Today the Disney parks blog teased a new Vinylmation series. Popcorn Vinylmation will be a series of figures reimaged with a new look.
Will this be similar to Park Starz, where everybody gets their own design?
Does this get too far away from the Mickey mold to be considered Vinylmation?
(picture from Disney)
Custom artist Nathan resides in FT Worth, Texas is the subject of our spotlight today. Classic Disney characters old and new were the subjects of his latest creations.
Destination Vinylmation: Were you into creating artwork before custom Vinylmation?
Nathan: Why yes. I’m a professional Graphic Designer and have been into different styles and medium of art from an early age.
DV: You decided to paint Roger Rabbit smaller and onto the front instead of stretching him and wrapping him around. Was that always the plan? Why did you decided to paint him that way?
Nathan: I decided to not make him fat! Most artists use the whole VM and stretch out the character so I wanted to try something a little different. I really like the way he turned out, though his mouth gave me a huge struggle being on Mickey’s nose and still doesn’t look quite right. I know a lot of people think I should have used all the space, but I chose a different path and experimented! That is the great thing about being an artist, having your own vision and going with it. With him being my first custom and painting on a 3D canvas I gained a new appreciation for all the custom and Disney Artists.
DV: Agent P looks great. Was it difficult to capture this character onto the mold?
Nathan: Agent P was my second custom and was not as hard as Roger was for me. I used a lot more of the vinyl, but not all of it. I wanted to capture his legs and feet from the front and back. I also enjoyed making the hat instead of just painting it on. I made Agent P for my 4 year old son who love Phineas and Ferb. I admit I do too, shhh don’t tell anyone it will be our little secret!!!
DV: Can you give some tips on molding a hat to fit onto a Vinylmation around the ears?
Nathan: The hat was a fun little aspect of the process. I used an air dry sculpting clay for it. I made the rim of the hat first and cut slots for the ears and test fitted til it was a nice snug fit all around the ears. Then I molded the main part of the hat, attached and molded it to the rim. The hat is actually attached to his head as I molded it right on there. Once it was completely dry I painted it to complete Agent P.
DV: Do you sell your work?
Nathan: I just started with customs so I really haven’t thought about selling them but you never can tell what will happen in the future.
DV: Where can people go to see more of your work and contact you?
Nathan: I don’t have any of my customs or regular art online, but I do have my freelance Graphic Design website up and it is: http://mysite.verizon.net/res14m94x/index.html
DV: Thank you for sharing your work with our audience.
Nathan: I appreciate you taking the to look at my customs! This hobby has been a lot of fun collecting and now doing customs just adds a whole new dimension to it!! And as Nick an M.C. say “Keep on collecting!”
Today, the 9″ Central Park Vinylmation went on sale. This LE 1540 Oscar Mendez design retails for $49.95.
The Playwright stopped by the Times Square Disney Store to take some pics of this colorful creation on the shelves.
The side of the box explains a bit about Vinylmation and the NY series.
The other side shows the concept art and the LE number. I like the design a lot. A great job of depicting perspective and a great color pallet.
The good news is this figure also went on sale at DisneyStore.com. It is interesting to note that this one comes with an Artist Card!
We got an email with these pictures and a nice note from Aurelio. Check out her review…
“Hi everyone,
I don’t know if there is already a thread about the Romantic Treats series from Japan but I would like to make a report about this series.
I received my tray this week and…. I love this collection!
I would like to make some observations:
– they smell the chocolate
– the series name below the vinylmation is not romantic treats but “choco colle series”
– arms are glued to the body
Here are some pics from my set:
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Disney has released the information about when we will be seeing that Park 7 LE Kitchen Kabaret set.
On February 10th they will be coming to the WDW and DLR D-Streets as well as EPCOT’s MouseGears and Mission: SPACE Cargo Bay.
The set was designed by Maria Clapsis and has a limited edition number of 2000. That’s great… now for the bad news. Back at The Florida Project they said that this set would be $74.95.
Release Date: February 10, 2012
Where: WDW, DLR, Online (see below for where a specific team will be released)
Price: $14.95
Details: This set of College teams, like the other teams sets, will be released in waves. The first wave includes Florida, FSU, Ohio St., Penn St., UCLA and USC. The teams without pictures have all been announced as coming in the future.
Update: 2/11/12 Duke and Iowa added to lineup.
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Florida Gators WDW, Online |
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Florida State Seminoles WDW, Online |
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Ohio State Buckeyes WDW, DLR, Online |
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Penn State Nittany Lions WDW, DLR, Online |
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UCLA Bruins DLR, Online |
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USC Trojans DLR, Online |
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Texas Longhorns |
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North Carolina Tar Heels |
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Michigan Wolverines |
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Miami Hurricanes |
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Alabama Crimson Tide |
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Iowa Hawkeyes |
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Duke Blue Devils |
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University of Central Florida Knights
Not announced, and I know it’s not a popular nation-wide brand, but if they release it locally like a lot of these teams are being released, there is no reason they can not do it. There is a strong base of locals and especially students that attend UCF and work at Walt Disney World. Not to mention all the alumni in the area. Show us some love! |
Update 6/10/12 Available NOW online through the Vinylmation Facebook page store. Then will still be available at D-Streets starting June 22.
Update 5/29/12 Release date of June 22 and price of $12.95 confirmed for Stitch and Figment.
Yesterday Disney released pictures of the two next nerds in the Nerds Rock! series: Stitch and Figment. We first heard about these extras last year and now it looks like they are getting ready to stumble into our lives. No word yet on an actual release date.
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Nerd Figment
Check out the wicked beanie on top. I wonder if the propeller will spin? It does not on the Donald Nerd. His shirt seems to say, “Let your ideas take flight.” It is the logo from the Imagination Institute. Amazing! A must have! |
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Nerd Stitch
The poor guy doesn’t look happy to be a nerd, but he sure is adorable. Even the glass cockeyed seem to add to the character. As many have said before, his shirt makes him look like a cast member of The Big Bang Theory. (Which just last episode had Shamy making their own podcast.) Also, a must buy! |
Are either of these nerds going to be invited into your Vinylmation party?
Park 8
Release Date: February 17, 2012 (D-Streets) March 2012 (online)
Price: TBA
Details: This mystery box series is the second Park set in a row that celebrates the 40th anniversary of WDW.
Update: 2/7/12 Variants, Combo Topper, and Chaser all confirmed (see pics below)
Update: 2/6/12 These are the pins for the series. Get a closer look at the belly halves of some of the figures.
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Snowman Blizzard Beach Nice carrot nose! Really like the fact they used that prop in place of painting it on.  |
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Buddy Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor (MK) Artist: Thomas Scott What a cool addition into the Parks series. Off beat and very well designed.  |
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Robot Chef Horizons (EPCOT) I’m surprised a Horizons figure waiting until Park Starz. Now Mickey mold gets one. Perfect use of clear ears to put the hat and cups. Head could have been done small with some clear, but I like it. 
* picture from lostepcot.com
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Safari Truck Kilimanjaro Safari (Animal Kingdom) Artist: Eric Caszatt I’ve been asking for more ride vehicles, this set gives us 2! Mud on front and the cargo on top… beautiful. Can’t wait to see the back. |
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Minnie Moo Mickey’s Birthdayland (MK) This cow with a Mickey Head spot was at a petting zoo inside Mickey’s Birthdayland (later Toon Town) in 1988. Another perfect character choice. 
* picture from startedbyamouse.com
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MK 1981 Ticket Magic Kingdom Artist: Thomas Scott Yes!!! When we got the concept art we were hoping for an eyelet in the ear… little did we know we got a string too. Thomas explained how the original ticket came with this string you can tighten around your neck. 
* picture from vintagedisneylandtickets.blogspot.com
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Nautilus 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (MK) I’m glad they are giving us a 3″ even though we have the amazing 9″. A good design with the top out of water and clouds in ears with the bottom underwater with bubbles ind the body. 
* picture from http://waltdatedworld.bravepages.com
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EPCOT Retro Map EPCOT Artist: Thomas Scott I love retro and the colors on this figure are amazing in person. This was a design used on some merchandise in the early 80’s and the guide map. It represents both Future World and World Showcase.  |
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100 Years of Magic MGM Studios The lone studios representative in this set is the giant hat that sits as the centerpiece to the park. 
There is a variant to this figure:
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WDW 25th Anniversary Logo WDW 1996 Variations of this logo was put on various merchandise, CM name tags and other places as well. Nice capture of all the features with Sorcerer Mickey in one ear and Tink in the other. The clear head represents Cinderella’s carriage. 
* picture from micechat
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Robotic Diving Suit The Living Seas (EPCOT) Artist: Eric Caszatt Thanks to Chris and Austin for helping me remember this classic. In the former Living Seas attraction, guests could get behind this suit to control the arms and simulate working underwater. 
* picture from lostepcot.com
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Mystery Chaser Fort Wilderness Mickey Ft. Wilderness Resort Logo WDW Might be my all-time favorite Vinylmation. You know I love this hat on Davy Crockett and the design is spot on. This one has a sentimental tie for me as this was the resort of choice for my camping family when we visited WDW.  |
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Combo Topper 80’s Rainbow Mickey  (Photo sent by @CindyF1125) |
