Collectors Corner: Nick

WDWNT on March 5, 2012

MC has been on me awhile now to post some pictures of my collection, so I took some initiative this morning, counted them up and took some pictures. We always welcome you to submit pictures of your collection and over the next few weeks, the DV staff will share ours.

Name: Nick LoCicero

Hometown: Orlando, FL

Collection size: 750

3″ = 628
9″ = 64
Jr. = 58
Park Starz = 12
Watches = 3
Ear Hats = 4
Customs = 7 (3 I made myself)

My Stormtrooper army is up to 22!

How long have you been collecting?
Since July 1, 2010. I remember the day well. It was the return of Captain EO to Epcot. It was raining all day. To stay dry, I hopped inside Mouse Gears where I saw they started to trade Vinylmation. That hooked me. I went home with 10 and was back just about every couple days for weeks. Now I’m over 700. The 750 figure above is pretty close to accurate. It doesn’t include my like 20 traders, 10 sitting there to be repainted customs, 14 Urban 6 Killer Bees awaiting an Epcot Flower and Garden photo shoot and a few other random doubles I hold onto because I like them. (It does however include to 22 Stormtroopers)

One row in my case is dedicated to my favorite Park figures with the chasers gathered to the far right.
One row has various figures including Muppets, Urban chasers and DCL.

What is your favorite figure that you own?
My first one, Park 4 IASW Leopard.

Another row used to be Urban, but now shelves my movie themed pieces.

Which of these is the best feeling: Pulling a figure you want… from a blind box you just purchased, from a great trade with another collector, from a mystery trading box at the park or from a clear trading box?
A blind box. Because I split cases now, that feeling is largely gone. But it was the best.

I have stuff all over… these Villains sit on top of a speaker
This stuff is stacked on top of my display case.
And more still sits in labeled boxes waiting for that addition on my house.
The top of my computer desk is crowded with Disney collectibles. Stormtrooper Donald is one of my favorites.
More stuff on top of my desk.
Way up top, all kinds of Buzzs and Woodys hang out.
One of my favorite sections is my retro Disney themed area.
I even have stuff on my TV stand.
Vinylmation was my gateway drug… pins were the next logical step. Here is my just full pin board.
That Alex Maher designed framed collage is wonderful, but the crown jewel of my Disney collectibles is that WDW 1/2 Marathon medal. One, because I love Donald and the design is brilliant, but mostly because I earned it. Send us an email to DestinationVinylmation@gmail.com to have your collection featured.

Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist Nick

WDWNT on February 9, 2012

After Santa Donald, the second custom in my planned line of Donald Ducks was Star Tours Donald.

I always start with the body. Mostly because I avoid doing the head as long as possible.

That was my first sketch of a face outline onto the canvas. One thing i learned quickly was how difficult it is to translate a 2D drawing to a 3D mold.

It sometimes takes a few tries to be satisfied with the outline and don’t be afraid to redesign a few times in the process so it looks best instead of trying to force anything.

There he is without some of the facial details.

After getting the face done, I started on the ears. My idea for Star Tours Donald was he is a Cast Member that is a bit worried as he looks up to the sky and notices a Star Speeder 1000 (the vehicle the guests travel in) heading right toward the Death Star. I actually painted over that Death Star. So hard to get little details down that at my current talent level I have to kind of stylize it instead.

The final version. I’m very happy with the final version. The Star Speeder also took a couple tries as I learned to take out details. It is soooooo small. So the lines are not as straight as I really wanted. I like the detail on this Death Star over the previous picture, the lines and colors make more sense. I am extremely happy with the way I can draw Donald’s face. The costume was fun and well represents the real one. I did struggle with two things; the shoulder patches and name tag. I decided in the end that the patches would clutter the body and the detail was so small on them. I practiced and decided that if I couldn’t make them look great, he was better without them. The name tag was also omitted as to not clutter the front. I also found it hard to make it look right.

As with my previous custom, I painted along side my friend Rachel who is creating a Fantasia set. She started with the Mop and Buckets and I have an update. She originally made the buckets out of clay, but has since did a redesign and used Juniors to represent the buckets!

It was a great idea that was well executed.

This time around, she made a Low Hop.

Remember I talked about the struggle to translate a 2D drawing to a 3D mold? She went back and forth with the decision to stretch Low Hop over the whole mold and wrap him around. She eventually decided against this and just painted him onto the front. One of the big factors was the foot flopping up looked best this way and that is an important feature. But then the problem of what to put on the back.

She decided on a scene we see in the movie with grass and flowers and the silhouettes of the mushrooms in the foreground. She also added multi-colored glitter to the ears to represent the dust at the beginning of scene that falls from the sky.

Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artists Nick and Rachel

WDWNT on February 9, 2012

I just finished my third Vinylmation custom figure and the second in my Donald Duck Cast Member series. It’s great to see more and more of you out there picking up a paint brush and giving it a go at your own creations. It is daunting at first, and I had the fortune of having a friend who had all the paints and brushes I needed, but it can be a lot of fun and you never know what you can really do until you do it. I’m not saying I have any real skill yet, but I hope I am showing some improvement along the way.

The Donald I chose to create this time is a Splash Mountain Cast Member. Splash is one of my all-time favorite rides and has a unique and identifiable costume. I started with a light blue base all around the body.

I then layered over that with the white bib on the front and the cross hatching of white to create the checkered effect. I found this very difficult for my skill level to get even in anyway. So I found the best effect I can do would be a more “sketchy” type line. When I tried to draw a more perfect line, it came out too messy. I also make this work in my head by telling myself it’s fabric and it bends and folds and isn’t perfect anyway.

As you can see, I also used a clear eared vinyl. This is because I will be painting the outline of Splash Mountain in one ear with a sky behind it and water splashes in the other ear. I decided clear ears would give this an added effect.

As you know, Donald’s signature is that he gets angry. So Splash Mountain is perfect because, well you get wet. So Donald is angry here because he is being splashed.

For the “splash” I used a few clear, “puffed out” rain drop stickers. I painted the backs with a peal blue and they sprayed an adhesive on after they dried. Note: be careful with spray adhesive. We had a slight production delay when I sprayed my fingers together.

Here is a look at the finished effect of the splash in one ear, with one drop landing on his nose, and the mountain in the other ear. Honestly, the drop on the nose and even how to go about the water effect, came after the figure was almost done. The ear and head splashes were going to be paint. Then possibly hot glue gun drops painted. But these stickers provided the most polished effect for me.

My favorite part of this figure has to be the tiny Splash Mountain in the right ear. I modeled it after the classic attraction poster that is drawn like a cartoon instead of a picture of the real attraction. I am proud of how I fit the top two levels on and the tree with the little bit of detail work in it. And my effect worked as planned. By painting the mountain on the front of the clear ear and the blue sky behind it, it gives a little depth of field. The sky was not planed to have the cloud effect, but when I applied the paint and saw it, I was impressed. Some things just happen by accident and work out for the best.

The complete finished figure from the front.

And the back. Now of course, I’m not the only one painting a series of figures. Let’s check in on Rachel’s progress with her Fantasia set.

Here next figure is a very ambitious one, Yensid. As you can see, she began with a Toy Story Rex figure and molded a robe out of clay.

She applied blue paint to the body and arms and white to the head.

Then, with paint, she carefully drew the frame of Yensid’s face.

Steadily, and with much attention to detail from the film, she applied his facial features.

Yensid’s face was nearly complete, but his ears and head still needed some final touches.

She sculpted a hat to place upon his head and painted in the colorful butterfly Yensid conjures up in the film.

The finished Yensid has magnificent detail in his face. The robe has a beautiful flow to it. And the hat and robe were finished off with a slight sparkle in the paint.

Yensid now joins his fellow Fantasia creations.

Exclusive: Art of Animation Aerial Construction Photos

WDWNT on January 18, 2012

by Nick LoCicero

Construction on Disney’s new Art of Animation resort is well underway. We took a look from above this week to see just how far along it has progressed. The resort consists of four themed areas… Cars, The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo and The Lion King.

The Cars buildings are some of the most far along.
Finding Nemo
Squirt adorns these sketch pads.
A closer look inside the courtyard.

For more pictures, check out the full article at Orlando Sky Radio.com

For aerial pictures of the Fantasyland construction, click here.

Year in Review: Nick’s Top 10 Vinylmation Headlines

WDWNT on December 26, 2011

Each day this week, someone from the Destination Vinylmation staff will give their Top 10 list from 2011. The lists can include just about anything from figures to sets to headlines to personal moments. Please feel free to comment with your favorites and memorable stories from the past year as well. (Other lists: Annemarie, Claudia, Zoe)

Nick LoCicero
Podcast Host / Writer

10. Inventory Issues
I Don’t mean to start with a negative, but making the end of my list are the numerous inventory issues. We all know about the Disney Store Online problems, and I will not rehash the entire debate here, but I will say we all look forward to improvements in inventory control on highly sought after LE items. The other inventory issue actually relates to the number of LE’s produced. I’m not alone in thinking Disney produces an abnormally high number of some of these less popular 9″ or 9″/3″ combos. With some of these Urbans being over 1000, they sit on the shelves forever. I guess, what should I care that Disney has a ton of inventory sitting around? But it trickles over to the hobby as a whole and even the lower LE figures become less desirable when there is so much product out there.

9. The Florida Project
I wish there were 2 huge such trading events a year. This weekend was so fun for both Vinylmation and Pin traders alike. We met fellow collectors. Got sneak peaks to future series. Traded up with our “commons”.

And most of us picked up more little Orange Birds than we know what to do with! What should have been the highlight, was actually the least anticipated part. The LE Vinylmation for the event should have been spectacular, but apart from the 3″ Winnie the Pooh, fell a bit short of expectations. That being said, the pins are among my all time favorites.

8. Maria Clapsis
OK, I’m a little biased here… but it’s my list! Listen to the podcast and you know Maria has been my favorite artist forever, but in 2011 she seemed to dominate the Vinylmation scene. One could argue that whoever is as prolific as Maria would be bound to have a few hits. But if our own Dee Vee awards were any indication, she had more than her share.

I might be missing something, but here is a peak at her 2011 resume: 9 Park and Urban 3″ including the Urban 6 Chaser (Griffin). 6 Park and Urban 9″ including the Dee Vee winner for best 9″ (UP). Cutesters Too, a complete set left in her hands that includes a variant Chaser. The Disneyland Annual Passholders Goofy’s Sky School and Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. Ariel won the Dee Vee Award for Best Overall 3″. She also designed all 7 DCL Disney Character crew members, the DCL Alaska Totem, Castaway Cay and Aquaduck. Wow, what a year.

7. Customs
This year we met so many great friends by spotlighting custom artists across the world. The art form really blew up this year and people really got creative. D-Street now regularly features customs that they commission and NOAH became a household name for collectors. There was even a custom artist show put on by Ceasar in California and wee look forward to many more.

And, in a big personal step for myself, I created my first custom. A Santa Donald that I am very proud of. I can’t wait to create more and see what you bring to us in 2012.

6. Disney Afternoon
How many Fridays did you call in late or sick from work? This limited edition on-going series dominated the headlines all year long. The demand for each of these nostalgic sets far out paced the production. At each coast, collectors and sellers lined up in the early morning hours forcing Disney to actually change the way they handle releases. Rules and locations for lines had to be outlined. Bracelets were handed out in California. Strict buying guidelines had to be enforced.

And don’t get me started on the online debacles. Vinylmation fans wore out our refresh buttons as we sat warily eyed in front of our computers for the precious plastic to appear. Then many were met with only frustration as servers crashed and orders were canceled. Some of this news overshadowed the work by Christopher Chapman who designed one of the best series in Vinylmation history.

5. The Emergence of Disney Store Artists
Nothing against our Disney Design Team artists, but it’s nice to see new blood. The Disney Store artists provided that in a big way in 2011. We saw the release of many Disney Store only products like Villains, Robots and Lion King. We also began to see an influx of location specific items… namely in NYC, San Francisco and Chicago. An already emerging network of online collectors enjoyed the chase of networking across the country to fill out their collection. More so than that, I think the Disney Artists have brought designs that are very different than what we see with the Disney group. The Lion King is one of the most beautiful sets you will ever see on a vinyl Mickey.

And Villains 2 is a very innovative take on the mold and in my opinion a perfect design choice coupled with perfect character selection. (Note: I wrote this article before the announcement of the Disney Store Light Up series, but I think that more than proves my point.)

4. The Growing Hobby
Wow, have we grown! One of the big indications for me is at the trading events. The events are for both Pin and Vinylmation collectors, but you can see the growing looks of frustration on the pin traders’ faces as the Vinylmation crowds begin to grow all around them. Maybe its just because vinyl takes up more room, but Vinylmation traders seem to have tipped the scales and passed the 50% point at these events. And now artist signings are the norm.

Fan websites have popped up all over the place. Twitter blows up daily with news and comments. Vinylmation mania is spreading the world over as figures and trading have shown up at Disney Stores and parks across the globe. Vinylmation are for sale in more and more stores. But with a growing hobby, comes the downsides as well. Long lines at releases. High aftermarket prices. And what pins have been dealing with for years now… dumpster dives and possible scrappers. But one thing is for sure, after 2011, it is hard to find a guest or Cast Member at WDW or DLR that hasn’t heard about Vinylmation.

3. Star Wars 1
It’s not my favorite set of 2011. I’d put The Lion King, Park 7 and possibly even Villains 2 and Pirates ahead of it, but you can’t argue that there was more buzz for Star Wars than any other set before or since. This set transcended boundaries of collecting. Vinylmation, Disney and Star Wars fans alike could enjoy this one. The release was put off for about a year, making the anticipation grow. The day of release was met with a midnight release event… complete with a D.J., prizes, decorations and an artist signing. Fans lined up for over 7 hours and braved the cold (yes, I know it’s Florida, but it was cold) and wrapped a line around Downtown Disney waiting to enter D-Street. After purchase, fans hung around trading and talking and looking the set over. And the buzz about this set never died the whole year.

This set gave us our first variant. It gave us a rocket pack. And it gave us lightsabers! The after market prices stayed high for months… especially because the set quickly disappeared from stores. Meant to be a continuous release, demand exceeded supply and it didn’t reappear until late summer/early fall. Star Wars 1 had a huge impact on the hobby and even took home our first Dee Vee for Best 12 figure set.

2. Park Starz
What in the world is this Project Z!!?? After weeks of being teased, we finally found out at The Florida Project that Project Z was Park Starz, a completely new take on Disney’s vinyl toys. It’s not a new idea in the vinyl toy hobby, but up until now, all Vinylmation were on a Mickey mold. Now, with this new series, we will see Disney vinyl toys in the shape of our favorite characters from around the Theme Parks. It’s the perfect defined direction to take this idea. I was with many of you who were skeptical about this product. What would the quality be? Is the $18 price point too much? But as soon as I got my hands on them, I was hooked.

As a huge fan of the Disney Parks, even more so than the movies, most of these figures hold a special place in my heart. The quality of the figures is perfect for the price point. They have a hearty feel to them and great detail. They are still under the Vinylmation brand and add some great variation to my Disney collectible shelves. They really did break the mold.

1. The New Mold
How could this debate not be number one? It not only dominated the headlines in 2011, it dominated the comment sections on completely unrelated topics. Before Park Starz obliterated the Mickey mold, the “new mold” forever altered what our Vinylmation collections would look like. It’s been talked about a thousand times… the reasons why people dislike it and reasons why Disney changed it.

It got off to an inauspicious start. Sea Creatures was an odd set that was just a different design all together. And coupling a not so popular set with a controversial mold change didn’t win over the fan base.

There was also the poor quality of the Cutesters Like You series. The product just was not polished. But now we have seen enough sets produced on new mold to form our opinions and hopefully get over it. You by now have made up your mind whether to still collect new series or not. All I know is that when I look at the artwork on a figure from The Lion King, Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean, Villans 2 or Park 7… I don’t want to go back.

Spotlight On: Custom Vinylmation Artist… Nick???

WDWNT on January 1, 1970

Ya, I never thought I’d be featured here either! But a few weeks back, a friend of mine, and a listener to the podcast, showed me her custom Vinylmation. She was surprised to find out that I hadn’t attempted a custom myself. Now, I had thought about it from time to time, but I don’t consider myself an artistic person. First, it looks so daunting to me. Second, I don’t have the tools and although there are plenty of tips and tricks on the net, I’d really have no clue where to start or how to attack the canvas. But she insisted that I dive right in and, with her help, give it a try. So I sat down to sketch out my first design, and before I knew it, I was hooked. I had 12 different designs drawn out! But my first idea was my favorite character Donald Duck as Santa.

It all started with a mouse…. shaped blank white canvas.
Oh, look at that great coloring job! I stayed in the lines.
I started by painting on Donald’s red coat
I then painted his arms. I had my Disney Donald’s on hand for support and color guides.
I kept putting it off, but it was time to attack the head
I was a bit worried, it drew on well with pencil, but before the black detail lines were applied, the beak looked very off to me.
The best tip I could give is watered down, thin paint and many coats. Go slow.
More head work. Got the perfect eye color mix.
A sigh of relief, the face looks good. I couldn’t wait to snap him back together.
The brows gave me some trouble, but the tuft of hair went on perfectly
I couldn’t get over how intense I looked as I painted! I was very nervous as I never take on projects like this.
Time to mold that hat. I used a double head to stand in for proportions
Although I painted this one, I ended up making a replacement. This one stood too tall and looked like a wizard’s hat.
For the snow in the ears, I just used a pointy metal tip and dotted the ears. The jacket came out better than I imagined. I’m sure this is a real technique, but I decided to try to just poke at the vinyl with the white paint to create “puffs” for the collar, and it worked great.
On the back, I painted on his tail that hangs out under the coat
Final version, sans hat. I always talk about use of ears, and I really like the way they came out with the snow fall and north star.
But my favorite part is the beak. It was so scary and my 2D drawings looked better than I thought my hands could draw. And somehow I placed it just right and it actually does have a 3D, sticking out effect. I am very proud of my first custom and could not have done it without the help of my friend Rachel. Speaking of… she didn’t want a spotlight of her own, but wanted to share her custom as well.
She decided to make the mop from Fantasia
This used to be a Have a Laugh Ostrich! Until she painted over it.
Adding the details in the mop stick

The clear ears where a perfect fit for the water splashes
The neck extension, MC’s idea, was perfect for this custom as well
It was now time to mold the buckets
The finished product. After various attempts to have him hold the buckets, it was best, and less distracting to the design, to just have them sit by his side. We have plenty more customs in the design stage and can’t wait to start on our next ones!