Disney informed us today that they have taken some of the D-Street stores stock of 9″ Muppets 2 3-D Kermits and are going to open them up for release on the online store. The online store had sold out of the Kermits on the day they were released. The new online release for the extra Kermits is August 19th, the same day as the Gonzo and Camilla 9″/3″ is released.
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.
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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!
Update: 8/11/11 Disney announced the release date for this set. It will be tomorrow, August 12th at D-Streets and Online. Here’s a look at the box it comes in. It reminds me of chocolates.
Update: 8/10/11 Chris sent us this picture. Black and White is on display at D-Street. Now we have a good look at all 6.
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| Copyright Disney |
Here’s what we know about this set so far. It’s a 6 piece set, that will go on sale for $99.95 (like Steam Park). There will only be 2000 of these made. The artist is Sarah Matthews.
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Black Flowers Looking like a two tonded spirlgraph picture, the Black Flowers are on a white background. |
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White Ivy
White Ivy is on a black background. I really think this one is cool. So far it’s the only one I’d get, except they come in a set. |
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Hearts of a String
Pretty. |
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Popcorn
Striped bag, lots of kernels flying. Ok, it’s not perfect, but that’s what it reminds me off. |
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Bird and Flower
This bird has been taking a bite of a flower. Do birds eat flowers?? |
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Birdhouse in your Soul
Lots of fun images here. I really like how the birds and this quote create the “eyes” on the head. |
Lion King
Release Date: August 21 at D23 Expo; August 29 at Disney Stores
Disney Store Exclusive
Retail: TBA
Released to theaters on June 15, 1994 by Walt Disney Pictures, The Lion King is the 32nd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics. The Lion King will be released on Blu Ray on October 4th, 2011 and hit theaters once again for two weeks beginning September 16th… this time in 3D.
“First impression… this set is amazing. The detail on the figures blows me away. Rafiki stands out as my favorite. I’m a little disappointed in Zazu, but can’t place it. I will say I’m a bit disappointed in character selection, but only because I would have liked to see maybe some Lion King landscapes, or other (non main character) animals, or movie scenes. Lion King is a vibrant movie, and that is captured on the characters here, but I would have like the envelope pushed farther. Here is where I get controversial… two Hyenas here? either give us all three or none. Because as much as like New Mold, the Villains 1 Banzai doesn’t fit here. Now that you guys changed my mind this is Banzai here and not Ed, that means the chaser most likely is Ed. They wouldn’t give us 2 Hyenas, with one we already have in Villains 1, and not all 3… or would they? Just one more thing… lots of tails???” – Nick
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Mufasa
Voiced by James Earl Jones King of Pridelands and Simba’s father. Beautiful colors and great use of the entire mold to give Mufasa a strong presence. I do not agree with the angry roar version depicted here. I think of Mufasa more as a stoic and wise leader. I would have liked to see a friendlier looking version. |
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Young Nala
Voiced by Niketa Calame Simba’s best friend and later mate. A nice clean and simple look. |
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Young Simba
Voiced by Johnathan Taylor Thomas Zoe called this one! She calls him “I just can’t wait to be king Simba”. It’s young Simba with the leaves all around his head before he grows up and gets his mane. Great looking figure. I might be blasted for this, but this young Simba looks 20x better than the Animation 1 Combo Topper. |
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Baby Simba
Voiced by N/A Simply a brilliant choice. Didn’t expect this one. Thank Zoe for helping figure this one out. He looks perturbed at being shown off around the Pridelands and comes complete with the markings Rafiki put on his little head. |
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Timon
Voiced by Nathan Lane This guy and Pumba make this set great. The artist took the fun route with these guys, not just giving you the character, but designing a representation of classic movie scenes. Look at the animation in his mouth as it raises up and back. Perfect.Also, I like the small detail like the light brown color coming down onto the hand uneven, not a straight line at the cuff. |
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Pumbaa
Voiced by Ernie Sabella Awesome! Simply a great capture. Look how big his face is. Takes up the whole figure. That’s where the artists excel in this set… using the head for the upper part of the face and extending it down into the body. Then the colors and detail on the bug as well. |
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Zazu
Voiced by Rowan Atkinson Why does this one just miss for me? And no mold cracks please. They eyes and body color are captured well. I would argue that the feet need to be an orange as opposed to yellow. Maybe he needs a neck piece? Maybe, like Cruella, he needs to be painted inside the body and not fill out the body? Maybe a profile would have worked better. Big question… Sam the Eagle like tail on back? |
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Rafiki
Voiced by Robert Guillaume Best figure in set hands down. Wow! Good job Disney artists. The accessory really puts him over the top. Great facial expression, coloring and placement of art. |
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Scar
Voiced by Jeremy Irons Very similar to Mufasa in style, they are brothers, but Scar of course has the more menacing and dark look to him. Again, his features are perfectly captured on the mold. Pairing a roaring Scar with a roaring Mufasa does make sense. |
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Shenzi
Voiced by Whoopi Goldberg One of Scar’s three henchmen hyenas. This one looks good. The tuft of hair on the head. The menacing smile. Nicely done. |
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Ed Banzai
Voiced by Cheech Marin One of Scar’s three henchmen hyenas. Thanks for all you comments changing my mind. I thought this was a total miss as ED, because I couldn’t believe they would put another Banzai in a set after Villains 1… but they did. I’ll say, this one looks better. |
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Mystery Chaser
What are your guesses? Sarabi? Timon in hula skirt? Ed? |
Packaging photos (darn you Disney for making me keep more empty boxes!!!):
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| Copyright Disney |
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| Copyright Disney |
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| Copyright Disney |
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| Copyright Disney |
Update: 8/11/11 Disney changed the blog to now say that all 2500 will be sold at the event. I had thought that 500 seemed a little too low! (Thanks Michael!)
The Disney Store will have a big set up at D23 this August and is also celebrating 25 years. In addition to a ton of other merchandise, they will be selling a special 3″ Vinylmation and pin set. But does it live up to its other D23 releases? Check it out.
Release Date: August 19 at D23 Expo
LE: 2500 (All 2500 now sold at Expo)
Retail: $26.95
Artist: Jim Valeri
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| Copyright Disney |
This figure doesn’t impress me much. It is all silver with an artist Mickey face drawn on the head. The pattern looks cool, but the lack of color or contrast turns me off.
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| Copyright Disney |
As you can see, the body is just an ad for the Disney Store. I’ll gobble up every napkin or coffee stir that says WDW 40th on it, but the 25th of the Disney Store doesn’t do it for me. Its a nice looking logo, but again, the overall figure is blah.
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| Copyright Disney |
But did I tell you it comes with a pin? For the prices of a 2 figure combo pack you can get a Disney Store 25th Vinylmation and Pin. At not even a low LE, therefore not much trade value, I think this a pass for this D23 Expo guest. How about you?
Update: 8/9/11 (now invalid as of 8/11/11)
Only 500 Disney Store 25th Vinyl/Pin sets at D23; 2000 online. Our new contributor Disney North found this update for us:
@countdowntoD23 tweeted today:
There will be 500 of the @DisneyStore 25th Vinylmation to purchase at #D23Expo. 2,000 more to be sold online to D23 members only
@DisneyStore confirmed
@disneynorth Yes, Disneystore.com will release the remaining 2,000 25th anniversary vinylmation. They will be sold to D23 members only.
The D23 Expo is an even that features celebrities, movie sneak peaks, what’s new at the Disney parks, the Disney Legends ceremony, trivia games, archive exhibits and much more. This years expo will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center from August 19-21. It is touted as “The Ultimate Disney Event”. I’ll tell you, I attended D23’s Destination D event celebrating 40 years of Walt Disney World and they put on an amazing show. This is a must do for any Disney fan. There were a ton of surprised, like when Richard Sherman performed “One Little Spark” with the original Dreamfinder and Figment up on stage.
But we are here talking about D23 on this site because of the Vinylmation that will be on hand. D23 announced their Dream Store merchandise that they will sell at the event and Vinylmation is a large part of it. Like The Florida Project and Trade City, there is an RSP (Random Selection Process) for the Vinylmation. I’m surprised by the selection D23 is getting. They will have 4 pieces, just like the Florida Project. I think most people, like myself, expected more out of the Florida Project’s selection. Here are all the detail on the D23 Expo 2011 Vinylmation:
Update: 8/11/11 All 2500 Disney Store 25th Vinylmation will be available at the EXPO. Previously, Disney said 2000 would be available online to D23 members. Thanks to Michael for this update: “Disney just posted on their Vinylmation blog that “Good news! Due to popular demand, all 2,500 figures will be released at the Expo!”. Not “good” news to everyone.
Update: 8/10/11 Disney announced that Vinylmation lead designer Thomas Scott and Disney Design Group Artist, Alex Maher will be signing for guests at D23. Thomas Scott designed the 3″ Gladstone Gander figure available at D23 (see below). Alex Maher is more noted for his pins, but designed the 5 figure 9″ Disneyland Attractions Poster Set. Here is a signing schedule:
Friday, August 19, 2011 – 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. at the Product Showcase and Trading Area
Saturday, August 20, 2011 – 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. at the Product Showcase and Trading Area
Sunday, August 21, 2011 – 12 Noon – 2:00 p.m. at the Product Showcase and Trading Area
Disney also released a new product shot of the D23 Logo figure (details below)
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| Copyright Disney |
This, and the Gladstone figure, will both be released in these Open Window boxes. So no tins… not event the tin replacement boxes that we see other special event Vinylmation come in.
Update: 8/9/11 D23 will have the release of the Jr. 4 It’s a Small World and the 3″ 12 figure Lion King series. There will also be a signing with Lion King Vinylmation artists at D23 on Sunday, August 21 at 10am.
There will also be an exclusive Disney Store 25th Anniversary 3″ Vinylmation:
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| 3″ Vinylmation and Pin set. LE 2500. $26.95 |
ALL 2500 WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE AT THE D23 EXPO.
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| 9″ Metal Steamboat Willie. LE 350. $44.50 |
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| Add 3″ Flocked Lotso. LE 500. $14.50 |
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3″ D23 Logo (RSP #18) Artist: Maria Clapsis $13.95 (LE 4800) limit 5 per customer This is an example of a front not being as exciting as the back. We have Pixie Dust outlining Mickey’s features. Not very unlike the idea on 2009’s D23 Vinylmation:  |
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The back side of this figure is great. It might be a little plain, but I’m biased. Sorcerer Mickey is only second to Little Green Men and Donald Duck as my favorite character. He is the logo of D23 and here he is peaking out the top. the D23 Expo logo graces the body. |
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3″ Davy Crocket (RSP #19) Artist: Casey Jones $13.95 (LE 1200) limit 2 per customer Looks like the King of the Wild Frontier will not only make an appearance as a 9″ Park 6. This sepia tone smaller version is great looking. I like the knife and shine of the belt buckle. And what a facial expression. |
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It’s the hat that really tops this figure off. Great job Casey at including the tail. I have been so looking forward to the 9″ Park 6, but I hope to also get this one into my collection.
Not much detail in the clothing, but I don’t think he needs it. The sepia color choice was also a nice way to separate this from his larger counterpart. |
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3″ Gladstone Gander (RSP #20) Artist: Thomas Scott $13.95 (LE 1200) limit 2 per customer A lesser known character for sure. And I’m just going to say it, we would expect no less from Thomas Scott. But that’s what makes him a great artist. Perfect place to release this figure… to a convention center full of Disney Geeks! Gladstone is Donald Duck’s cousin. Scott’s version looks to be from the comic strips, although Gladstone appeared in Duck Tails with some minor appearance changes.  |
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9″ Butch (RSP #21) Artist: Eric Caszatt $44.95 (LE 750) limit 1 per customer Butch first showed up in 1940 and mainly plays Pluto’s antagonist. Lately, he has popped up in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse as Pete’s dog. Great looking face on this one!  |
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9″ It All Started With a Mouse (RSP #71) Artist: Noah $595 (LE 23) You can not go wrong with a Noah Vinylmation. His paint jobs are top notch. Look at the finish on this one. I really would like to see it in person. It features the D23 Logo and Tink on the head, a dancing broom on body front, and a sorcerer hat with Mickey’s silhouette on the back. |
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As with most of Noah’s 9″ figures, this one comes on it’s own display stand with some Noah art work serving as the backdrop. This is what the artwork behind the Vinylmation looks like. |
Update: 8/11/11 Disney changed the LE on with webpage for Genie from 1200 to 1000.
Update: 8/9/11 Genie will be out via Disney Store Online on August 26. LE (now) 1000. $44.95
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| Copyright Disney |
Update: 5/3/11 The Disney Vinylmation blog announced today that Willie the Whale and Hyancith Hippo will be released on May 13! At Disneyland the release will happen at D-Street as usuall, but in Orlando, the release will be at the Art of Disney Store in Downtown Disney’s Marketplace. This is due to the big Pixar Cars event taking place that weekend on the West Side near D-Street. Huge weekend at WDW with this release, Cars at DTD, Pixar Days over at EPCOT, Flower and Garden Festival, and the Destination D: D23 event. Oh, and check out the newly built Disney Movie themed Lego creations by the new Lego store if you haven’t yet… they are amazing!
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| Click each photo to enlarge. | |
We have already seen the release of Beast and the Elliot and Pete 9/3 combo. Merlin and Bolt should be released in the Fall of 2011. No word on Genie.
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Willie The Whale “Make Mine Music” designed by Maria Clapsis  A colorful design on this cartoonish figure. |
| The best feature on this figure is the blow hole on the back. I like the shadow that gives the water a 3D spouting effect. The eyes on the side of the head are also very well drawn on the Vinylmation. |
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Bolt “Bolt” designed by Monty Maldovan  |
| Bolt’s coolest feature is the dog tag. It is a separate piece from the body hanging around the neck. |
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Hyancith Hippo “Fantasia” designed by Maria Clapsis  |
| On the Whale, we see a rare non-vinyl accessory. The fabric skirt that goes around this figure is a great and welcome touch. |
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Merlin “Sword in the Stone” designed by Maria Clapsis  They captured Merlin’s face perfectly and the beard is great. A wand is a noticeably missing accessory.
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| We like the sparkles that swirl around Merlin signifying the magical powers he possesses. |
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Photos of Vinylmation from Disney Vinylmation Blog
Photos of movie characters from Google image search
Ok, so I quoted Homer Simpson before Mr. Disney… but come on! That episode was hilarious.
The fifth and final Disneyland 55th Anniversary 9″ Attraction Poster figure will be out exclusively in Disneyland on Friday, August 26. The Monorail, like the DL posters before is designed by Alex Maher and is limited to only 550 pieces. It will retail for $44.95.
Lion King now joins the It’s a Small World Jr. 4 set as being confirmed to make it’s debut at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, CA later this month.
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| Mufasa. Photo copyright Disney |
Lion King will show up at D23 on the last day, Sunday, August 21. As rumored, there will also be an artist signing beginning at 10am that same day. Lion King will be a Disney Store exclusive and will officially hit shelves on August 29.
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| From Disney Vinylmation Blog |
Much speculation surrounded this previously unseen figure who helped make a Z of Vinylmation on a Disney Blog post earlier this week. Turns out he is just a Thomas Scott designed figure that will be part of a future Urban Series.
