Background

Vinylmation is a new collectible vinyl series featuring original designs from Disney Theme Park Merchandise. Available exclusively at Disney Theme Park Merchandise locations, Vinylmation is available in 3” and 9” sizes.

The Vinylmation Park #1 line uses a slightly stylized version of the iconic Disney character - Mickey Mouse – and adds various artists’ artwork to the platform figure.

Packaging

The figures are packaged in a matte black and sky blue blind box. Illustrations of all of the characters in the line are pictured on the rear of the packaging. There is also some background information printed on that same panel.

Inside, the figure is secured within a foil wrapper that states “No Refunds, Exchanges or Returns”.

The Figures

The two Vinylmation Park #1 characters we are looking at are designs by Randy Noble (Bad Apple) and Celeste Cronrath (SMRT1). Each figure is approximately 3” in height and features 3 points of articulation (arms and head). Even though the line is called Vinylmation, they’re not made of rotocast vinyl. They are fairly heavy and appear to be injection molded.

Each figure comes packaged with a card that features an illustration of the character.  However, the card is packaged outside of the foil, so you know the character you have before you open the inner packaging. In the Vinylmation Park #1 series, there are a total of 12 different designs.

Our Opinion

I had fairly high expectations for Disney’s Vinlymation line. They’re creating a platform toy out of one of the most iconic characters in cartoon history...what could go wrong?

On the bright side, the outer packaging looks great. Very well-designed and eye-catching. But why would you spoil the whole blind-box experience by revealing what character you have by placing the card outside of the foil wrap?

When you compare the actual figure to the illustrated design, you’ll be sadly disappointed.  If they actually reproduced the artists’ vision, you’d have some fairly decent designs.  But a lot was lost during that transfer. It almost reminds me of those “Find 10 Differences” picture games.

The SMRT1 design: has black outline on only two sides of the mask; no mouth; blue face section and purple star are off center; uses different shades of purple; no screws or white lines.

The Bad Apple design: no shading or lines in the green section to show melting; red sections have incorrect shading.

There’s a ton of promise with this line, but it all begins with reproducing the artists’ visions correctly. Disney Theme Parks will also be releasing an Urban #1 Series, which seems to have some promising designs. And the 9” tall line, which appears to be rotocast vinyl, might also interest some collectors.

You can pick one up at the following:

Disney Theme Parks: $9.95 ea.

Vinylmation Park #1 Grades:

Quality: 5/10
Paint: 5/10
Packaging: 9/10
Durability: 8/10
Hype: 7/10
Fun Factor: 7/10
Value: 5/10

Overall: 5.8/10

What do you rate this figure?