Vinylmation of 2014: An Overview

2014 was an odd year for Vinylmation with all the changes.

The first observation about Vinylmation was the reduction of series and individual releases, a sharp contrast compared to 2011/2012. No more was there a new release every Friday at D-Street, or even the occasional update from Disney. It has spread out more through the year, with delays being made as to fill in the year with a certain amount of releases instead of all at once at the theme parks. The same can be said for the Disney Store website, where there's barely a page of vinyls to purchase nowadays. In stores, only a select few on shelves, and barely any announcements for future releases anymore. This of course traces back to the oversaturation of Vinylmations in both Store and Parks in recent years, where now the reduction saves time, money and provides collectors ample time to well collect. In a way it is good as it gives room to breathe between new releases, and this slowing down could be what was needed after the excessive series of unwanted vinyls.

Then there's the methods of reigniting interest in the brand by introducing new formats like the Eachez. It brought back the chase and didn't require collecting more than 2-3 vinyls, instead profit was made in multiple Eachez blox purchases in hopes you'd get the variant. However, much like other Vinylmation series of the past, it'll always be the rare or exclusive figure in a set that is most desirable, killing the value of the commons on the secondary market. Eachez was no different and seemingly is going the route where it'll be squeezed until its novelty as the cash cow it is wears out. And then there's the Reveal/Conceal format, a pin concept that attempts to reinvigorate buying combo toppers, and it has been met with positive regard for the Haunted Mansion with Mickey & Friends set, but mixed reviews with the Topiary set. Hopefully in the future there'll be more than two combo toppers vinyls in future Reveal/Conceal sets.

And finally, the varieties of series themselves has proven that in the end, it was for the best to change the old Mickey mold into the new mold, with superb designs that blows older series out of the paint bucket with all ranges of creativity, down to including extra accessories like a neck or hat that enhances the vinyl. And by giving smaller case and edition sizes, it means more attention to detail for the vinyls while increasing the chances for people to buy into with less to collect and the impression of a more valuable item. And honestly, I never really followed custom Vinylmation much, but when you see how expensive they can be, it hits how even the value of a unique custom isn't a major priority anymore. That being said, still a lot of great (and not so great) Vinylmations from this year.

This was a list originally I planned to submit for Vinylmation Kingdom's Hits and Misses column but felt I wanted to expand on it more with my thoughts about each selection. Here we go:

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Hits:

Park 14 - Great designs for most part, with lots of creativity like RNRC and Soarin’. Though the chaser left little to desire it’s still nice to see a selection from HK and a continuation from Park 3 with Ollie Owl (thanks Annemarie!).

Topiary Reveal/Conceal – Despite only one vinyl as a topper, it’s wonderful to see a different kind of set with few to collect.  Simplistic but they’re cute representing the EPCOT topiaries. Donald is my favorite complete with the bee in his ears.

D-Tour 2 – This is what Urban should’ve been about. Liking the adult appeal with designs that throwback like to the 80s and vaudeville to a pretty unique (and underrated) chaser. I know this isn't the most groundbreaking series but I like them.

Haunted Mansion with Mickey & Friends – This is how to do a Reveal/Conceal set, with two toppers and that every design is worth wanting to get. Ears were well designed, and little things like the lantern to even including Pluto to Goofy’s backside was a fantastic touch.

Sleeping Beauty – Nice selection of characters, and I think does a good job to deliver with a colorful palatte and different molds. Dragon Maleficent is definitely one of the better Vinylmations in awhile. 

Marvel 2 – Though I did not collect this series, they were all well done regardless of obscure characters or not, and especially spotlighting Spiderman and his comic allies/foes. Liking the extra touches to the ears like newspapers or ooze. 

Imagination Gala – I thought the free Figment gift is one of the best Figment vinyls ever made, no joke. It’s just perfect. Having the chipmunks (with variants!) as chasers was different and put back the chase I think. And the Clarice Eachez was a top notch design for an obscure character stateside.

Ink & Paint – I think this is quite underrated as a spinoff to Classic Collection. The comic book style really does pop and they all look distinctively superb together. Also happy to see another Pluto vinyl especially as the filler, makes for a sassy army.

Toy Story 2 – Nice followup to the first series, with characters expanded from the sequels and even a couple nods to other less popular characters and variations. Buzz is definitely the favorite with grade A execution.

Mickey's Christmas Carol – I disliked this series at first but have grown to love it. The designs capture the feel and animation quite nicely, and the ears complement each figure well. Also appreciate little extras like a cane from Scrooge and a Jiminy Jr. as a chaser.

Villainous Duos – If only for Flotsam and Jetsam! Ahh they’re so perfect. Maria captured them on the mold so well and I’m still on the lookout for them poopsies. Even Pain and Panic are desirable enough with a classic, fun look. I like to think of these as an extension of Animation in fact.

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Misses:

Trade Night 2014 Eachez - Love Stitch, Figment BUT as great as their collectability is, it was a turn off between them selling out so quickly only for handfuls to go on eBay (yay greedy eBay sellers you continue to be the worse), to how release dates were never given making it frustrating to predict when they’ll be released. I seriously hope this won't happen ever again.

Indiana Jones – Let’s face it. Indy and the Fertility Idol chaser were the two best vinyls from this forced set. Otherwise there was no real need to make a whole series as it only attracted fans of that one movie. Not memorable, not exciting except for the hardcore. Eh. 

Robots 4 – I only liked Big Bad Wolf. He’s awesome. Otherwise the rest were just not good looking, with a remarkable concept executed poorly. I doubt we’ll ever see another Robots series honestly, as in the end, the semi ugly designs of the Villains made it too vague to appreciate the details. 

Pirates 2 – The chaser was an improvement with being more desirable than the one from the first series, but despite some excellent designs, just didn’t hit its mark and continues to linger on shelves, and for good reason. The vinyls, in my opinion, just don't click as something I'd want in my collection. 

Star Wars 4 – Again, a couple designs like R2D2 and the trooper were fantastic, but to go back to Empire Strikes Back just for extras that probably weren’t needed in the first place? Eh. And like with Indy, only appeals to a certain demographic. I'm sure it's a popular set but not for me.

Park Starz 3 – I want to like them all but I'm not so attached with the execution of some of the molds like Dreamfinder, the Hitchhiking Ghost and Trixie, which look odd. Only liked the MSEP Turtle and even then it's something I don't feel would add much to my collection.

Duffy - Ahh yes, a series that came two years too late. This should've been up and front when Duffy was the rage then, but as his popularity fades, so did any interest in the vinyls. The Urban-esque designs also was a polar hit/miss for people as well.

Animation 5 - Yet another series where the designs were unambiguously plain and I loved some of them like Donald to complete the Three Caballeros, but I feel like the lineup should've been different with replacing Tuke, Flynn and the lukewarm Toad chaser with other characters.

Villains 5 - Honestly with all the Disney villains out there that aren't Pixar, this should've been Pixar 3 instead. I'd label this one of the worst series of the years for two reasons: 1) Poor selection with mostly secondary/obscure characters when it should've included more recognizable characters but were SDCC exclusives, another poor decision on its own, and 2) The designs just aren't good. I think Waternoose and Mor'du are fantastic but the rest are just ugly as sin.

Jrs - Not the Nemo Jrs themselves but the fact that much like 9" disappearing altogether, a honorable mention of a Miss of its own, Jrs have quietly disappeared with little fanfare, proving that $10 continues to be a hard swallow for an adequate design....I believe Troopers are next year's concept, and if it's like the Droids, will also be a polar hit/miss for Star Wars fans.

St. Augustine Disney Outlet Closing. - This is a personal Miss for me mostly because thanks to the closure, it has slowed down any Vinylmation trading that I would like to do at the parks, along with missed opportunities to get merch I had eyes on over the year at a steep discount. I did made a whole post about my thoughts and history with the place that you can read by clicking the hyperlink. I now rely on Fun Finds at DTD, and even then I hope the selection is worth taking the long trip on property for.

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In the end, I feel like 2015 will be an interesting year for Vinylmation with all the changes, and I feel these changes will bring forth a new generation of collectors casual and diehard to replace the veterans of the hobby. It was simply trying to whittle down the problems of what was bringing down Vinylmation (in fact, these problems like Urban Redux, Cutesters and Robots do not appear to show signs of coming back in the new year) into a new experimental trial, reinvented and ready to go.

Now the question left unanswered now is... will history repeat itself? We'll have to wait and see.

Most importantly, Happy New Year!