Vinylmation – Page 59 – WDWNT Archive

Star Wars Vinylmation: The Adventure Continues…

WDWNT on July 6, 2011

Very exciting news for Star Wars fans this week on Vinylnation.net. Star Wars 2, an Open Window Set, and possibly some new figures as early as this Fall. First off, when asked if Rex, the droid from Star Tours, will be included in Star Wars Series 2, Donald Ferro, Vinylmation Project Manager, said “We’ll be very pleased around the time of the Florida Project.”

Rex – Star Tours. Copyright StarWars.com

Will we see some Star Tours Vinylmation? Or, in my opinion, better yet a series of Disney Robots? I still think it’s a great idea to put out a Disney Robots set. There are plenty to fill in a set, Also, I would like to get an alternate version of Wall-E that’s at an accessible price point. Remember this EPCOT banner that we first saw on Vinylmation Kingdom?

Wall-E on new mold

I went and checked that out in person the other day. Had to see the Robots and Spaced themed vinyl for myself. On this banner are never before seen Vinylmation (Figment in Space Suit), as well as previously released Vinylmation on the new mold (C-3PO, Tron, Boba Fett).

Vincent from Disney’s “Black Hole”

Next, Star Wars Series 2. No word on characters, but they are planning a 2011 release for this 12 figure Mystery Box set. Will series 2 be focused on secondary characters? Or will some of the main characters make appearances with different clothing?

Now, how about the open window Star Wars Vinylmation? This is different from Series 2 and Donald Ferro said he is “confident” of a Summer 2011 release. Possibly before Celebration VI (the Star Wars fan fest held in Orlando August 23-26 2011). So what will be in these? I have two thoughts:

1. Clone Wars Vinylmation

I for one really enjoy this animated series. I just watched much of the Clone Wars marathon on Cartoon Network on the 4th of July. I’m a fan of the style of characters and the universe has great characters. Not to mention that Disney has been heavily pushing the Clone Wars series. At Star Wars Weekend the past two years, Clone Wars heavily influenced the characters, merchandise, guest appearances, and signage. Also, Series 5 of Disney’s line of toys that feature Disney Characters as Star Wars characters will be Clone Wars themed.

Display at Star Wars Weekends 2011

This set is due out this Fall. I really like these figures and have been collecting them since series 1 a few years back. And these characters lead me nicely into…

2. Disney Characters as Star Wars Characters Vinylmation

I would be a big fan of these too. As I said, I already collect the action figures they make in this series.

Small part of my collection

It’s a combo of two of my favorite things, and issuing these as open window makes a lot of sense. Remember, Open Window doesn’t have to be 12 figures. They can do 6 or 8. So, those are my ideas for the Open Window… what do you think?

One last thing… More Star Wars Series 1 will hit shelves this Summer or Fall. Donald said they planned for it to be around for a year or so like many of the series, but demand far outpaced production. They decided not to up the rate of production, hence the periods of no Star Wars cases in D-Street.

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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Vinylmation For a Cause

WDWNT on July 3, 2011

Update: The vinyl sold for $500.00!!! Congrats to Don, Evilos, and everyone who bid!

Christopher Avalos (aka Evilos) has donated a custom 9 inch Winnie the Pooh Vinylmation to help raise funds for Charlie Greenman, a little boy who will be 11 months old tomorrow. About 12 hours after Charlie was born he began having seizures and an MRI revealed that he had suffered an in-utero stroke affecting the right side of his brain. Charlie will be having surgery on August 1, 2011 and to help with the cost of the surgery, as well as future treatments, a few friends of Charlie’s parents have started an auction on facebook. Please go to the page Help Charlie Heal and bid on this item as well as other wonderful items donated by friends and family. The auction will end tonight, July 3rd, at 11:59pm CST. To read more about Charlie visit http://www.charliesfund.blogspot.com/

“I’m thankful I could use my artistic abilities to help Charlie in this time of need, It shows you that Vinylmation can be used to help others also, not just for collecting or turning a profit. Last year I donated some customs to the Vinylmation & Pin Expo in Florida which helped raise $1200 for a local childrens charity. I have two small children of my own, so I can understand how painful this must be to have a child that is sick or hurt. As an artist, I would like my own legacy to be how many positive things ive done for others using my talents, I think thats my true calling for being here and I thank everyone for the support”

Christopher Avalos

Pirates Vinylmation Invade the Magic Kingdom

WDWNT on July 3, 2011

It was a beautiful summer day at the Magic Kingdom… until the Pirates attacked! Luckily, I was there and armed with my camera. The first 12 are taken at the POTC attraction, but then, having been out to sea a very long time, they decided to check out the rest of the park. And these pictures here are just the start. As always, there are variant pictures and more on our Facebook Page.

For some reason, Jack Sparrow thought this a good place to hide

Pirates Release and Casey Jones Signing

WDWNT on July 1, 2011

Today was release day for Pirates of the Caribbean Vinylmation in Orlando and California. At D-Street in Florida, it was also a special release party with artist Casey Jones.

Casey signed POTC figures for fans

The weather was bad, but the line still long to see Casey Jones. This picture was taken just before 1pm. The line curled around posts and Disney had umbrellas up to keep out the rain.

Disney had a Pirate Band entertain the audience

When the weather turned nasty, we crowded inside D-Street

POTC cut outs decorated the store

Casey Jones inside signing

POTC artist Casey Jones

Jack looks on as Casey signs another

Noah’s Pirate. Wristbands were handed out earlier in the day for the Limited Editions.

Robert Lee designed one-of-a-kind Pirate

Disney said the one-of-a-kinds sold well. Only a few left standing at the 1pm signing.

Did you brave the weather to meet Casey or grab an LE Pirate? Let us hear your experience from today.

Next Wave of Villains to Invade Disney Stores in Fall

WDWNT on July 1, 2011

Photo from FanPop.com

According to reports by both the Playwright in NYC and Stitch’s Kingdom, Disney Villains Series 2 is on track to hit Disney Stores this Fall. Stitch’s Kingdom also reports 3 figures from the set:

Shere Kahn

The Jungle Book

He is one of my favorite Villains. With Kaa in Series 1, I’d be excited to have Shere Kahn in the follow up. Of course we need to have a tail, but will we see accessory whiskers soon?

Evil Queen

Snow White

Disney gave us the old women version in Series 1, this version could be an all time favorite if design well. One of Disney’s most iconic Villains needs to be handled with care. A crown accessory on top, would be magnificent.

Runaway Brain Mickey

Runaway Brain

Ya, this is the rumor. We are not sure why Disney would repeat a character like this. We will see if this holds true.

Those are what we hear is in the set… What do you want to see? Here are a couple of my wants for Series 2.

Hades

Hercules

Oh, they can design an amazing Hades. Lot of character in this bad guy.

Charles Muntz

Up

Maybe I’m just clamoring for Up characters, but Charles was a mean baddie and deserves his due in this set. They can even do a young/old variant.

Bowler Hat Guy

Meet The Robinsons

Disney, if you don’t give me some Meet the Robinson characters soon I’m going to explode! Here is the perfect start… a Bowler Hat Guy in the Villains series.

Vinylmation are working on their roar!

WDWNT on June 30, 2011

Today Disney announced that their will be a vinylmation Lion King set. In an unprecedented announcement, Disney told us not only that the Lion King set will be a 12 piece blind box set, but that it will be a Disney Store Exclusive and it will be released on August 29nd 2011! They also emphasized Mufasa!

There are plenty of characters, but they have already done a young Simba (he was the combo topper from Animation 1) and Banzai (from Villains 1). Who would you like to be in the set? Rafiki? ect….

Also, would you feel obligated to go out and find the Young Simba and Banzai to add to your Lion King set?? WOuld you want a second one of each to you could display them with the original sets and the Lion King set at the same time? (That’s what I do with the Little Green Men from Park 2!!)
Let us know…

The Lion King Logo pic is from vinylmation.com

A Tale of Two Cities

WDWNT on June 29, 2011

This past weekend saw the release of some city specific Vinylmation, one on each coast. The similarities end there however as the New York release was by all accounts a smooth affair. However, the San Francisco release left some unhappy costumers wondering why there were not enough Vinylmation to handle the demand. If you missed it on our podcast, Episode 027, we aired some of your comments about the SF store situation. But first, the Playwright sent in some pictures of the new NYC exclusive 3″ Hey Taxi.

The colors on this figure, like its 9″ counterpart, really pop!

On the back, you can see Mickey looking out at the city.

Of course, the 3″ comes in the beloved tins! Nice detail inside.

Artist card is included.

NYC has already seen it’s share of exclusives. Take a look here for our review last fall of the 9″ Hey Taxi with close ups of all the detail it has to offer.

San Francisco was all a buzz this weekend with the release of it’s first two exclusive vinyls. The first was a 9″ Golden Gate Bridge with an LE of 1540.

The second figure was a 3″ SF Trolly in a tin. This figure is not Limited Edition.

People lined up as early as about 1am outside a store that would open that Sunday at 11am. There was much excitement for these figures, but unfortunately not everyone would walk away with figures. Here are a few reports from listeners that were at the SF store

Cynthia, who also reported on the Sci-Fi Trading academy on the podcast, gave her report:

“My roommate got to the store at 2 am and was 5th in line. I was sixth – by the time the manager came out to talk to us about 10:00 am the line was at least 100 people long. The manager came down the line with two other cast members. One of them stamped our hand, and with a pen wrote our place # on our hand by the stamp. They had 98 of the 9″ and 184 of the 3″. The limits were two 9″ per person and five 3″ per person. They asked us how many we were going to buy and kept count so they would know when they were going to run out. They let us in to the store about 10:30 am and let us start buying instead of waiting to open at 11 am. So my roommate and I were done by 10:35. Lots of people drove up from LA.”

Marcia wrote:

“I wanted to express my complaint and bad experience I received today. I woke up extra early to be in line by 6:00 am to get my hands on the San Francisco exclusive Vinylmation but to find out that the Disney Store did not receive their full shipment and only the people at the top of the line were going to get the Vinylmations. We should of gotten some kind of voucher so that way when we return at least there would some kind of acknowledgement that we were present on the day it was released.”

Nick J Called in with his report:

“It was pretty much a mess. They said for the 9″, which are LE 1540, the store only had 100 in stock and there are probably over 200 people in line. The Cast Members did not know how many 3″ they had, but they sold out of those as well. They said they will have more, but don’t know when.”

With Vinylmation at such heights in popularity, it is odd to me that they didn’t have a hefty stock of the SF exclusive Vinylmation in hand on release day. Were you there? Did you get your hands on one? What do you think of the SF designs?

Pirates make your wallet walk the gang plank on July 1st

WDWNT on June 29, 2011

There’s been a lot of new recently about the Pirates Party on July 1st at WDW for the release of the Pirates of the Caribbean 3″ series. (The set also comes out the same day in California, but with less pomp and circumstance.)

The party starts at 10:30 AM (when the store opens) this Friday. The new 12 figure blind box series will be on sale then, for $12.95 (according to Claudia who called Disney). That series is by Casey Jones.

Also available that day will be several one of a kind Pirates themed custom vinylmations that will be sold separately. (Similar to the idea of the ones they released on CA a little bit back.) Wristbands will be handed out for these special customs. Each band is limited to purchasing only ONE custom, and all are first come first serve. (At the moment we don’t have the prices of any of these officially, but I would suspect that the NOAH ones are $595.)

Here are the ones that Disney has announced…

First up, this vinyl by new artist Gary Ham. We didn’t know who these was, but after checking out his blog at haminals.blogspot.com we really like the way this guys thinks. (Especially the Superman reference) His vinylmation is right on par with the rest of his artwork. Disney spoke to him and he explained his thoguht process for this piece, “The inspiration behind the figure was to tell a story of pirate voyage and all that they encounter while in search of treasure.” The hat is interesting, as it is removable, but also fits over one ear instead of between them. I think the design looks pretty cool, but like most of this set I’m sure the price is a little out of my range. (Plus, and I hope this is on purpose, I enjoy that his name is Ham and the piece is pink!)

Another new artist to Vinylmationis Robert Lee from methanestudios.com. Check out his pirate variation. I love the M-I-C-K-E-Y on the pirate’s knuckles, and the Mickey Ears on the skull and cross bones on his ear. I’d love this one as a 3″ for like $25!

Jeff Lamm’s piece is up next. Also a newbie to Vinylmation, Jeff’s work usually focuses on Godzilla like monsters. Check out one of the many places to find his artwork, greasebat.com. He says that he likes to create “messed up junk, heavily influences by Japanese monster toys, Ed Roth, pop art, and vintage manga. His piece is pretty straight forward. A skeleton and some jewels, although I’m not sure if the skeleton has eaten the jewels or if they are just in a pile in front of him. Jeff told Disney, “This figure was a fun piece to make. My inspiration came from the ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ model kits made back in the 70’s. I always loved the action of those kits. I liked the idea of skeletal pirates defending their treasure.” I really like the jewel in the right ear, reminds me of the rupees from Zelda. (I’m playing the 3DS remake of Ocarina of Time right now).

Up next, two from seasoned vinylmation artist Adrianne Draude:

Two great things about this piece. One, it kinda looks like this pirate has joined a 1970’s biker gang with all the black leather it seems to be wearing. Two, if you purchase this one, you’ll get that extra fancy chest for your booty! (I wonder if the vinylmation fits inside.) A great figure, and it looks like Adrianne did a lot of work adding 3 dimensional elements to this piece. Gotta love the gold tooth!
The other piece from Adrianne also comes with something special. That really cool box you see there, and it even has a hinged door. I’m pretty sure this means that this piece fits inside the box. The piece isn’t 3D like the previous piece, but the artwork is really cool!

The final piece (well actually pieces) are by NOAH. (If you don’t know he’s the guy behind those custom Disney endorsed TRON figures, as well the some Little Mermaid customs.) According to Disney, there will be six similar figures offered. We are guessing (based on historical records) that these pieces will go for about $595.00. Each piece will also (like always) come with a cool stand which also has another piece of NOAH work. A little darker and scarier then the other pieces, this piece is actually a little simple in comparison to the other pieces. (Of course that might just be the lighting in this picture.) Although, I do have to say, that skull is really really creepy!

What do you think of all these pieces? Which do you like the most? Is anyone in our audience lucky enough to be able afford and thus is looking to purchase one of these?

Episode 027 The Little Mermaid

WDWNT on June 28, 2011

Ep. 027 The Little Mermaid

A great release day at D-Street was the highlight of this show. Up, Alien Encounter, and Sam the Eagle all scored big review points. We talked with Cynthia, a DV fan and Bay Area resident who went to the Sci-Fi Trading Acadamy and the SF exclusive release. As always, we have the latest news and release dates. And we answer your questions and take your comments in the Mystery Mail Bag.