Darkwing Duck’s Disney Afternoon Sequel Gets a Release Date

The follow up to the popular Darkwing Wing Duck combo of Darkwing and Gosalyn was revealed to be Nega Duck and Bushroot. They will be released on September 20 both online and at D-Streets.

It is really great to see the villains portrayed in this series and Maria did a wonderful job at capturing the style of both these popular characters.

Oswald 2013 Poster Art Figure Release Details

The lucky rabbit gets the unluckiest date of the year to debut. The Oswald 2013 Poster Art Figure (December 2012 on the calendar if you’re playing along at home) will be released online on September 13. It was previously thought that a quantity will be available inside the Reflections of Evil Trade Event, this appears NOT to be the case. Instead, park goers will have to wait until September 20. Each poster art figure is LE 2013 and $14.95.

Ratatouille’s Gusteau and Ghost Chosen to Represent Food and Wine 2013

Update 8/6/13: That’s no ghost. After MC looked at the variant he realized it’s not a ghost, its Gusteau on his black and white cooking show!

That makes a lot more sense!
Also, the variant will be a LE of 250 and the original will be a LE of 2250.

8/1/13– Artist Thomas Scott has designed two Vinylmation for the 2013 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. It will be Gusteau from Ratatouille and the Ghost of Gusteau! At an LE of 2500, they are set to release at the start of the festival on September 27 for $16.95. That is not enough to cover two figures, so we don’t believe this is a combo set. Do you have your choice? Is it blind box? Do they each have an LE of 2500 or is the ghost equal or more rare? I really like this choice and the design is done well.

Artist Annemarie’s First Official Disney Custom Debuts at WDW

It was a very special moment. Sure I have been a collector (and browser) of fine Disney collectibles for a few years now, but never has it felt like it did when I walked into the Art of Disney at Downtown Disney in Walt Disney World on Tuesday.

I had heard that Disney recently put a 9″ custom by the artist Annemarie up for sale. It was a completely under the radar release that was not attached to any event WDW was holding (unlike most Disney commissioned customs). This custom was created at the request of Annemarie to Disney to celebrate the 25th anniversary of a cartoon character she loves above all others… Roger Rabbit. So I just had to rush over and check it out.

Over the past few years, Annemarie has become a great friend, not only of Destination Vinylmation, but personally. The funny part is, although I consider her one of my closest friends, we have yet to ever meet face to face. A fact we plan to rectify when I head over to Anaheim for the D23 Expo in August.

This custom is beautiful. Roger Rabbit is painted onto the head of the custom as he and Benny crash through a brick wall. Roger wears his familiar smile as he bounces out of his seat… still grasping the steering wheel in his hands. The bricks break away from the wall in little shaded squares to help give depth and movement to the canvas. They also have a caroony, non linear style to them. Green Dip splatters through the ears and covers the arms.

Benny the Cab is drawn onto the body. His cartoony curves wonderfully match the animated character. Annemarie did a fantastic job capturing the style of the original animated characters and bringing them to life on the nine inch Mickey.

The back features a black silhouette of Roger and Benny as they break through the building. Note the hands up in the air and Roger still sitting in the cab. As opposed to the front position which denotes a period of time that has passed while they traveled through the building.

All artists have their strengths and unique styles. And to a degree, art is in the eye of the beholder. But Annemarie has brought me to a new appreciation of art. I look at things a different way now. And that is a great gift she has given to me. I think all art can be appreciated by different people in different ways, but some art just has something special that makes it aesthetically pleasing to the human eye. Ever read a book about Imagineering the Disney Parks? Nothing is by accident. Everything is planned to elicit a desired emotion in the viewer. That is great art.

When I walked into the Art of Disney and saw Annemarie’s custom displayed for sale among other Vinylmation… among other great pieces of art that adorn the walls of this store… I was proud. Proud of a friend who is talented, hardworking and deserves this recognition. I was happy. Happy because I know what seeing her name on placard in a Disney store next to all these other talented artists means to her. I was also excited. Excited that hopefully that gift she has given to me can now be shared with all the guests who view her work. Hopefully there are many more to come.

Episode 129 WDW Road Sign

Ep. 129 WDW Road Sign

This week we review Muppets 3 and talk about all the D23 Expo Vinylmation news including a WDI series, the Blank web series and artist signings. We talk to Vinylmation Exchange about what’s hot in the hobby. And we begin a new segment with Matt from Vinylmation Kingdom to get his take on the latest news.

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Mahna Smahna

(pic posted by Dean Rowland on facebook)

It looks like there is a variant for the Snowth figure in the newly released Muppets 3 set. It’s just a mouth change, but, it makes an awesome set of three with the main guy. I gotta have this!

What do you think of this variant?

Urban 4 Photoshoot

Urban 4 holds a special place in my collection. It was the first Urban series that I completed a set of. I always loved these designs from top to bottom. It’s always challenging taking photos of the Urban series around Walt Disney World because you really have to search for the perfect photo op. I especially like the way Heartbroken came out. Take a look.

Park Starz vs Uni-Minis!

Earlier this year, Universal Studios introduced a themed vinyl collectible of their own called Uni-Minis. While they are similar to the idea of Park Starz, there are many differences that actually equate them more to Funko’s Pop Vinyl. Uni-Minis are sold in open window boxes for $12.95, so you know what you are going to get. The soft vinyl they are made from is also much closer to Funko Pop than to the higher quality Park Starz figures. Each Uni-Mini is about 3″ tall and instead of being pulled from characters made for the parks, they are pulled from cartoons and movies. That being said, most of Universal’s park characters are from the screen and all of the figures in this first series can be found in the parks.

So, I thought it would be fun to compare the Uni-Mini, to what I saw as it’s corresponding Disney character from either Park Starz 1 or 2. All Uni-Mini photos are from the website Hollywood Gone Geek.

Minion from Despicable Me VS Figment

While there is technically only 1 of Figment, he can obviously become many as shown by the final scene of Journey Into Imagination. Figment also gets into trouble, as a Minion does. They both like using their imaginations and coming up with wild contraptions and both can be equally as annoying.

Woody Woodpecker VS Orange Bird

While they are both birds, there is quite a contrast of character here. Woody is fast and flamboyant. Orange Bird is more quiet and inviting. Woody has a loud, in your face laugh. Orange Bird has a soothing, catchy theme song.

SpongeBob SquarePants VS Jungle Cruise Elephant

I almost went with the Squid here, but decided on the Elephant for one simple reason… playfulness. SpongeBob is all about play. He just wants to have fun under the water. While the Elephant doesn’t live under the water, he sure likes to play in it. They both always have a cheerful smile on their face. But only one lives in a pineapple.

Betty Boop VS The Red Head

A pretty easy comparison here. Both are symbols of attractive women that are not real. While Betty Boop kept young boys glued to the screen many years ago, the Red Head has young boys wanting to revisit Pirates of the Caribbean over and over again. You didn’t really think it was for the pirates did you?

Chilly Willy VS Ice Gator

This match up was a no brainer. You have two animals that live in ice cold conditions. What makes this duo interesting is the fact that Chilly, a penguin, is always trying to get in from the cold. While Ice Gator, a gator, can’t get enough of the ice cold Blizzard Beach slopes.

E.T. VS Rex

Both of these characters come from space, but E.T. has the smarts. I never felt safe as a passenger in a space craft flown by Rex.

Episode 128 Space Mountain Paris

Ep. 128 Space Mountain Paris

This week we talk about the SDCC release of Behind the Masks 2 that was produced using Disney characters. We also discuss the release of the second series of Disney Afternoon and why it may or may not be a success. Robots, Ear Hat Ornaments and customs are also brought up. And Nick makes a big non-vinyl related announcement.

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Spotlight On: Celeste’s Disney Afternoon Villains Series 1

We have followed Celeste’s work for a long time now, and she is debuting a brand new custom series this weekend that we wanted to take a closer look at. Celeste sent us a few words about her latest creations.

“Growing up as a kid of the 90’s I personally have always been a huge fan of The Disney Afternoon. Especially villains and creating a counterpart set was an idea I wanted to do since the release of the very first afternoon set by Disney.”

“The Villains of the Afternoon series, features some of the most iconic Disney Afternoon villains ranging from Gummi Bears to Talespin. The set includes a total of 16 figures with 1 mystery chaser. For the set I wanted to incorporate a wide cast of characters and personalities including some I thought who deserved their own vinyl. At first it was a bit difficult to choose who would be included in the set since there are so many great characters out there to choose from but ultimately I wanted a diverse set fans might enjoy.”

The set will be available for purchase this Saturday July 27 at 8pm PST at her online store. (price TBD) http://celestescustomarttoys.bigcartel.com/products

You can always check out more of my work and more info about the set on my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/celestecustomvinylmations