Superiority of Park Series Designs

[jflores]

I've been doing a bit of thinking. When it comes down to it (For me anyways) Vinylmation is at it most strong when figures can incorporate subtle or not so obvious references to images that appear in the Disney parks or movies. For me the deeper the reference, the better the figure. The Rizzo coming out in the next park series release is incredible for that reason. And it joins favorites such as Creepy Wall Paper or Figmouse. I don't want to speak for everyone, but I think that ability to reference material that we have all come to love is what a lot of collectors are looking for in Vinylmation, and has alot to do with why they got into it in the first place. Sets like Holiday, Cutesters, and Pool Balls are okay but the heart of Vinylmation lies in the Park series. I think less attention should be payed to these frivolous sets. I realize Disney wants to profit, but they can still play to the collectors while making a money from the casual buyer, because frankly the casual buyer isn't going to be as discriminatory as the Die-hard fans like us.

Well I've said my two cents what do you think?

[ScottNWDW]

For those reasons the Park Series holds more interest to me and that is why I am limiting my collecting, for the most part, to the Park Series, Cast Exclusives and the Special Editions. I did get the Holiday set, but then again I liked pretty much all but one in that series, and of course who doesn't have a special place in their hearts for Holidays.

That's not to say I don't care for the Urban Series, there are some really nice designs in there that I like, but at this point there just isn't enough of the designs for me to warrant getting them.

I have no interest in the Pool Bals or the Cutesters series, and I admit that I will probably go for the Muppets.

[MaxGoof]

The Park series is an always will be the flagship of Vinylmations, but I don't mind some of the offshoots. Muppets and Holiday are fantastic series, and Urban really gives artists a chance to show some creativity and artistic ability. I don't like the Cutesters, Pool Balls, or the (literally) stinky Clear series at all, however.

[jflores]

I would consider the Muppets in the same vein as the Park series, and some special releases also (Space Mountain in particular). They are digging way down into the wealth of characters designed by Henson. Like it or not the Muppets have become synonymous with Disney, and for me its like they are pulling from the materials from the parks. Muppets are good! In this respect I think it would be better to release Disney Character sets rather than Clears, or Cutesters.

[JEP]

You know with Muppets and Star Wars coming up im really suprised a Pixar series hasn't been announced.

[VinylGreg]

For me the deeper the reference, the better the figure.... I think that ability to reference material that we have all come to love is what a lot of collectors are looking for in Vinylmation, and has alot to do with why they got into it in the first place.

I couldn't agree more, and I think it works both ways. The last time I was at WDW, I paid special attention in Haunted Mansion because I had never really noticed the creepy wallpaper design. It was exciting when I recognized it. I think that in addition to the depth of the reference, I would also like ones that reference things that are only memories now (extinct attractions). Although I realize that some people will have no clue what some of the extinct attractions were (my last trip was guiding one first-timer at 45, and some others that hadn't been there in ages). I guess that if they did Penny Arcade, the extinct attraction references can be pretty old too.

[jflores]

I couldn't agree more, and I think it works both ways. The last time I was at WDW, I paid special attention in Haunted Mansion because I had never really noticed the creepy wallpaper design. It was exciting when I recognized it. I think that in addition to the depth of the reference, I would also like ones that reference things that are only memories now (extinct attractions). Although I realize that some people will have no clue what some of the extinct attractions were (my last trip was guiding one first-timer at 45, and some others that hadn't been there in ages). I guess that if they did Penny Arcade, the extinct attraction references can be pretty old too.

I completeley agree, I think that a Retro Park Series would be fantastic. Also I hadn't known that a Starwars had been announced. Thats very interesting.

[vinylrocks]

Actually Pixar is in the works... if you could have seen Donald's binder of the designs and themes they are coming out with :yikes:

There are plenty of things instore for us vinylmation lovers!

my main concern however is how fast they are coming out with the new vinyls and how we may be over saturated with them soon enough!

park #3 is slated for Nov, cutesters are coming out next month and park #4 for feb/march of next year. not to mention some of the special editions coming out pretty soon. ie. the 10 year anniversary of pin trading :happy:

[disneyfan168]

Actually Pixar is in the works... if you could have seen Donald's binder of the designs and themes they are coming out with :yikes:

There are plenty of things instore for us vinylmation lovers!

my main concern however is how fast they are coming out with the new vinyls and how we may be over saturated with them soon enough!

park #3 is slated for Nov, cutesters are coming out next month and park #4 for feb/march of next year. not to mention some of the special editions coming out pretty soon. ie. the 10 year anniversary of pin trading :happy:

I love the SE ones! A pixar set sounds good too, I hope that means they wont randomly place then in the Park Series now!

[wvugrrrl]

I tend to agree with you, at least on the basis of the Park series over the Urban series. However, I think one of the nice things about the Holiday, or Cutesters series, for example, is the fact that they're so accessible for other people who may not be familiar with Disney parks, or just not interested. For example, I ordered an extra Jack Skellington for my sister, because she absolutely loves NBC, but isn't a big fan of Disney in general.

Similarly, friends that come over and see our Vinylmation collection almost always like the Urbans over the Parks. They can simply relate to them a little better (and it's a lot easier than trying to explain the significance of, for example, Toontown Mickey, or SMRT-1.)

A CM friend of mine that works at one of the Art of Disney stores said he hasn't seen a frenzy like the one they're currently experiencing over the Holiday Series since Park Series 1 released. And even then, he said, Park 1 didn't really "take off" right away, and it was a smaller release batch. He said he and some fellow CM's are making bets on how quickly the Holiday series will sell out. Debbie from AoD DtD says she expects more of the same for the Cutesters series, interestingly enough, because she's had TONS of phone calls from people asking for general information.

So as a whole, while I think MOST of us tend to like the Park series because of (some of) their attention to detail, I don't know that I'd blanket them across the board and say they're by far better than anything else coming out non-park related.

[jflores]

Points well taken, I would say though that even alot of the Park Series have universal appeal to the Casual Shopper. Teacups, Yeti, Penny Machine to name a few have a design that not only mirrors a counterpart in the parks, it also stands alone as a well designed figure that could be construed in more ways than merely the attraction reference that it applies to.
As to explaining the references, for me this is a big part of the fun of Vinylamtion. Educating friends and family is an enjoyable experience for me at least.
Lastly I think that Park 2 is actually one of the weaker sets. Don't get me wrong, it has some classics, but for the most part it is weaker than Parks 1,3, or 4. That has to have something to do with the lull between Park 1 and Holiday.

[wdwfan8]

For me the park series are on my priority list. With the volume of sets that are out there I can certainly not afford them all. Art is in the eye of the beholder, so who am I to say which one's are better in different categories. I get some individual ones from the other sets and plan to continue my buying method until I can pick some good lottery numbers!

[HitchHikingGhostFangirl]

Personally, I like the Park Series over all the rest. The only one from the Holiday Series I liked (and therefore bought) was the Skeleton Dance.

I havent bought any of the urban since the ones I like are far less than the ones I dont. Same with Cutesters.

I like them because of the references

[BlackHawkTraffic]

I got started on the park series and they are what keep me coming back for more, everyone has their town taste or pick of what is best but the park series seem to consistently keep great designs coming.

[Zephyr]

Park series is great, but you have give some credit to the Urban Series. As a whole, I feel like the artist can be more creative with the Urban set. I feel like they can use the Mickey more as a canvas, than trying to keep the figure looking like a Mickey. I really like a lot of the newer park designs, but I feel like they're going way too literal. I love the Spectromagic Mickey coming up, but I feel like it's just Mickey. I wish they'd go more the route of the Jolly Trolley and Herbie figures, where they take the icons and ideas of what they're going for rather than just translating it so literally. But, to agree with the crowd here, though I feel that Urban has some of the strongest designs, it does have some of the most weak ones by far.

[jflores]

I completely agree with what you said about translating ideas so literally. Also the Urban concept is great in theory, but unfortunately it just seems like a bunch of color and gear bears.

[disneyfan168]

I completely agree with what you said about translating ideas so literally. Also the Urban concept is great in theory, but unfortunately it just seems like a bunch of color and gear bears.

:agree: I hate those gear bears, its part of the reason why i dont collect Urban Series vinyls.

[Panzee]

you know you all can't wait for the gear bears series.. :lol:

[Knev1]

I've been doing a bit of thinking. When it comes down to it (For me anyways) Vinylmation is at it most strong when figures can incorporate subtle or not so obvious references to images that appear in the Disney parks or movies. For me the deeper the reference, the better the figure. The Rizzo coming out in the next park series release is incredible for that reason. And it joins favorites such as Creepy Wall Paper or Figmouse. I don't want to speak for everyone, but I think that ability to reference material that we have all come to love is what a lot of collectors are looking for in Vinylmation, and has alot to do with why they got into it in the first place. Sets like Holiday, Cutesters, and Pool Balls are okay but the heart of Vinylmation lies in the Park series. I think less attention should be payed to these frivolous sets. I realize Disney wants to profit, but they can still play to the collectors while making a money from the casual buyer, because frankly the casual buyer isn't going to be as discriminatory as the Die-hard fans like us.

Well I've said my two cents what do you think?

Totally agree!! It still comes down to the design........

[Knev1]

We like the simple designs that make you think what they could be. If they look exactly like the item they are going for..well it's too easy!!

[Eric]

I agree that the Park series are the most interesting for me as well. I will also collect some special events, and figures that are more Disney related from other series (like Chocolate Mickey bar from Urban, Oopsy, etc.) I also got clear red because red is my favorite color. :)

[jflores]

Yeah the chocolate bar really keeps with the Park mentality. I really like it.

[BigAl_PT]

I too focus primarily on the Park Series. The Urban figures I go after either relate back to Disney somehow (i.e. Cartoon and Confetti from Urban Series #2) or I just really like the designs (i.e. Glow Mickey, Cosmos, Patchwork and Paint By Numbers).

I really don't mind them doing the other series. It gives me relief in between the sets I really want. If not for the breaks I really don't think I would have nearly the amount of figures that I have (which is way less than a lot of people on here).

I DID get a Holiday Series case to split with HT_NSU because I'm a big fan of holidays (though some of you have been brainwashed to believe otherwise :lol:).

[jflores]

Oh I love Holidays I just think that the designs are just too lazy, minus a few.

[cmg05003]

I think that you have a very valid point in what you are saying. I have no interest in the pool balls, holiday series, and especially the cutesters. However I do see a few vinylmations that do catch my eye. I had to have hand dipped from the urban series two as well as oopsie from urban one. I think that it is ok to have some of these "non-related" series, but I will only have complete sets of the park series because as we all know they are the best!:thumbsup:

[Return_of_Phos]

If I had to choose which series I like the most it is the Park series mainly b/c how the figures incorporate the designs of the parks and rides (pretty much what Jflores said in his first post). But I mainly buy from other series based on the design of the figures. I first saw VM this past April when I was at WDW, at the time they only had Urban series 1. I fell in love with the series b/c of the design of the figures. I bought three 3" and one 9" from that series (Glow, Oopsy, Checkered, and Mortimer). I wished I had bought more now:bang:, but at that time I had no idea how popular they were gonna be.

After looking at the released and upcoming series, I like how the Park series look, compared to the rest. I plan on buying the park series by the cases and not individually, I love what they are doing with the monorail and plan on making a monorail set. I love the Park Series the most but I buy mostly due to the design i.e. the cutesters set not a big fan and won"t buy from it, the muppets I loved the show growing up but only see 4 figures in the the set that I like.....sorry for the long post.