Urban 8 price and Combo Topper
Urban 8-
$9.95
Combo- Light gray two tone
$26.95
Park Starz Review
They said it would be different. This set would “break the mold” so to speak. It would also push new boundaries and do things no Vinylmation set has done yet. The new Park Starz set, released today, has given us 12 vinyl figures without a single Mickey mold. This set also has a 2 for 1. And some obscure Disney references.
The entire series is packaged in blind boxes, or rather blind tins for the price of $18.95. That puts Park Starz $6 more than any other blind box set. So each individual collector has to make the call if there is enough value added into each character created. If you get the chance, make sure to stop by and say hi to Disney artists Thomas Scott and Casey Jones at D-Street Orlando today. They will be signing from 5p-7p.
Park Starz are different in that each figure is molded into a characterture of the Disney Park character they represent. They all have some great little details and unique accessories like the Horizon Butler’s duster and Jose’s perch.
Park Starz measure up at about the same height as your 3″ Vinylmation. My favorite out of the initial 12 is Big Al from the Country Bears Jamboree.
His large, exagerated figure looks amazing in person. As does his little guitar. Park Starz was a team effort between Thomas Scott, Casey Jones and Lin Shih. Love them, like them or dislike them, you can tell a lot of thought, and Disney Parks passion, went into each and every figure.
Abe Lincoln stands tall and stout with the Gettysburg Address firm in hand. His tuft of hair and beard are molded out from the rest of his head. It’s a great representation of an important piece of Disney Park history.
The you have the Blizzard Beach Ice Gator. A more contemporary park mascot. He has a very cartoonish look. He is very playful and colorful. Very appealing to a certain audience. That’s the beauty of this set. It can be enjoyed by a wide range of fans. But at it’s core, Park Starz serves the core parks fan. It’s chaser is a character only die-hards would recognize.
Click to see Park Starz Mystery Chaser
Another of my favorites is the Haunted Mansion Bride. This ghostly spirit borders that edge between a beautiful collectible and just spooky enough looking that it fits into that old creepy house. The veil and ax in hand are magnificent touches.
The 2 for 1 I mentioned is from It’s A Small World. Both the boy and the goat are both packaged in one tin. These look really special and are artistically designed, while still holding true to the great Mary Blair’s concept.
Overall, Park Starz makes a welcome addition to the Vinylmation scene. They are both designed and produced very well and will no doubt feature us Disney Geek’s favorite characters in every set. While Mickey-mold Vinylmation stand up as great mini works of art, Park Starz should serve a market for affordably priced Disney Park collectibles.
Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Chelsey Zhang
Destination Vinylmation: You were a featured artist at The Customation Project a few weeks ago and you came up with some astonishing figures.
Chelsey: As I mentioned, I want to take my custom to a next level. Well, here it is.
DV: Ok, this first one is California Adventure’s Grizzly River Run. Tell us all about it.
Chelsey: This piece is my favorite so far. I spent over 3 weeks to finish it. I sculpted the inner scene from the famous rush down on the ride. Then I made it light up from the vinyl’s head. I covered it with a cap (which is removable so that if the batteries runs out, it will be very easy to replace the batteries in the flash light).
Outside of the bear is realistic fur instead of paint. That’s one of my favorite rides in California Adventure. That’s why I really wanted to make it perfect. Hope you guys like it.
DV: Next up is Tom and Jerry. How did you decide on this custom combo?
Chelsey: I really loved to watch Tom and Jerry when I was young. I haven’t seen any artist make any customs on them. I decided to take a shot.
DV: That is a very inovative use of the 9″ Vinylmation. The third custom you are sharing with us today you call Dream castle.
Chelsey: I wasn’t really impressed by the castle nine inches that have been produced (i.e. Hong Kong 9″ castle.) that’s why I decided to make my own version of it. I wanted to make it more 3D. That’s why i sculpted the balconies for the princesses.
DV: As always Chelsey, thank you for sharing your work with our readers.
Chelsey: I’ll send you the new 3″ ones later. Hope you guys enjoy. Again, thank you very much for helping post the info about The Customation Project.
Steve Jobs 1955-2011
Steve Jobs will be missed in the world of technology, but he also held a unique position in the history of the Disney company:
In 1986, Jobs bought The Graphics Group (later renamed Pixar) from Lucasfilm’s computer graphics division for the price of $10 million. After years of unprofitability selling the Pixar Image Computer, it contracted with Disney to produce a number of computer-animated feature films, which Disney would co-finance and distribute. The first film produced by the partnership, Toy Story, brought fame and critical acclaim to the studio when it was released in 1995. On January 24, 2006, Jobs and Disney’s Bob Iger announced that Disney had agreed to purchase Pixar in an all-stock transaction worth $7.4 billion. Once the deal closed, Jobs became The Walt Disney Company’s largest single shareholder with approximately 7% of the company’s stock. Jobs joined the company’s board of directors upon completion of the merger. Jobs also helped oversee Disney and Pixar’s combined animation businesses with a seat on a special six person steering committee.
WDW 40th In Pictures
by Nick LoCicero
I had the great pleasure of hanging out at Walt Disney World on Saturday, October 1st for the 40th celebration. I’d like to share with you some of my favorite pictures I took on that day. (click to enlarge)
The line waiting to get in at about 7am
Noah signs at Diamond Horseshoe
Noah signs at Diamond Horseshoe
Noah signs at Diamond Horseshoe
Noah signs at Diamond Horseshoe
Inside Diamond Horseshoe
Park 7 Chaser Revealed
This is one of the oddest chaser stories we have seen. Disney, usually shy about posting pictures of chasers before they are released, posted the Park 7 chaser on the Vinylmation website today:
This is made even more odd because of the Park 7 pin we have already seen:
Add on top of that, the lengthy discussion we had on the last podcast about the above pin not being one of the 11 revealed characters or combo topper in Park 7. And how I mistakenly described the pin as being maybe the Hong Kong Castle until it dawned on me that the design on the body is that of the banners that hang outside Cinderella’s Castle at WDW.
All that being said… what are your thoughts on this chaser? I think it’s the first great one since Lincoln in Park 6.
US City Exclusives… Now Less Exclusive
On the heals of the UK Disney Store Online’s release of the London exclusive Vinylmation, the US Disney Store Online has followed suit with select NYC exclusive figures now available for cyber purchase.
Only two of the 9″ figures are available… Hey Taxi and New York, New York
The interesting note here is the price. Although $44.95 is the original price, if you were to go to the NYC Times Square Store to purchase them, they are discounted to $30 as of about a week ago. Vinylmation are not the only city specific items popping up online. The Disney Store Online now has a full section of the website dedicated to some of their big city Disney Stores.
You can go online to purchase select merchandise from NYC, Chicago, San Francisco and Hawaii. No Vinylmation in any other city yet, but look at this ad:
Vinylmation is the product they feature on the generic ad for this section of the online store. This leads me to believe other city specific figures will be online soon as well. We do know, the Honolulu, Hawaii Disney Store will take mail orders for the Tiki Mickey due out October 4. So since they are already willing to ship, I suppose the thinking is, why not make the process easier for Disney, and the guest, and let everyone purchase them online. I’m not a big fan of this shift. A NYC tee shirt or Chicago coffee mug are one thing, but placing collectibles online like this takes away from that specialness of the item. We talked about this on the latest podcast after finding out about the London vinyls. What are your thoughts on city specifics being made available online?
Review: New Disney Store App
The Disney Store has just made it much easier to hand over your paycheck to Disney anytime, anywhere. The new Disney Store app for smart phones and the iPad was made available for download today. It’s a Free pick up at the app store, so I grabbed it and took it for a test run.
To find the app, just search “Disney Store” in the app store or go to m.disneystore.com on your mobile device. The download and install is very quick. Once downloaded, the Home page is very straight forward with three “slider” sections with a menu bar located at the bottom.
The top slider is reserved for a welcome screen, ads with the latest deals (such as the free shipping code) and featured merchandise. The middle slider shows the categories guests are used to from the website including Characters, Girls, Boys, Baby, Adult, Toys & Games, Pins, Art & Collectibles, Theme Park, Home & Decor, DVDs, Music & Books, Sale Items and more. No Vinylmation-by-itself category yet, but they are located under the Collectibles slider. It’s a great interface that is very intuitive for any smart phone user.
While scrolling through the categories, the pictures under it change and give different specific items to choose from.
That area slides too, so you can browse thumbnails of featured items in that category. Just click on the category to get more sortable options and/or a list of items.
The list shows a thumbnail photo and the price of the item. You can also, from the home page or the list view, click on and individual item for more details and/or to purchase the item.
The individual item page is very well done. Scrolling down gives you a look at reviews and product details. The item page has a large picture at the top, and many items have multiple pictures by sliding the image. There is also an enlarging feature that gives you a full screen look at the product.
Clicking “Add to Cart” initiates a cool animation where the item’s picture pops out, the device vibrates and the picture shrinks and slides down into the cart icon at the bottom. I added a ton of stuff to my cart just to watch that a few times.
The cart icon shows the number of items in your cart. Click on the cart icon and it takes you to the checkout page. Your items are listed down the page with the discounts and totals at the bottom. It’s all easily viewed in this clean interface making it very clear what you are purchasing and how much you are spending.
The Checkout button is located in the top right corner of the screen. Clicking that button allows you to login to your account (or checkout as a Guest) then proceed to imputing your credit card info and so forth. (sorry, no screen shots of my numbers).
The menu bar at the bottom of the app has all the navigation you need. Home, Find a Store, Search, Cart and More. Find a Store uses GPS to map your location and find the stores closest to you. You can view this as either a Map or List. You can also search by city or zip. Clicking on a store gives you a snapshot of the store, the phone number, address, store hours and In Store Events (if applicable).
The more tab gives you easy access to Recently Viewed Items, allows you to login to your account, lets you view your account info and of course links you to Guest Services. Guest Services is full of all the help you may need including shipping info, exchange policies and a contact form.
This is really a beautiful app. The full Disney Store Online is at your fingertips in an extremely easy to use, clean format. Any smart phone user will find the entire app fully intuitive. Items are easy to find and the checkout process seems extremely quick. (note: I did not fully check out from the app as of the posting of this article) This is what an app should be… an easy to use interface on a small screen fully loaded with all the features your website offers that visitors need. For free, go grab it today… it will come in handy next release day while your waiting outside the store as other items go up online.
Spotlight On: Vinylmation Custom Artist Evilos
Evilos is giving Vinylmation fans a whole new way to collect. He is offering up a mixture of customs, commons and rare Vinylmation in blind mystery pouches.
Intrigued? Check out all the details at Evilo’s website here.
Exclusive: Park Starz Turnaround Close-up Pictures
At The Florida Project today, we were fortunate to get a hands-on with the newly unveiled Park Starz (Project Z) figures that were on display. Park Starz will be a set of 11+ Mystery Chaser blind tin set. They will retail for $18.95 per tin and be sold in cases of 12 (with a guaranteed set in there). Look for these to hit Disney Park stores this October. They are under the Vinylmation brand, but feature individual molds, stylized for each individual character they represent. First up, Big Al from Country Bears Jamboree.
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| Big Al |
Park Starz is like nothing we have seen in Vinylmation. They are stylized characters from the Disney Parks around the world… and Big Al certainly has a lot of character on this vinyl. The big sad face. The huge arms holding the detailed guitar. And of course the tiny hat on top.
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| Big Al |
From the side you see the size of this figure. For the most part, the Park Starz are about the height of a Vinylmation, three inches. They feel rather light for the bulkiness of say Al and Yeti, but they do not feel cheap in any way.
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| Big Al |
You might be comparing these to the Funko’s Pop! Vinyl, but the difference is in the quality of the design. The Pop! Vinyl are licensed out, where Park Starz are handled completely within the Disney Design Group. After talking with these artists a few times, you realize how much they love Disney, the characters and the parks, and that shows in these designs. How about a look at the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Giant Squid…
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| Giant Squid |
These are stylized interpretations, and the Giant Squid has a worried look like he may have just missed a sub full of guests.
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| Giant Squid |
The tentacles have a flexible feel to them. The figure itself feels as sold as a Mickey mold Vinylmation. These figures in particular don’t have a ton of small detail, but some cool little touches like the markings on the tentacle ends.
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| Giant Squid |
The back has a blow hole and the markings of VM for Vinylmation. I didn’t see this logo on the other figures. The great thing, is these Park Starz will be packaged in blind box tins. M.C. had a great point… most likely tins so guests can not judge the shape or size of the figure within.
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| Giant Squid |
See what I mean about detail? They didn’t need to add the markings to the bottom of the tentacles here, but they did. Up next, Figment.
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| Figment |
People guessed bowling pin, but instead we get Figment. He is a hit to guests everywhere, and the crown enjoyed his appearance here.
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| Figment |
The wings and horns look great on this figure. The cool thing is, after talking to Thomas Scott and Casey Jones, is this series of Vinylmation was planned from the beginning. Thomas said he never intended for Vinylmation to be just a Mickey mold. Casey said they had a lot of fun coming up with designs and it shows here.
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| Figment |
No word on variants in Park Starz, but Figment is ripe with possibilities for one.
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| Figment |
A look at the bottom shows the VM logo and “made in China” stamp. No artist as it’s really a collaboration between Casey Jones (character sketches), Thomas Scott (ideas and design) and Lin Shih (sculpting). There will not, at least right now, be figures attributed to individual artists. Finally, the Yeti.
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| Yeti |
Disney revealed a little too much 2 days before The Florida Project when they posted a picture of the Yeti, albeit in shadow.
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| Yeti |
This Expedition Everest mascot differs from his dico Yeti counterpart as this vinyl’s arms move. So he can swipe away at passing ride vehicles to his heart’s content. These do all feel like sturdy, well produced figures that are true collectibles.
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| Yeti |
Look at those exaggerated arms and raised eyebrows.
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| Yeti |
The feet also have a flattened look to them. Obviously helping him to stand, it also gives the impression he is immersed in the snow he would be walking through.
Overall, this series is a welcome addition to the Vinylmation lineup. It is pricey at $19 a blind tin, but gives collectors a special alternative to the Mickey mold. You don’t have to put these next to your Mickey shaped Vinylmation on the shelf. There are plenty of Mickeys, Donalds and Goofys out there… but for park geeks, there isn’t much collectible merchandise that features park specific characters. These fulfill this need in a satisfying way.