Pirates of the Caribbean was released on Friday, July 1. It’s the first in what seems to be a line of attraction based Vinylmation sets. Here is my take on this much anticipated set.

Looking good guys! But what’s under caps? A well detailed, designed and produced set of figures. They have a distinctness to them that really captures the character of the ride. The character selection is just a little off, but we will get to that later. One of my favorite figures is the hook pirate. His face is very animated. A lot of sharp facial features and a great looking beard. The hook hand is a nice touch, and for me, a welcomed addition to Vinylmation. Casey did a great job with colors in this series as a whole and they kept the colors true in the production phase.

Another treasure in this set is the pig. Nice job by artist Casey Jones to think outside the human characters and include this happy fellow into the set. The mud has a cool glossy effect. Sitting against the matte finish of the figure, it really stands out. Same with the dirt on the Dirty Foot Pirate.

The shipwrecks in this set? Three skeletons. Don’t get me wrong, they are all done well. They are more detailed than the Park 5 POTC Pirate. I especially enjoy the guy with the jewels around his neck, but I don’t need three skeletons in one set.

Can’t talk about this set without mentioning that it’s on the new mold. First impression is they look different, sure, but not bad. Many of you call me an advocate of the new mold. It’s not like that. But it’s what Disney is giving us and it’s not enough for me to be turned off from Vinylmation. So I said I want to give it a chance with a couple series. POTC is the third series designed on new mold. First was Sea Creatures. Hard to judge. They are odd designs in and of themselves. Next we had Cutesters Like You. Biggest problems I’ve heard with this set is poor production quality. And I would agree. They looked a little cheaper than previous Vinylmation. The paint jobs were also generally poor. Scuffs, smudges and and an unfinished look was common with these. But the Pirates series has turned the tide. The paint job and quality is much improved from the first two new mold efforts.

Disney said that one effect, and reason to change to new mold, would be to better apply the design onto the figure. Have more complicated designs. Tighter lines. Better wrapping. Not counting any shape issues with the new mold, I think they succeeded in giving us amazing looking designs. Now how about that shape?

Let’s go top down. I love the solid, stand up shape of the ears. I like the roundness of the top of the head. I’m with you guys on the “chipmunk” cheeks. It stands out on some characters, especially from the profile. That is the worse part about this mold. As for the body, sure I wouldn’t mind buttons, and the body is a little stocky, but overall, I don’t mind it. And I like the way the new feet are styled. Some people don’t like less definition between the feet, but i think it works and showcases better design features.

Overall, a great looking set that has a lot of character to it. The faces are drawn so well. Perfect color pallet chosen. And the hats really top it all off. I like the inclusion of Jack Sparrow, but only because he was added tot he attraction and Casey modeled him after one of his poses in the attraction. New mold, don’t care. These look fantastic in person

Nick LoCicero