Maria Clapsis and Mike Sullivan Artist Signings

WDWNT on January 12, 2012

Star Wars Weekends begins this Friday, May 18th at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and along with all the Star Wars costume characters and actors on hand, Disney Design Group artists will also be meeting guests and signing autographs.

Maria Clapsis, the artist behind the designs of the Disney Character Star Wars series and Mike Sullivan, designer of Star Wars Series 1 will both be signing on select dates throughout the four weekends.

The signings will be held in two locations, both inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Darth’s Mall is the event merchandise tent set up behind Rock’n Roller Coaster.

Maria Clapsis and Mike Sullivan
Friday, May 18th
4-6pm at Darth’s Mall

Maria Clapsis
Saturday, May 19th
2-4pm at Darth’s Mall

Maria Clapsis
Sunday, May 20th
12-2pm at Darth’s Mall

Maria Clapsis
Saturday, May 26th
12-1p at Animation Gallery (DHS)
2-4pm at Darth’s Mall

Maria Clapsis and Mike Sullivan
Saturday, June 2nd
12-1p at Animation Gallery (DHS)
2-4pm at Darth’s Mall

Maria Clapsis and Mike Sullivan
Saturday, June 9th
12-1p at Animation Gallery (DHS)
2-4pm at Darth’s Mall

More Muppets Star Wars

WDWNT on January 12, 2012

Unfortunately, no Star Wars 2 Vinylmation were on display at the start of Star Wars Weekends today at DHS. But they did a few interesting previews. The first of which is an addition to the Star Wars Muppets action figures from earlier this year. This 3 pack set will be out in August and will retail at $18.95.

Animal makes an appearance as Boba Fett. The skinny Fett does look strikingly odd, but I like the character choice and enjoy the addition of drumsticks.
Link Hogthrob, who was featured as Han Solo in the first release, returns in this pack as Han Solo in carbonite. Always a fun design, this really fits in well with the set.

To round things out, Scooter has been called upon to play the part of Lando. And you know what? He pulls it off. Great costume and cape. The first round of figures were designed with high quality, so I expect nothing less from these. 

Donald and Rizzo Star Wars Action Figures Review

WDWNT on January 12, 2012

As part of the month-long celebration that is Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the merchandise team created some great new mash-up action figures. Donald Duck as Savage Opress and Rizzo as Yoda, are different yet exciting additions to their respective series runs.

I’ll start with the Donald as Savage Opress. Opress is the feature of a story line on the Clone Wars animated TV show. He is discovered by Ventress who wants to use him to defeat Count Dooku (who in turn wants to use him to defeat Darth Sidous). Opress is Darth Maul’s brother, therefore has a similar paint scheme, just different colors. Since Disney has already given us a Darth Maul Donald, this figure is a perfect niche choice for a limited edition figure… especially with the much appreciated Clone Wars focus on the last series.

As with the Darth Maul figure, this one has some great paint detail and sculpted horns on the face.

Savage Opress action figure
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Savage Opress Clone Wars screenshot
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His uniform is fairly accurate to the show with the robes, belts, gloves and boots. He of course has the duel light saber as well. If I were to be picky, I would have liked to see more detail on the shoulder pads to indicate as series of shields instead of one big pad.

The edition size is 2012 and the price is $12.95… putting it just $3 over the normal series retail.

Continuing the Muppets as Star Wars series that began earlier this year, Rizzo appears as Yoda in this one-off limited release figure. The earlier series really impressed me overall with well done character selection, designs, joint movement and accessories… and this figure does not disappoint.

Would Kermit make a better Yoda? That can be debated, but Kermit is needed for the starring role of Luke Skywalker, so the elder Jedi’s role falls onto the rat’s shoulders. I like the approach of only using green on the Yoda ears and eyes as opposed to when Stitch is Yoda and his entire body is painted green. That full body paint works well on Stitch, but the varied approach is nice to see here. The details are all here in the face and robe, but the geek in me is drawn to the two accessories. You can have Yoda Rizzo hold either a light saber or a cane… and that is just cool.

The only gripe here is the price. At $14.95 this figure is at best $2 over priced… at worst $5. The Muppets 2-packs retail at $18.95… that’s $9 each for figures that are much larger than this one. I can see paying a few extra bucks for a limited release item, especially one released at the hoopla around Star Wars Weekends, but at $15, this is $2 more than the Limited Edition Savage Opress Donald! I have long, long ago stopped trying to figure out Disney pricing because my head was about to explode like the Death Star.

Disney Character Star Wars Review

WDWNT on January 12, 2012

The Disney Character Star Wars series was my most anticipated group of Vinylmation to date. It is a mash-up of two of my favorite properties. As you know from listening to the podcast, I have been collecting the action figures as long as they have been released. That being said, in this review, I may be both little biased to like these, and at the same time very tough with my judgement because I so wanted them to be perfect. Are they perfect? You can hear my review (and interview with the artist Maria Clapsis) on the latest podcast, but I thought I’d also break it down character by character here on the website as well.

After getting these figures in hand at the opening of Star Wars Weekends at DHS, they really impressed. Let’s start with the concept. At it’s core, this is not a new design, but a build upon an existing concept. For these to work, it all starts with the face. Over the course of Vinylmation’s history, artists have been getting better and better and truly expressing the character’s emotion on the Mickey mold head. Each of these are shining examples of how to place the traditional Disney characters onto this 3D form. Next you must build the Star Wars character outfit around the body. Although similar to Star Wars Series 1, Maria seemed to improve upon what Mike Sullivan accomplished by adding more and more detail. To top it all off, each character has an accessory specific to them. All of which add to the overall concept. Each figure comes in an open window box and retails for $15.

Stormtrooper Donald Duck

It’s hard to improve upon what Mike Sullivan did for the Stormtrooper, but Maria took an approach that I wouldn’t have even knew I wanted until I saw it. Mike painted heavy black outlines for each feature on the suit. Maria used light grey. This really cleans up the figure and draws your attention to the face. And if you look at an actual Stormtropper, there is no black on the body… only the arms, where Maria used bold black lines. Maria did not have to design the helmet, but I would argue the duck face is a bit harder to accomplish. Then we have the gun. There must have been a few different ways to go with this, and in the end Maria chose a blocky feel to it as opposed to an action figure type gun. This design just plain looks right in this cartoony situation. I have heard complaints about Donald holding the gun. I think it fits in nice and snug if you slide it down the hand like the light saber. And if you tilt it and don’t try to force the fingers into the trigger, you can turn it to point forward and it looks natural.

X-Wing Pilot Mickey

Maria’s favorite design in the group is also the most detailed. Not much to say about this one, but Wow! M.C. spoke it best on the podcast… there is no reason to put that much detail into the helmet… but she did! And that is what makes this one special. Along with the “see through” visor painted on over the eyes. Simple perfection. The light saber has a modified design for the new mold hands. We get rid of the hook portion that was necessary to keep the light saber in the other hands. And if it matters, the new light saber is a tiny bit longer than the previous ones.

Darth Vader Goofy

The artists all around are really getting Goofy’s face down. The interesting thing about Goofy is that Maria went with a more straightforward approach than Mike Sullivan. She has straight lines on his uniform as opposed to the curved comical nature of Mike’s. Also, this figure continues Maria’s trend of using lighter outlines. The standout part of this figure is the add-on cape. It is not removable, but glued at the neck. It seems like a sturdy piece and the wrinkles are drawn onto it. Plus his hand really looks like he’s giving the death grip.

Princess Leia Minnie

It would be easy to call this one of the more simplistic pieces, but to capture Minnie’s expression as Maria did, is a work of art. Annemarie said it best to me the other day… Minnie looks sassy. She really has this tough princess vibe to her. The clothing scheme is as simple as in the movie, but the hood is so expertly drawn on the back… you would think you could flip it up. But it is those hair buns that your eyes are drawn to. Painting those flat on the side of the head would have left us with a less than stand out piece. Making them accessory pieces had to be done because of what we expect from Vinylmation these days. That being said, it makes it no less spectacular to see them.

Boba Fett Pete

I keep going back to it starting with the face… and Pete, drawn by whoever, looks so good on a Vinylmation. The uniform is well designed for this crossover character. I wish I asked Maria this, but it looks like she went out of her way to make sure we see Pete as this large, overweight character. He appears to have a droopy belt line. There are pluses and minus to both Maria’s and Mike’s designs. The Star Wars 1 Boba has a more accurate looking front. Such as the white opposed to color chest logo and the belt area. While Maria has the more accurate back. The back is where the jet pack is and Maria stepped it up a notch with more well defined features and a more intricate color scheme.

Yoda Stitch

I was a bit disappointed with Yoda from Star Wars Series 1. I didn’t feel it captured his essence. I also do not truly love a single Stitch I’ve seen on a Vinylmation (April Skyy has some brilliant ones, I know). So this figure had the odds stacked against it. I think as a Stich or Yoda, it would still fall short, but as a mash-up, it is spectacular. You get that complete alien feel. I like the over sized nose, slanted eyes and the wrinkles. There is an overall softness to the outfit on Yoda Stitch. Maria puts in all the same details as Mike, just in a way that fits the cartoon character better. She even draws the hood on the back. The color palate is so well chosen. I like the bright green for this crossover and also the warmer robe color.

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.

Star Wars Vinylmation Reappears

WDWNT on October 3, 2011

Update: 10/10/11 Nick found out that Hollywood Studios Tatoonie Traders has Star Wars single blind boxes for sale. They are not selling cases!

We also have a listener named Dave send us this, “Star wars vinylmation can be purchased over the phone starting today. I called and confirmed, however they said shipping was $130 for two cases, so I opted not to buy.” If that sounds good to you try calling 407 363 6200 or toll free at 877 560 6477.

pic by @biglew8

Lots of rumors floating about about the return of Star Wars to stores.

The only real proof we’ve seen is from @biglew8. This pic is from the Anaheim D-Street at 11:45 am.

Thanks Biglew8!

Spotlight On: Vinylmation Custom Artist Heather

WDWNT on August 10, 2011

Hope you are enjoying Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios! At the last Walt Disney World trading event we meet Heather Kattelman from Fleming Island, Florida. She was displaying a couple very impressive custom 9″ Vinylmation she had created. One was Star Wars themed, the other a TRONorail. We caught up with her recently and asked her all about them.

Destination Vinylmation: How long have you been creating custom vinylmation?

Heather: I’ve only been creating custom Vinylmations on and off for about 9 months. My kids got me interested in it last year during the Vinylmation trading event of Trade City.

DV: Do you do other artwork, or just Vinylmation?

Heather: Really just vinylmation. I sort of play around here and there with other types of painting but only when I need to for an interior design project or something like that.

DV: Tell us about the inspiration behind the Star Wars figure.

Heather: My entire family are Star Wars fans and I was thinking about starting a new custom and mentioned to my husband that I was thinking about doing a Star Wars themed piece. We both thought it would cool to do something that I could take with us and have signed by the celebrities at Star Wars Weekends! From attending previous years, I knew there was always a main SW Logo for the event and felt that would be awesome to include on the vinyl somewhere and of course having the SW Logo was only fitting!

DV: It is perfect, and lots of room left around it for autographs. Tell us about the process of making the custom?

Heather: First, I draw out the concept on paper to gauge the scale and placement.

DV: Then do you pencil it onto the vinyl?

Heather: Usually when I paint the artwork on the vinyl, I just go right to painting. Occasionally for extremely detailed areas, like parts of Darth Vadar & Mickey I lightly pencil portions of the design on first.

DV: What is your favorite part about your Star Wars custom?

Heather: Wow, this is a tough one! I love the way the front came out with Vadar and Mickey but the back with the X-Wing I especially like! This was a last minute decision to add the fighters – I originally planned to paint another character on the back but changed my mind at the last minute. I’m really glad I did, it’s my favorite part!

DV: It is incredibly detailed and very different from anything we have seen. Let’s talk about the TRONorail figure. How long did it take to design and complete this one?

Heather: The Tron Monorail took me about 30 hours.

DV: The paint job and colors look perfect, how much trial and error was there in picking the perfect paints and getting it to look right on the vinylmation?

Heather: THANKS! I have a lot of pictures of the monorail and let’s just say that I think I have every color of blue, green, teal paint that is made! I also had to do a fair amount of mixing to find the perfect shade on at least 3 of the colors – none of the “off-the-shelf” ones matched the way I wanted.

DV: What was the hardest part about either of these?

Heather: The hardest part of both vinylmations was the lettering of the logos – I hate “writing” letters! I’m such a perfectionist that this is a very tedious process.

DV: The hard work certainly paid off. Now are these customs for sale or for you own personal collection?

Heather: Yes – Any of my customs can be purchased. Currently I have the “TRONorail” available on eBay. I also can be contacted directly at HKattelman@gmail.com or through Facebook at facebook.com/HKattelman

DV: Do you take custom orders?

Heather: I sure do! I’m happy to do custom work for people that’s either something I’ve already completed that they’ve seen and would like one of their own or a unique figure that I create based on their requests.

DV: Where can people see your work?

Heather: You can find photos of some of my figures here.

DV: What customs are next for you?

Heather: I have a couple that are in the works: “Transformers”, “Iron Man” and possibly “Captain America” – Do you see a theme here? LOL 🙂 But first I am currently doing a Darth Maul – Phantom Menace 9″ that I’m really excited about!

DV: We can’t wait to see those. But before we go… What is your favorite figure from Disney’s Star Wars set?

Heather: Oh, that’s such a hard choice – they’re all awesome! If I had to pick one it would have to be Vadar!

DV: And how about Disney’s TRON set?

Heather: I love the way ZUSE came out!

Episode 028 Mike Mouse

WDWNT on July 4, 2011

Ep. 028 Mike Mouse
Pirates of the Caribbean Vinylmation were released this week. We review the set and give you our take on how the new mold looks with POTC as compared to Sea Creatures and Cutesters Like You. A lot of news this week about Star Wars, Lion King and new sets this holiday season. We also have the latest release dates. And in a special Mystery Mail Treasure Chest, we embark on a quest to read your comments and answer your questions.
Listen Now:
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