Group Break Shipping Update and Show Off Post

New Business:  I’m still working on getting the 2003 Leaf Box packed out and shipped to people.  The first wave went out last week, next wave will go out tomorrow and the final wave should be by the end of the week.  Thanks again to everyone for joining.  We’ll dive into a couple of those questions deeper in later posts.

“Old” Business:  Since we’re talking about group breaks, I’ll take this opportunity to show off the goods from a break I joined last November.  If you had to guess, the good money would be on another one of Cardboard Collections‘ Affordable Monthly Group Break.  You wouldn’t make much in return with those odds, but at least you’d be right.

This is the fifth go-round for me in a flywheels break, and I have another recent one left to post.  Usually the choice is between Padres for Gwynns or White Sox for Thomases with the occasional Cubs for Woods sprinkled in.  This time I chose sunny San Diego.

What? Doesn't he look like a ball player to you?

The break was mostly Pinnacle based, but there was some repack action involved as well leading to the Hoyt Bonanza and the really cool ’81 Winfield.  It also never hurts to see a couple Rickey cards in the mix.  If I was good at the photoshoppes, I would give the Hoyt brick an Andy Warhol treatment.  Instead, you’ll just have to imagine the blobby goodness.

Why is X-Press not train-themed?

Even though the Braves are pre-picked, Colbey knows I’m a Maddux collector and throws me a bone if he lands a double.  He’s pretty cool like that.

What's up with your face, Tony?

This design is not spectacular.  Horizontal front, vertical back with stats by month.  That’s not very X-Press to me, because it takes a simple mind like mine time to add that stuff up to figure out what I’m seeing and why.  The coolest part of this card for me?  Seeing that Tony has home and away wristbands.

asf

Score Summit, by Pinnacle is a lot better.  Well, not in terms of stats.  It utilizes a baseball diamond grid which really makes my head explode.  Still, the card stock is very thick and the front is clean with a cool coin-like gold logo in the corner.  It almost feels like a white-bordered Ultra card.

Nana nana nana nana Bat Speed. Pow! Zonk!

Subset alert.  I wish more sets put time and effort into creating cool subsets.  A good subset should be like the bridge of a song, different enough to stand on it’s own but flows with the rest for a cohesive whole.  While I don’t think this is a good subset (too much white space), it at least is an effort.

No offense, but it's tough to not think Porky Pig

And we end with another Summit card.  Did they do the coin looking thing every year?  I actually don’t know if there were even more than 2 years of the set.  The look is a complete 180 from the previous year seen above.  Stark white becomes pinstriped black.  Action shot is now portrait inside an explosion.  The field grid and the coin are back, but that’s about it.  There are also 3 parallels compared to 1 from 1995.  At least I’m that much closer to reaching the Summit….sorry.

Once again, thanks to flywheels over at Cardboard Collections for the great group break.  I may not get in on all of them, but I’m always glad when I do join.  I’m sure you would be too.