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Ep. 030 Gold – Chaser
We are half way thru 2011. Time to give out our Vinylmation report cards. On this special School themed chaser episode, we give a grade to each set released so far in 2011. We also talk about the upcoming Robots series and talk to Zoe about the Disneyland Passholder exclusive figures.
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Listen Now:
MC is a hard grader lol, disagree with the grades on Sea Creatures and Bakery they were good sets and deserved a B in my book. Park 6 was amazing, I agree with Nick it was an A.
Bakery is awesome. Sea Creatures…. yeah. let’s forget them.
I agree about the CLY… however… we traded two away for 2 we wanted: The American Flag (From Flag Series) and Lightning McQeen.
We need those grade sheets or a posting of where to post our grades. So fans could give you there grades on the series that were released so far.
Heres mine:
1.) Top Tier: High Honors
Muppets Series 2: A+ (Loved the selection of characters, cool packaging, awesome chaser)
(FAVORITE SERIES SO FAR) Park Series 6: A+ (The variants were awesome, the designs great nod to the parks)
Star Wars: A (Basic, straight to the point, must have for any star wars junkie)
Villians #1: A (One of my favorite series, great selection, and enjoyed the chaser)
Nerds Rock: A ( Great take on Disney characters, something unique for the disney fan)
Urban Series 6: A (The variants were so-so, however the designs were awesome and the best designs to come out so far)
Cutesters 2: A (Loved this series, the variants were great, Maria did a great job with this series especially with the apple chasers and the smores/donut)
Annual Passholders: (Mermaid/Goofy) A – Keep them coming I enjoy them, great designs and the detail is nice, hoping for more pass holders in the future.
2.)Middle tier: Great selection
Urban 7: B+ (One of the best urban selections in a long time, loved the squirrel (which is the underdog of the series, the aliens, etc….however the chaser the zombie kid bunny was a mishap on disney’s part…worst chaser ever)
NYC exclusives: B+ (Unique and great takes on what the New York had to offer, wanting more exclusives in the future, the 3” inches work great (taxi, I love new york) on the mold.
Animation #1: B+ (Amazing designs however not appreciated so much based on their popularity for some people including secondary characters Phil and Mushu)
Jr. Series #3: B+ (Loved the juniors designs based on both good/bad luck great
spin)
Disney Afternoon Series: A on the designs, F on handling these items and planning
40th Anniversary figures: B (Simple, excellent designs, loved them but it could have been better even with the cast chasers)
Flags: B+(Just for the necessity of collecting the ones you like, they are common and I like that)
Occupations: B+ (The 3 inches could have had better detailing however I do like the variation of the juniors)
Hong Kong Exclusives and other International Exclusives: B+( I love the international exclusives including mickey, dumbo, and the Uk exclusives, my only complaint was more accessibility for other fans)
Sea Creatures: B (Loved most of the designs, however I didnt like the transition on the new mold)
Bakery: B (Loved half of the designs, however Im grading it for simplicity and designs, they could have done something scented, but they still look great, hope for more characters in the future)
Robots: B (Loved the packaging, really sells itself on that one with the 50s nod, and the designs fit well on the new mold)
3.)Third tier: Not so much fan favorites, not to be remembered ( On the shelves for month series)
Cutesters LIke You: D- for the material and the production standpoint (Didnt turn out great as a disney product)
9” Rankings:
Top Tier:
Fantasmic (Park 5)
Animal Kingdom (Park 5)
Sam the Eagle and Kermit (Muppets 2)
Gumball Machine (Ubran 6)
The Moon (Urban 5)
Beast and Bolt (Animation 1)
Alien Encounter (Park 6)
Second tier:
The Moah: Tiki design (Urban 6)
Paint splatter (Urban 5)
Elliot (Animation Series 1)
Third tier: (Less desirable, most likely on the shelves or on discount)
Angel and Devil Set (Urban 6)
Bacon (Urban 6)
Gear Bear (Urban 5)
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Finally pros and cons of Vinylmation this year
Pros: Positives on Vinylmation
-Better product line: (Series planning, artwork, sketching, promotion, sales)
=More groups and communication with some trading events
-Artist signings
-Outstanding designs
HUGE CHANGES
-The Disney Store limitation/online website browser rehaul (July 22th)
-The blog is up and running (The blog is finally moderating as scheduled with new content)
Cons: Negatives on Vinylmation
-New Mold implementation
-Prices
-Lack of artist communication
-Too many releases at one time to handle (Scattered all over the place)
-Lack of guest feedback with any questions or concerns (No person who can respond back at guest feedback to make their experience better next time)
– Cast members at D-Street lack of knowledge of release dates etc……
– Cast trading (Mainly with cast members and mystery trading)
Grade for Vinylmation half way in 2011:
Production/Development/Quality: A (Well deserved and its proven in the product and the lines themselves-Disney quality)
Feedback and guest services: F (Dont usually take feedback into consideration regarding prices, releases dates, etc…..they need to improve on this area)
Artist appreciation and guest communication: C (There are some artist signings scheduled during the calendar year, just want an artist pannel on the blog to help the artist share a little more about themselves and what should fans expect from them in the future)
Pricing: C (Some series acceptable, others have to be reconsidered)
Communication and experiences:
With fans: A+ (Really open the door for fans to collect something they would like and interact with guests alike)
With cast members and trading C (It could be better with trading, some cast members dont usually care to interact with the guests, however they could be better)
Overall I give the Vinylmation team a B on all accounts
( They are delivering great product like they always do and its a pleasure too watch however they are also trying to fix those mistakes that people had pointed out in the past and hopefully some of the regards mentioned here will get approved in the future)
Keep up the good work guys with the website, and Keep on collecting :D