2016 Year In Review

This year has been another year of ups and downs. Vinylmation is forever changed and I miss what it once was. I may post about this more in future, but I miss staying up late with other collectors anticipating a release, I miss trading, I miss talking with collectors in forums, I miss blind boxing, and I miss the excitement of releases. There have been times again this year when I've questioned continuing this blog, because sometimes I feel like collectors don't care anymore, there's no where near as much to talk about, and it's not as exciting to me as it once was.

Having said all that, I WILL be continuing this blog! I still love Vinylmation so I enjoy sharing releases, my mail days, my thoughts and my Vinylmation photography. There have still been plenty of positives in the Vinylmation world this year. I've been really pleased to see at least two Vinylmation releases every month, and on top of that there have been so many incredible sets and good Eachez figures. Less have proven to definitely be more and this has continued to give me hope that Vinylmation isn't dying out, as some collectors still maintain. So, here's my 2016 In Review!

Number of Vinylmation in my collection as of this post:
3" - 181
9" - 11
Jr. - 15
Park Starz - 9

My favorite Disney artist right now is:
This is a tie between Ron Cohee and Jeff Granito this year. I love Ron Cohee's Mickey Mouse Club set and I think his Attractions Eachez figures (Br'er Fox, Jungle Cruise Skipper and Congo Queen) have absolutely perfect designs! Jeff Granito's Designer #2 series completely blew me away and I had to have several of those figures immediately! An honorable mention here is Thomas Scott. I've been super impressed with his work on Iron Man and Doctor Strange this year. It's so incredibly difficult to portray human likeness on the Vinylmation platform and Thomas Scott nailed it with getting those figures to look like Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch.

The upcoming set I'm most looking forward to is: 
This one is moot this year since right now we don't know any sets that are coming out ahead of time. I wouldn't panic. We knew very little of what would be released this year and we've still had a release almost every week, or every other week. I do however hope that we get more Park figures, preferably in a Park series, but I'll take more Attractions Eachez if they continue to be strong designs. I'd also like to see more combo sets.

Holy grail that I wish I owned is currently:
I still REALLY want the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater 9" from Park #4, which I have now seen on eBay (but can't pay $200 for). But for something more specific to this year, I wish I owned the variant figures from the two Attractions Eachez: Br'er Fox and the Congo Queen. 

My favorite purchase this year was:
So many I can't narrow it down! I was really happy to complete my Marvel collection at a reasonable price. I also got a great price on the Animal Kingdom Nice Kitty set that I had wanted for a while. I was thrilled to get the Designer #2 Sorcerer Mickey chaser without breaking the bank, and I was so happy that there's finally a Br'er Rabbit Vinylmation! So I was pleased to pick that one up too.

The artist whose work I added most to my collection this year was:
This is another tie, this time between Thomas Scott and Caley Hicks. I added 7 figures from each artist to my collection this year. In second place is Maria Clapsis, who designed 5 figures that I added to my collection in 2016.

Something new I did this year was:
Expand my Jr. collection. Initially, I wasn't a huge Jr. fan. The series released at that the time didn't really appeal to me and I didn't know how to display them. More recently, I have loved several series: Adventureland, Toy Story, and It's A Small World #2. I added 5 Jr. figures to my collection this year, which is the most I've ever bought in a year. There are still several more I'd like to collect. I still don't know how to display them, but I do have cute boxes that I keep them in. 

My highlights for 2016 are:
I was really pleased to see three 9" figures get released this year. Hipster Mickey was different in a good way, I think the 9" Olaf is appealing to Frozen fans and I think the 9" Wicket was adorable, had incredible detail and looked just like him. I've been saying for a while how I hope 9" figures don't die out and that I'd like to see more. I'm glad that happened this year without being overdone, and I hope it continues. 

I also think the Attractions Eachez have been a great highlight of this year. I had been lamenting the absence of Park figures and then all of a sudden we get hit with two park themed Attractions Eachez within a month of each other. They are incredible! Never have I wanted the variant in an Eachez so bad and I'm glad to see more Park figures even if they're not part of a Park series. (Why is Park #15 still MIA?) I hope we see more of them!