Three Inch Theater- Half Marathon 2011

I've run the Walt Disney World half Marathon three times.  A grueling experience, and it hurts a lot.  But I'd be lying if I didn't admit that it's an accomplishment, and I felt proud after each time I crossed the finish line.  But enough of that bunk, what about Vinylmation???  That's what I care about, not some medal, right???  Well, not exactly, but vinylmation are awesome, and they go with an accomplishment like the marathon, and it's even better.  First year was right when Vinylmation came out.  And by that I mean Park one,  which also means sold out.  Boo.  Second year, it was in full swing and marathon weekend had there own vinyls!  I'll get to those another time, so I won't offer my opinion on those just yet.  Instead, today I'm going to talk about a vinyl that came out not with the 2010 weekend, but the 2011 one!  Specifically, the Donald half marathon vinylmation, since that's the one I purchased in celebration of Amanda and I crossing that finish line together.  Let's raise the curtain-

This was my first vinyl with a window box.  It's glorious.  While cumbersome to display with my other vinyls (since they themselves lack the boxes) the packaging itself is slick and cool.  It's made of sturdy card board, and the window gives a clear look at the vinyl.  But the best part of it is, with the half marathon vinyl, you can simply cut the tape that connects the bottom of the box to the top.  You can remove the figure to enjoy at your leisure, free from the box.  And when you're done, you can simply slip it back in the plastic and restore the box.  Have your cake and eat it too!   The box yourself is decked out in nice yellow and blue, the half marathon colors.  They are striped on the outside of the box, and reveresed on the inside.  An excellent visually striking contrast.  Medals are draped on the side, proclaiming the size of the vinyl (three inches, obviously).  And my favorite detail is on the back, the symbols of the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, the three parks you run through.  It's an excellent box, and as my first one, I perfer it over the tins. 

The figure itself is simple, but nice.  The body of Mickey is the same blue and yellow stripes as the box.  It continues on the ears, and I like that a lot.  It's a great way to use the ears, keeping the round shape of the medal contained on the head, so the medal portion itself doesn't look misshapen.  I like it.  Not much else to say about the body, the real meat of the figure is on the head.  Mickey's head bears the half marathon medal, which is Donald's face.  It works very nicely, though I wish the medal image was moved higher up on the face, so Mickey's nose wasn't warping Donald's face and less of Donald's mouth would have to be separated by the neck joint.  The Mickey and Goofy vinyls don't have this problem.  It still looks very nice, especially framed by the colors and the fact it's mostly contained to the head, but it would've been nice to find a way around this.  I think what works best is that the year of the marathon, the dangly bit of the medal, is draped right across the center of the Mickey body.  So it's a good/bad situation.  Donald's face is a bit warped, but it centers the year.  Still, a visually striking and special piece. 

Certainly more interesting and cool then last years vinyl.  Again, I'll get to that later.  But the one thing I prefer about last year is that you could put your race number and time clearly on the back and front of the figure.  With this one, you can put the time on the back of the head.  What's nice is that's the same as the real medal.  What's not is it's harder to write on the round head then the flat back, and there is no place for your number. 
It's still a superior figure, but I do miss the customization.

In conclusion, the figure is very striking, and perfect for an event like the half marathon.  It feels special, and captures the sense of accomplishment.  It's not without its small nitpicks, especially when compared to the others from the year, but it's an excellent addition to any collection and I'm glad I bought it.  If you want to add it to yours, here's the link!
http://www.disneystore.com/disney-store-official-site-for-disney-merchandise-vinylmation-2011-walt-disney-world-half-marathon-3-figure/mp/1280087/1000284/?Nr=pPublished:1&D=vinylmation&Ntk=All_Shopping&Nu=pProductID&Ntt=vinylmation&Dr=pPublished:1&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&Dx=

Pros- Captures the medal well, great colors, visually striking
Cons- no place for running number, Donald's face seperated by neck joint slightly.

Rating- Three and a half Carnotaurs (out of five)
Scott