The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #430 and Like a Hood Ornament #52: Starting Work on a German Rocket Trooper Action Figure

Starting work on a custom action figure of the German rocket trooper from the 1991 Rocketeer movie.

The Thirteenth Hour Podcast #430 and Like a Hood Ornament #52: Starting Work on a German Rocket Trooper Action Figure

https://archive.org/download/podcast-430/Podcast%20430.mp3

As I’ve talked about here before, I’ve been working on a GI Joe Style action figure wave of the Rocketeer.  It’s been great fun coming up with ways to accessorize the figure with a removable helmet, pack, pistol, and so forth.  In the episode, I discuss another idea to add more action (to the action figure) – by adding a removable zip line harness so it can look like it’s flying.

I cut out and bent a number 1 (PET) plastic container to make a little harness that fit under the rocketpack, which is held in place a bit with friction but almost exclusively with a magnet attached to the rear torso screw.

So, with all that, I thought that the Rocketeer needs to have a German counterpart!  In the 1991 film, there is a little black and white animated sequence (supposedly smuggled out of Germany at great personal cost).  The German Rocket trooper is also a flying enemy in the Rocketeer pixelart game I’ve been working on as well as the Choose Your Own Adventure style story that forms the backstory. Some concept designs I was able to find and some stills from the movie:

The German rocket trooper in pixelart form for the game.

Here, I am soaking the arms of the future German rocket trooper in hot water to soften them for disassembly.

Then, I am soaking the disassembled pieces in alcohol to remove any residues that may get in the way of painting later.

This is what one of the joints looks like.  The little movable peg is what gets sanded down so it can be painted without rubbing off its paint on the other parts of the arm.  That is the tedious part.  Shoulders are especially hard since they are a ball joint.  

Thankfully, the legs don’t require any work!  They can basically be used as is.

Thanks for listening!

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Check out the growing line of Thirteenth Hour toys and other products on the Thirteenth Hour Studio Etsy store (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThirteenthHourStudio).  There are a number of custom figures from retro films being sold for charity that available there as well.  For example, the hunter action figure from A Shadow in the Moonlight is now done and available on Etsy!

There is also a growing collection of Thirteenth Hour stickers on The Thirteenth Hour Studio store on Redbubble!

Check out this collaboration with past show guest Jeff Finley on handpan: 

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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