Vinylmation Review - Park Starz #2

Today's Vinylmation Review will focus on the recently released Park Starz #2 series

Released: May 10, 2013

Blind Box

I'm not a huge fan of the Park Starz mold, just because I'm a little OCD and I like my vinyls to all look similar. I think they look neater that way and more like a collectible. However, I do love Park Starz as a series because the unique molds are creative, different and some of the characters are much better suited to those molds than the Mickey mold. But for my collection personally, people recognize my vinyls as vinyls when they see them, whereas Park Starz kinda look to me like regular Disney themed toys. That's all to say that I appreciate the figures, the artwork and the choice of characters, but I do not currently own or aspire to collect any for myself.

I like the continuation in this series of more It's A Small World themed figures and I am not opposed to the repetition of some characters such as the Tower of Terror Bellhop, Disc Man from the Tapestry of Nations parade, the elephant from The Jungle Cruise and the Carnotaurus. Since the mold is different, I don't really consider them repeats.

Reasons to love this Series:

• There's a great mix of characters in this series. The Red Head from Pirates of the Caribbean has been demanded from collectors for a while, as has RX-24 from Star Tours. We also see the return of the beloved Orange Bird from Sunshine Tree Terrace in Adventureland.
• The attention to detail and accuracy is amazing with some of these figures! RX-24, the Troll Tree from Maelstrom and the Orange Bird look 100% like their real life counterparts. As do the Dutch girl and hippo, with the Dutch girl looking particularly like a doll which I find impressive.

Things that aren't so great:

• I know it's been said before, but it's true, Mark Twain does look like The Colonel from KFC. Poor guy. He's not the best Park Star.
• Gus from the Haunted Mansion also has some shortcomings in my opinion. He doesn't look like his character for several reasons: his hair is wrong, he's missing a ball and chain, and instead looks like he has a bowling ball for a hand
• I'm pedantic, so the fact that Rex is light blue and not dark blue kinda bugs me since we've had to wait so long for this character. (Please click here if you're not sure what color blue he is).

My Verdict:
Artistically, this is a great series. For the most part it has been done well and the character selection is pretty good, especially since Park Starz #1 was arguably a tough act to follow. If you love Park Starz then I think there's at least one character here for you. But for me personally, I'm not in a rush to get any at present.

Variants have been announced for this series, so stay tuned! And please share your thoughts on Park Starz #2 in the comments :)