In today's
Collector's Space post, I'll be talking about how I found
Cubeez to be a very useful Vinylmation accessory. I had not heard of
Cubeez until I stumbled upon them one day while visiting my local Hallmark store. Initially, I didn't understand the appeal. They're square shaped tins with different designs, many are Disney characters, but equally you can find the Muppets (not technically Disney) and Peanuts characters also. You can put stuff inside them, and stack them, but what would you put in them? Where would you stack them?
Not knowing what I would personally use them for, I left the store without buying any Cubeez. I was definitely drawn in by their cuteness, the Disney character designs, and their bright colors, but I didn't think I really needed any.
Time passed and I noticed a couple things in my Vinylmation collecting. First, I had a bunch of Vinylmation collectors cards from my figures that I didn't know what to do with. Being an avid collector, I didn't want to throw them out, but I had no idea where to keep them, so they were scattered everywhere: in drawers, in boxes with figures, in Ziplocs, the list goes on.
(The bottom slides out of the tin to allow for inside storage)
Second, I was starting to collect more Jr. figures and again, I didn't know where to keep them. They're pretty small and I didn't want them to get lost or damaged, so I needed a good place to keep those. Thirdly, I had purchased some 9" figures that came with buttons - where would I keep them? That's when Cubeez returned to mind. They would be perfect for keeping all of these Vinylmation accessories, the cards and the buttons, along with Jr. figures.
(Nemo holds my Vinylmation buttons)
I visited my local Hallmark store again and I was in luck, they had an offer on Cubeez! They had a wonderful variety of designs and if you bought 3, you'd get one free. So I got 4 Cubeez. I decided I would use one for my Vinylmation Jr. figures, one for my Vinylmation buttons, one for my Vinylmation collectors cards, and one for my Vinylmation pins.
(Dory holds my Vinylmation Collector Cards)
As you can see, I chose Nemo, Dory, Sulley and Mike. The Cubeez have worked out perfectly so far as a Vinylmation accessory! They're cute, I love their colors and how the designs look 3D from a certain angle, and they look really cool all stacked together. If you've been wondering what to do with some of your Vinylmation paraphernalia like the buttons and collectors cards, I highly recommend them!
(Mike Wazowski holds my Jr. Vinylmation)
A word of caution though, as I've covered in a
previous post, Vinylmation are incredibly fragile and that's often overlooked with Jr. figures especially. If you do plan on using Cubeez for your Jr. figures, I would recommend wrapping them before putting them all together in the tin. The vinyls could rub against each other, and/or the inside of the tin and cause scratching, chipping, and paint transfer between figures. As you can see from my picture, I have one of my in a small Ziploc. I also wrap them in bubble wrap.
(Sulley holds my Vinylmation pins)
A similar word of warning if you put Vinylmation pins in your Cubeez as I have in the above picture. It's possible that they may scratch the inside of the tin, especially if you don't have rubber backed clasps. You may want to put your pins in Ziplocs to avoid this. If you are interested in using Cubeez yourself, they are available for purchase in-store and online, at a retail price of $7.95 each.
