Episode 067 Green/Red Gear Bear
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Ep. 067 Red/Green Gear Bear |
So Tasty!?????
Today there were a lot of secrets in the Events page on vinylmation.com. One more tidbit we found is this:
The only thing we actually know will be that the set? figure? will be at Disney Stores on June 4th and will cost $11.95 each.
| What could this be? We’ve had a lot of treat type vinylmation, Smore’s, Chocolate Mickey, ect. Could this be a Greatest Hits collection of the best food vinyl? (Sorta like Weird Al’s best food album) |  |
| Could it be a reference to another Kidada? She always seems to like the yummy theme. |  |
| How about the Romantic Treats set from Japan? Those seem “yummy” and the “romantic” part never seemed to translate well for us. |  |
Or maybe something completely new!
What are your ideas?
Join Thomas Scott in Wonderland 4/20 WDW
Famed Disney Artist Thomas Scott will be signing vinylmation on April 20th at D-Street Florida. From 5-7 PM the artist behind the Alice in Wonderland series will be at Downtown Disney in Walt Disney World to sign pieces and chat with vinylmation fans. He was previously in California for the release of the Alice in Wonderland set (see pic).
Of note: All of the known LE for this set will have been released by the time Thomas sits down to sign in Florida. As a reminder:
| April 6th Cheshire Cat 2 pack $26.95 LE 2500 |
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| April 13th Alice 9/Jrs set $74.95 LE 2500 |
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| April 20th Alice Flowers 4 pack $??? LE 2000 |
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To Be Released: April 6th
A few things we already knew about and a new vinyl are scheduled to be released at D-Streets this Friday. One April 6th the Cheshire Cat 2 pack, the Donald and Pluto Storybook Set, and a new D-Tour figure will be released.
Let’s start with old and end with the new. The Cheshire Cat set is a two piece set that shows the Cheshire Cat fading into the forest. (We suggest you also use your Cat from the Alice set to complete the transformation. We saw this back at D-23 and have been waiting a long time for it. A nice price of $26.95 and a LE of 2500. The artist is Thomas Scott.
We saw a few weeks back a new two pack set that included Donald and Pluto and seemed to be packaged with the designs the use for the “Storybook” line of merchandise. It was then confirmed and given a release date for Japan. Now it’s coming to America. The pack will be open edition and also $26.95.
Last, the most interesting and mysterious part of the news. They will finally be adding the the D-Tour set with a new figure that is listed as “Paper Cut figure”. Back when they were announced at The Florida Project, D-Tour was to be an ongoing set where the least popular figures would be pulled and replaced with a new design. Is this the first of those swaps? We don’t know which design would be removed and there’s also a few designs we learned about that never came out. But on Friday it looks like we’ll see a brand new piece.
Back in my youth my parents had me do something called “Scherenschnitte” which is the German art of paper cutting. I’m not sure if that has anything to do with this piece, but the best picture I could find to display such a thing as “Papercut” and Mickey was this picture from noreallyreally.blogspot.com.
What do you guys think? These designs are often based on t-shirt designs, so has anyone seen a t-shirt design that would make sense? Let us know!
Design a Disney Tee!
This isn’t Vinylmation, but we have many great artists that come around here. In case you missed it, the Disney Store Facebook page announced a contest to Design a Disney Tee.
Go to and Like the Disney Store Facebook page and click on the “Design by Me” contest link. Let us know if you enter and how you do. Good luck!
Combo Contest #3 Results
Necks and Eye Glasses seemed to be the trend this time around. We also saw an increase in creative photography with all the great apps that are available at our fingertips nowadays. And we found it a bit surprising that not many Park Starz or switched feet were used. As always, it was so much fun going through all the entries ans we appreciate you taking the time to participate. As with the previous contest, we developed a few categories in order to acknowledge and award as many entries as we could. This year, the categories are: Best Group, Best Word Play, Best Story, and Editor’s Choice. One of the category winners was then named best of show and will receive a 9″ Urban Series Boxer and 9″ Park Series Main Street Electrical Parade. The other category winners will also be rewarded with a Vinylmation. Ok, it’s time to announce the Winners of Combo Contest #3! (click any pictures for larger view)
BEST OF SHOW
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 Son of Man
by Rust this World
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Head: Apple (Cutesters 1)
Body: Abe Lincoln (Park 6)
Hat: Bowler Hat Guy (Villains 2)
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“For the second year in a row, after looking through the entries separately, MC and I both had the same one at the top of our lists. A great representation of Magritte’s painting “Son of Man” and it just has that “wow” factor when you first see it.” – Nick |
BEST GROUP
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Wrong Wand
by Doug Williams Jr.
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Heads: Fairy Godmother, Beaker, White Rabbit
Bodys: Fairy Godmother, Beaker
Hat: Big Bad Wolf (Villains 2) Wand: Tinker Bell (Animation 2)
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“A visual treat in the tradition of the gags Imagineers place throughout the park attractions.” – Nick
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BEST WORD PLAY
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Totem Pooh’le
by Dale aka Duck Vader
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Head: Tigger (Animation 2)
Body: Pooh (Florida Project)
“Piglet’s” Arms: Cheshire Cat (Alice) “Eeyore’s” feet: FrankenMickey (Spooky Series)
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“An ingenious way of representing four lovable characters on one figure. The name really adds to the love-ability of this creation as well.” – Nick
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BEST STORY
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Good Ol’ Lumberjack-bot
by Gabriel
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Heads: Crankybot (Robots), Chip and Dale (HAL)
Bodies: Robot (Urban 8), Chip and Dale (HAL)
Hat: Big Bad Wolf (Villains 2)
Hammer: John Henry (Animation 2)
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“Just one of those pictures that you look at and laugh. It’s a fun scenario that makes you think, ‘how did they get there?'” – Nick
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EDITOR’S CHOICE
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Son of Man
by Rust this World
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Head: Apple (Cutesters 1)
Body: Abe Lincoln (Park 6)
Hat: Bowler Hat Guy (Villains 2)
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“Sometimes you just see a combo works on all levels. This one is simple, recognizable and visually appealing. It fell in this category with a few of it’s peers that didn’t fit a theme, but just worked well as a combo.” – Nick |
Next, in no particular order, are some of the other entries we received. Some of these placed second or third in the categories above or were chosen as an honorable mention. Check them out and feel free to leave you comments below. (click any pictures for larger view)
2nd Place Editor’s Choice
Evil Ostrich
by Johnny Rodriquez
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3rd Place Editor’s Choice
Tink the Librarian
by Johnny Rodriguez Jr.
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2nd Place Best Word Play
Turducken
by Scot Moore
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3rd Place Best Word Play
E.T. Phone Home
by Sharon Davis
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2nd Place Best Story
Wrong Wand
by Doug Williams Jr.
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3rd Place Best Story
Curse of the Billy Goat
by David aka Kermit528
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2nd Place Best Group
Old McDonald Had a Farm
by Sharon Lewin
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3rd Place Best Group
Brier Bear, Fox and Rabbit
by Sharon Lewin
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Honorable Mention (Nick)
Baywatch Lifeguard
by Leo Arza
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Honorable Mention (MC)
Bridezilla
by Sharon Davis
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Honorable Mention (MC)
The Liger King
by Kristopher Ecklof
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Honorable Mention (Nick)
Very Scary Alien Party
by Sharon Davis
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American Toonies
by Zachary McConnell
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Baby Shower
by Sharon Lewin
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Backside of Water
by Leo Arza
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The Big Bad Kahn
by Kristopher Ecklof
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Castmember Troll
by Zachary McConnell
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Cat Burglar
by Leo Arza
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Chewy Goes Diving
by Ryan Diaz
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Cookie Monster
by Sharon Lewin
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Cursed Tunny
by Johnny Rodriquez
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Honorable Mention (Nick)
Cutesters at the Beach
by Johnny Rodriquez
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Honorable Mention (Nick)
Cutesters at the Beach
by Johnny Rodriquez
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Honorable Mention (Nick)
Cutesters at the Beach
by Johnny Rodriquez
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Dirty Foot Headless Tweedle
by Kristopher Ecklof
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Dying to Meet You
by Sharon Davis
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Figment’s Eye Candy
by Zachary McConnell
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‘unnamed’
by Gabriel
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Him Possible
by Leo Arza
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When a Jellyfish Got Stuck
in a Tuba at EPCOT
by Gabriel
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Mary Potter
by Leo Arza
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Merry Tinker Gnome
by Sharon Davis
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My Honey Bee
by Sharon Davis
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Nerdy Pete and Marie Get Caught
by Leo Arza
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Obipiller
by Sharon Davis
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Orange Bird Protector
by Johnny Rodriquez
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Philharmagic Pinale
by Chris Lanam aka IndyandMarion
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Satan’s Christmas Songs
by Leo Arza
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Scary Fairy
by Zachary McConnell
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Thor
by R.C. Mayer
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Tiki Pirate Out For a Swim
by Sharon Davis
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Tortoise and the Hare
by Sharon Lewin
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Unheadless Horesman
by Johnny Rodriquez
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VM Chia Pets
by Johnny Rodriquez
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Episode 066 Palm Trees
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Ep. 066 Palm Trees |
Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Crazy4Vinyls
Last time we talked with Crazy4Vinyls, he was giving us minions and a grouch. This time around he tried his hand at recreating some Disney’s most popular works.
Destination Vinylmation: What drew you to the designs you have chosen?
Crazy4Vinyls: Well I asked a few folks on facebook what they would like to see recreated and I was drawn to Pirate Mickey first. So I tried my hand at that and I received such an overwhelming positive response from many collectors that I thought I would try another one. So I decided to try Oopsy because I thought it would look awesome as a 9″. It is probably one of the most recognizable vinyls out there, so I thought it would be fun to try and create it in a larger form. Then came Super Raton just because the design was so complicated I thought I would give it a try. Then the last one I did was Stitch just because well, it’s STITCH!
DV: When creating these, did you take your own spin by trying to add details you wanted to see on the original? Or did you test your skills by trying to recreate them exactly?
C4V: No I didn’t add anything to it, I wanted to see how close I could get the design and see if I could get the proportions just right.
DV: You mentioned these are your first 9″ customs. What is the major difference for an artist taking on the larger canvas as opposed to the 3″ version?
C4V: The 9″ canvas is much easier to work on. I was a little intimidated at first because it was such a large workspace but not having such small tight spaces was a big plus when working with it.
DV: I’m sure you have something on the drawing board right now?
C4V: I am currently working on my first 9″/3″/3″ combo right now. All I can say is that it is based on characters from A Bug’s Life. I would also like to thank EVERYONE who has been so supportive of my hobby has a custom artist. I am really lucky to have met some people that really appreciate what I am able to accomplish and are happy for my success!
You can find Josh Edwards, a.k.a. Crazy4Vinyls, via Facebook: Crazy4Vinyls Custom Vinylmations. He can also be reached by email: edwardsjmn123@comcast.net.
Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Rust This World
Rust This World dropped some Disney villains on us for this spotlight. A 9″ Chernabog and a 3″ Headless Horseman were the subjects of his latest customs. Let’s take a look.
Destination Vinylmation: What inspired each piece?
Rust This World: I decided to make the light up Chernabog because a lot of people on custom Vinylmation message boards were asking how to make a 9″ figure light up. I have some background in small electronics, so I figured I could make it work and show people how to do it. Most of my collection is villains-related, so of course I had to paint the figure to make it villain-related. I had a great design for Chernabog that I had laying around, so I figured why not make it light up as well? Now I have the coolest night light in the world.
The Headless Horseman came about when I saw how lame the official Animation 2 figure of it was. As soon as it was revealed, I immediately started working on my own. I kept the same basic concept of the official figure, but added more paint details, a fully sculpted cape, a sword, and made the head into the pumpkin, so that it still maintained the Mickey-ness.
DV: Talk about some of the details of each figure.
Rust: The Headless Horseman’s head is painted on a clear yellow figure so that it lights up when lit from behind. I sculpted the cape entirely from scratch too, which was not easy.
Chernabog is special because he’s literally a light up demon. It’s the first time I’ve ever included any electronic elements into a figure, but I think it turned out well enough.
DV: Can you take us into the process of making the figure light up?
Rust: The Chernabog figure was definitely something new for me. I know Evilos has put lights in figures before, but this was my first try. I used to do robotics, so at least knowing exactly how everything needed to be wired and set up was easy, but it’s still kind of awkward stuffing all the wires and lights and batteries inside of a Mickey figure. The lights themselves are LED Arrays taken from a flashlight, the switch is for an rc car, and the batteries are just three AAAs. Not including the base figure, there’s probably under $20 in parts to make it light up, so it’s not all that expensive to do something cool like that.
DV: If people would also like one of these really cool night lights… how can they find you?
Rust: My website is http://www.rustthisworld.com and my facebook is http://www.facebook.com/rustthisworld . I’ll probably be doing some sort of figure raffle to my facebook friends in the next few weeks so make sure you like the page.
Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Rust This World
It’s been a while since we last checked in with artist Rust this World. He has some great stuff for us this week that focus on Kingdom Hearts. And if your not careful, inspiring custom artists out there just might learn something as well.
Destination Vinylmation: Last time we spotlighted your work, we took a look at your Kingdom Hearts collection of figures. Well that collection has grown. In fact you sent Destination Vinylmation a 3″ KH custom as a gift. We appreciate the gift which is part of a set of 5 Heartless symbol Vinylmation. They are a nice simple tribute to a great game. Were there any challenges in getting the look you wanted out of these?
Rust This World: So many people were asking me about my Kingdom Hearts stuff that I decided to make a limited edition series of 5. I’ve never done multiples of the same design before and it’s definitely hard trying to get each one to match the others. I sat there for hours, tweaking each one in tiny increments until I was satisfied. A little more red here, a little more black there. These were also the first 3″ figures that I used my airbrush prominently on, making the pink/purple background gradient. I usually reserve that for 9″ figures. I still have a couple for sale if anyone is interested.
DV: You also have shared with us pictures of a 9″ Hollow Bastian custom. This also references an important part of the KH games. What is it about Hollow Bastian that made you create this custom?
Rust: It’s not only my favorite level, but it’s also a totally unique world to the games. I love the aesthetic of the twisted castle and the frozen lake around it and thought it would look great on a 9″ Vinylmation. Not many people do landscapes on the vinyls, and it was definitely my first. I wanted a background of sorts to put my other Kingdom Hearts vinyls in front of. Every single time I create a new custom, I try to make the design completely different than anything else I’ve seen.
DV: You did a great job of fitting it proportionally onto the vinyl canvas. I have recently begun the early stages of a custom vinyl, and that is one of the hardest parts for me. Any tips on laying out your design before you actually attack the canvas with paint?
Rust: Attack is a great word. Show that canvas who’s boss. Before I ever paint, I always do a sketch on the vinyl itself with pencil as a guideline of where to paint. Of course before I do that, I print out a blank vinylmation template and sketch it out on paper first.
If you’re having trouble even coming up with a design, think of your favorite vinyl. Why is it your favorite? Take the list of reasons and apply them to your own design. If you’re doing a character, think about the character’s proportions and how they would best fit on Mickey’s body without becoming unrecognizable and distorted. Sometimes, with weirder characters, it involves really being creative. The Jafar chaser from Villains 1 is a great example of a creative character design. The artist thought that a skinny character like Jafar would look awful if stretched over Mickey’s pudgy body, but saw that Jafar’s turban is one giant sphere anyway and was able to relate that to Mickey’s head. Don’t be afraid of the negative space around the character, characters don’t have to stretch to fill Mickey’s body. Villains 1 Kaa and Villains 2 Yzma are other great examples. The ears of Mickey are great ways to also be creative and add a little something to the design, whether they’re an integral part of what the vinyl is representing like the Park 7 Star Jets, or a fun reference to the character like Muppets 2 Lew Zealand. Anything is better than just plain white or black. Having a creative design will make your vinyl stand out.
One awesome website I want to share is if you’re having trouble coming up with a color scheme, go here http://colorschemedesigner.com, it’s like a color theory class in 5 minutes.
DV: Find out more about artist Rust this World at http://www.rustthisworld.com or you can email him at evolvedbutter@aol.com