Episode 166 Zombie School Girl

Ep. 166 Zombie School Girl This week Nick and Brendt review the Haunted Mansion Mickey & Friends and talk about the news of the week. We also discuss the Imagination Gala... running down the event itinerary, reviewing the RSP selections and giving our predictions of what will happen at this year's event.

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Spotlight On: JChad's Latest Monorail Custom

It is your chance to pick up a custom made-to-order Vinylmation by JChad. Just in time for Haunted Mansion's 45th anniversary, JChad has put a haunting twist on his popular Monorail 9" customs. Here he is, in his own words:

"I was inspired by the original poster for the attraction and have the ghosts successful at hitching a ride on the monorail. I did do the Walt Disney World version monorail, its the best of both worlds.  The tombstone on the back was left blank for the lucky owner to come up with something and I filled it in, for it is never too early to choose a tombstone."

"Hope you enjoy and thank you to all those who have supported my work." - JChad

Requests for customs are being taken through his website:
http://jchad1000.wix.com/jchad82

Episode 164 Spaghetti and Meatballs

Ep. 164 Spaghetti and Meatballs This week Nick and Brendt have a lot to talk about. SD ComicCon brought about the release of new Disney Pixar Villains and the news of more to come. Duffy and Sleeping Beauty blind boxes were released and Animation 5, Haunted Mansion 45th and Halloween Vinylmation were previewed.

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Episode 151 MuppetVision 3D

Ep. 151 MuppetVision 3D This week we talk about the previews of Haunted Mansion 45th, Park Starz 3, Star Wars and Popcorns 3. We debate the idea of Mystery Popcorns. And have a ton of info on Blank: A Vinylmation Love Story.

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A Goofy Haunted Mansion 45th Figure Revealed

The Disney Vinylmation Facebook page posted a few product preview shots this week. In August, a merchandise event celebrating the 45th anniversary of Disneyland's Haunted Mansion will be held and an exciting Vinylmation series will be a part of the event. It is a Reveal/Conceal set called Haunted Mansion Mickey & Friends. No word on what figure or figures will be the reveals, but we did get a look at a third figure from the set.

Goofy as the graveyard caretaker! He is my favorite character in the Haunted Mansion, so I could not be happier they went this way with the set. Our only reveals until now were Mickey and Minnie, both dressed in Cast Member costumes. Wonderful vinyls in their own right, but made me believe the entire set would be characters in the CM costumes. This is a much better direction and makes me even more excited to see who else we get. Also makes me speculate that both the CM costume Mickey and Minnie will be the revealed vinyls. If that is the case, a much better route than a single revealed figure like Topiary.

Read more about the Haunted Mansion 45th event and this set here.

Episode 145 America on Parade

Ep. 145 America on Parade This week we review the Park 13 Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror LE box sets. We preview the upcoming Indiana Jones series. We have news about Valentine's Day, Aladdin and Disney Store figures. And we have an interview with Disney Design Group artist Maria Clapsis.

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Haunted Mansion Stretching Room Combo Turnaround Photos

The Park Limited Edition combo sets are really impressing me. I can not wait for the Tower of Terror blind box set or this, the Haunted Mansion Stretching Room four 3" figure combo pack.

This set was designed by Ron Cohee and will be released on December 20th at both D-Streets and Online. The price is $59.95 for an LE size 2,000 combo.

RoE: Park 13 Haunted Mansion Stretching Room Combo

Haunted Mansion Stretching Room
LE from Park 13
LE 2000
12/20
$59.95

Update: Back of figures and HQ photos added.

Figures based on the Haunted Mansion Stretching room. I hope there's something special that shows the rest of each painting (as seen below). What do you think they could do?

Vinylmation Prognostication: Disney Parks Ride Vehicles

Welcome to another installment of Vinylmation Prognostication! In this column I will be brainstorming “blue sky” ideas of what I would like to see future Vinylmation series to feature. I will examining the potential futures of current Vinylmation series as well as thinking up new series that I (and maybe other Disney fans!) would like to see be released. Since I have no idea what new series will be coming up this will be a fun way to dream up our wish lists so to speak. So, feel free to voice your thoughts on if you agree or disagree with my choices at the end of the article. With that being said let the prognostication begin!

In today’s column I will be creating another brand new series! This time I will go outside the traditional Mickey Mouse shaped platform to create a series devoted to Disney Parks ride vehicles. Taking inspiration from the Park Starz series, the figures in this set will be shaped like the actual ride vehicles you would find at the various Disney theme parks. The size of the Vinylmation figures would be comparable to the size of the Park Starz figures. So, that gives you an idea of what this series is all about. Let’s explore the actual designs that I envision for Vinylmation Disney Parks Ride Vehicles!

1. Doom Buggy, Haunted Mansion

Photo from doombuggies.com

I am going to kick-off this series with the iconic doom buggy from the Haunted Mansion which can be found in several of the Disney Theme parks around the globe. What Disney fan wouldn't want their own mini doom buggy? In fact, there is always "room for one more” Vinylmation in anyone’s collection!

2. Train Car, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

For this vinyl I envision the front of the train from the attraction with one car attached. The car being the place where the guests are seated when riding. I think this design could be really interesting depending on how many of the little details could be transferred on to the figure. Trains have been use on the Mickey platform before, but to see an actual BTM train in vinyl form would be awesome!

3. Log, Splash Mountain

Photo from wdwradio.com

From Big Thunder to Splash Mountain, here we have the hollowed out log that transports you through the adventures of Brer Rabbit and whisks you down into the Briar Patch. This would be a great tribute to a ride woefully lacking in Vinylmation representation. (despite my first column on the subject!)

4. Boat, Pirates of the Caribbean

Photo from attractionsmagazine.com

As I continue to hit the classic Disney attractions, we have another Disney water ride vehicle. There is nothing too unique about the actual design of the boat in real life, however due too the popularity of Pirates I will include it in this series. A simple design, but one that holds a lot of great memories to people all over the world.

5. Space Shuttle, Space Mountain

Photo from mouseplanet.com

Representing another mountain, I will have this design be modeled after the Disney World version of the ride. I enjoy the sleek design of the WDW version the best. This is also an opportunity to have a variant of a design of the Disneyland version of the vehicle!

6. Bobsled, The Matterhorn

Photo from mouseinfo.com

Representing one of my favorite Disneyland attractions, I will include a Matterhorn bobsled in this set. Since the bobsleds were recently redesigned, I will have the figure be modeled on the new bobsleds currently being used at the park. However, here is another chance to include a variant of the old bobsled design!

7. Caterpillar, Alice‘s Adventures in Wonderland

Photo from flickriver.com

Sticking with another Disneyland attraction, I would next include the large caterpillar that is the ride vehicle for the Alice in Wonderland ride in Fantasyland. Now these caterpillars come in various colors so here is another opportunity for color variants. I would have the main figure be the green caterpillar.

8. Motorcar, Mr. Toad‘s Wild Ride

Here would be by ultimate Disney ride vehicle Vinylmation! While the ride vehicle is still in use at Disneyland, for WDW fans this would be a memento from a beloved lost attraction. Different variants could exist with this figure, featuring various colors and the different character names on the front of the vehicle. I would use the classic red colored car with the name of J. Thadeous Toad on the front of the car as the main design. I could see myself developing “motor mania” in pursuit of this figure!

9. Time Machine, Spaceship Earth

Photo from wdwfanzone.com

I will head back to Florida and Epcot Center to find my next design. I would love to see a “time machine” Vehicle from Spaceship Earth! I love the color and it would be interesting to include a more unusual ride vehicle in this set. This may not be the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about Disney ride vehicles, but the attraction is so great I must include it here.

10. Flying Pirate Ship, Peter Pan

Photo from flickriver.com

I will go back to Fantasyland for the next figure and give you the flying pirate ship from Peter Pan’s Flight. This could be one of the best designs in the set, with the details that could be included on the figure! Here is also another chance to include color variants based on the different versions found in the attraction.

11. Safari Jeep, Kilimanjaro Safari

In Park series #8 we saw this jeep transported onto the Mickey platform. I would like to see an actual mini version of the jeep in this series. Here we could get another very detailed ride vehicle as the jeep in the attraction has numerous little details on it. This would be a nice figure to round out this set with.

12. Jungle Boat, Jungle Cruise (Chaser)

Photo from matterhorn1959.blogspot.com

For my chaser, I will represent another classic Disney attraction, the Jungle Cruise! A classic Disney boat, the Jungle Cruise debuted at Disneyland in 1955. For my design I will use the original Jungle Boat design from Disneyland. The original design was a white boat with black smoke stack, and a red and white canopy. I think this would be a unique chaser and would be highly sought after.

So, there you have it! An entire ride vehicle series that is outside of the traditional mold. I am sure I have left out some worthy ride vehicles so tell me what you would like to see included in this series. See you next time!

Episode 090 Strawberry Field

Ep. 090 Strawberry Field This week we record live at Disney's Boardwalk hotel with Zoe. We talk all about Haunted Mansion, Cinderella and the new Japan series. We get Zoe's take on some of the Mickey's Circus previews and fight about what is a Dole Whip. We also have an interview with custom artist Aaralyn.

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Haunted Mansion Vinyl Spook the Net

The Haunted Mansion series ended up online when it was released last weekend. That's pretty cool, since we know a lot of people who wanted to purchase the set, but didn't live near the parks. But I can only find the individual boxes for sale. $12.95 each.

Did you pick up this set? What do you think of the variants?

A Hauntingly Fun Release

We have more details now about the Haunted Mansion releases at WDW and DLR. (Hanted Mansion explained page)

On Friday, September 21, the series will be released at D-Street Walt Disney World. Casey Jones will hold a signing that day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will also be a one-of-a-kind custom 9" Mariner figure designed by Casey Jones available for purchase on site (pictured below).

Casey will then make an appearance from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 22, at D-Street Disneyland. The series will release that morning on the west coast and Casey Jones will also have a one-of-a-kind custom figure for purchase here too... the 9" Bride pictured above. Additional custom figures will also be for sale:

John Henselmeier

Javier Soto

Julie West

Miss Mindy

According to a Disney Parks Blog interview with Steven Miller, series artist Casey Jones said: “We knew we couldn't feature every single character from the attraction,” explained Casey. “So we selected a character from almost each of the different show scenes. This set gives us a strong foundation to build upon for a future Haunted Mansion series.”

The article reveals that the beautiful packaging for this series was designed by Thomas Scott with help from artist Dan Salgo. Thomas gave some insight into it's creation, “We used the cover of the ‘The Story & Song from The Haunted Mansion’ vinyl album as inspiration for the packaging,” said Thomas. “We even used the unique ‘Haunted Mansion’ lettering found on that album as a nice tribute.”

We have waited along time for this series. What are your thoughts as we go into release weekend? Have the variants re-energized the passion for this set?

Episode 089 Squares

Ep. 089 Squares We are now a week removed from all the announcments at Mickey's Circus. So this week we go more in-depth about our opinions on the upcoming sets and our personal highs and lows from the previews.

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Haunted Mansion Variants?

Update 9/16/12 @VM_Paris just tweeted this picture seemingly confirming the existence of the HM Variants. Earlier this week, HM blind boxes were mistakenly released in Paris. Two notes... these are ones we see in the leaked photos below and also the color looks different but that could be just the light.

Hatbox Ghost clear and sold variant

Phineas clear and solid variant.

It's been a long time coming, but the Haunted Mansion series is set to be released on September 21s and 22nd. We might have just found a big reason for both the delay and why you'll want to buy this series...

The Variants!

An anonymous source sent us these pictures of what seem to be variants of the figures. Only rumor at the moment, but these figures definitely take the floating wedding cake. They appear to be non clear versions of several of the figures. They also appear to be made of the plastic that would glow in the dark. Can you imagine that??? Above is Phineas and the Hatbox Ghost, although the hatbox ghost losses his gold tooth for some reason. Below we also have a version of Gus. Who knows how many of the figures get this version. What if there is a glow in the dark version of everyone? The ghosts with all glowing bodies and the non ghosts with glowing eyes or other parts?

Of course, these also could be prototypes of an earlier version of the figures before they settled on clear. These could also be, but much more unlikely, some LE combo or something. We'll know in a week.

Here's a look at what we think it might look like if it glows.