Vinylmation Beginner's Guide - Where to Buy on eBay

As part of my Vinylmation Beginner's Guide articles and my New Collector's Corner segment, I've posted about being alert to Vinylmation scrapper sellers. I thought it would be good on the flip side to post some suggested on eBay sellers to use. If you're starting your collection, eBay is a great place to find older figures at very low prices. Even seasoned collectors like myself can use eBay to go back and pick up vinyls you may have missed.

Here is a list of eBay sellers I have personally used and highly recommend:

• homelessjedi
• *where-dreams-come-true*
• theluckypennyllc

I highly recommend the above sellers because they have reasonable prices, free or low shipping costs, and their Vinylmation are in top condition. Vinylmation box sets from these sellers are unopened and blind boxes figures sometimes come with the box and foil included.

Homelessjedi is my absolute favorite eBay seller and I buy from him all the time. Whenever there's something I want, I visit his store first. He has a great selection, super fast shipping, the best prices, and he often runs promotions like buy 4 figures get 1 free which is a fantastic way to get your collection started! 

Here is a list of eBay sellers I have personally used and have been very happy with. The only reason I'm not listing them as highly recommended is because I haven't used them as much as the sellers in the previous list:

• jee-utsuri
• playbaseball06
• vinylagent007

This list is not to say that these are the only good sellers on eBay, it's just meant as a guide for people feeling unsure or even scared when buying on the secondary market. I have used these sellers myself and can personally attest to their trustworthiness.

I would also like to note that I am not receiving any benefit or kickback for naming these sellers as suggested places to buy from. In fact, I doubt they even know! From one Vinylmation collector to another, my aim here is to give honest, helpful feedback for the benefit of others. 

If you have any questions, as always, contact me or leave me a comment and I will be glad to try and help! If you decide to buy from a seller not listed here, I strongly suggest reading my article on scrapper sellers so that you can ensure you are not buying fake or damaged figures. 

Happy collecting! 

Attractions: Splash Mountain Eachez Release

A Splash Mountain Eachez has been released today at the Disneyland Resort, the Walt Disney World Resort and the Disney Store Online. This is a two figure Eachez made up of common figure Br'er Rabbit and variant figure Br'er Fox. This is a Limited Edition of 2,500 meaning there are 2,250 common figures (9 in 10 chance of being pulled) and 250 variant figures (1 in 10 chance of being inside the box).

Br'er Rabbit was designed by artist Alex Maher and Br'er Fox was designed by artist Ron Cohee. Each blind box retails at $16.99. The Eachez packaging says "Vinylmation Attractions" on one side with "Splash Mountain" on the back of the box. I hope this is an indication that there will be other Vinylmation attraction figures on the horizon.

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Holidays 2016 Donald Duck Eachez Release

A Holiday Donald Duck Eachez has been released today at Disney Resorts, the Disney Store Online and the Shop Disney Parks App. This is a Limited Release figure with Donald Duck as both the common and variant figure. The common figure is Donald dressed in winter clothes with a hat, scarf and gloves. The variant is Donald covered in snow. There's a 9 in 10 chance of pulling the common Donald (pictured left) and a 1 in 10 chance of finding the variant figure (pictured right). Both vinyls were designed by Maria Clapsis and each blind box retails at $14.99

Throwback Thursday - Blue Sky

Series: Imagineering

Artist: David Buckley

Released: August 2013

Vinylmation Review - Designer #2

When the Designer #2 series was first previewed on the Disney Parks Merchandise blog, I was pretty excited. Collectors seemed to like the unique style of the first Designer series, as well as the artist Miss Mindy. The second series did not disappoint! Instead of being a movie or park themed set, this designer series brought a variety of popular characters and a mix of different art styles to create an all-new series. When this set was released and I saw the backs of these figures, I was completely blown away! With all the changes in the Vinylmation world over the last couple years, this is exactly the series this hobby needs.

Things to love about this series:

• It's something a little different - We've had a lot of Eachez releases recently, several Star Wars releases, and a fair amount of Marvel Vinylmation too. This set is different in that it's artsy, and not aimed at a specific movie or franchise
• Good characters - I say this a lot, but I mean it. If you're a princess fan, there's Snow White and Belle in this set. You like Villains? There's Zurg and Cruella de Vil. You like classic Disney characters? There's Pluto and Donald Duck. In fact, you could argue that the designs on the back of these vinyls make this a 14 figure set
• The Chaser - (Spoiler alert) The chaser is Sorcerer Mickey. Before you grab your rotten vegetables and tell me just how many Sorcerer Mickeys we've had, hear me out. It's true, we really got burnt out on Sorcerer Mickey figures, but this one is different. Firstly, it's far more artistic and doesn't look like any Sorcerer Mickey that came before it. Secondly, if you weren't sold on this figure when you saw the front, take a look at the back. This is my favorite Sorcerer Mickey ever, and now I wish I had that instead of the figure from Park #5 (trade anyone?)
• The accessories - If you needed more convincing that Snow White and Belle were incredible figures, check out their accessories! The enchanted rose might be my favorite accessory ever with how appropriate it is and how pretty and well designed. Snow White's apple is something I don't think we've seen before. I love it because it's appropriate for the figure and has another design on the back (the poisoned apple), which makes it the perfect accessory for both Snow White and the evil hag on the back of the figure. Of course Buzz is not complete without his helmet, and I love that Donald's hat is an accessory and not drawn on the figure
• Variants - This one is going in my things to love list and my things that aren't so great list. It's here in the things to love section because if you really love variants, there are two in this set 
• Mix of platforms - This set uses a mix of the Mickey platform and the Minnie platform, and it works perfectly! I love seeing the two princesses in this series on the Minnie platform and how Minnie's bow has been well used in the designs
• Great use of ears - The 16 designs in this series all have great use of ears with the exception of one (Belle). Even though some are more simple, like the ribbon on Donald's hat and Patch's ears, it looks great and works well for that character. I would like to have seen something more creative than plain black in the ears and bow on Belle, but overall the ears have been used very well in this set

Things that aren't so great: 

• Variants - I'm not a huge variant fan, especially when I don't think the variant is relevant. For example, the only thing that's different being the color. I guess the Pluto variant and Snow White variant are kind of like another artistic take on that same design, and maybe some people like that, but I think it's really just a color change for the sake of creating variants and I'm not a fan
• Character repeats - We've seen every character in this set before, so there's really nothing new here in terms of unique characters. However, the designs are completely different and many far surpass their predecessors. If you want a character we haven't had before in Vinylmation form, you won't find it here. (Unless you want an angel/devil Pluto, we've had several Pluto figures but not that exact one). But even if you own some of these characters already, there's reason to add them to your collection again 

Overall, despite the things I personally think aren't so great, I still think this is an absolutely fantastic series! I am so happy to see such a strong and desirable Vinylmation set and a few of these are on my want list for sure. 

Star Wars Legion #3 Droids Release

The Star Wars Legion #3 Droids series has been released this week at the Disney Store Online. This is a 6 figure blind box set with 5 common figures and a chaser. Each vinyl figure is a Stormtrooper shape with a droid design. Each blind box retails at $12.95

Throwback Thursday - Goofy's Sky School

Series: Disneyland Annual Passholder

Artist: Maria Clapsis

The Backside of Vinyls - Catastrophe Canyon

In today's The Backside of Vinyls, I'm looking at the Catastrophe Canyon figure from the Park #13 series, designed by artist Maria Clapsis. A lot of collectors didn't care for this figure, but I think it's expertly designed and a wonderful tribute now that the Backlot Tour is extinct.

(Photo Credit: The Mouse for Less)

On the back of the head we can see the canyon walls complete with their lines and cracks. Moving down to the body, the canyon walls continue in the background while we see the pumpjack in the foreground surrounded by fire. The fire continues in to the backs of the figure's arms in the same way that fire surrounds our ride vehicle during the scene at Catastrophe Canyon. On the back of the feet, we can see the water that cascades down toward the end of the scene.

Finally, in the back of the right ear we see more fire, which begins above the canyon wall in the same way that the fire is pictured at the top of the figure above the canyon. Then in the back of the right ear, we have detail from the ride vehicle itself (pictured above) which makes a great use of the space and is a really neat touch.

I think the backside of this Vinylmation is very well detailed, a job well done by Maria Clapsis and a great piece in my collection.

Doctor Strange Eachez Release

A second Doctor Strange Eachez has been released today at Disneyland, the Walt Disney World Resort, and the Disney Store online. This Eachez has a Limited Edition size of 1,500 and is made up of 1 common figure and 2 variant figures. All figures were designed by Thomas Scott and each blind box retails at $16.99.

The common figure (pictured top left) is Ancient One with a 7 in 10 chance of being pulled for a total of 1,050 figures. The first variant is Mordo (pictured top right) with a 1 in 5 chance of being pulled for a total of 300 figures. The most elusive variant is Doctor Strange himself (pictured bottom) with 1 in 10 odds of being in the box for a total of 150 figures.

Throwback Thursday - Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

Series: Walt Disney World Annual Passholder

Artist: Dawn Ockstadt