air Raiders.  Despite the animation in this commercial, there was no cartoon I’m aware of, though there was a comic.  This page, which details a number of toy lines from the 80s (such as Air Raiders) that didn’t quite take off for whatever reason, is fascinating if you’re into this sort of thing.  

The anime opening theme for Combat Mecha Xabungle (above) requires some explanation.  Recently, Adam posted a nameless red robot torso on his page (below).  Thanks to the magic of the internets and the contributors visiting his account, he was able to quickly find the name and full version of the figure. When I saw it, I was reminded of a similar blue robot that also had a penchant for falling apart!   Turns out they were from this Japanese anime series, originally airing in 1982.

View this post on Instagram

⬅️SWIPE: I HAD THAT! But what is it? Thanks to the @mom_gave_them_away community I now know. A few weeks ago I posted a junked torso of a transforming robot I remembered having as a kid, but couldn't remember what it was in order to find one. Thanks to many of you guys I now know it was most likely the Yrobot Ironcar knock off of the Xabungle Irongear from 1983. This thing is iconic to me as I was always drawn to generic and simple toys. I remember getting this for Christmas at my grandparent's house in Wheaton, IL when I was a kid. After that post a few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to track down one of each mint and complete in the box. I will say if you get one they are very brittle and fragile. Aside from the stickers you can spot the Yrobot Ironcar from the head; I've never seen it with a properly painted face. So that KO is easy to spot. But they have the exact same mold and are equally rad! #momgavethemaway #mgta #80smovies #80sculture #80stv #80smusic #toysfromthe80s #80stoys #80scartoons #nostalgia #toycollection #toyphotography #toys #kenner #fisherprice #remco #toysrus #kbtoys #hasbro #toypics #toyphotos #80sstuff #1980s #toysruskid #yrobot #xabungle #ironcar #irongear #transformers #gobots

A post shared by Mom Gave Them Away (@mom_gave_them_away) on

 

 

Having never seen the show before, I must admit, my curiosity is peaked!  I’ll have to try to track some of the episodes down.  

Remember these toy guns?  The one on the left shot rubber BBs (it was basically a low powered airsoft gun with a gravity fed magazine), and the one of the right fired little discs.  Both were high capacity (the BB gun could hold about 40-50 BBs; the disc shooter I think held around 20 discs in an internal, nonremovable, spring fed magazine) and offered the possibility of semiauto fire (one shot for each pull of the trigger, assuming the gun didn’t break in between – always a risk – which, despite the durability issues, was pretty cool for a toy).  This page lovingly pays homage to these bits of toy gun history – click to read more: BB gun / disc shooter.

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Check out more of Adam’s work here: https://accustomfigures.com/ and on Instagram.  He put together a number of tutorials so you can also get started on making your own figures.  And of course, here is the page that inspired this episode and last: https://www.instagram.com/mom_gave_them_away/

I’ll finish with a little retro 80s visual that you can hear at the end of the show – a remixed version of “I’ll Fly Away” from The Thirteenth Hour soundtrack – this video being a nod to all those flying scenes in 80s movies through dreamy cloudscapes.

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

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.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #144: A Conversation with Adam from Mom_Gave_Them_Away on Instagram

Episode #144: A Conversation with Adam from Mom_Gave_Them_Away – 80s Toys and Cartoons Extravaganza

https://archive.org/download/Podcast144_201805/Podcast%20144.mp3

This week and next, I’m joined by Adam from the Instagram account that he runs, mom_gave_them_away, which is dedicated to 80s toys, mostly action figures.  If you grew up during that era or just have an interest in some of the things kids were playing with back then, do yourself a favor and check out his site – it’s a virtual encyclopedia of information on toys and other memorabilia from the 80s!  This episode, we cover a diverse array of topics – from 80s toys, to the lure of cassette tapes and VHS, to many obscure 80s cartoons!  The fact that these toys were made to be be played with made them educational, in a way (I’d argue).  Good for the imagination!

Here are some cartoon intros (GoBots, Visionaries, Inhumanoids, Dungeons and Dragons) and toy commercials (Sky Commanders, G.I. Joe, Battle Beasts) to whet your appetite:

And though this wasn’t something we talked about, the G.I. Joe clips reminded me of this clip from a Reading Rainbow episode I turned on for my daughter the other day.

Teamwork!  Talk about a blast from the past.  The high-water socks, the headbands, the electric guitar in the background, the dry ice in the glass the waitress hands to Levar around 1:00 – classic!

Stay tuned next week as we continue the conversation with Adam.  In the meantime, check out some of the most excellent custom action figure work he also does (like this Macgyver custom below).  We’ll start with figure making next week!

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Check out more of Adam’s work here: https://accustomfigures.com/ and on Instagram.

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Between Two Worlds, the synth EP follow up to Long Ago Not So Far Away is now out for streaming on Bandcamp.  

The bonus track, called “Flight of the Cloudrider” has a 80s movie mashup music video (see if you can identify all the movies!) which is available on youtube.   This app was largely created with the iphone app Auxy.

between 2 worlds EP cover 2

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.

Check it out!

As always, thanks for listening!

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