The event was good, there weren't as many people there as I expected, having never been to a Disney Store Vinylmation event. The only other event I've been to was the Thomas Scott Alice signing at D-Street in Disneyland, and it seemed more crowded. Not complaining about this at all, it was pretty well organized and everyone was extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and if they didn't know something they would go find out and report back, which I thought was nice. I got to meet Zoe, so it was nice to finally meet her! And all the artists were great, it was really nice to meet them all and they gave everyone ample time to chat (perhaps TOO ample in some cases) but everyone seemed pretty happy with that aspect.What we (and I say we because I chatted with several other collectors who felt the same way) were upset about, as I'm sure anyone reading this article has been hearing throughout the day, was the production quality of Furry Friends. It is atrocious. Honestly, I hate to say it, but they felt more like Happy Meal toys than Vinylmation. The printing was sloppy, the colors were bleeding, and they were just plain filthy. Some look actually gross.
Marie looks like she threw up on herself. Poor Marie!
Oliver is my favorite (look at those eyes!) but not much care went into his printing process. You can actually see the collar through the tag.
What's the point of the clear ears if they look like this? Just plain sloppy!
Look at Max's feet! No comment.
You can't see it very well in this photo (sorry!) , but there is a FINGERPRINT on Pegasus's tail.
The wings come right off. Not secured in any real way, also very flimsy. You can see the finish is different on Pegasus' feet than on the rest of his body, which I can't say anything other than it just looks unfinished. Those smudges/ scratches came right out of the package!
Even the chaser looks terrible. The paint is poorly printed, and the edges aren't smooth at all. I fear the value of this chaser will be diminished by the poor quality.Not all was bad, though. The event was fun and the artists were happy to be there. With Jim Valeri:
Everyone was happy to sign my packaging:
And let's not forget the donation to ASPCA, which is a silver lining in all this, I suppose.
All in all, you all already know how I felt about Furry Friends (I ended up caving and getting a case, since I'll be painting over most of mine anyway... also the case was purchased before I saw the quality. No exchanges or refunds!). The designs are great, but I'm not very satisfied with the quality control. I sincerely hope someone over there sees this and figures out the problem and makes sure this doesn't happen again. On a positive note, the design of the packaging is ADORABLE. Each box looks like a little carrying case you'd take a pet home in!
Also, no more than thirty seconds had I been home, and Mulder immediately claimed my case as his own. So Furry Friends is clearly adored by our own furry friends. :-)
Did anyone else go out to the event? Please share your thoughts and photos, if possible. I'm also curious to hear from others around the country to see if maybe this store just got a bad batch. Hopefully others will be more more lucky.-Annemarie
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