Cutesters Snow Day
Caley Hicks
Expected Release Date: 01/17/14
Expected Price: $12.95
The next installment of Cutesters will be called Snow Day and was designed by Caley Hicks. It is an 8 figure set featuring animals in a snowy theme. We know of: Cat, Reindeer, Seal, Penguin, Bear, Narwhal.
Caley Hicks had the honors of designing up some Halloween treats for us this year. I’d say, she succeeded in tempting my Vinylmation sweet tooth. There will be two to choose from this year. Both are Limited Release that will go up for sale on September 20 in the parks and online for $14.95 a piece. First up is Vampire Stitch.
The artists have really learned how to make Stitch work on the Mickey canvas over the years. This looks spectacular. Stitch has the most evil, up to no good grin on his face that covers the whole head. There are also two fangs sticking out. Then, he uses the much needed cape DDG developed that they use well throughout the product line. Up next is one of my automatic all time favorites…
The Mayor Scarecrow that sits in Town Square each and every Halloween season. I can’t tell you how much I love walking around the Magic Kingdom when it decorated for Fall, and these scarecrows are a huge part of that. I have always wanted to see these in a box set or put into the Park series, but this is a great way to get at least one of them out. Great looking suit and sash. The grass drawn in around him is the perfect touch!
Today at D-Street, the Park 13 combo toppers went on sale along with the brand new Frozen vinyls. Vinylmation Exchange member Raul Chewie Rivas pulled the brand new park 13 chaser and posted pictures of it. Take a look below:
The chaser was designed by Caley Hicks, and is an interpretation of the construction signs used around the parks. I love the use of caution tape all around the arms (the back also features a pretty cool sorcerer Mickey). How do you guys think this chaser compares to other park chasers? And do you think this is better than the Imagineering vinyls that were released at D23 this year? Let us know!!
Disney showed off some of the new Cutesters 5 set today. We knew about the black dress one, but look at all the other options. Some weddings, some different colored dresses. This just brings up lots of questions. We know Caley Hicks was heavily involved with these from Mickey’s Circus. It also looks like Thomas Scott is a major contributor. We will also see work from Martha Widener, who is new to Vinylmation. After consideration, I remembered that at Mickey’s Circus they said this would be an eight figure set. I think these three sets below are variants, leaving 8 basic designs. This means one of the below is the chaser. We believe it is the flowers.
Caley Hicks designed this purse with a cute dog inside. The Light pink appears to be the regular version with a clear pink variant.
Then out of these two Thomas Scott figures, the yellow seems to be the regular with a blue variant.
This series will be released at both D-Streets and Online on March 29th. Each figure will be blind boxed in a tray of 16 and will sell for $12.95 each.
So far I only see I only see one really good use of the bow as not a bow (Audrey). – M.C.
I love the art style on these. They are not at all what I expected after seeing the concept art at Mickey’s Circus, but I can still appreciate the designs. It is a very old school, fashionable art style that will sure ring a bell with a certain demographic (Zoe). The animals look to be right out of a mid 1900’s Disney cartoon. Its a great use of the Cutesters line and a nice variation on the more cutesy cartoon stylize of the first few series. I think the bow is used perfectly. It only seems forced on the flowers. -Nick
It will be interesting to see where these designs go. Do we not get a “chaser” with this set? What do you think?
Artists Caley Hicks and Thomas Scott will be at D-Street in WDW on March 29th from 5 PM to 7 PM to sign the newly released Cutesters 5: En Vogue series, the first to use the new Minnie platform. Like we do with all signing, we suggest that you say hi and thank them for all their hard work, even if you don’t have anything for them to sign.
Which Cutesters 5 figures will you get signed?
The Land Pavilion at Walt Disney World opened just about 35 years ago with Phase 1 of the rest of Epcot Center on October 1, 1982.
For some undefined reason, this is my favorite pavilion in all of Epcot. It is not the most exciting. It doesn’t have the best food. And it is home to one of the longest wait times and hardest to get Fast Passes in all of Walt Disney World. But I enjoy the Living with the Land boat ride.
It’s a nice relaxing trip through the greenhouses when the rest of the park is hot and in a rush. I enjoy Soarin’. Not as much as most, but the imagineering behind the ride system make it a special experience. I enjoy the smells of the food court. Not sure why, but the mixture of whatever they are cooking up makes me hungry every time. But most of all, I enjoy the sights. The greenery lining the entrance is inviting. The walls, ceilings and carpets are full of color. And then of course, there are the 4 seasons balloons…
And this is were Caley Hicks took her inspiration when designing the 9″ Park 9 The Land figure.
It is a remarkable figure, brilliantly illustrating summer, winter, fall and spring as seen on the four hot air balloons that hang high over the food court. Caley was able to incorporate all the features of each balloon including the bird on summer and butterflies on fall.
For me it’s the colors of this building that stay ingrained in memory and the colors here seem spot on.
The 9″ Park 9 Epcot, The Land figure will be in stores on July 20. The edition size is 1000 and the retail price is $44.95.
Now for a bit of history about The Land. The pavilion underwent a gradual refurbishment beginning on September 27, 1993. The pavilion’s main attraction, Listen to the Land, which took guests on connected boats through various exhibits within the pavilion, reopened mostly unchanged as Living with the Land on December 10, 1993.
The Kitchen Kabaret another of the pavilion’s original attractions featuring an Audio-Animatronics presentation about nutrition, closed on January 3, 1994. It was replaced with a new show titled Food Rocks, which featured some of the elements from the original show with an updated presentation intended to be more modern and appealing to younger audiences. Food Rocks has since closed down to make room for “The Land”‘s newest attraction, Soarin’. Soarin’s massive movie screens and ride mechanics required the construction of a large physical addition to the pavilion itself.
Symbiosis, the last of “The Land”‘s three original attractions, was closed on January 1, 1995. This attraction, which was a cinematic presentation that discussed both the positive and negative aspects of human relationship with the land, eventually reopened as Circle of Life, a new film featuring characters from The Lion King.
Between 2004 and 2005, the pavilion underwent its second major refurbishment. It received a new color scheme and foliage. The walkways and stroller parking to the pavilion’s entrance were redefined and widened. All of the carpeting in the pavilion was replaced, and the main food court was completely redesigned. The pavilion’s signage was updated, incorporating the new color scheme, new typography, and a modernized logotype.
Former Attractions:
Listen to the Land (October 1, 1982 – September 27, 1993)
Kitchen Kabaret (October 1, 1982 – January 3, 1994)
Food Rocks (1994 – January 3, 2004)
Symbiosis (October 1, 1982 – January 1, 1995)
Current Attractions:
Living with the Land (December 10, 1993–Present)
Soarin’ (May 5, 2005–Present)
Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable (January 21, 1995–Present)
Behind the Seeds Tour
Current Dining:
The Garden Grill Restaurant
Sunshine Seasons food court
Just like you and I, Disney artists are fans of things too. They wait in lines. They have people sign things FOR them. Yesterday, Caley Hicks tweeted the above picture of a vinylmation she had signed by Chris Hardwick. Over at Destination Vinylmation MC is a big fan of Chris too. In fact, that’s why the “borrowed” Chris’ Nerdist podcast format for episode 60 (see the special logo we made for it).
If you are ever interested in seeing what the people we are fans of, are fans of, Twitter is a great place to watch.
What artists have you seen turn into “fans” of other celebrities? And who was the celebrity who made them into fan boys/girl?
The Haunted Mansion pocket watch and 3″ figure was released last Friday the 13th. Designed by Caley Hicks, this set has an LE of 750 and a retail price of $175.
The set includes a 3″ figure that features the tombstone of Trebor Llewe, a tribute to WED Imagineer Robert Sewell. This tomb can be found inside the graveyard scene.
That is a great photo I found on http://longforgottenhauntedmansion.blogspot.com of the actual tombstone. Bob Sewell joined WED after Disneyland opened in 1955. Sewell was in charge of show installations at the park, and he was head of the Model Shop at WED for most of his years at Disney until his retirement in 1981. (thanks to http://disneydispatch.com for the info)
The head of the Vinylmation portrays one of those pop-up ghost heads inside the graveyard scene that appear above some tombstones.
It is painted with a gritty, glow in the dark paint (same as used on various previous vinyls) that looks terrific in the dark. The ears are clear with some purple paint that match the arms, both of which compliment the figure well.
The back is a simple backside of tombstone and clear head. The clear head allowing light to enter and gives the face a nice bright, light up effect.
Caley Hicks did a wonderful job capturing a Haunted Mansion tombstone for the figure, but for the watch, she chose a different mansion icon to portray.
The face of the grandfather clock was used to make this amazing timepiece.
This clock face awaits guests in the hallway of the Haunted Mansion.
With a push of a button at the top of the watch, the door pops open for a closer look at the clock. Caley designed it with the same pattern found on the original… a 13 in place of the 12 and of course the creepy figures that swing around keeping the time. It is designed with precision and both the figure and watch seem produced with great care. They come securely bubble wrapped and packaged in Styrofoam. Once opened, they can be displayed inside a plastic case.
The watch as a stand it fits upon and the figure has an indentation it sits in. The background is a nicely drawn graveyard scene. A great little addition and a step up from the patters on the cases of the previous watches. I think this watch and figure set transcends the Vinylmation collecting hobby and would surely find a happy place on shelf of a Disney memorabilia or Haunted Mansion collector as well.
Dole Whips are a favorite treat at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom. You can even find them at the Polynesian Resort. But I bet you didn’t know you can order one up on eBay today? A few readers pointed us toward an eBay auction from a Hong Kong seller selling a 3″ Dole Whip figure that we are expecting to see as part of Park 9. This figure is most likely a dumpster diver and as we said many times here and on the podcast, it is not a good idea to purchase these and we do not recommend it. It hurts the hobby and you get a figure with low quality not meant to be in the public’s hands. All that said, let’s take a look at the figure.
The interesting thing about the bottom is the figure is officially called “Frozen Drink.” We see that it is also designed by Caley Hicks.
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Ep. 088 Adventurers Club Colonel Chaser – Mickey’s Circus This is our huge recap of Mickey’s Circus, the largest Vinylmation event of the year. We review the event and talk about each and every Vinylmation Preview we saw all weekend long. We also have a special interview with Disney Design Group artists Thomas Scott, Eric Caszatt, Maria Clapsis and Caley Hicks. |
