What does a Dog, a Hippo, a Whale and a Wizard have in common?

If you answered, "they all showed up on a store shelf at the NYC Times Square Disney Store in Vinylmation form", you have amazing and scary powers... because you're right. Dabid's Blog reports they found some Merlins, Bolts, Willie the Whales, and Hyacinth the Hippos at the NYC Times Square Disney Store back on January 15th! Dabid has a review and some great pics of Bolt that you can see here: Dabid's Vinylmation Bolt Blog Post. The highlight for me has to be Bolt's dog tag. It's an accessory piece that hangs off Bolt's neck (see left). A few days later, Dabid posted some pics and a review of the 9" Merlin. Merlin's beard takes up much of the front of the vinyl and the back shows his robes and "magical sparkles" (see right). Dabid says these look fantastic up close. Disney has not officially announced a released date for these figures, but they seemed to pop up around the country and this is our first confirmation with photos that they are (or were on January 15th) on the store shelves at the Times Square Disney Store. We want to thank Dabid for his posts. You can easily get to his Vinylmation blog posts here: Dabid's Blog. If you find any breaking Vinylmation News or have Vinylmation posts on your blog you would like to share, please email us at DestinationVinylmation.com.

All photos from dabidsblog.wordpress.com.

A Tribute to the Pioneers of America

"Here we experience the story of our country's past...

the colorful drama of frontier America in the exciting days of the covered wagon and the stage coach, the advent of the railroad and the romantic riverboat. Frontierland is a tribute to the faith, courage and ingenuity of the pioneers who blazed the trails across America." - Walt Disney

On Friday, the 4th in a 5 piece 9" Vinylmation set depicting vintage Disneyland Attraction Posters will be released exclusively at Disneyland. The Frontierland Poster depicts three attractions that are no longer in operation at Disneyland.

First is the Stagecoach ride. Guests were able to sit on top or inside a stagecoach and take a ride through Frontierland in this opening day attraction. The theming was fantastic as guest were truly transported into a time and place long gone. The ride was short-lived, as it closed forever in 1959 to make way for construction of Nature's Wonderland. (thank you to www.yesterland.com for some great pictures)

In the middle of the poster is the Mine Train Ride. This attraction opened in 1956 as Rainbow Caverns Mine Train. After a change in Frontierland theming in 1959, this attraction became Mine Train Through Nature's Wonderland. This was a slow paced attraction through the wild frontier full of great scenery, animatronic animals, and puns... think Jungle Cruise on a train. The attraction closed in 1977 to make way for the faster paced Big Thunder Mountain.

On the bottom of the poster is the Mule Pack Ride. Real mules, simulated desert. This attraction stuck around until 1973.

As far as the Vinylmation itself, this design, although minor, shows more changes from poster to Vinylmation than any of the previous releases. These changes are due to the style of the original poster. The top is a straight forward copy of the Stage Coach Ride scene from the poster. On the back, artist Alex Maher had to use up what would be empty space... so he finished off the partial horse with the Indian you see in the poster below and added three extra horses onto the back. A great touch! Finishing off a scene with the extra canvas he had, that the poster's artist did not. The middle is a perfect depiction of the Mine Train Ride. I can't wait to see this one up close to check out the detail. (on the poster, one of the children is wearing a Mickey Ear Hat!) On the back, is an empty mine, which is not on the poster. Next, Alex had to move the position of the "Mine Train Ride" label to the bottom left of the scene, or else it would have ended up in the neck of the figure. That decision forced the "Mule Pack Ride" label to be moved to the back of the figure. The only design move I question is wrapping the Mule Pack scene around the side. This hides two of the mules from view and leaves some empty space on the front. Also, "Frontierland" was moved to the back instead of placing it in the feet on the front.

Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland and Adventureland will all be out as of Friday... we await the 5th and final piece to this Disneyland 55th Anniversary 9" set, The Monorail.

EPCOT Trading Locations

	Mouse Gears 1 Mystery 15 Trading Box 1 Clear Trading Box
	Camera Shop 1 Mystery 15 Trading Box 1 Clear Trading Box
	Guest Services 1 Mystery 24 Trading Box 1 Clear Trading Box
	Mission Space 1 Mystery 15 Trading Box 1 Clear Trading Box
	UK Pavilion 1 Mystery 15 Trading Box

Animal Kingdom Trading Locations

	The Outpost Shop (Located before gate, Park Ticket NOT needed) 1 Clear Trading Box
	Island Merchantile 1 Mystery 15 Trading Box 1 Clear Trading Box
	Disney Outfiters 1 Clear Trading Box
	Serka Zong Bazaar 1 Clear Trading Box
	Dino Institute 1 Mystery 24 Trading Box 1 Clear Trading Box

My first custom purchase

I finally got my Mickey in Carbonite from Evilos!!!!


It felt like forever while I was waiting, but it took less than two weeks to receive after I ordered it from his ebay site. It cost me $59.99 plus shipping and is a great addition to my collection. I got caught up in the fever over the Star Wars release, so I ordered it that day just so I could take this picture. It's a great piece of handiwork, although the filler between the vinyl and the outside case seems just a little less smooth then I thought it would be. Overall however, I think it's going to go nice next to my Han as a stormtrooper piece I made myself. (Unlike Evilos, who has talent, the customs I make are just putting other vinylmation's heads on bodies. lol) Also check out his Carbonite key chain and Tron customs.

Order from his ebay site.
Check out Evilos.com for more information about this great artist.

Also a big Thank You to lego.com for their free database of instructions. I was amazed at how fast and easy it was to find the pdf of the old kit I needed. Thanks!

What customs have you ordered? Would you order any? Discuss....

Ep. 008 Red Monorail

Ep. 008 Red Monorail This week we discuss the newly released Flags series. We also run down the upcoming releases such as WDW 40th Anniversary and Disneyland Attractions Posters, including the recently released Fantasyland. The show is topped off with a heated debate... Cards or No Cards?

Listen Now:

Standard Podcasts [59:36m]: Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

Podcast Debate- Cards or No Cards

Pro-Cards

"I think they provide a fun surface for artists to sign, if you don't want them signing your vinyls. I also think they provide some interesting insight into first drafts of some vinylmation (espeically the first series). I also think they are a convenient way to display your collection, without dragging ever vinylmation figure around with you." - M.C.

Con-Cards

"Get rid of the cards. I only keep them around because it's part of the set. But I don't go out of my way to make sure I get the card in a trade. And 90% of the time you don't get a card trading with a cast member at WDW. The cards hinder transactions among collectors and take up space on my shelf. If they provided true conceptual drawings and extra information, I'd agree with M.C., but I think differences are a result of the production line's failed attempt at depicting the artist's vision. I don't need a small picture of something I just bought." - Nick

What do you think? Are you sad they are leaving? Are you happy? Let us know in the comment section!

Ooops!

Not only did Disney include an upside down Mickey in Urban 1, but on the Vault page of the Official Disney Vinylmation website, they have mistakenly put pictures of the 9" Urban 5s where the Urban 1s should be.

So how do you like the changes to the Destination Vinylmation website? Anything you want to see? More changes and some useful features coming very soon, so keep checking back and follow us on Twitter @ VinylmationNews (news) and VinylmationCast (not news).

Dedicated to the young at heart

"Fantasyland is dedicated to the young at heart and to those who believe that when you wish upon a star, your dreams come true." - Walt Disney

Another wonderful depiction of a vintage Disneyland poster has been released in Vinylmation form. Fantasyland is the 3rd in a 5 figure 9" series released to celebrate Disneyland's 55th anniversary. 

360 view

Three attractions are depicted on this poster. First is the famous Dumbo Flying Elephants ride. This Dumbo ride appears in all 5 Disney Theme Parks around the world, but the original is in Disneyland and was an opening day attraction in 1955.

The attraction on the stomach is King Arthur's Carousel. Inspired by the Griffith Park carousel, Walt Disney wanted something similar for his new theme park. Therefore, a Dentzel park model carousel which had operated since 1932 at Sunnyside Amusement Park in Toronto, Ontario was purchased from Sunnyside and moved to Disneyland in 1954.

On the back, is the Mad Tea Party attraction. How fast do you like to spin your tea cup?

So far, the Disneyland vintage posters are well adapted to the 9" Vinylmation, but they all need minor tweaks to effectively use the space. In Fantasyland's case, artist Alex Maher turned the carousel to be directly under Dumbo. This minor change allows the carousel to take up the stomach and the Mad Tea Party to take up the back. If this change was not done, but attractions would end up in the armpits. And again, as with Adventureland, Alex chose to put the word "Fantasyland" on the back of the head instead of the front on the feet, where it would be if the poster was taken literally. One other notable difference is the absence of people in the tea cups on the Vinylmation. A great job was done depicting the children on Dumbo and the people walking around the carousel, so I wonder what the thought behind not putting people into the tea cups was.

Fantasyland is a Disneyland exclusive and is limited to 555 pieces. Tomorrowland and Adventureland have already been released and we look forward to the January 28th release of the Frontierland Poster Vinylmation.

Bacon!

While at D-Street this morning picking up my Flag Vinylmation set, I got a chance to snap a photo of the only Urban 9" we haven't seen yet. This I'm calling bacon. There is a LE of 600. Look for it soon.

No Driving Required

The 9" + 3" Urban 5 Car and Driver set will be released tomorrow, Friday, January 21st exclusively online at the Disney Store.

The 3" Driver looks great with a cartoonish smile, goggles and a racing jacket on with his car's number.

Here is a close up on the figures ear which depicts a windshield wiper.

This set will retail for $74.95.

Remember the other 9" Urban 5s that come out tomorrow too: Moon, Drippy, Hidden 28 and the Creatures 9" + 3" combo. Click here for our post with details and pictures of them all.

February 4th Releases

Today we found out a couple of Vinylmation that will be released in D-Street stores in Florida and California on February 4th.

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Disney is releasing the Holiday 2 9" Cupid.


Super cute. The little guy even has some 2 o'clock shadow on his cheeks. (Click photo to enlarge). I love that love is blind, and in one ear, he's broken-hearted!

Also being released that day, and some might say in time to get your lady for V-Day, is the Cutester 2 series. We haven't seen much from this series but this is what we have seen.


From the blog we've seen both of these pictures. The first is an interesting take on donuts. The second is a mushroom with a cute centipede underneath. I do like how they use the head for the mushroom.

At trade city, hidden in the back of the case, were these three kids dressed up (as animals?). Reminiscent of the Doll from Cutester 1, these guys are cute, but I'm not sure how I feel about them.

What do you think?

Villains afoot (well, in hand)

!!For more info check out Villains Explained!!

A fellow tweeter of ours got his hands on a set of Villains 1 and took some really nice pictures of them. Thanks so much @keithkrebs for these well shot photos!

Check out the whole cast up close and personal!

Some notes:
$9.95 price tag (12.95 in Canada)
Pete is the triplet.
Click on the final pic for a shot of the chaser.

Click on Mystery Chaser for a shot of the chaser.

All photos by @keithkrebs.