The Animation 2 chaser was revealed early this morning by Action Figure Times (AFTimes.com). They seem to get their hands on a release before release day from time to time. They posted a picture of the front and back of the chaser. Click the image below to see it and our commentary on it.
Nick from England sent in these pictures and story from earlier today.
We’ve just been to the London Oxford St Flagship store and bought the last case of Furry Friends, a whole 2 days earlier then the worldwide release. We managed to get all 13 vinyls and the paint jobs are amazing in person. Almost looking flocked and giving a furry appearance. Pegasus is my favourite.
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There were none left when we left the store, and another loose case had sold in just under 2 hours of being put out!
-Nick Branch, England.
I feel compelled to preface this review with two things. 1) It’s going to be pretty harsh. 2) I hold none of the artists/designers culpable for my disappointment.
The event was good, there weren’t as many people there as I expected, having never been to a Disney Store Vinylmation event. The only other event I’ve been to was the Thomas Scott Alice signing at D-Street in Disneyland, and it seemed more crowded. Not complaining about this at all, it was pretty well organized and everyone was extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and if they didn’t know something they would go find out and report back, which I thought was nice. I got to meet Zoe, so it was nice to finally meet her! And all the artists were great, it was really nice to meet them all and they gave everyone ample time to chat (perhaps TOO ample in some cases) but everyone seemed pretty happy with that aspect.
What we (and I say we because I chatted with several other collectors who felt the same way) were upset about, as I’m sure anyone reading this article has been hearing throughout the day, was the production quality of Furry Friends. It is atrocious. Honestly, I hate to say it, but they felt more like Happy Meal toys than Vinylmation. The printing was sloppy, the colors were bleeding, and they were just plain filthy. Some look actually gross.
Marie looks like she threw up on herself. Poor Marie!
Oliver is my favorite (look at those eyes!) but not much care went into his printing process. You can actually see the collar through the tag.
What’s the point of the clear ears if they look like this? Just plain sloppy!
Look at Max’s feet! No comment.
You can’t see it very well in this photo (sorry!) , but there is a FINGERPRINT on Pegasus’s tail.
The wings come right off. Not secured in any real way, also very flimsy. You can see the finish is different on Pegasus’ feet than on the rest of his body, which I can’t say anything other than it just looks unfinished. Those smudges/ scratches came right out of the package!
Even the chaser looks terrible. The paint is poorly printed, and the edges aren’t smooth at all. I fear the value of this chaser will be diminished by the poor quality.
Not all was bad, though. The event was fun and the artists were happy to be there. With Jim Valeri:
Everyone was happy to sign my packaging:
And let’s not forget the donation to ASPCA, which is a silver lining in all this, I suppose.
All in all, you all already know how I felt about Furry Friends (I ended up caving and getting a case, since I’ll be painting over most of mine anyway… also the case was purchased before I saw the quality. No exchanges or refunds!). The designs are great, but I’m not very satisfied with the quality control. I sincerely hope someone over there sees this and figures out the problem and makes sure this doesn’t happen again. On a positive note, the design of the packaging is ADORABLE. Each box looks like a little carrying case you’d take a pet home in!
Also, no more than thirty seconds had I been home, and Mulder immediately claimed my case as his own. So Furry Friends is clearly adored by our own furry friends. 🙂
Did anyone else go out to the event? Please share your thoughts and photos, if possible. I’m also curious to hear from others around the country to see if maybe this store just got a bad batch. Hopefully others will be more more lucky.
-Annemarie
Contributor Mike Boon talks about Disney’s news blind box product, Cutesations. This plush mystery series released on Friday, January 6 at the Disney Store and online for $6.50 per box or $79.50 for set plus mushroom display. Read Mike’s review below and check them out here.
Did you love the Alice in Wonderland Vinylmations series but wish they were, well, a lot softer and more traditional in shape? You’re in luck because Disney is now offering a new 5″ plush series called Cutesations, now available at the Disney Store. Alice and the Wonderland gang make up the first Cutesations series, no doubt with more to follow.
These are a treat for rabid Alice fans. It’s nice to see Caterpillar, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum in there along with the usual suspects (Alice, Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit and the Queen of Hearts). The designs are cute, though I would expect some odd disfigurements on things like the Mad Hatter’s nose in such a small plush and the Queen should have looked a little less cheerful and more sinister.
Ultimately though, I do wonder about appeal of the series as a blind box offering without any suggestion of a chaser and unknown options for trading. If you really wanted whole series, you may as well splurge for the full set of 8 with mushroom pillow.
Mike Boon
Don, one of our awesome readers, sent in these photos of the Urban 8 Boxer by Casey Jones. When we talked to Casey at The Florida Project he had mentioned that the gloves would come off. Well here’s what it looks like with the gloves off!
Great details! Wonderful work Casey!
What do you think of the newly released 9″ LEs for Urban 8? We think they are some of the best 9″s ever!
Tyler has designed some new wallpapers for your desktop, including a 2012 New Years version. Check them out and see if one fits your style. Here is a preview of one:
Preview and Download Tyler’s wallpaper here.
Sophie, who usually brings us some great graphics (like the one above), has written an article on the state of Vinylmation in the UK.
In response to Susan’s Facebook comment about Vinylmation releases in the UK, I decided to write up what Vinylmation are and what might be available via the Disney store website.
Firstly, good news Furry Friends is coming this month as annnounced on the most recent Disney store newsletter. Might there be donations to RSPCA I wonder? Hopefully these can be brought not only from the website but from stores as well.
Regarding other series Animation 2 will most likely be purchasable in the UK as we’ve already seen Animation 1, which sold out online a while Iago. I’m really hoping for the 25th Anniversary series to make an appearance. In contrast Cutesters on the Beach I’m not looking forward to, but will probably be purchasable as Cutesters Like You are no longer on the website and have not returned suggesting that stock is low in stores. Furthermore Robots 2 should come over sometime this year, as Robots 1 has previously been available.
When these series will be released in the UK (and if) is hard to estimate judging by previous releases. With newly released sets they can be just a few weeks after the US release such as the case with
Villains 2 (which is still up) and the Jafar Genie 9″. Or a month later as with robots. But unfortunately there can be an even longer wait… a.k.a. Lion King. However, recently released set have been pretty good with Alice in Wonderland being available rather quickly, and with plenty of stock as they’re still up on the website. Although regarding Alice In Wonderland you still need to search Alice In Wonderland rather than Vinylmations in order to to purchase them.
Other vinylmations that are on the Disney store website today include the UK Flag 3″, Have a Laugh and Villains £8.00 each ($12.30), Jafar and Genie 9″ £40.00 ($62) and the Peter Pan Kidada £50.00 ($77.50). Also the UK exclusive 9″ Taxi and Bus have been reduced down to a further £5.99, originally £29.99, down to £20.00 down to £9.99 and now this! Yes that’s correct, a 9″ figure is now cheaper than a single 3″. Either because there were too many produced, or they weren’t selling or even the Disney store need to get rid in order to stock a new UK exclusive vinyl, I’m hoping for the latter. What would you like to see as a UK Vinylmation?
Today was a big release day at D-Streets and the parks. First, 9″ Park 7 Goofy River Country went on sale and a look at the back of the box showed us the four 9″ LE figures for Park 7.
The train is one of the most recognizable floats in the parade because it carries the sign of the name of the parade.
The back will be interesting. Do they take an artistic approach and paint the sign on? Or just more lights like its the rear of the train going by? As I said, we saw the other figures at The Florida Project.
Also released today was the 3″/3″ Horse and Trolley combo that celebrates a Magic Kingdom Main Street USA staple.
It is for sale behind the D-Street counter… and also at the Emporium inside MK where our friend Chris took the above picture. 9″ Urban 8 figures The Boxer, Fish Bites, 50’s Girl and Sabertooth also made their debut today.
Did you/will you add any of today’s releases to your collection?
Ah, it’s a brand new year in Vinylmation. Time to get a fresh start. 2011 saw many changes in our hobby and 2012 will hold many surprises I’m sure. So as we enter our first release day of 2012 I ask, do you collect differently now, than when you purchased your first blind box? I know I do. I began by collecting only a few from each of the Urban and Park sets. Then I branched out into Have a Laugh. Then MC came along and before I knew it I was splitting cases and filling in my sets. I became a completest. Even buying sets I didn’t fully like, but they came out, so I grabbed them. That started to change around Occasions, Celebrations and Sea Creatures for me. With the flood of different products hitting the market, I have made a resolution to be more picky about what I buy. It starts with the 9 inchers. There are many I would have bought 6 months ago that will not see my shelves. I’ve noticed a lot of collectors change their habits as 2011 came to a close. MC would not longer jump at a case with me. I’ve seen many people begin to sell off some of their collection. Our friend Matt over at Vinylmation Kingdom gave himself a $1000 budget for 2012! Good luck with that one buddy. And I’ve also seen some collectors swing the other way. I’ve seen them catch the fever over the course of 2011 and become completionists. I also think Disney has recently shown their hand and many collectors are now just going to sit back and take a chance that the figures they want go deeply discounted online.
Where are you as a collector as the 2012 release schedule begins in earnest?Â
Technically the release week began yesterday at the Wide World of Sports in Orlando, FL with the two 3″ WDW Marathon/Half Marathon vinyls and the 9″ Goofy’s Challenge.Â
Just a few more days left until I run in my first Half Marathon… ever. Disney or anything. I’m excited. And what better way to commemorate the occasion, well except for this medal:
than a few commemorative vinyls. We saw these on display at the Florida Project and they will be released on Thursday, January 5th and 6th at Disney’s Wide World of Sports during the kickoff to the 2012 WDW Marathon weekend. The 3″ figures are $14.95 and the 9″ is $44.95. After the WDW Marathon this weekend, the left over stock will most likely make its way over to D-Street.
The WDW Half Marathon 3″ features the race’s mascot Donald Duck. All three vinyls are in the stopwatch design with a space to write your time on the back. (I actually get to do that this year!) In my opinion the best design of the three years of these. The date is on the stopwatch as well as a nod to Donald’s birthday in the “time”. The figure itself is clear in color.
The WDW Marathon 3″ features Mickey with the mouse’s birthday in the time.
As always, the Goofy Race vinyl is a 9″. The Goofy race means running both the half and whole in the same year. Any other Vinylmation fans running this weekend? I’ll see you at the race!
