Monday, July 18, 2011

Vinyl toys art or plaything... A review of The Vinyl Frontier…


I started collecting vinyl figures in 2007. At the time I didn’t know what they were all I knew was that they were cool little characters that I enjoyed showcasing on the shelves in my room. Fast forward 4 years and now I have a lot of the little guys on my shelves I went from 1 to 50. In a variety of characters and company name brands…


Now a days Vinyl is truly a frontier as can be seen in The Vinyl Frontier. An excellent film by Daniel Zana this film takes you through a rough history of the Vinyl world. It talks about the artists who started it all with simple things like Ken dolls. To artist that have revolutionized the industry with their personal style and feel. The documentary is about 90 minutes long and trust me from beginning to end it will keep you entertained and curious most importantly much like the figures it will keep you wanting more.


The film opens with interviews of some of the heavy hitters in the Vinyl figure world. To name a few Attaboy, Gary Baseman, Paul Bunditz, and Tara Mcpherson this is just the tip of the iceberg. As the film goes on it follows some of the artists an the things that they go through.


Some of my favorite scenes of the documentary are the portions that show Keith Poon designing and having a Vinyl toy that he has created made. Along with those scenes others that will also interest you and others are the personal opinions of those in vinyl art community. I really enjoyed finding out that some artists hate it when someone is clearly buying a vinyl toy to sell it or when a company releases the same toy but in a different color.


All in all this documentary is a great buy it is one of those movies that will shed light on a world that is growing everyday. It is also a great way to check out some of the collections that are out there and some of the vinyl figures that are worth looking into.


Like all dvds there are extras and man are they good. Most documentaries that I have watched don’t have many extras but this film does. One of the many extras is a look into the collection of Gary Baseman. Along with that there are commentaries from the director and artists and you even get a class in vinyl figure making with the famous Sucklord. (Sure it is filled with a lot of profanity but what hard work isn’t..)


So if you haven’t headed to the Vinyl Frontier website to pick up your own copy please do it is a great addition to any collection. At the site when picking up your copy you can get a autographed copy or a regular one

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