Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist John Ward

WDWNT on March 31, 2012

Have your work spotlighted, no matter the skill level. Just email us: DestinationVinylmation@gmail.com
Today we once again spotlight John Ward. He has an amazing custom based on a classic Fantasyland attraction.

Destination Vinylmation: Tell us about how you developed the idea for Peter Pan’s Flight.
John Ward: I wanted to try and come up with something that I hadn’t seen done before, and I wanted to push myself as an artist. The first thing was the I decided that I wanted to try and create something the moved on the Vinylmation, in some fashion. Then I thought that I’d probably be able to create something that would rotate around the outside of the piece, yet still be attached so the it would be all one piece. Once I had the concept for the feature I wanted, I thought about what concept I could use it with. Almost instantly I thought of Peter Pan’s Flight, it’s one of my favorite rides still. So had my concept, ships (the ride vehicles would rotate around over scenes from the ride. The front had to be downtown London, my favorite part of the whole ride. The reverse is Neverland, of course.

After that I had to figure out how to make it all work. How do you have something able to rotate, yet still be attached to the Vinylmation figure. I came up with using a wooden dowel and a lazy susan device.

DV: Besides the moving parts, what was the most challenging part of creating this custom?
John: Trying to sculpt 3 ships that small was quite a challenge, I tried to make them as close to looking like the actual vehicles. I think they turned out rather well, considering the size of them.

Painting the downtown London side was fun, yet very difficult. I had to make sure that the angles were consistent throughout, to where it actually looked like you were looking down from the clouds. I also knew that on one of the ears, I had to put the moon with the silhouettes of Peter and the children.

DV: What’s next and how can people view your work?
I’m currently finishing up my Jafar 2.0 custom. Which is a remake of one of my very first customs. My customs can be viewed on my Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/SiberianVinylmationCustoms or on my website; www.siberianarts.com

Sign of Prices to Come?

WDWNT on March 26, 2012

One of our long time listener/readers Don Sawyer sent us an interesting bit of information today. He told us how he has been in the process of collecting all the variants lately. So he has been diligently following variant sales for some time now. Even he was shocked at this one…

A WDW Park 6 “All Other Guest Areas” variant just sold for $505!!! Don says this by far the highest price he’s ever seen paid for a single variant. Same thoughts here. We do know this particular variant is mostly likely the most rare variant known to Vinylmation. But a $505 price tag? That seems extremely high with very little room for an increase in value here. What are you thoughts? Are there any single figures you would pay this price tag for? What is the most you have ever paid for a single Vinylmation 9″ or 3″?

Director Mickey Figure

WDWNT on March 26, 2012

It appears the Walt Disney Studios Burbank Studio Store is getting a new Vinylmation release. According to @DisneyAllen, the following figure will be released this Wednesday, March 28 at the store which is only accessible to Disney Studio employees.

Right now, this is the only image we have of this Director Mickey. No details about edition size or if it will only be available at this Studio Store event. The event is part of the Disney Store’s 25th anniversary celebration on March 28th. Disney Store Artist Jim Valeri will be on hand from 11:30am – 1:30pm to meet and greet guests. As stated above, this store can only be accessed by Disney Studio employees, so it is a really great exclusive treat for them. They had a similar event with designers of the Animator Doll series.

This sign, also provided by @DisneyAllen gives some of the details. We can’t wait to see this figure and hope it has a wider release. The accessory cap and megaphone look fantastic. If it is not given a wider release, this will probably prove to be one of the hot figures on the aftermarket.

Episode 065 Black/Orange Gear Bear

WDWNT on March 26, 2012

Ep. 065 Black/Orange Gear Bear

This week we talk about the latest news like the Director and Blueprint Mickeys. We also go in depth about the new Monorail: Cars series. And we have a discussion with Annemarie about her custom set of Furry Friends 2 and she also gives some helpful tips to custom artists.

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Blueprints To a Successful Vinylmation

WDWNT on March 26, 2012

Among the large cardboard cut outs of Vinylmation that adorn the windows of Mouse Gears at EPCOT, we occasionally see a design unfamiliar to us. Last week was one such occasion.

This design was stuck next to good old Park 5 chaser Tom Morrow. It appears to be a blueprint. I for one love the design and hope it is part of an upcoming Urban series, as this is a throwback to Urbans of yesteryear that we at DV enjoy so much. What do you think of Blueprint Mickey?

Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Annemarie: Furry Friends 2

WDWNT on March 26, 2012

It seems like it’s been a long time coming. Ever since Disney’s Furry Friends series was announced, Annemarie has been talking about all the other characters that also deserve a chance to appear on this modified mold. So she designed a set of 12 and today we unveil her newest customs she calls (the unofficial) Furry Friends 2!

We are excited to share these with you, and i know she is as well. Annemarie also brought the figures to Disneyland for a photo shoot. We also talked to her about these terrific designs.

Copper and Tod (“The Fox and the Hound” 1981)
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Destination Vinylmation: What drove you to make your own sequel?
Annemarie: I loved the Furry Friends series, I thought it was such a cute idea to give the characters paws. I figured it would be a great opportunity as a custom artist to give the same look to characters I would have liked to see in the original series.

Lady and Peg (“Lady and the Tramp” 1955)

Little Brother (“Mulan” 1998)
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DV: Did any Disney animals narrowly miss the cut of 12 or did you get in everyone you wanted?
AM: Tito from “Oliver and Company” was one I really wanted in, but we’ve already (luckily!) had several characters from that movie, I wanted to give a couple more obscure characters a chance, like Little Brother and Rufus, for example. I also would have loved to get the rest of Scat Cat’s gang in.

Thomas O’ Malley and Scat Cat (“The AristoCats” 1970)

Rufus (“The Rescuers” 1977)
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DV: We will not let the little guys read this next question… Which one came out as your favorite? Why? And did you know this would be your favorite when you designed it, or did the way it came out make it your favorite?
AM: That’s a really tough question. I’ve been working on these guys for over two months and have grown attached to them all! Figaro is probably my favorite, as you might have guessed. He was the first character I designed, and I really wanted him to be in the original Furry Friends series. As soon as I found out he wouldn’t be, I set to work on him right away, so he’ll always have a special place in my heart.

Figaro (“Pinocchio” 1940)

Georgette is one of my favorite Disney characters, so I was also a bit biased towards her before she was even finished. Peg is another favorite. As for ones I didn’t realize would become favorites, Nana probably best fits that category. I wasn’t expecting her to, but I think she came out as one of the best ones. (Scat Cat is another favorite. I love his little hat!)

Georgette (“Oliver and Company” 1988)

Nana (“Peter Pan” 1953)
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DV: Which FF2 was the hardest to design?
AM: Rajah was the hardest. I initially considered doing him from the scene in the movie where Jafar turns him into a baby. So he would be a cute little baby tiger cub. He definitely would have fit the mold better, so to speak, but I thought it would be a bit TOO obscure, and maybe he would be more recognizable if I just did his adult form.

Rajah (“Aladdin” 1992)
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His ears were the toughest part, I was working off a Furry Friends mold that already had ears in the “ears,” so I had to make Rajah’s ears bigger than I would have liked to cover up the pre-existing ears. Such are the trials of covering up an existing design!

Little Leia is interfering with my photo shoot!

Monorail: Cars D-Street Display

WDWNT on March 26, 2012

Here is a round of HQ pictures from the Monorail: Cars display at D-Street Orlando. A couple comments before the pictures… The seem to be printed with a high quality application. The Monorail shape actually has some detail to it: Ridging in the back, a well shaped nose (see straight on shots), a curvature to the base tucking into the sides and of course the cut out underneath for where the track would be. They are a nice size. I wish more of Mater’s teethe where shown (the kind of wrap under the nose). Again, even after seeing in person, my stance is I love the idea of trying new molds, and this mold in particular is fantastic, I just am not into a complete 12 set of all Cars characters.

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Location, Location, Vinylmation

WDWNT on March 26, 2012

It seems like some previously released location exclusive Vinylmation have become available on the DisneyStore.com.

Three new one’s I noticed at the Hawaii Tiki, Chicago Jazz and Chicago Wind. All three were previously only available at their respective city’s Disney Store.

Peter Pan’s expensive flight into NYC

WDWNT on March 26, 2012

The Playwright was in NYC today and found Kidada’s Peter Pan on the shelves. He did note, however, that the price is regular at the store but is cheaper at the online store. (Almost half price!)

Evilos’ Aviator (Not the Dicaprio kind)

WDWNT on March 26, 2012

We got a chance to sit down with Evilos and ask him about this great creation. Here is what he said:

DV: What inspired you to create Aviator Mickey?

Evilos: My latest creation, “Aviator Mickey” was mostly inspired by the movie Red Tails, a movie loosely based on the famous Tuskegee Airmen fighter group from World War Two. I wanted to pay some sort of tribute to them and both my grandfathers who also fought in the great war. Mickey being such an iconic image and Walt Disney’s involvement with the conflict also made it a complete package for me as an artist. Its truly a personal piece inside and out. I made 12 of these Mickey’s because I knew the interest with collectors would be so high that just one would not satisfy demand for such a personal historic work of art. Most are already sold out with collectors looking to get their special number out of 12.

DV: Tell us a little about the clothing accessories. Was the jacket custom made for a 9″ Vinylmation? Can the goggles come down over Mickey’s eyes?
E: First I would like to say the accessories are the most significant part to these Aviator Mickey’s. Each piece has an authentic WW2 circa 1941-1945 sweetheart wings pin shown on Mickey’s left jacket pocket. Also each will have replica brass Army Airmen Propeller wings attached to the Right pocket and Right flap of the flight helmet. I really love to bring a simple design, yet meaningful details to each one of my customs. Mickey comes with a Bomber Jacket, White Scarf, Flight Helmet and working Goggles that can be placed over Mickey’s eyes when he’s ready to take the pilot seat (See photo). Everything used was pre-existing but modified to work with the 9″ Vinylmation. I’m very happy how this one came out, I’m sure my grandfathers who laid down their lives for our country would feel the same.

DV: Where can people go to see a catalog of your work?
E: Anyone interested in my work can follow me on Twitter @EvilosArt Thank you!