Star Wars 2 Explained

WDWNT on January 18, 2012

Star Wars Series 2 Explained
Release Date: Celebration VI: August 23, WDW August 24, DLR: August 25, 2012
Price: $14.95
Details: Blind Box 12 figure series

Update: 08/17/12 Series 2 accidentally released at Emporium at the Magic Kingdom today. Rumored price is $14.95 per blind box!!!!!


Update: 08/14/12 Picture of Chaser added. HQ pics of all the characters now available.

Click image above to reveal the chaser

Update: 08/13/12 The Disney Parks blog released some new photos today and some words from SW2 artists Thomas Scott and Casey Jones

“The first series was created at a different time in Vinylmation history,” explained Thomas. “When we began developing series two, we considered several factors for future growth. We again worked closely with Lucasfilm when selecting the characters for the new series. We also thought about how those characters could appear in future series.” – Thomas Scott

“I like using the ears as a way to further enhance the story,” explained Casey. “When designing these figures, I looked for something iconic to add to the ears, such as the ‘binary sunset’ on the Tusken Raider or Obi-Wan Kenobi figures. Adding design elements from the film help set the stage for each character.” – Casey Jones

The article says that Casey Jones created concept sketches of each figure, while Maria Clapsis turned those sketches into full-color images.


Update: 08/07/12 Artist Casey Jones tweeted us to let us know the release date for Star Wars 2 in Orlando will actually be Friday, August 24 (Disney’s Events page said 8/25). Casey Jones will be at D-Street from 11am-1pm EST to sign Star Wars 2 figures.


Update: 08/06/12 Release date of Saturday, August 25 announced for D-Street Orlando. Casey Jones will be at D-Street from 11am-1pm EST to sign Star Wars 2 figures. Also, the LE 2500 Princess Leia Hologram figure will be on sale at Star Wars Celebration VI from August 23-26. Celebration is a ticketed convention held at the Orange County Convention Center.


Update: 07/29/12 Release date of Saturday, August 25 announced for D-Street Anaheim. Casey Jones will be at D-Street from 3p-6p PST to sign Star Wars 2 figures. No release info for Orlando yet. But the weekend of August 23-26 is Star Wars Celebration VI in Orlando, so a release is expected.


Update: 07/18/12 Pictures of 11 of 12 figures now up. Here is a look at them in their entirety from Vinylmation World.

Update: 07/08/12 Pictures of Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and Muftak added in pin form.


Update: 11/17/11 The facebook page for Star Tours had a first look at the Obi-Wan vinyl from Star Wars 2.

Star Wars Series 2 is based on characters from a New Hope Episode IV, the first Star Wars movie to hit theaters. This series was a Casey Jones, Maria Clapsis and Thomas Scott collaboration, each contributing to different parts of the design process they could best handle. As more figures are released, we will see the composition of the set. Do they have to repeat the big stars of the movie franchise? (Luke, Leia, Han Solo) Or can supporting characters carry this second series?

 Darth Vader

Window in one ear, stars in the other. A bit more realistic looking that the series 1 version. It has a helmet shaped feature coming off the head!

Princess Leia

The walls of the ship in her ears look great. Can’t wait to see the details in her clothing in person. The hair buns are the perfect touch after the braided hair ring for series 1.

Luke Skywalker

His return for series 2 puts him on Tatooine with the duel suns ablaze and the colorful skyline in the ears.

Muftak

He is found in the Mos Eisley Cantina. He is paired up with Kabe in the movie

Ponda Baba


Nice coloring and that’s a great looking, although ugly, face.

Han Solo


He looks a lot better in this series. I didn’t like the bland Han look from Series 1. He looks more rugged here with more defined hair and clothing features.

X-Wing Pilot


Great visor look just like X-Wing Mickey.
Grand Moff Tarkin

Tarkin is the commander of the first Death Star. In Episode IV he is portrayed by actor Peter Cushing. This set is doing a great job so far at use of ears. Instead of blank, the artist is using them to represent where we might see the character.

Obi Wan Kenobi

Luke’s first mentor as a Jedi. Also the chaser in Star Wars 1 with a “ghost” variant.

Greedo

The bounty hunter that comes after Han on Tatooine. He never shot first!

Tusken Raider

Roaming Tatooine, these guys ride single file to hide their numbers. Amazing use of ears. The desert scene looks great.

Mystery Chaser

Click on image to see the chaser and our thoughts on it.

MLB Teams Explained

WDWNT on January 18, 2012

Release Date: First Wave: February 10, 2012
Where: WDW, DLR, Online (See below for where specific teams will be released)
Price: $14.95

Update: 01/28/12 Release date of 2/10 announced as well as where certain teams will be for sale. Yankees and Red Sox are the only teams that will release in all three locations. Some teams will be released in the Disney Store in their home city. Also of note, NY Mets did not make wave one as expected. Instead, the SF Giants will be an initial release.

This will start as an 8 figure Open Window set. They then can then add more teams later on. All the figures have the same basic design. A baseball in the right ear. Grey batting gloves. A hat with the team’s logo painted onto the head. A Home jersey painted onto the body. The feet have a pair of spikes painted onto them. The only missing element that would skyrocket these in awesomeness…. an accessory bat!

 Boston Red Sox


WDW, DLR, Online
New York Yankees


WDW, DLR, Online
Times Square Disney Store 2/15/12
Atlanta Braves


WDW, Online
LA Dodgers


DLR, Online
Chicago Cubs


Online
Chicago Disney Store 2/15/12 
Anaheim Angels


DLR, Online
Philadelphia Phillies


Online
San Francisco Giants


Online
SF Disney Store 2/15/12

NFL Teams Explained

WDWNT on January 18, 2012

Release Date: First Wave: January 27th and February 3rd
Where: Online, WDW, and DLR (see specific team below for details)
Price: $14.95

Update: 1/27/12 We can add three teams after seeing the display at the WDW trading event: Jets, Chargers and Colts.

Update: 1/27/12 NFL Teams released online today. Patriots, Giants, Steelers, 49ers, Dolphins, Bucs, Cowboys and Raiders. No Saints as we thought would be in the first wave of 8 figures. Instead, this Raiders figure:

All figures are open window and $14.95. All 8 are available online and most will be available at WDW and DLR on February 3rd. Bucs and Dolphins are the exceptions so far. They are online, but will not appear at DLR, only WDW on February 3rd.

Update: 11/20/11 The Disney Parks Blog, in an article about football themed merchandise at the parks, had this picture of 7 upcoming NFL Vinylmation figures. We already knew 5 of them from The Florida Project, but this pictures adds the Saints and 49ers to the list. They also adjusted the release window to early 2012 instead of Fall 2011.

This will start as an 8 figure Open Window set. They then can then add more teams later on. All the figures have the same basic design. The team’s football helmet painted onto the head. The jersey on the body is more generic, with just the team’s color. The numbers painted onto the front and back of the jerseys are 00. Gloves painted with the team’s color. The feet are painted so that they appear to be spikes. From head on, you can see the face mask painted on to the face and NFL written on the helmet.


 Indianapolis Colts


Not For Sale Yet
NY Jets


Not For Sale Yet
San Diego Chargers


Not For Sale Yet
New England Patriots


WDW, DLR, ONLINE
Miami Dolphins

Available only in WDW and Online
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Available only in WDW and Online
Dallas Cowboys


WDW, DLR, ONLINE
Pittsburgh Steelers


WDW, DLR, ONLINE
New Orleans Saints


Not For Sale Yet
San Francisco 49ers


WDW, DLR, ONLINE
New York Giants


WDW, DLR, ONLINE

Pinocchio Kidada 9″/Jr. makes a Sweet Combo

WDWNT on January 18, 2012

Update: 03/20/12 @Kidada4Disney says release has been delayed to a date TBD

Update: 02/12/12 Rumored March 19th release date for 9″/Jr Pinocchio and Jiminy.


Update: 11/5/11 When we asked Kidada4Disney why Jiminy doesn’t get candy. She responded: “Because he is the voice of reason.” Wow, this combo makes more sense than we thought.

After the release of the Peter Pan Kidada, we finally get a chance to see the concept art for the Kidada that was teased at D23 back in August. This piece features Pinocchio on the 9″ and Jiminy Cricket appears to be on a Jr (thanks VMKingdom). According to vinylmation.com this piece will be available in early 2012. The price of the last set was $74.95 and it was a LE of 1500, but it was with a 3″ not a Jr. You can still get them at the disneystore.com so I wonder is the production run number will come down so there’s more demand. The first 9″ Kidada sold out instantly with a run of 500.

It looks like Jiminy is on a figure with no candy (poor guy, Tinker Bell got a candy bar) and it looks like he might come with a hat! Coolness….

I guess a Jr makes more sense size-wise, which I’ve always said I wish they’d pay attention too. So yey!

What do you think of this piece? Too sweet? Does it make your teeth ache?

And don’t forget to subscribe to Kidada’s Disney twitter: @KIDADA4DISNEY

Then and Now: Disney’s River Country

WDWNT on January 18, 2012

Park 7 celebrates the rich 40 year history of Walt Disney World. All the figures, 3″ or 9″, feature both current attractions and ones that now only reside in the memories of the guests who enjoyed them. This article is about the later. On January 6th Disney’s first water park, River Country, will be commemorated with a 9″ Vinylmation.

This 9″ features Goofy with a huge water tube “accessory” around his waist. The tube is one of the finest accessories to date for a large figure. Monty Maldovan designed this LE 1500 piece. Goofy’s face has a simple, yet perfectly placed look to it. The nose and mouth seem so much more suited for this larger canvas than previous Goofy 3″ efforts. The ears waving up into the air is nice, although I would have liked to see some kind of background pained on. The bathing suit is also simple, but works. Just a green and white striped pattern. But let’s be honest, the tube is the highlight here.

It has the River Country logo painted on and is very colorful. Overall, this figure is a solid Park addition. Now, the reason Goofy was chosen is because he was featured on the park’s logo:

Goofy always seemed to be tossed into the water at WDW… remember water skiing Goofy? Well I also found this 1981 picture at MainStGazette.com of Goofy enjoying a River Country slide.

River Country was a fun watering hole for Walt Disney World guests that opened on June 20th, 1976. It was located at the Fort Wilderness Resort, right on the shore of Bay Lake. In fact, the main feature of River Country, The Old Swimming Hole, was actually part of Bay Lake. There were rope swings, T-Bars, large platforms, a ship’s boom and other areas where guests could jump into the water. There was also a barrel bridge for guests to cross over to the slides.

Scan from a WDW guide book. (scan from BigFloridaCountry.com)
Scan of a River Country park map
Here are some of the River Country attractions as described on old WDW material:

Whoop ‘n’ Holler Hollow – Two twistin’ ‘n’ turnin’ body slides that plop right into Bay Cove.

Slippery Slide Falls – Two winding slippery slides that sploosh you into the Upstream Plunge.

Upstream Plunge – Dive into 330,000 big, splashin’ gallons of good, clean fun.

White Water Rapids – Hang on for an adventure in relaxation as you float through swishin’ and swirlin’ waters.

And here is a picture from BigFloridaCountry.com of River Country in it’s hay day…

I also found a scan of this undated park admission ticket on ImagineeringDisney.com

Not a bad price for a day at an Orlando water park! This was also a cool find…

A scan of a 1976 Eyes and Ears, the Cast Member magazine, inviting CMs to preview the new water park. So, that’s a bit about the history of the park, but it’s all in past tense… On November 2, 2001 the park closed for the last time… then finally, on January 20, 2005, The Walt Disney Company announced that River Country would remain closed permanently. So what ever happened to River Country? Oh, it’s still there. You can see the banks of this abandoned water park when you take the boat ride from the Contemporary Resort to Fort Wilderness. And here is a current Google maps view.

That’s the watering hole in the center. And you can see all the slides, albeit with much plant growth surrounding them, still standing to this day. Here is a then and now picture from ImagineeringDisney.com.

It’s really a spooky site to see some of these current pictures. Guests have been fence hopping for years to get some shots. Here is one of my favorites…

An inner tube still floats around the murky waters. You can find a ton of pics and stories at these two links:

http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/blog/2009/12/19/abandoned-disney-river-country-part-1.html

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2344523

Although I stayed at Fort Wilderness many times throughout my childhood, we never visited River Country. To this day, I’m not a big water park fan, but do find the history of this park, being that it still sits abandoned, fascinating. Do you have memories of splashing in the waters of River Country? Please share them, and your thoughts on this Vinylmation, here.

Animation 2 Vinylmation Explained

WDWNT on January 18, 2012

Animation 2
Release Date: January 13
Where: D-Streets and Disney Stores
Price: TBA

Artist Signing
January 13, 2012 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
D-Street Orlando
The artists currently scheduled to attend include Mike Sullivan, Casey Jones, Monty Maldovan, Thomas Scott, Adrianne Druade and Eric Caszatt.

Update: 01/12/12 The variants have been revealed and they, with the chaser, have a common theme.

They are all missing something! Noah’s Ark Donald doesn’t have rain in the ears or drops on the head. In my opinion, that makes this figure supremely inferior to it’s regular version. The Noah’s Ark Donald with rain drops is one of my favorites. Taking the rain away, even for a variant, takes away the sense of this figure. It is also interesting to note that this Donald’s 2nd variant (Park 6 Wet Paint Donald). Here is the second variant…

John is showing off for the ladies as he goes shirtless in the variant. It makes sense, but like many variants, not one I’ll go out and search for. What are your thoughts on these variants?

Original Article: Please leave your thoughts below… here’s mine. Character selection is phenomenal! Love the mix of classic and computer animation with some shorts and TV tossed into the mix. It’s also a nice 50/50 mix of main to supporting characters. Overall, after seeing some recent releases, I expected a tiny bit more in the detail. I think most of these are great designs, but I’m not sure they stand up to the sets we saw released in late 2011 and will see in early 2012. That being said, most are spot on capturing the film character. The artist star of this set is Casey Jones. He designed 5 of the 12 known figures and 3 of my personal favorites… Donald, Sebastian and Jose Carioca. He also used the ears better than any artist in this set. The inclusion of Kim Possible, a TV character, makes me excited about future set lists. Disney talks about 2 variants… what do you think they will be?

 Flower
Bambi (1942)
Artist: Casey Jones
The skunk is drawn well and true to the character. I could use more, but the green ears well represent the forest backdrop. (more than white)
Baloo
Jungle Book (1967)
Artist: Adrianne Draude
Although I like the Disney Afternoon version better, Adrianne really captured Baloo’s happy go lucky face.
Chicken Little
Chicken Little (2005)
Artist: Monty Maldovan
We have now seen new mold sets with lots of detail and shading, so I feel I want more and this is an example that falls a little flat for me. I would expect some show of feathers on the head. But I love, love, love the falling sky reference in the ears!
Dopey
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Artist: Monty Maldovan
Perfect. If your not going to go stylistic, I like when artists try to capture the character in the style they were originally done. This seems to capture the simple yet beautiful art of this classic Disney film.
John Henry
John Henry (2000)
Artist: Mike Sullivan
The most obscure choice in the set. This character is based on a 10 minute Disney short. Really like the hammer and the expression on the face.
Kim Possible
Kim Possible (2002-2007)
Artist: Thomas Scott
I applaud the awesome character choice. I like the way the face is drawn and I can see design wise why the pants had to come up so high, but go look at the Light Up set Rapunzel for how the hair can frame the face to slim it down. But i’m very happy she was included.
Jose Carioca
Three Caballeros (1944)
Artist: Casey Jones
Yay! So glad he is recognized here. Great face. Fantastic hat. The stars in the ears finish this one off very well.
Sebastian
The Little Mermaid (1989)
Artist: Casey Jones
What a perfect use of different vinyl features! The claws are welcome here. The blue clear ears and feet to give the water and bubble effect!
Tigger
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
Artist: Mike Sullivan
Not only did they do a tail, but the did it right.
Tinker Bell
Peter Pan (1957)
Artist: Casey Jones
No offence, but don’t get another Tink here. I understand there are a ton of back stage designing, production and scheduling that we don’t know the timeline of, but this is just a lesser but almost identical version of the Park 7 Tink:
Donald Duck
Fantasia 2000 (2000)
Artist: Casey Jones
Best Donald face yet by a Disney Artist! Great choice for a character and I love the use of rain in the ears and drops of water all around the head. This Donald is from the Noah’s Ark scene in the Fantasia update.
Mystery ChaserClick Image to Reveal Chaser
Combo Topper
Jiminy Cricket
Pinocchio (1940)
Artist: Bob Holden
This is Bob’s first Vinylmation and a great job. Jiminy fits the mold well and the artist did a great job with proportions. The hat is magnificent. I hate to do this… but umbrella seems to be a no brainer. We will see.

2011 Year in Review: Intern Austin Has His Take

WDWNT on January 18, 2012

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.

Austin
Intern / Writer / Photo shoot assistant

10. Meeting new people
I have loved getting to know a lot of the regulars from the Walt Disney World trading circuit. What would have seemed like forever waiting for the Disney Afternoon sets by myself was a lot more fun with all my friends there. I have had so much fun hanging out with Nick and going to the parks on a regular basis. I would like to thank them for making me a part of Destination Vinylmation. I look forward to meeting tons of new and exciting  people in 2012.

9. Park 7 and the announcement of park 8
I have never been to Disneyland but I have come to Walt Disney World every year growing up. Which, of course makes me a huge Disney World fan and I absolutely love the fact that come next year we will have two sets that are exclusively Disney World.

I also love the designs of park 7, with the LE sets and the 9″s being utterly breathtaking. I can only assume that we will have just as breathtaking LE sets and 9″s for park 8.

8. Becoming Vinylmation Obsessed
In 2010 I just wanted Beaker from Muppets 1 and the toy story series. Since I love the Muppets and collect anything and everything toy story. In January 2011, my mind set had changed from “who would ever want to collect these 3″ toys” to becoming one of the biggest Vinylmation collectors out there. Wanting just about every vinylmation under the sun, going to every trade event, waiting in line for over 7 hours, and waiting online all night. I can now proudly say I have truly become obsessed with Vinylmation.

7. Accesories
Oddly enough more than the figures themselves I love accessories. We had great accessories this year from hats and tails to skateboards and candy canes. I love how far vinylmation has come in the past year with accessories. In 2010 we had sorcerer mickey’s hat, nbc mayor’s hat, evil dr. porkchop’s hat, Woody’s hat, Jessie’s hat, buttercup’s horn, buzz lightyear’s dome, and the giraffe’s neck. In 2011 we had so many hats there’s too many to list. There are quite a few in villains 2.

A majority of afternoon sets had hats. Park 6 and 7 chasers both had hats. We had lightsabers, nerds glasses and wands. Mushu, Pinocchio, and Cheshire cat all had tails. The skateboard from goof troop (which I always love to mention because it is my favorite accessory). And rafiki’s staff (which is a very close second for me).

6. Awesome Selection of 9″s
If I had to start cutting down on buying vinylmation I’d probably stop buying 3″ altogether. I just love the detail that gets put on a 9″. Also I love to keep all the vinylmation I buy in mint condition which majority of the time unless it’s open window, means I can’t display 3″. I love the fact that all 9″ are open window and can therefore be displayed very easily. They also came out with a lot of interesting and very cool 9″s this year. If I had to pick a favorite it’d be a tough choice because we have had everything from animation 1 to park 6 and muppets 2, not forgetting jafar from villains 2, rafiki from the lion king, and the Florida project 9″. When it comes right down to it i’d have to say it’s a tie between Sam the Eagle with his tail and Hyacinth Hippo with her tutu. By the way, come on Disney. I’m sure I’m not the only one out there who wants a fantasia set, not fantasia 2000, just Walt’s fantasia.

5. More Detailed Juniors
I’ve never really been into juniors, because until the past 6 months they were never very detailed. All we have to do is compare mini Minnie from villains 1 and junior genie from villains 2, to see how in a 6 month span juniors have become so much more advanced and detailed.

With junior 6 snow white and the seven dwarfs coming out next year, I might have to start collecting juniors.

4. The Florida Project
This was by far my favorite event of the whole year. It was a lot of fun even though like many others i spent the majority of the day in line trying to get orange birds. Even better than an orange bird I finally got one of the highly sought after Hong Kong pirate mickeys.

3. Park Photo shoots
My first three are very closely tied together. This is by far the most fun I’ve had in the parks. I love how many of you love the photo shoots because they are so much fun to do.

I love thinking up great ideas for pictures, and going around all the parks explaining Vinylmation to potential collectors and getting strange looks.

2. Park Starz
Like the majority of people in the vinylmation universe I am not a big fan of new mold. So this was a nice refreshing breath for me, I absolutely positively love all the characters. And more than anything in the upcoming year I am looking forward to park starz 2 and the variants of park starz.

1. Disney afternoons
My all time favorite vinylmation to date is the Disney Afternoon series. My favorite among them is a tie. I love the way that scrooge and launchpad look but my favorite accessory to date is the skateboard in Goof Troop. I think what makes this my favorite instead of park starz is the experience more than the figures, waiting in line as early as 3 am, playing games and chit-chatting. I am looking forward to gummi bears and would love a second line of Disney Afternoon starting with Monterrey Jack and his sidekick Zipper.

WDW 2012 Marathon Vinylmation Release

WDWNT on January 18, 2012

Just a few more days left until I run in my first Half Marathon… ever. Disney or anything. I’m excited. And what better way to commemorate the occasion, well except for this medal:

than a few commemorative vinyls. We saw these on display at the Florida Project and they will be released on Thursday, January 5th and 6th at Disney’s Wide World of Sports during the kickoff to the 2012 WDW Marathon weekend. The 3″ figures are $14.95 and the 9″ is $44.95. After the WDW Marathon this weekend, the left over stock will most likely make its way over to D-Street.

The WDW Half Marathon 3″ features the race’s mascot Donald Duck. All three vinyls are in the stopwatch design with a space to write your time on the back. (I actually get to do that this year!) In my opinion the best design of the three years of these. The date is on the stopwatch as well as a nod to Donald’s birthday in the “time”. The figure itself is clear in color.

The WDW Marathon 3″ features Mickey with the mouse’s birthday in the time.

As always, the Goofy Race vinyl is a 9″. The Goofy race means running both the half and whole in the same year. Any other Vinylmation fans running this weekend? I’ll see you at the race!

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