Vinylmation Stories - Mariachi Cobre

Mariachi Cobre

Series: Park #12

Artist: John Henselmeier 

Many guests who've visited EPCOT are familiar with Mariachi Cobre, a 12 piece band that plays traditional Mexican music over at the Mexico Pavilion in the World Showcase. I have come to love Mariachi Cobre. I think they are so fun and entertaining to watch, and they really create a good cultural atmosphere in the Pavilion. They play both inside and outside, several times throughout the day. When they play inside, I think they really create the feeling of being at a street market in the evening, where you can enjoy some music, food and shopping.

I think this vinyl is really cute, singing his little heart out under the moon. The musical notes and the stars in the sky are a neat touch in his ears, and I love his expression. When I look at this vinyl, I hear the band's music in my head. I also think this vinyl is a great nod to the Mexico Pavilion, which in my opinion is hard to capture in Vinylmation form. So this little fella made his way into my Vinylmation collection.

Marvel #2 Release

The second installment in the Marvel Vinylmation line, Marvel #2, has been released today at D-Street locations and the Disney Store Online. Breaking the new trend of smaller case sizes, this is a 12 figure set of 11 commons and 1 chaser, which I'm sure many hard core Marvel fans like myself appreciate. This series has a Spider-Man theme and all 12 figures were designed by Thomas Scott. Each blind box retails for $12.95

Donald Han Solo and Goofy Chewbacca Release

The Star Wars Donald Han Solo and Goofy Chewbacca set has been released today at D-Street in the Walt Disney World Resort. This is a two 3" figure set designed by Maria Clapsis. It has a limited edition size of 1,500 and a retail price of $29.95. It will be released a week from today (September 5) at D-Street Disneyland.

Throwback Thursday - Mascot Mickey

Series: Mascots

Artist: Maria Clapsis

Released: June 2012

The Backside of Vinyls - Melvin

Today I'm looking at the backside of the Melvin Vinylmation from the Park #12 Country Bear Jamboree set. Melvin is one of the three talking animal heads on the wall of Grizzly Hall. The Country Bear Jamboree is one of my favorite Walt Disney World attractions, so I instantly loved this set. But I loved it even more when I saw the back of these figures.

On the back of the body, running from the head and ears down to the feet are wooden slats, representing the wall Melvin is hung on. Then on the back of the body, we can see a plaque that reads "Melvin" in what appears to be cross stitch. We can see in the above picture that this plaque sits next to Melvin on the wall.

I love this detail because while it's relatively simple compared to the back side of other vinyls, Monty Maldovan has used all of the Mickey canvas effectively. He could have just left the back painted in one solid color. Adding the planks of wood is a neat touch and the name plaque is spot on in accuracy. It looks just like the sign in the attraction and fans like me don't forget those details! Another back side success.