from DestinationVinylmation.com

This is part of a series of articles spotlighting the Vinylmation that were previewed at this year’s annual Walt Disney World Pin and Vinylmation trading and merchandise event, “The Imagination Gala.” The event was held at Epcot’s World Showplace from September 5-9, 2014. Today we look at the limited edition combo packs DDG has designed to extend already existing series.

I really enjoy getting vinyl releases that help extend a series, and to an extent, help further tell a story.  I loved when we would get a ton of 9 inches and two packs for an Animation series, especially when they were obscure figures that would never see a set of their own, but fit in nicely under the Animation theme.  Even the Park series used to get bombarded with releases.  For a ton of reasons, these kinds of releases have been highly reduced, for better and for worse.

This is why I got really excited at the Imagination Gala when I saw that we were getting some new releases in already existing series.  I think it is so cool when artists like to extend a series, either because they had too many figures that they wanted to make, or maybe they just wanted to revisit a set.  Regardless, here are some new limited edition two-packs that you can add to your collection:

Animation 5 – Tarzan & Jane

January 2015
LE 1500
$29.95
Casey Jones

 

I absolutely love this two-pack.  I was wondering if/when we would finally see some Tarzan vinyls.  The wait was well worth it.  Tarzan looks absolutely fantastic! We got a sneak peak at what could have been a Tarzan vinyl from Animation 1 last year, when a lucky fan pulled him from a trading box at Reflections of Evil.  It looks like he was updated for the new platform, but fits perfectly on it.  Jane looks amazing too.  I love that she’s looking up at the trees, and she has a great use of the Minnie platform here.  The matching ears are a great touch as well.  This is a must have for me.

Animation 5 – Lilo & Scrump

November 2014
LE 1500
$29.95
Ron Cohee (he was an animator on the film)

Another great release for this series.  We have only gotten Lilo once, in a Hawaiian Disney Store exclusive two-pack.  And like Nick said in the podcast, she fits on the platform so nicely, as the characters from this movie were drawn kind of “chubby”.  She looks great.  As for Scrump, people were saying he should have been a junior, but I think he looks great on the 3 inch platform.  These two together make for a wonderful LE release.

Haunted Mansion – Blonde & Medusa

January 2015
LE 1000
$29.95
Casey Jones

Wow, talk about a blast from the past! This is a perfect example of what I mean, revisiting old sets to give them cool additions and make them even more exciting. Casey Jones did the entire original Haunted Mansion set, and here he adds two more figures to a stellar series. These figures are based on the one of the changing paintings that hang in the mansion. As your Doom Buggy passes by a portrait of a blonde women, she turns into Medusa before your eyes.

At LE 1000, I think these will be extremely popular.  He was not on hand at the Imagination Gala, but I would love to know what drew him back to this set. I would love to see a series like The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast get a treatment like this.

Classic Collection – Mickey & Goofy

November 2014
LE 2500
$29.95
Natalie Kennedy

This is a very interesting release. Eric Caszatt designed the entire Classic Collection, but here we have Natalie Kennedy adding an extension to this series.  This is pretty cool, maybe she liked the set so much she just had to add to it.  Anyway, these two guys are from 1934’s Orphan’s Benifit and are a wonderful addition to this amazing series.

The Classic Collection is one of my favorite sets, and I am really looking forward to adding this two-pack to it.  Although, I do think the LE is a little high here.

What do you guys think? Do you like this idea of extending series, especially ones that we haven’t heard from in a while?  Are there any series in particular you would like to see get additional figures? And of course, will you be picking up any of these? Let us know!!

Nick LoCicero