Cedar Hills Show – The low budget version ep.I

Posted by cardboard hogs on June 23, 2013

I’ve been away from the blogging for a while. No real reason, other than we’ve been busy with life and work…as well as enjoying life away from cardboard and computers.

There was a show this Saturday at the Cedar Hills mall that i attended after having missed the past two shows…so I have some catching up to do. I’ve also received two boxes from Dave and Adams Cardworld that i need to open and review. So, there will be a few posts coming up in the next few days or weeks. I’ve done a lot of scanning tonight and am getting close to nodding out, so i’m going to do a one card post. It’s one of my favorite all time player and a card that I am happy to have picked up for $12.

This was by far the most expensive card I picked up today as I was really trying to stay in the nickel, dime, quarter and dollar boxes. Steve from COMC had the card at his table and as usual was extremely friendly and more than happy to help look for a couple of cards. I ended up picking a few other pieces from him and the 12/$1 boxes…but those are for another post.

I am going to bed, but will be posting like mad the next couple of weeks…I hope. 🙂

Box Break: 2013 Topps Heritage

Posted by cardboard hogs on March 18, 2013

Have you ever had a hot box, or better yet, been hot boxed. Well, I was hot boxed over the weekend and it was wonderful. I saw blue refractors everywhere while listening to the Stones. There were giant heads and men shooting imaginary arrows after pulling ripe plantains out of their pants. Others were smiling, giggling and simply staring in to space…and I swear I saw a Marlin with photos taken before and after a clean shave. It was all magical, and now the trip is over…the flashback is now Monday night and I have a hangover.

Topps Heritage is a set that I LOVE putting together each year. I know a lot of folks out there are indifferent or hate it, but I really enjoy the set. I love that it’s set at a decent price. I also love that you can complete a base set with minimal headaches while managing to still eat lunch each day. I admit the SP’s and SSP’s are a little bit of a pain, but isn’t that what collectors really want? They can definitely come off as gimmicks, but they also represent the desire to chase and build sets. Part of my enjoyment with collecting cardboard is that I know I can’t have everything I want…even though I really want everything. To me, that is the joy in collecting. The chase. I have binders of the flagship Topps set with all the cards in their proper position. I have binder of Topps Heritage with huge chunks of cardboard missing. It’s infuriating at times but I can’t quit it. It’s like that girl in high school that talked to you enough to be a friend, but you just couldn’t get closer to her…it was the chase. You didn’t hate her for it, you knew deep down that nothing would ever happen, but it never stopped you from trying did it? That’s what I love about Heritage. I will never complete all the Heritage sets I’ve started, but I will try and will buy boxes to open packs to put in sleeves…that’s what I do. That’s why I collect.

To chase the un-obtainable.

Ok, I’ve been rambling a bit here tonight. Each year I buy a few boxes of Heritage throughout the year to build a full set with all the SP’s. This year I ordered my boxes in advance from Dave and Adam’s cardworld and have slowly started to open them. Just out of curiosity, I did something I’m a little embarrassed about. I weighed each box on a small digital scale my wife uses around the kitchen. I found three different sizes of the boxes 1lb 4 3/4oz, 1lb 5oz and 1lb 5 7/8oz. Hmmm. Think I’m going to open the heavy box first. Glad I did as it was what must have been a HOTBOX!

Holy Hot Rocks I’m Hot, so give up the props – just a little something from Redman to lead into the magical Blue Refractor imagery.

$12 TH Jeter Rivera Blue Refractor$

I also managed to pull an awkward looking Adam Jones Clubhouse Collection White Jersey Card.

Here is the archer/plantain man. Just watched him lock it down against the Netherlands. Any fans of the WBC out there? I’ve really been enjoying it this year, plus the Dominican Republic team is stacked like an all star team.

A young stoned Stones. This photo was taken before Keith Richards made his deal with whatever devil that allowed him to live to 150. Maybe he’s a vampire?

Lots of gigantic heads in the ’64 remake here. Wonder if that was the trend in the mid 60’s, to get right up in a man’s face and release the shutter? I’m not up on my camera lens history, but I imagine a lot of fixed lenses back then creating the up close shots. One of the many reasons I like Heritage is their attentiveness to focusing on the mimicked set. My one complaint about it would be the photos though. I think Topps could take easily use the same angles and focal lengths, but get sharper photos rather than attempting to copy the grainy old school photos. I know, I know…that’s the whole point of this set. I just think the technology of today shouldn’t be limited in order to duplicate what couldn’t be done 50 years ago.

I got a Heritage Suite card too, SSSP?

The thing I love about this card is these two guys look like a before and aftershave photo. Maybe Mr. Mattison can find a razor and trim that beast up a bit?

Nothing to hide.

This guy is WAY TOO INTENSE.

Card Design 3.5 of 5

This isn’t one of my favorite designs, it’s a little too simple for my liking. The backs are great and I think Topps has done a great job matching the original design and feel of the cards again.

Photography 3.5 of 5

The photography is what it is. They are matching what was done previously. Just think more can be done, especially with all the technology we have now.

Hits 3.5 of 5

Although this box was pretty dope, I can’t say that Heritage has great hits. They just don’t and that’s what has a lot of folks upset. That’s not my concern though. I like the Clubhouse Collection cards as simple and non-descript as they are, I think they work for this price point and set. The box toppers are only nice if you don’t get a panel. The panels are terrible because you can’t really do anything with them and nobody wants them…at least that I know.

Review

I have a long way to go to completing this set, but I am going to enjoy every minute of it regardless of what people think. I like the simple non glossy cardboard that is Heritage. It reminds me of the cards I collected as a kid, only better stock.

Free Cards!

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 10, 2013

Hey kids, i just scored some free cards! Ain’t life GRAND!

One of the great things about Dave and Adam’s card world is the free stuff they send when you order from them, love it.

With my jumbo ’13 Topps box and presell Heritage stuff, i got four blaster boxes of 2011 Rookies and Stars. I bought a few of these cards last year and wasn’t too impressed with them, but hey, free is free. I was hoping to pull some Redskin inserts i don’t have yet…didn’t really happen, but managed to get a couple cards i didn’t have for my team sets. Also pulled a couple jersey rookie cards and some weird ass burnt orange or red or whatever color it is, I had no idea these were a thing.. Can’t be too rare as i got 4 of them in the 4 boxes. All in all, not a bad group of cards. Most of them will end up getting sorted and put away in boxes, never to be seen again until i can trade them or find some time to post them on the ebay.

Here is the notable haul for your viewing pleasure.

The Redskin collective. Funny thing about these cards is that they all came in the same box along with the Hankerson (below). Can you feel the heartache in the face of Aldrick Robinson and his photoshopped jersey, the kid looks befuddled! I needed this card, so i feel good about it, just not comfortable with his look on this one. The other card i didn’t have was the McNabb card. The reason i didn’t have it was because i refused to purchase it on a few occasions. I liked McNabb as an Eagles QB, played well but never great. So when he was traded to the Redskins a couple years ago, i about shit a brick…sideways. This old crapper is coming to play for my team? Seriously? Luckily he played poorly from the get go, so there were no long term plans to keep him around…AND it opened the phenomenal RGVIII phase, that’s Rex Grossman, number 8. That’s a whole ‘nother other post.

Here is the Hankerson card. I wish this guy would get rid of the alligator arms, could be a great receiver for years to come for the Redskins.

So, i was speaking to my wife and apparently these cards look gold to her. Burnt orange, Red, gold…don’t really care. They are just odd to me, especially the way Best and Breaston are slowly bursting out of the faded edges. Nothing much else to say. I may do more research to get an idea of print run on these or who they were meant for (target, wal mart…) or not. They are what they are.

The next group is the shiny and somewhat glossy Longevity cards. I think these are a much better parallel than the gold aura gems from above. Panini managed to do some killer super font type branding on these guys, but I think it works nicely here. They are numbered to 249, so that’s good. The two QB’s are marginal at best, so I don’t expect these guys to skyrocket in price. If there’s a Texans fan out there, I got a card for you!

Last up are the jersey cards. I have somewhat of an affinity for really thick cards. Their nice and hearty plus they always have a different sound to them. Almost a little hollow sounding…or tinny? Not sure. Both guys are WR’s and were rookies as the name of the set would suggest. I know Greg Little has shown some flashes of brilliance, but it’s been tempered by McCoy and Weeden’s ability to get him the ball. The back of the card mentions his fanatical attraction to Anquan Boldin and Andre Johnson, which is great because they are both fantastic WR’s…not sure if Little can get to their level, but he’s still young. He is also wearing double zero, which is not good for binary coding…gotta think he could have picked some number, any number and would have been ok, right?

The other guy is just that…the other guy. I think i heard of him on last season’s hard knocks, but don’t really remember. His cut jersey is a little nicer and he appears to have numerous tattoos. When are they going to come out with tattoo cards? They could call be rip cards called tear for tats or something more witty than that.

that’s all i have for now. I have a couple more box reviews i want to do and should get another few posts in soon, hope you are reading whomever you are.

enjoy. -HTTR!

A collector’s dilemma

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 10, 2013

Ok cyber sports card guys and ladies, i have a question. Do you feel guilty when you purchase boxes or packs of your favorite cards online verses your local card shop?

As of late, i’ve been making most of my purchases online at Checkoutmycards.com, Dave and Adam’s Card World and the online Panini store…neglecting the two VERY local card shops. The main reason for this shift in my purchases has been cost and lack of time due to our new human and my work deadlines. I get significantly more cards for the money by shopping online and can have them delivered to my house with free or minimal shipping costs…can’t really beat that huh? I do love my two card shops (The Sports Room and Hoopla Sports). They are within 5 miles of my house and are always a great place to spend an hour or two on Saturday mornings. Both shops know me and often have new Redskin cards waiting for me when i drop by…which is awesome, not to mention they give me a great price on cards. The personalized service with a shop you frequent just cannot be beaten…but the prices aren’t always the best for boxes or packs. For example, i pre ordered a jumbo box of 2013 Topps Baseball from Dave and Adams Card World for around $90 and stopped in to my LCS where they had it on sale for $120…that’s a $30 up charge…and a lot of money that could have gone to cards to fill my empty binder pages…or simply some binder pages!

The great thing about the LCS is the instant satisfaction with a purchase, but i think i’m over that at this point in my life. I kind of enjoy ordering something and waiting a few days for it to arrive on my doorstep while continuing on with my life and spending time with my family on the weekends.

I have also been frequenting the card shows here in town. Recently there have been two a month, one at the Cedar Hills Mall down the street from me and the other one about 20 minutes away. I tend to spend a fair amount of money at these shows, so that helps cure my cardboard cheating tendencies.

Do you find yourself purchasing more cards online or in person?