In today's episode, I was planning to start a new action figure project - attempting to turn a Rocketeer figurine that I found on eBay in to an articulated action figure. A number of years ago, my brother encouraged me to use the social media platform Blue Sky as an alternative to Twitter/X. I did make a profile and processed to do nothing with it other than do what I often do when I find a new platform - I start looking for Rocketeer stuff. One of the first things I posted was the discovery of a Rocketeer theme gashapon set that was available in Japan. Gashapon are little toys or souvenirs you can buy in plastic capsules from vending machines. These sorts of things were all over the place in the 80s, though what you got there was of generally pretty low quality. Still, the idea of a little toy in a capsule stuck with me long enough to inspire me to want to make little resin figurines of Logan and Aurora from The Thirteenth Hour . Their diminutive size was no surprise! There is also something alluring about the fact toys like this comes from a machine and that you don't exactly know what you will get. The more common US equivalent - the blind bag / box concept - is essentially the same thing with more expense and less flair (no machine involved). I was able to find a set of all the Rocketeer gashapon via a retailer in Hong Kong, I believe, which was cheaper. My favorite piece of the set was a GI Joe sized figurine of Cliff about to take off to chase the zeppelin: Go to https://13thhr.wordpress.com/2025/11/17/the-thirteenth-hour-podcast-536-and-like-a-hood-ornament-83-starting-a-new-rocketeer-resin-casting-project-and-making-a-new-rocketeer-theme/ for pictures. I remember thinking at the time - wouldn't this make a good articulated figure? And the idea never really went away. So I've decided to try first to make a duplicate of the figure that I can cut up and modify. The figure does split in half, so in these pictures, I have planned some vents in places I thought might not fill. And that was going to be this week's episode ... but the silicone I had bought for the project turned out to be bad (one bottle leaked and the other was solid). So I pivoted midway back to music and decided to make a Rocketeer marching tune for the Rocketeer 8bit style game I have been making. I tapped out the tune initially on the keyboard and then made the track itself on Bandlab. You can hear the track towards the end of the episode. It's not quite done, but it's pretty much what I was looking for to accompany the flying / running parts of the game. I have been fortunate to have been on a few podcasts lately - both about the process of becoming an author, starting a podcast, making toys, making music, etc. This clip from the Planet Texas Podcast on toymaking is pretty much what we were talking about above. You can listen/watch the whole conversation over on Youtube . Thanks, Javier, for having me on! I was also on Let's Talk Media with Vedant Akhauri for another fun conversation. Check out the episode on Spotify . Thanks, Vedant, for having me on! ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ Once Upon a Dream , the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form and on CD! It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp , Spotify , and YouTube Music . (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes and special editions of the album there as well.) The CDs are out now! -Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album: -->Logan's Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM -->Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc -->Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo -->Aurora's Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk
