Spotlight On: Maria Clapsis artist of the Cutesters Too series

WDWNT on February 6, 2011

Maria Clapsis is the artist who designed the great looking Vinylmation Cutesters Too series. Recently, we asked her what her favorite piece from the set is.

“The 2 chasers are my faves. They’re based on art I did for my blog, so they’re special.
The Donut too. Hard to choose” – Maria Clapsis
Um, two chasers??? She then clarified that there is a variant to the chaser in Cutesters Too. So I checked out her blog at mclapsis.blogspot.com/ to search for her inspiration for the chasers.

****SPOILER ALERT****

Pictures of Cutesters Too chaser after the jump!

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Love it?

WDWNT on February 4, 2011

The Vinylmation 9″ Holiday 2 Cupid “Love is Blind” figure came out this morning. It is designed by Quynh Kimball and limited to just 450 figures. This piece, just in time for Valentine’s Day, retails for $48.95 and can be found at D-Street in both Orlando and California. There are also some available at the Disney Store online. Here is your first up close look.

Cupid has exceptional detail all around. The paint job is great and there are little details all around.
The detail in both the ears is remarkable. Instead of just painting them on, the artist added red glitter inside the hearts. This figure really sparkles.
The blindfold is raised with a glossy paint… giving the blindfold an almost ribbon-like quality to it.
The wings on the back and the quiver of arrows are also painted with great detail.
The back’s of the ears have a “To” and “From” where you can write your special someone’s name.
On the front, the buttons also have the same red glitter as the hearts on ears.
On the “Heartbroken” side, Cupid has names crossed off his arm.
The bottom is even done with some extra flare. Quynh signs his name with a “Q” in the shape of a heart and adds some hugs and kisses “XOXO”

What are your thoughts? Love it? or Hate it? Tell us.

Cutesters Too Explained

WDWNT on February 4, 2011

Update: 2/13/11 The Disney Store Online will be releasing this series on February 16th, 2011.

Update: 2/9/11 Cutesters Too will be sold at the online Disney Store starting February 16th. You can order both full cases, as well as individual boxes.

Update: 2/5/11 The artist, Maria Clapsis confirmed that there is a variant chaser. Picture posted below of variant chaser. There is a purple Variant to the yellow Bubble Bath figure. And now that we have the set in hand we are changing the name of Bear Kid to Squirrel Kid because Maria put an Acorn on the bottom.

We also wrote up a nice blog about Maria Clapsis, her favorite ones from this set, and included some of her artwork so you can see where the vinylmation draws its influence.

2/3/11- Cutesters Too were on display at D-Street Orlando today! We have only seen about 4 of them so far, so this is the world’s first look at most of these figures. Lots of great designs and some awesome accessories. The set releases tomorrow, 2/4/11, at D-Street in both Orlando and California.

***We have confirmation that D-Street Orlando will open at 8am! Great news for those of us who want our Vinylmation fix before work.

Enjoy these photos and then tell us your thoughts on Cutesters Too.

 Donut Hole

Nick called it. There’s a hole in the center. Now it’s more of a clear space in the vinyl then an actual hole, but it’s definitively a hole!

The sprinkles remind me of Homer Simpson.
Happy Lollipops

Lots of fun candy floating around a white dotted background. Does this one go with the kids who are in costumes and might be Trick or Treaters?
Real Wonderland

When Alice went to Wonderland, one of the first creatures she met was a Caterpillar sitting on a Mushroom. It’s like that, but if it were real life.
Jacks

This is a brilliant concept. The body is filled with Jacks. The right ear is the bouncing ball and the head is the clear air with lines showing how the ball is bouncing. Perfect!
Bubble Bath

At first I thought they were snowballs, but after a closer look, it’s obvious they are bubbles!

(There is a purple Variant to this figure)
Gifted

Check out the extra bow on top. Then check out the left ear to see who the gift is for.
I Want S’more

We love this one. It’s a S’more. (Graham cracker, Chocolate, and a melted Marshmellow on top) The S’more is the head, and the body is the fire you use to cook it, with the legs as the logs. I’m just not sure why the fire is so happy?
Yellow Raincoat

One of the two weather dressed kids. This one has on a yellow rain coat. In the ears you can see how much rain there is.
Tiger Kid

This kid is wearing a cute Tiger outfit. Grrrr.
Red Scarf

This gal is dressed up for the cold. Look at the snow falling above her head, and while your eyes are up there, check out the cute pompom. This is the officially the first non-vinyl accessory. (The skirt on the Animated 1 9″ Hippo doesn’t count, cause it’s only in the Disney Store NYC and probably a mistake)
Squirrel Kid

This kid is dressed up like a bear squirrel, ready to get all those Happy Lollipops. I like the zipper on his belly.
Did anyone see Brita’s outfit from the first season Halloween episode of Community?
Chaser

No idea, and no real way to guess. The original Cutester’s chaser was the great Cinderella Castle with Jewels. We’ll find out tomorrow what this one is.

Update: 2/4/11 We added a picture of the chaser, just click. Also we know there is a variant of the chaser, or a “Super Chaser”. Check back for more details when we get it.

Update: 2/5/11 Variant Chaser pic below.
Variant Chaser

Click the mystery Vinylmation for a pic of the variant chaser.

Both the normal and Variant chasers are based off some 2009 drawings on Maria Clapsis’s blog. They are a little big more than just a color variant.

Think you knew about all the Vinylmation out there? Keep Dreaming…

WDWNT on February 3, 2011

Disney says the best kept secret is their vacation club, I’m beginning to think it’s Vinylmation. We knew about the 9″ Disney Dream figure, the Captain Donald 3 figure set (first pics of the Jr are later in this post!) and the Donald Aqua Duck. But it looks like cruisers on the Disney Dream’s Maiden Voyage were also treated to this:

Please welcome the Disney Dream Day and Night 3″ + Jr. Combo LE 1000
Both 3″ Vinylmation depict the Disney Dream cruise ship sailing the open waters. One has a daytime scene with rays of light and the other has a night time scene with a starry sky. Also included is a Jr figure.
We do not have a picture of the actual Vinylmation at this time. But you can see it has an anchor on it.
Disney Dream Day and Night set box back
Disney Dream Day and Night set box bottom
This set is only available aboard the Disney Dream Cruise Ship at an edition size of 1000 and retails for $24.95. I want to thank eBay seller cwd7761741b for these pictures.
As promised, here are the first pictures of the Jr figure that come with the Captain Donald 3″ + Jr combo set designed by Lisa Badeen. This set is also limited to 1000 and retails for $24.95.
The Jr says Disney Dream 2011 against a night sky.
Here is a close up.
Box Bottom
A thank you to eBay sellers addicted2e and joe4jen for these pictures.
And how about a first look at the packaging for the 9″ Disney Dream figure? This one is designed by Dan Howard, limited to 750 and retails for $44.95.
The boxes have a nice Inaugural Voyage logo
Thanks to ebay seller cwd7761741b for these as well.
And of course, the Donald Aqua Duck figure. No confirmation on it’s release yet… but here is Disney’s concept art:
Check back often as we hope to receive some higher quality pictures of these cruise exclusives.

Feb 11th Releases

WDWNT on February 3, 2011

Well it’s been a long time since we’ve gotten any info from Disney, but late last night the Events page informed us of a lot of new things, coming in just 8 days!

First off: Everyone in California, once again the WDW 40th Anniversary will be delayed another week. That means that this Friday (the 4th) California D-Street will only be releasing Cutesters Too and the Holiday 2 9″ Cupid. On the 11th they will be getting the WDW 40th Anniversary.

And now the big news!

On February the 11th both coasts will be releasing three things.


First, the Animation Combo Pack with the Simba Topper. We got teased earlier this year with the back of Simba (which has a tail) and now he’s here. (Although usually the Combo packs come out only 7 days after the set, so this has been a long wait.)


Second, the Urban 5 9″ Orange Gear Bear will be released that day. This is the first 9″ gear bear, I wonder how it will sell. This bear was designed by Maria Clapsis (not Dan Howard who usually designs the gear bears) and is LE of 600.

And third, the Urban 5 9″ Bacon will also be released. This vinylmation is by Thomas Scott and is a limited edition of 600. Who’s got eggs?

Stormtrooper of the Week #01

WDWNT on February 2, 2011

We’d like to introduce a new segment here at Destination Vinylmation. We like to call it, “Stormtrooper of the Week”. Each week on Wednesday we’ll debut a new stormtrooper that they left out of the Star Wars 1 series. (Basically it’s an excuse to break apart our vinylmation and try out different combinations.)

This week, it’s Leia the stormtrooper. Check her out with the crew of the Death Star. (That braid must hurt when she has to put the helmet on!)

Vinylmation Custom Artist Spotlight: Celeste V

WDWNT on February 2, 2011

Celeste V created the Adam Lambert custom Vinylmation figure we talked about yesterday. This figure is up for auction on eBay with 100% of the proceeds going to charity. Hurry, the auction ends on February 2nd at 3pm Pacific time. Visit the auction site here. Today, we had the chance to ask Celeste about her work.

Destination Vinylmation: How long have you been creating custom Vinylmation?

Celeste: Vinylmations specifically, about 6 months or so. I started originally with dunny’s and mighty muggs before vm came (more like overtook) into my life lol.

DV: How many pieces have you created?

Celeste: To be honost I’m not sure myself, if I had to guess,about 45-50.

 DV: What’s your favorite piece?

Celeste: I love every piece I created so far, each one has a story of how and why it was created. Every custom made is always a new challenge and I try to incorporate and add new techniques to each one to give it a personal touch. But if I really had to choose it would be probably be my first custom of Edward Scissorhands. I worked on it for a really long time and tried to create something that would stand out above the crowd. It was fustrating at first, new and different for me and I wanted to give up so many times, but when I finally finished I felt accomplished.

DV: Do you collect the Vinylmation created by Disney artists?

Celeste: Of course! I am a vinylmationholic lol. I have to have them all. I actually just picked up a case of Villains on Monday. Love the villains series.

DV: What is your favorite Vinylmation figure?

Celeste: Wow! I have so many favorites, but I really like the Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Day figure from Trade City). It’s beautifully done… simple yet elegant.

DV: How did you come up with the idea of an Adam Lambert piece?

Celeste: Funny story… I wanted to make him a while ago. I have been a long time fan ever since the Idol days and been to a few concerts. Around the end of 2010 a friend of mine told me about Adam’s charity, mycharity:water and asked if I could try to create him and donate the proceeds. I thought “why not” it was for a great cause and I wanted to see if I could make him. Also Adam’s b-day was jan 29 so it was  perfect timing.

 DV: Can you describe this figure? The inspiration. And what detail went into it.

Celeste: It is a 9″ figure. He is fully painted with artist grade acrylic with a bit of oil paint. I chose to go with a outfit from his music video “If I Had You” The outfit was something out of the ordinary from his already glamourous look. Part of his outfit has glitter paint to portray a silver metallic look. He has gloves fashioned out of real leather and of course black fingernails. The top hat is fashioned out of a foam like board with added suede, a feather and stones that line around the hat. I tried as close as I could to find a neck piece that fits the same look from the video. The hair is braided and dyed with different colors from thick yarn.

DV: What is your favorite aspect of the Adam Lambert figure?

Celeste: I don’t have any one favorite specific thing. I usually look at the whole piece and try to see if It all fits together and have balance.

DV: What was the hardest part in creating this figure?

Celeste: The eyes. It’s difficult to come up with a certain “look” of a real life person. For me personally the eyes are always difficult to transfer to any media form. I must of tried about five different eye expressions and shades on the eyes to get it correct. But all and all I was satisfied with it.

DV: Can you tell us about this charity and why it was chosen?

Celeste: Most of us take clean water for granted and unfortunatly over a billion people all around the world don’t have access to clean water. Charity:water is a non-profit orginization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. I chose this charity not just because of Adam, but because I’ve been to some of these countries and have seen first hand how not having the basics and essentials of life such as clean water can greatly affect their daily lives and overall health. You can learn more about their vision and mission at charitywater.org

DV: Do you plan on more charity auctions in the future?

Celeste: I have done one other charity auction so far and if this goes well I will probably will hold more charity auctions. Any charity auctions held big or small are always worth the effort.

DV: Where can people go to find out more about your pieces and see your work?

Celeste: I do have a blogsite I recentlly made,you can find me there
Adam’s page for donations is here.

 If you would like to place a bid, or find more information, the eBay auction (and more photos) for this 9″ custom piece can be found here.

American Vidol!

WDWNT on February 1, 2011

We were following the twitters out there, and stumbled upon an interesting tweet that mentioned a custom 9 inch vinylmation and an eBay sale for charity. We were, of course, interested.

It turns out that a custom vinylmation artist named Celeste, made and offered up for auction a vinylmation representing Adam Lambert. The piece is an amazing combination of paint and other mixed media, from the hat on his head to the braids down his back.

The piece is being auctioned as part of Adam’s 29th Birthday Wish. He has asked his fans to donate to the mycharity:water in hopes of raising $290,000 for under developed towns that don’t have clean, pure water to drink or clean with.

The auction will be ending really soon, February 2nd at 3pm PST, so get your bids in soon!

We have seen some other customs that Celeste has made, and we will definitively be discussing more in the future.

Adam’s page for donations is here.
The eBay auction (and more photos) for this 9″ custom piece is here.
Celeste’s vinylmation customs are found here.

Ep. 009 SMRT-1

WDWNT on February 1, 2011

Ep. 009 SMRT-1
On today’s episode we talk about and review the Villains series, the WDW 40th Anniversary, and take a look forward to the Cutesters Too series.
Listen Now:
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