Urban 8 Photoshoot

WDWNT on March 31, 2012

There are so many little details around Disney’s Animal Kingdom. So with Urban 6 photos at EPCOT and Urban 7 at DHS, Austin and I decided to take Urban 8 around AK. Many of the pictures here were taken inside the Kali River Rapids queue. As always, you can find some different pics from this shoot on our Facebook page.

This Thomas Scott design sat on the wall and watched us take pictures.
Thomas Scott’s Barricades guarded the entrance to the treasure.
They also protected guests from dangerous turns.
And here they stood watch by Chester’s and Hester’s.
But the Barricades got into a little trouble by the Tree of Life.
The beads design sits atop a ruined hotel sign.
Frenchy gets home on his Schwinn.
Not a Rainforest Cafe, but the Tree of Life will do for this frog.
Casey Jone’s Gnome is right at home in back of Chester’s and Hester’s.
Group shot! Just outside the Kali queue.
Monty’s creation hangs by an antenna for better reception.
What food item temps you the most?
Look what trinket is found on this desk.
Rudos vs. The Dragon
Casey’s squirrel finds a roof top to perch on.
Maria Clapsis designed this Aztec Warrior who slayed a mighty beast.

Release Day: Friday, August 3, 2012

WDWNT on February 25, 2012

Today Park 10, the Disneyland Paris themed set releases at both stateside D-Streets.

Does this set appeal to collectors in the US? I love the designs even though I have never been to DLP. It is also fun to have another Park set out just months after the last one. Check out Park 10 explained for more info.

Release day was not without surprises. Remember that Urban 8 online exclusive Monster and Archaeologist? It finally released today for $74.95. It is an LE 1500. Wow, a bit high on the edition size there. Best bet would be to wait for this one to be part of a 2 for $50 deal.

The LE 1000 Urban 8 Toilet Paper and Kid combo also released online. This one of course had previously been available at D-Streets before moving down I-4 to the outlets for about $20.

The Japan Geisha Minnie also released today. This figure is the last installment in the “Magic Around the World” releases at select US Disney Stores and will retail for $9.95. Interestingly enough, we finally (from a random comment on the Disney Parks Blog) know where these are actually getting released. Only the New York Times Square, SF Stockton St., Chicago Michigan Ave and Burbank, CA stores are getting these releases. 

Vinylmation Speculation: Rumored Release Dates

WDWNT on February 9, 2012

Disney Mozart has done some digging and has come up with some, as of yet unannounced, release dates for some upcoming Disney Store Vinylmation. These dates seem to appear on the store CM’s schedules, but not on the Disney Vinylmation website. So again, we are just calling them rumor at this point.

January 29th

Just in time for Spring Training, we may see the MLB teams figures released. We know of 8 teams on the first wave roster (details). We were told at the Florida Project that all designs will be available at the theme parks and online, Disney Mozart is speculating on two things here based on his research… 1. The teams might only be released in their respective regions inside the Disney Stores. 2. Only the newly redesigned Disney Stores may be carrying these.

February 10th

The fourth set in the Cutesters series “At the Beach” should drop this day into the stores.

February 20th

I’m very excited about this set. Disney Store Tunes looks very well designed. According to Disney Mozart, we may see this in late February.

March 9th

We don’t know much about Urban 9. Just a sheep and toaster shown to us at The Florida Project, but Disney Mozart says we may see this series in March. I find this surprising. March is about when we should see Park 8 and I thought they would like Park catch up to Urban before the 9s came out.

First Releases of the New Year

WDWNT on January 18, 2012

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? 


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. 

Goofy 9″ for sale at Disney’s WWOS
Today, some great looking Park 7 LEs hit the D-Streets:
Horse and Trolley. LE 2500. $26.95

Read all about the history of River Country

Also on the schedule for today at D-Streets are four 9″ Urban 8 figures.
Boxer, Fish Bites, Sabertooth and 50’s Girl. Check them out in full detail here.

Then this weekend is the release of the much anticipated Furry Friends. (Saturday at the Costa Mesa, CA Disney Store and Monday at all Disney Stores). This blind box set retails for $10.95.
For more info, check out Furry Friends Explained

Release Day! A New 9″ Park 7 Revealed and New Years On Sale

WDWNT on January 18, 2012

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.

MK 7 Adventures, Goofy River Country and 2 Main Street Electrical Parade figures. All figures are LE 1500. Not surprising there are only four with Disney’s announcement of more types of LE sets besides 9″ and 9/3 combos. We had seen 3 of these at The Florida Project, but the new one was a second Main St. Electrical Parade design featuring the train.

The train is one of the most recognizable floats in the parade because it carries the sign of the name of the parade.

Photo from LaughingPlace.com

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.

9″ Park 7 Main Street Electrical Parade Dragon
9″ Magic Kingdom 7 Adventures Retro Ticket Book

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.

D-Street display
D-Street Display
Upcoming 9/3 Urban 8 Archaeologist and Demon that will be sold Online
And in a semi-surprise the 4 open window New Years 2012 Vinylmation hit the shelves. We knew they would be released in early January, just not specifically today. They can be found at D-Street and throughout the parks.
Here is a look at the individual figures. The hat looks like a hard plastic accessory. If you bought them, let us know if it comes off and whats underneath!
Blue 2012
Black 2012
Pink 2012
White 2012

Did you/will you add any of today’s releases to your collection?

Ring in the Holidays on December 9th with Holiday 3 and more!

WDWNT on November 21, 2011

It looks like Disney sneaked another couple of release dates into their events page (We checked last night while doing the podcast and they weren’t there!).

On December 9th, 2011 both D-Streets will be releasing several new vinylmation.
First, the 12 piece Holiday 3 set will be released. Check out more info on that at “Holiday 3 Explained“. They should be $9.95 each.

Second, the first 9″ Urban 8 figure will be released. It is the Sock Monkey we saw back at The Florida Project. The piece is by Paola Gutierrez and is a LE of 800. It will cost $44.95. (This is an increase from the $39.95 price we were quoted at The Florida Project.)

Third, the site says, “Urban #8 – 9-inch plus 3-inch figure set by Caley Hicks (Edition Size: 1,000 / Retail: $74.95)”. We think this is a typo and may refer to the 9″/3″ Urban 7 Caley Hicks’ piece, OJ and Milk. Info at “Urban 7 9″ Explained“. But that piece was only going to be sold at the Online store, so maybe this is a new piece we haven’t seen….

Episode 047 Paint By Numbers

WDWNT on November 21, 2011

Ep. 047 Paint By Numbers
This week we have a lot of news to cover. Plenty of releases like A Very Merry Goofy, the Japanese Zodiac series, & 9″ Urban 7s. We have updates on Haunted Mansion, Star Wars and NFL series. We review Urban 8 and share some analysis of Dee Vee Award voting, giving you a break down of the big winners and what figures just missed the top spot.
Listen Now:
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Urban 8 Vinylmation Explained

WDWNT on October 31, 2011

Update: 10/31/11 November 11 Release Date Announced. Combo Topper ($26.95) will also be available on this same day. Great $9.95 price point!

Update: 10/11/11 Pictures of all 11 figures have now been added.

We got our first real look at Urban 8 at The Florida Project. They showed off a couple 9″ as well as several 3″. We also found the Urban 8 pins that gave up 3 more designs.

Urban 8
Price: $9.95
Release: November 11, 2011

 Warrior
Maria Clapsis

This figure looks like and Indian warrior. He has a great looking head piece and wonderful markings and coloring on the body. The way the feet are painted, it appears he is standing in some brown brush. Will there be a spear accessory?
Rudos
Casey Jones

It appears to be a masked wrestler. He is blue with a squiggle of chest hair. He has a black tank top and tennis shoes. And possible flash bulbs in the ears.
Barricade
Thomas Scott

Directing traffic everywhere. The head is a clear yellow and the ears give the impression of a flashing light.
Beaded
Betsy DePedova

A new artist to the Vinylmation scene. This effort is a colorful figure full of different shapes. Flowers, dots, springs and stars.
Hot Dog
Dan Howard

Looks yummy. Though I prefer just ketchup and relish.
-MC

I like the hidden Mickey disguised as an onion! – Nick

Beatnik
Thomas Scott

This cool, cool cat has a simple black and white stripe shirt a beret and small artist-like eye glasses. He has some chin hair and a pencil mustache. The ears are painted a solid red.
Raccoon
Casey Jones

This little fellow looks happy. Maybe he saw the hotdog. It’s a purple raccoon with a bushy tail… just like the Cheshire cat’s.
Tree Frog
Robert Vann

Watch out! They are poisonous. This one has a great color green and a cool glossy finish.
Cave Painting
Thomas Scott

It looks like a painted you would see inside a cave. Different shapes and colors tell a story the artist wishes to pass down to us.
Yellow Robot
Billy Davis

The Disney Store artists have a robot series all to themselves, but the Disney Design group wanted some of their own. What job do you think this robot was built to perform?
Zombie Break Dancer
Monty Maldovan

Gold tooth, headphones cool blue shades and bling… this blue man is ready to get funky.
Mystery Chaser


(click image to see chaser)

Also with this series are some LE. These look amazing!!

9″ Sock Monkey

$44.95
December 9th 2011
LE 800

This one is adorable. Buy several, each for each woman in your life.
9″ Boxer

Artist: Casey Jones
$39.95
January 2012
LE 1000

This is a great looking piece. If any of the bandaids were mixed media, I’d almost think this was a one-of-a-kind.

Oh, and the boxing gloves, besides being awesome, are removable. When you can, check out his hands underneath.
9″ Saber Tooth Tiger

$39.95
January 2012

This figure was named on a placard at The Florida Project, but it was not displayed. It’s sounds pretty cool though. I hope the teeth are 3D.

The Variants & Chaser of Urban 8 Leaked

WDWNT on October 29, 2011

The website Action Figure Times has secured 14 figures from the yet to be released Urban 8 Vinylmation set. A set of 11, plus 2 variants and what appears to be the chaser. No word about where or how these figures were acquired by Action Figure Times. Urban 8 isn’t slated to be released until sometime in November. Click the image below to see the chaser. I have to say with this and the Villains 2 chaser, designers are back in business after some flops for that special piece in recent sets.

Mystery Chaser Photo from ActionFigureTimes.com

There is nothing blocking your view of the variants below however… take a look:

Barricade Variant Photo from ActionFigureTimes.com
Barricade Normal
Still wrestling with the desicsion to purchase Urban 8? Will this variant change your mind?
Rudos Variant Photo from ActionFigureTimes.com
Rudos Normal