Box Break: 2012 Panini Limited Football

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 6, 2013

The final piece to the Panini America order that i received last week is two boxes of Limited Football. If you read the previous post you noticed there was an asterisk next to the order…well for some reason or another i ordered one box of Limited and was sent two. Not really sure why, i assumed it was due mainly in part to Panini’s love for their customers and a way to buy a great review…i kid! Either way, i am greatly appreciative of the extra box and will now take the time to review what i received! Limited opened

Limited is another one of those one pack, great hit or not so great hit products. With each box, you receive 7 shiny cards in one pack that looks like it should have some pop tarts in it. I’m really hungry and it’s way past my bed time…Looking at the back of this box i see a significant amount of inserts and parallels…significantly more than the Crown Royale box. The base set contains 235 cards with 100 commons, 50 legends, 50 phenoms and 35 material phenoms. I’m going to guess that a phenom is a rookie…possibly a second year player? i don’t really know, just spit ballin here. Either way, it’s going to be a difficult set to collect with the amount of boxes i plan on buying…unless Panini wants to keep sending me some free product. BIG SMILEY FACE!

Card Design – 4.5 of 5

Gotta say i really like the design of these cards. Love the grid action in the background, very architectural…which is great since that’s what i do for a day job, makes me feel comfortable. Plus the grid pattern fades to silver at the bottom of the card which is can or cannot be sexy…this one is sexy. There is a constant theme on the cards, whether they be parallels or base cards. One thing i’ve noticed about a lot of cards from Panini is that they like to have the edited photo on the front of the card and the unedited game action photo version on the back. Kind of like this, makes for some nice consistency…plus a great way to show off the staffs great photoshop and photo editing work…oh crap, i’m seeping in to the other portion of the review…

Photography – 4 of 5

As i was saying…the unedited photos on the back are great! The photos are once again crisp and focused on the player which i truly do enjoy. One interesting shot is the Jack Lambert card and how sharp it is. The Mean Joe Green card from the Leaf Signatures wasn’t nearly as crisp as this one…wonder why? The photos were probably taken from around the same time…thoughts? Love the photos. Panini managed to get to the knees for most of the players…but still no feet…wonder how Rex Ryan would feel about that?

Hits – 4.5 of 5

Oh the hits. As i mentioned in my last post, you have to look at the hits you got, not the hits you wanted…or else you will be a miserable person. As my mom would say, ‘suck it up buttercup’. That said, I pulled a redemption Jumbo Jersey Signature of Joe Adams. First off, i have absolutely no idea who Joe Adams is…haven’t googled him yet, maybe i missed something this year, but this guy is way off my radar. Second, i really HATE redemptions. HATE-HATE-HATE! It’s like waking up on Christmas morning as a kid at 8am and being told you have to wait to open your presents after your grandparents arrive…and they aren’t coming until 3pm…your just standing there looking at your wrapped gifts wondering what in the hell it could be! Just waiting…It is what it is though…at least i didn’t pull another Dontari Poe auto! On the flip side of the redemption…i pulled an Andrew Luck jersey card numbered to 25, pretty dope. Not a big Luck fan only because he doesn’t play for the Redskins, but a great card and a great guy/player. I pulled a couple other autos that are OK, nothing too exciting. BUT i also pulled a Len Dawson game used card. My first look at the card was, great…a jersey from an old guy…but then i looked closer, you have to do that kids, look closer! It’s a game used helmet! A GAME USED HELMET! I didn’t even know that was a thing with cards? Had no idea they were doing this and I think it’s wonderful. The card is pretty cool. I keep tapping it with my nail, probably not a great idea, but it’s just so cool.

Len Dawson Stadium Stars Game Used Helmet 13/55

This Thing…

Case Keenum Phenom Auto 191/249

Vincent Jackson Autograph 2/25

Vernon Davis Limited Threads Jersey 14/25

Andrew Luck Blue Chip Jersey 5/99

Review

That’s it, both boxes have been looked at. I really like this product…a lot. The cards are fantastic and the hits i pulled were not bad at all…except for the redemption…but i’m dealing with it. As with Crown Royale, not sure if I will purchase any more of this product due mostly to the cost but I can definitely see myself buying one next year. If i could offer up only one suggestion, it would be that they wrap the cards in something a little nicer than the silver package…but that’s really it…well that and try to minimize the redemption cards. -HTTR!

Box Break: 2012 Panini Crown Royale

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 6, 2013

Time goes so fast sometimes. Work deadlines and doing my best job to be a good husband and father, sometimes my hobbies get pushed aside. It’s all worth it, but sometimes i do like a little me time to open some overpriced packs and look at all the shiny new cards money can buy.

As part of my recent shopping binge of football cards, i ordered a few boxes from Panini and am finally getting around to the last three on the four* box order. The asterisk will be explained in the next posting…betcha can’t wait, huh?!

I know i’m probably a little late on some of these, but my thing of late has not been timeliness but rather tardiness. So i’m going to review a box that has been out for a few weeks now…and they call it Crown Royale, pardon me while i pour some Royal Crowne in my glass…The 4 pack box contains 5 cards each and should apparently only be opened by anybody that is over the age 9. The base set consists of 285 cards that contain 150 commons, 100 rookies and 35 rookie silhouettes. I guess that’s great news if you are in to that sort of thing…collecting this set isn’t for me though. I’m only looking for a good set of hits (wordplay!) As i type, i’m looking at the underside of the box and seeing some crazy amounts of insert series. Blue. Silver. Red. Rookies. Legends…and for some reason, Purple. I’m not one to judge, only observe. With that off my chest, here is my review of the 2012 Crown Royale cards from Panini.

Card Design – 3.5 of 5

I’ve always been enamored with die cut cards and the Crown Royale brand has been out for quite a few years now, but this is my first ever box of these guys. The first thing i notice is how freakin awkward it is sorting through them out of the pack! They were slipping through my fingers and sliding down my hand…crazy. As most collectors do, i attempt to be extremely cautious with the cards from the get go, but when they are sliding all over the place, makes it a little difficult…especially when you toss in a random ‘normal’ card. No cards were dropped though, so no harm no foul. Although the cards are initially attractive to me, upon further review i find them a little odd. I think the crown is just too much of a visual distraction that player gets lost in the card. Not to mention, die cuts always present their own issues with dinged corners and such. Nice cards, but not my cup of bourbon.

Photography – 3.5 of 5

Panini always seems to have great photos for their cards and do a fantastic job of focusing on the player that the card is for. My biggest complaint though is that all of these phenomenal athletes have been disembowled from their waist down, even Ray Lewis could get Jesus to bail him out on this one…but seriously…i understand that most of the cards are landscape oriented and it demands these types of photos to make the concept work, but even the portrait cards have chopped waists. All i’m saying is that i really love legs and feet, but that’s something i need to deal with at another time…on my own. Is anyone else disturbed by the veins in Andre Johnson’s arms?

Hits – 4.5 of 5

This is tough for me, and I realize that this is the case with all sets but if you don’t like the hits you get you probably won’t like the hits. I didn’t pull anyone I really care about, so i need to be objective about this one. The hits with the product are really nice. They are nice and clean. All of the guys i pulled were rookies, so not much to complain about there. The Ronnie Hillman card is pretty spectacular with the multi color patch and autograph. As with the majority of product out there, the autos are not on card, at least the ones i pulled. Normally i don’t have an issue with this as i understand these guys are busy and it’s significantly easier to have the players sign sheets of stickers rather than single cards. BUT when you get guys signing off the sticker like the Janoris Jenkins card it’s a little disheartening and a sad sight for such a beautiful card. I also take issue with the placement of the auto sticker on the Ronnie Hillman card…it’s a little sloppy for an mid tier product. All together though, the hits are nice…just would have been nice if one was a Redskin…just saying. Alfred Morris or Kirk Cousins would have been nice…or an RGIII!

David Wilson Rookie Royalty 93 of 149

Janoris Jenkins 6 of 25

Quinton Coples 14 of 25

Ronnie Hillman 345 of 349

Review

As a complete product i don’t have too much to complain about. Most of my input is based on personal preference rather than flaws in the product. I do like the cards and getting 4 packs to open with nice hits was a lot of fun to open. I enjoy the single pack boxes, but it’s always nice to have a couple chances for a real BIG hit…always hold out hope as we do with this hobby. The next pack could be the big one! I can’t see buying another box of Crown Royale this year unless i get a great deal on a box, but I wold definitely look to pick one up next year assuming the budget can handle this product. Another nice job by Panini. -HTTR!