Nick was at D-Street today and got to check out the new display they had. Here’s a couple pictures of the new Halloween vinyl they are releasing.
What do you think? I miss the tins! (The last one of these was the Candy Corn piece. It had a tin.)
Here’s a look at the side of the box. Interesting….
Joe of War has given us some great video game based customs in the past and now he is back. Here, in his own words, are his new Super Mario Bros. customs.
One of my favorite video game series of all time – like countless other gamers – is Super Mario Bros. And out of those games, I must have played a thousand hours of Mario Bros. 3! In this game, you could find outfits for Mario to wear that gave him special powers.
This first custom is based on the incredibly awesome raccoon costume from Mario Bros. 3, and helped Mario to fly!!!
I also wanted him to have a detachable raccoon tail in case he had to be stored in a tight space. To achieve this I used 2 rare earth magnets and a Dremel. While I was sculpting the tail I hung it by magnets from my metal lamp to not leave fingerprints on it when it dried – yeah that was fun.
Mario uses so many things in his game environment, so I thought it would be fun to give him at least one accessory! I used a spare Vinylmation head to make this turtle (koopa) shell.
I painted half of the shell red and the other half green to represent a few of the different koopa shells you encounter.
On the bottom of the shell I painted arm, head, and tail holes. Also painted some eyes to make it look like the koopa was ducked in his shell scared. I Left the neck hole unfilled in case I want an interchangeable Mario head just for kicks!
Here’s my second Mario suit custom, and this time I’ve created a 3″ Frog Suit Super Mario! He also comes with a sculpted lily pad for when he’s tired of jumping around. It could be used as a simple base for the figure. The lily pad was sculpted with Aves 2-part Apoxie, and everything was painted with Citadel acrylics.
I Added some bubbles to the side of his head for when he breathes underwater.
Here is my third Mario Suit Vinylmation. I decided I’d dress Mario as his beloved dino friend, Yoshi. I don’t think it was a wearable suit in any of the Mario games, but I know you could ride on Yoshi’s back in a few of them. But I thought it would be cool to add to my series of suits!
I consciously left out Yoshi’s pupils so it didn’t seem like Mario was wearing something he just caught in a bear trap.
I painted the Mickey ears to look like Yoshi eggs. And I know Yoshi doesn’t wear gloves, but I kept the white gloves to match the rest of the Mario Suit set. Now to think of more suits….
Free Hours: 2p-5pm on September 11th. Event is free during these hours, but EPCOT admission still needed.
Update: 9/6/11 The Florida Project is days away and we have word that around 14 new series will be revealed during the 11am Chat Session on 9/11!!! Including the much talked about Project Z. We will keep you updated all weekend long!
Update: 8/20/11 The Pin and Vinylmation Itineraries have been released:
Florida Project Vinylmation Itinerary
Florida Project Pin Itinerary
Also, at D23, the free Vinylmation gift that registered guests get for attending the Florida Project was on display:
Minnie is not getting a warm reception. New mold aside, this figure looks kind of dull for such an amazing event celebrating Walt Disney World. And from D23, here is a better look at the Orange Bird Cast Chaser that will be in the Mystery Boxes at the Florida Project:
Now that’s what I call a great looking Vinylmation! Happy hunting.
Update: 8/19/11 Check out this article by Claudia with some helpful Florida Project info straight from the big D: Claudia’s Florida Project Info Update. Also, You should have received your RSP results by now. How did you do?
Update: 8/1/11 The RSP process is over. Results will be announced around August 12. Cards will be charged on August 22.
Update: 6/2/11 The RSP emails have gone out. Deadline to make your selection is July 31st at 11:59 PM PST.
Update: 5/6/11 Disney added prices for The Florida Project vinylmation. Pooh is $14.95, the Mickey/Dumbo 9″/3″ combo is $74.95, and the 9″ Empress Lily is $49.95.
Update: 4/9/11 Disney released a picture of the box that will contain the 3″ Winnie the Pooh. Check it out:
Definitely one of the best pieces I’ve seen so far for the project! – MC
Update: 4/8/11 BIG CHANGE. Hula Girl is OUT! Replaced by 3″ Dumbo:
Update: 4/6/11 We registered for The Florida Project. A bit of a wacky system. You couldn’t seemingly buy more than 1 ticket at a time. Also, it is technically 2 separate events… Pins on September 9th and 10th and Vinylmation on the 11th. Both require a separate ticket. The system also ran into some problems not letting me pass the “additional fee activities” page. You can purchase box lunches ($15), breakfast ($40) or dessert ($40). I selected “none” but the page wouldn’t advance until I closed my browser and started over. Good news, the Pin Event tickets dropped five bucks to $100 pre-May 6th and $115 after.
Update: 4/6/11 The catalog is out and there are only 4 figures in it. All of which we’ve seen parts of already. Now here are the full figures. Nothing too impressive to me. I was hoping for several series, but there looks like there will only be 1 9″, 1 9″/3″ set, and 1 3″ figure as exclusives. I really really hope they are holding something back or this show will be disappointing. If I wasn’t going for the website, the exclusive figures would not get me to pay the $40! I am very underwhelmed by the back and sides of all the figures except for Empress Lily. -MC
Update: 7PM The vinylmaiton blog released one more sneak peek image of a vinylmation from The Florida Project. Check out the head of the Hula Girl. Thanks Chuck!
Usually we reserve the “Explained” heading for pages with information about series collected as we lead up to their release. We will be updating this page with the information we know about The Florida Project.
The Florida Project – Vinylmation Showcase
Date: September 11th 2011
Time: 9:30am – 2pm EST
Location: EPCOT World ShowPlace at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida
Tickets: $40.00 (Event admission does NOT include Theme Park admission to EPCOT, but that is required to attend.)
Event Admission Includes:
– First opportunity to purchase new Vinylmation Figures created for The Florida Project
– Silent auction featuring a variety Vinylmation items from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
– Vinylmation Trading opportunities.
– Artists Signings with Disney Design Group Artists.
– Limited edition commemorative gift.
– Plus extra special surprises throughout the event.
Free Public Day
There will also be a “Public Day” from 2pm – 5pm EST on Sunday, September 11th. This means FREE admission to the event, but you still need EPCOT admission. DV attended the public day at last year’s Trade City show and were still able to pick up some of the LE Vinylmation, see upcoming releases first hand and there was still plenty of trading going on. However you will not receive any of the gifts and will miss certain opportunities.
Pin Trading
If you are interested in the 2-day event dedicated to pin collecting, buying and trading activities, the cost of the event will be $105 before May 6th and $120 after. $100 before May 6th and $115 after. The pin event features LE items, a tee-shirt, silent auction, event only pins available for trade, autograph sessions with Disney artists, (2) $15 gift cards good for food and beverage at EPCOT and “extra special surprises.” You can find more details on the pin portion of the event by clicking here.
What to Expect at The Florida Project
A lot of this will sound familiar, because it is basically the same place, time of year, and event as Trade City was last year. Because of that, we assume that for the most part the event will be similar, just different in theme. That means we expect lots of LE exclusive merchandise, including pins and vinylmation, to come out that weekend. We also hope that either Steven Miller (or a similar Vinylmation official) will be giving a presentation showcasing future Vinylmation figures like they did on Sunday of the Trade City event. We hope that there will be several announcements made during that presentation, and that several never seen before figures will be on display to tease us for the next year. We also expect a lot of trading tables for collectors to bargain with each other. Also expect for Destination Vinylmation to be out in full force.
History of The (real) Florida Project
 Walt Disney introduces The Florida
Project in 1965. Photo courtesy of
WDW News
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The Florida Project refers to the term that was used by Walt Disney when he was secretly buying up large plots of land in Central Florida near Orlando to build his new theme park. The theme of this event will be the planning and opening of Walt Disney World in the early 70s here in Florida. Expect a “alternate” preview center retro merchandise and lots of 70’s design colors. Like the poster above and this first exclusive Vinylmation:
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I was incredibly scared to go on this ride as a kid. But after I got a few under my belt (rides and years), it became a favorite… then, as fast as I fell in love with this classic, it was gone. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was a favorite to many Disney fans and now artist Caley Hicks has masterfully captured the Nautilus in 9″ Vinylmation form.
The first thing I notice is the water line detail around the bottom third of the figure. The colors used to make all the details in this figure are really perfect. Caley had to figure out how best to wrap the giant squid’s arms around the sub. One curls up the front, while another, larger one, winds it’s way up the side and ends up in the ear.
There is no noticeable texture feel between the water and sub, but there is between the squid and sub. The squid has a glossy feel to it, so it stands out against the matte finish of the sub.
Every nail, porthole and the ridge up top all capture the feel of this beloved attraction.
This is a 9″/3″ combo that comes with a 3″ diver. I could very much do without the diver. Not that it is poorly executed by artist Jason Zucker, just not needed in my opinion and doesn’t add greatly to anything more than the price tag.
He is actually designed very well. The gloves and boots look great. The body suit is painted in gloss that gives they shiny effect you would expect.
The gem of this figure is the helmet. It is painted with a sparkle that gives it the metallic effect a helmet should have. And the gold paint around the mask has a brilliant color to it.
I always give Park Vinyls high grades, but I couldn’t think of how the sub could be done any better. Great job guys. And on a side note, I just got back from Disneyland where I was able to once again take a sub trip at a Disney park. This one Nemo themed. I had a smile on my face the whole time. The Nemo ride at Disneyland is extremely fun and enjoyable and helped bring back, if only a little, those Under the Sea memories at Walt Disney World.
Update: 9/16/11 Puerto Rico flag released today at D-Streets… It will also be released at the Disney Store in Puerto Rico on October 4. The store is located at the Plaza Las Americas, 525 Ave Franklin Delano Roosevelt, San Juan.
Update: 9/2/11 Pictures released:
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| Copyright Disney |
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Attention Puerto Ricans! Your flag will be added to the Flag set starting on September 16th. Like the other flags this release will be open window and will be priced at $9.95.
What other flags would you like to see?
 Look what we found on the internets a few weeks ago. This is Wolverine. He’s an X-Men, and sometimes part of Alpha Flight. He’s pretty bad-ass. He’s also a custom vinylmation made by Gabriell Lucchese. It took a while to track her down, but we found her and wanted to know more about her and her piece of artwork…
MC: Tell us a little about yourself… MC: What got you into art? MC: What’s your artistic background, training/education? MC: How long have you been creating custom Vinylmation? MC: Do you collect the Vinylmation created by Disney artists? MC: Most of us do too! What is your favorite Disney Vinylmation design? MC: How did you come up with the idea of the Wolverine piece?
MC: What is your favorite aspect of it? MC: What was the hardest part in creating this figure? MC: Will you create more comic book vinylmation? MC: Is there a place where people can go to find out more about your pieces and see your work? MC: Thanks for much for your time, and we look forward to anything new you make it the future! Maybe you can get a Marvel set out before Disney actually does. |
Some figures exclusive to the D23 Expo in Anaheim were released last weekend. Here is an up close look and our take on the group.
3″ D23 Logo
Maria Clapsis
LE 4800
$13.95
With the design and very high quantity available, this one hung around all weekend long and was still available late Sunday at the Dream Store. A very simple design, this one actually grew on me. I like the color and the stars outlining Mickey’s features. I’m also a sucker for Sorcerer Mickey and he is part of the logo on the back of the Vinylmation. This one gets a low grade for me because it isn’t exciting, but it’s a nice souvenir of the event.
3″ Davy Crocket
Casey Jones
LE 1200
$13.95
Casey created a Masterpiece with his 9″ Park 5 Davy Crocket, this 3″ version doesn’t hold the same wow factor. It did however sell off the shelves just a few hours into day 1 of the expo.
I will say the attention to detail is phenomenal, and without the 9″ to compare it to, this one would be even more incredible. I don’t really understand the muted tone on this 3″. The 9″ is brown, but it’s a lively coloring scheme that yells old west.
The hat is wonderful. Again, comparing it to the 9″, it doesn’t have the layered tail the bigger figure has. But the fact that we now have this coon skin cap for combo contests can not be understated. Overall, a brilliantly detailed 3″ that is a must own for any Disney fan.
3″ Gladstone Gander
Thomas Scott
LE 1200
$13.95
If there is anywhere that a character this obscure can work it’s a large gathering of Disney geeks. So D23 was the perfect place, as Gander sold out first within hours of the expo opening on Friday morning.
Gander, among other places, is from the Disney Comics and Thomas Scott did a fantastic job at pulling Gander out of the comic and slapping him on a vinyl collectable.
Care about the character or not, this figure has a perfect colorful, comical look with clean lines and big duck bill perfectly placed. It really does look like a cool drawing on a Vinylmation instead of a design printed on it.
9″ Butch
Eric Caszatt
LE 750
$44.95
Sorry Eric, but a great design couldn’t overcome a larger than needed LE and a high price tag on an obscure character. There were plenty of Butch’s on the shelves late into Sunday. The design works. I’ll say it every time, putting the chin on the nose just looks great on many figures. Nothing fancy, it’s just a straightforward design. In my opinion, 750 was WAY too high an LE. Put it at 500 or even 450 and sell it out at the event. Neither M.C. nor I purchased this one, but we probably would have purchased a 3″ version.
3″ Disney Store 25th with Pin
Enrique Pita
LE 2500
$26.95
Another high LE, but this one appealed to a much wider audience. I saw these fly off the shelf at the Disney Store inside D23, although I couldn’t verify if they sold out and if not, where the quantities would go.
To me, nothing fancy about the design. In fact I don’t like the outlines on Mickey’s face. Also, in general, the Disney Store logo doesn’t do anything for me. It holds no special meaning. But to many it does. Many current and ex Disney Store Cast Members are excited about this figure.
The pin I do like. It’s large and has a nice high quality feel and design to it. This set was a pick up for me. Not necessarily a long term keep, this one might be up for trade.
Destination Vinylmation: Tayner, at only 14 years of age you are creating some nice looking custom Vinylmation. How long have you had a passion for art?
Tayner: My passion for art really started coming out at the age of 12, when I was given a sketch book and good sketching pencils for Christmas, which I instantly took to!
DV: Beside Vinylmation, do you paint or sculpt or create other forms of art?
Tayner: Mainly, I like to draw and animate, and in both, I like to keep them cartoon like, rather than life like. I enjoy sculpting as well, but due to cost and availability of the clay I like, I don’t sculpt as much. My animating is usually with Vinylmation, as you can see on my website, but I also like to try and draw my own animations, rather than model the Vinylmations the way I want. Occasionally, I also paint!
DV: It’s still early, but what kind of career do you see yourself in down the road?
Tayner: I am attending a special high school next year, which is dedicated to the arts, and also has great links to amazing art colleges and universities! I am hoping that both of these will greatly help and improve my art skills, which will lead me to being a product designer at Disney World! If not, I would like to work on animated movies with Disney Pixar! In essence, I want to work for Disney!
DV: Tell us about this Sailor Mickey Custom. You say it was the hardest custom you have ever done. Why?
Tayner: As you can see, Sailor Mickey is a slightly more complicated design than my other Vinylmations. I didn’t expect as much of a challenge as I received. The first challenge was the body. I couldn’t get the lines straight for his shirt, and his jacket was uneven, as well as the buttons being larger/smaller than the other. No matter how much I tried, the problems didn’t get better. Eventually, I gave up on touch ups, and went straight to a new body. His body became FILLED with lines to make sure every centimetre of him was rightly placed! I also learned a technique from watching Evilios’ videos, in which you place down painter’s tape, to keep the lines even, which is how I made the lines on the shirt straight. The last challenge was sculpting his Sailor hat to look just right! It took me a few tries, and 2-3 hours to do this one! Overall, a much harder challenge than my others!
DV: What was the inspiration for this figure?
Tayner: Well, my family had just booked the Disney Dream as part of our next Disney World vacation. Right away, I went to Google, and began looking up any info and images I could find of this magnificent cruise ship! One of the many images that came up was, of course, Sailor Mickey. The only problem here was that there were so many variations of him, that I didn’t know which one to choose! I ended up choosing the one you see, as I liked him the best!
DV: You also have a very special non-Disney Vinylmation set you created. It was for your parents 17th wedding anniversary. What was the process to make sure you captured your Mom and Dad’s look from almost two decades ago?
Tayner: This was indeed a difficult process. As it was a surprise, simply saying “Can I see photos of you on your wedding day?” would certainly raise suspicion. My siblings and I had to make up an excuse to see them. We knew that there were some photos other than their wedding day in the album, so we said we just wanted to see those. Still might have given them their suspicions, but not as much, we hoped! We then sorted through many photos until we found just the right pictures of them. Once this was done, I sketched out the main characteristics of each of them onto a piece of paper, and then combined it all into a Vinylmation sketch (which would eventually be re-done 5-6 times each).
DV: I heard you had a little help with this one?
Tayner: I needed to purchase a lot of materials for this project, and I also wanted to make sure the sketches looked just right before taking the sketches to the figure. I decided the best thing to do was get my siblings involved with the project. We all split the cost, and because I added them, I had to do another 5-6 sketches per figure, until my brother and sister approved them! There was no help with the painting, but I think that adding them on was a great move, and the gift was more special coming from all of us, rather than just me!
DV: And the final product came out great. Talk about the display case.
Tayner: The right display case was finally found at Michaels Art Store! We had searched dozens of websites for display cases, including Michaels, and a nearby favourite, Curry’s! None of them were good enough for what we wanted. On one of our trips to buy supplies for this project, we walked by the Display Case section and I ran over to one I thought was great! My brother said it was too big, and suggested the smaller version of it. We instantly picked it up, claiming it was to go on my shelf, hoping that would cease any suspicions! It is a baseball holder, but the circular parts to hold individual baseballs fit the Vinylmation feet so perfectly, it made the project so much better to be able to keep the Vinyl’s still!
DV: Do your parents have it up on display at the house?
Tayner: Yes! It is sitting proudly on my dad’s desk in my parents’ room!
DV: For more of Tayner’s work, please visit www.taynermurdock.com/vinylmation-customs.html
The Maria Clapsis designed Cars 2 Combo was released at D-Streets on August 26. It also showed up in the London Disney Store, on the UK Disney Store Online and in Tokyo. It will hit Disney Store Online September 2 and Disney stores September 19.
The packaging is nice if you want to just keep them boxed up. It has a backdrop behind the figures of one of the racing locations in the movie. The design is flashy with logos that pop right out at you.
Lightning has one of the flashiest paint jobs I have ever seen on a Disney Vinylmation. He has a sparkle to him in the light. The red paint looks really good and all the other features painted on have a bold look to them. It’s a busy figure, with things going on all over it. He is designed after the Cars 2 version, so he has the Hudson Hornet Piston Cup logo on the “hood”. That’s the only design oddity, and I’m not sure if it would have looked good if Maria place things correctly. But in the movie, the mouth would be below the hood design, but on the vinyl its more a representation of the characters as the hood design is below the mouth.
The side has wheels on the feet, the lightning bolts and the number 95. No detail left unturned. Event a 95 on the roof.
The back has the rear view window, tail fin and says World Grand Prix. Overall, this is a flashy piece that has a lot of character. A happy addition to my collection.
Mater is one of my favorite Pixar characters and his Vinylmation hits in spots but misses in some important ones. The face is just a tiny bit off to me. I know this is a small thing, but I think if the eyes where more open and the mouth a little bigger and more open, that would have helped. I do enjoy the details like the missing headlight.
A look at the side shows how Maria had to walk the line between putting these characters on the vinyl and just representing parts of them. She decided to put Tow Mater horizontally on the arm and I think that works well. And another great detail, Mater’s one different tire is painted on his left side.
The back represents his tow hook and bumper. Looking overall at the back, side and hood, things seem to look very blocky. Just kind of place there instead of really feeling like they belong. Not being a designer, I can’t say what’s best, but I think I would have enjoyed a grittier, more real feel to Mater.
It has to be so incredibly hard to capture a vertical car on horizontal canvas and the flashy Lightning piece works well for me, but Mater is just missing some of the characteristics that would make him feel like a whole figure instead of just blocks of design around the mold. As a set, its a nice addition from a move franchise I love.
DV reader Jacob sent us some summer vaction photos:
My family and I recently took a vacation to the beaches of Galveston, TX. Goofy went along with us, and we thought you would like to see some pics! Enjoy
This is Goofy checking out the aquarium at Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX. He loved it!!
This is Goofy checking out the Fallen Heroes Memorial at Seawolf Park in Galveston, Tx.
