Scan folder cleaning, part 3

Let's work on a few more in the scan folder. Currently have six folders of scans. I added one from a very recent mailing because I wanted to get the cards received stored into the set build they were received. So let's put up 3 today. Once again, I am not sure when I received these fantastic cards (sorry senders), and this is a long time coming. I hope you give me a small amount of forgiveness.

And give me a lot of these.

Let's start with the folder containing a single image, but oh what an image it is. Adam from Cardboard Clubhouse. Adam is currently on break from blogging cuz he had to have another baby.

But seriously, according to his most recent post, that little guy/gal should have arrived, so I hope she/he is healthy and the family is doing well. Speaking of little guys.....

Little in size, the droids are. But the cards themselves are not. Adam dropped 3 or 4 of these 5x7 packs from TLJ on me. And I believe I completed the set of the 8 cards. A Google search puts these as a fan event release from Topps, doubles sided with Light on one side and Dark on the other. This ebay auction gives you a good look at all 16 images. I have dupes, so if you want them, hit me up. And thanks Adam. Hope you are back on your blog soon.

Next up is a couple scans from Jon at A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts. I love Jon's posts cuz not always is it baseball cards. If you haven't, Jon, you need to post what has to be the wall of VHS tapes you have. I see all your pickups from the thrift stores. Don't think Jon found what he mailed to me at a thrift store, though.

There's 6 of the almost 2 dozen buy backs in Jon's mailer. Some really nice cards in there. I just love that Wilson at the bottom. He's scoping the stands, picking out the woman he will be talking home tonight. And it's your girlfriend, cuz none can resist the gaze of Glenn Wilson. Two other cards were in the envelope
 

BOOM!!!! 1998 Topps Finest - sweet. And dig that GORGEOUS 1953 Bowman of Lou Cretlow. Well loved for sure, and I will give it even more love. What a shot of Yankee Stadium in the background. Jon, I owe you for sure on these. I know I have some cards aside for you, but I think I can do some damage to your want lists.

Last for today is from Paul at Scribbled Ink. Lot to be jealous about with Paul's post (mainly all the autos he has), but he dropped a nice mailer on me for you to be jealous about.

BLACKHAWKS!!!! All these cards are from the Ultimate Original 6 set. I used to have dang near this entire set, but I believe it got water damaged and had to end it's life in a dump somewhere. Getting a bunch of the Hawks from the set is a blessing. I mean, look at the Pilote at the bottom right. Clean ad free boards, the shadows, the fans all dressed up like it's a night out - that's heaven, horizontally.

Some recent net minders for the Hawks. All three have their names on the Cup - 'Bulin with the Lightning, Huet with the Hawks and Belfore with the Stars.

Some nice Sox in the package too. I don't get Panini's products, so it's nice when I get them sent to me since I have all but stopped buying them. 2017 Topps Chrome parallels are weird.

Player collection Sox. I have been hoping to score some BBM Iguchi cards for cheap on ebay, but not having a lot of luck. If anyone has a better place to pick up foreign singles of him, I am all ears.

Last image for this post is a group of needed vintage of early 80's White Sox. I can only remember Comiskey with having yellow bars separating the lower boxes, so seeing them painted white behind Farmer is weird.

Also, Rusty Kuntz.

Thanks Paul. I'll so my best to get a return package to you soon.

Well look at me, getting all caught up. Getting close...

Scan folder cleaning, part 1

I guess you can kind of call this me jumping on another Blog Bat Around. Only in the sense that someone started it and I saw a couple other blogs that followed. If I am correct, Shane from Shoebox Legends did the first post of images that never made it onto the blog in 2019. And I at times have done that very thing - scanned something that fails to appear in a post. Difference is: I just delete the thing. I've long forgotten my intention for the image (more than likely a lame joke), so Shift+Delete and away it goes forever.

Destroyed by the Beast.

However, I do have scans that I haven't delete, for they are from packages received that never were shown here. I would like to claim they are all from sometime in 2019, but I am fairly certain there will unfortunately be cards from this series of posts that showed up in the offices of 2 by 3 Heroes in 2018. And that's wrong on a lot of levels. Punishments will be dealt out.

Let's get this over with, pig.

Let's get a few folders deleted for the right reasons. First up is John from Johnny's Trading Spot. According to the note I left, these cards are from a mailing he called Christmas in May. I do hope it was May 2019, but it may have been longer. Anyhow....

Some relevant at this time of year Star Wars cards. I only have been working on the ANH Topps sets. I might pick up the ESB and ROTJ sets in the future, but I'll just buy those complete sets. And even that is a maybe. I like the ANH sets cuz I have fond memories of the wax packs. I think I opened just a couple packs of ESB and zero ROTJ.

Handful of Sox in his mailing. Not sure what is up with that Select checklist logo. It looks weird.

But the bulk was bunting. Usually I will make note of how many of a particular binder card I receive, but I failed on this one. I have these three scanned...

And these, but I am certain there were more than 6 John sent. How about the rare bunt/throwback of Jose Cruz Jr on the left? Sheer beauty. Thanks John for that cards. Sorry it took me this long to thank you in public.

One other mailing, so I don't drag this post out too long, came from Night Owl. According to Windows, I created this folder on Jan 13, 2019. I really do suck.

I'm starting to think you do this cuz you like the punishment.

Nope. Not PC'ing Moncada. But a great handful of cards for the Sox box. The single color blue Fire does not look as good as it's base counterpart at the lower right.

Shocking to see the N.O. actually sending OUT a '75 homage card. Did any other company go as hog wild for holograms in the 90's?

YUM!!!!! Houston needs to bring back those unis as throwbacks. And a close look at Foli - those are the wool flannel version, which in my opinion are FAR nicer than the double knit polyester they switched to on '73. Thanks Greg.

So that makes two folders of scans I can delete and..... 6 remaining, plus like 5 stacks on the desk I need to scan. So that's makes:

Ye of little quantities

Getting cards out of the blue, for no reason, is a joy. Fat padded envelopes with stuffed team bags, or long white boxes crammed with cardboard. I have a couple of those boxes still to organize and scan, but I will never turn up my nose to a thin mailer or a PWE.

So let us honor those tiny quantity gifts that bring just the same huge smile to my face.

Got four cards a while back from my buddy Chris, who's blog, Old Foul Cardboard, is all but dead. Chris is alive and well, and so are these cards. Though a few BoSox fans wish Bucky Dent was dead. Had to scan with a white background to appreciate the acetate Magglio from UD EX.

The other two cards included a sweet '71 Reds team card that someone at Topps decided the equipment manager needed to be removed. Last is a manu-patch from Topps Rogue One release. It's a shame they just print the patches now instead of chain stitch, like Topps have done in the past. Thanks Chris.

It's a mini Hoyle-ing, from everyone's favorite random mailer Mark. I might have that Podzilla, but I love that card and think it would look great autographed. But Scott is horrible on returns, so naked it will probably remain. Nice oddball Big Hurt. Thanks Mark.

See, you don't need to send 400 cards to make me smile. Teeny-tiny makes me happy-happy.

Poorganization

pȯr-gə-nə-ˈzā-shən [noun] : the act or process of insufficient organizing

It's a mess here. Sure, it could be worse, but I have stacks of sorting that needs to be done, piles to be mailed and boxes/envelopes to be sorted and scanned. And let's not even mention the box of cards for cataloging in whatever will replace Zistle for me.

Ok, so blue are throwbacks. We'll make yellow bunting cards, the pink...

When I get in mailers, I try to either throw a note in the bag so I remember who sent them, or take the return label off the mailer and stuff it in the bag. Well, here's a couple mailings to show off. Or maybe it's one? I am not too sure, and that's my fault. I either failed to note of the groups, or I fail to remember what was sent to me. Here's let me just start posting with a single image.

Small sampling of the bags of Star Wars cards I received from Pat over at Hot Corner Cards (dude - get posting!). Top left is from The Force Awakens set while the top right is Galactic Files. No idea what the sticker at the bottom is from.

Now, here's my confusion. There are three other bags of cards. These three have blue painters tape sealing them, while the three SW cards just had Scotch tape. So they don't match. But I though Pat sent me a bunch of White Sox cards too, and since these three bags have no label/address within, I am not sure if they are from Pat or another. Maybe someone will recognize them. Otherwise, more credit for Weber.

Some failed ChiSox prospects within. And a failed Dodger prospect who became a HUGE star with a certain club wearing pale hose.

Healthy group of double plays. Love the Bell at the bottom. Great shot on a pathetic design.

Jermaine Allensworth. Barley fits on the card. And look - Brett Butler in a very odd pose. Bunting??? NEVER!

Now, all those may not spark someone, but if you sent in these miscuts, I am certain you would remember.

I do love me the parallelogram miscuts. And no, Jeroen, you cannot have that Blyleven.

So a big thanks to Pat. Or could it be slightly smaller because the other cards were from another. Either/or, I screwed up, so I'm sorry. Thanks a bunch no matter what, but sorry.

So sorry.

A Star Wars specific repack

Has anyone seen these boxes at the big box stores? I think they may be Walmart exclusive, as I have yet to find one sitting on the shelf at Target. But I saw this one a couple weeks back and thought "Hey, I need to buy me one of those!"

So I did.

It's a little cheaper (at Walmart anyway) than you usual repack, selling for just a few cents under $15. From the markup on the side, each box has 4 collectable disc packs, 4 packs of regular cards and one rack pack.

And a closer look at the front entices you to buy with the promise of ultra rare autograph cards, which the fine print tells you falls one to every 20 boxes. There were just 3 sitting on the shelf of this Walmart, so the odds are not in my favor. I scanned some of what was within, so join me in recapping the box.

As I mentioned, four of the packs are collectable discs.

They are a game you can play which to boil it down into simple terms: dominoes. Six sided discs that you place against each other to "defeat" your opponent. There is also something in regard to the color around the photo, but I am not digging in to find that out. I doubt I'll ever play it, but for a SW nerds, they are fun collectables, like the Topps coins or something.

Base discs are gray. You can see the hash marks on 4 of the sides. Like I said, a game like dominoes. Characters span from AHN to TFA, with ships also available. And what would be a Topps release without parallels?

Ahsoka and the shuttle are foils, falling at a rate of 1:2, Lak Sivrak at the left is a pattern foil, 1:3 ratio.

Black discs are at the same 1:3 pack ration. That BB-8 in the middle is hard to see, but the best "pull" of the four packs. He is actually Jabba slime green and those fall 1 out of every 9 packs.

The Stormtrooper (mislabled - that is a sandtrooper) and Klatuu are black foil, 1:3 packs and the Yavin IV soldier at his post is a black pattern foil, falling 1 out of 6 packs.

Clear disks drop in one out of  every 3 packs. Dig that Bespin disc. Notice just one side has any hash marks. From the rules, that is a free space and you will notice the top and bottom of all the discs have that free area.

Ok, on to the packs. First off, the Journey to The Force Awakens packs. Two of those. I am still building this, so with luck a few of these cards will help.

Bit of a look at them. Love the original blue borders, and those blueprint cards are amazing! The two other packs were Clone Wars: Rise of The Bounty Hunters.

The top right is a lensticular motion card that scanned like hell, but you get the idea. Barriss is a foil and the other one - it looks cool. Not a set I will try to complete, so make a shout if you want these.

My fat pack was Galactic Files, another set I would like to build. The set is based on the original and prequel trilogies only. Love that foil black and white card of the Hoth base. I don't think I have any other from that monochromed insert set.

Well, that's what the box gives out. Like I said, every 20th box will drop you an autograph. I wonder if that is really the ratio or just some type they put on the box to sel......

Holy shit. I hit one!!!!! It's very, VERY odd to see Wedge's face, but not have Wedge's name. Wedge was played by Denis Lawson (Ewan McGregor's uncle btw), but according to IMDB, David Ankrum supplied Wedge's voice for both ANH and Rogue One. If you watch any videos of Denis on the 'net, he does have a very noticeable Scottish brogue, which I am sure explains his voice replacement. But I am not upset in the least. Any SW auto makes me happy.

And now you have seen the box. I will probably buy another, cuz why the heck not. It was a fun rip.

Like Tesla, Marconi and Da Vinci

I had a chance this weekend to reconnect with some of my old Star Wars/501st/Chicago Force friends that I have not seen or spoken to in a very long time. And by "long time", I mean over a decade. Life got in the way for me, and I just dropped out of contact. And that is odd, as one lives just 15 minutes away from me. Fortunately, my cell number is the same and he was able to invite me to a party.

It was a bit of a surprise for all involved when I popped in.

Happy.....Birthday.....Mister President.....

We are all a little older, but still as stupid as we have always been. It was nice to be missed, as that seemed to be the most common thing I heard from my friends as we spoke. Plus, reminiscing about the old times was good laughs. And it was from these stories that I learned I can now be placed into the annals of the great inventors of the world. But not that Edison guy. He didn't invent crap, stealing the work of others and trying to ruin the true great minds in the world. Here's the story:

So back in 2001, I took a trip down with my new friend to a little thing called Dragon Con, the 2nd largest con in the US, but WAY more fun (I hear) than the San Diego Comic Con. This was my first real con experience, and experience it was. Wow - nerds are f*cking crazy. If you have never been to a con, think the National, with people wearing the most incredible custom cards you have ever seen. But I am digressing from the story.

I think it was the Saturday night at DC. A large group of us (25 or so) were walking around, mostly sober, and found one of the rooms they hold the panels within. It was unlocked, and better yet, the mics were hot. Someone forgot to turn them off. Well, about 8 of us hit the dais while the rest sat in the seats and asked the stupidest, silliest questions of us at the mics. We answered with heavy snark and large amount of humor. The mics were pretty loud, and more and more people started filing in, taking seats and taking part in this mock panel by throwing us more questions. In no time, we had the room full, and even if this happened yesterday, I could not tell you a single thing we talked about. It was nerdy for sure, but nothing of any substance or retained knowledge. This went on for a couple hours until we finally just called an end to the panel and went to bed.

Back to the present day. When I brought up this memory to Josh, he replies "Oh, that still goes on at every Dragon Con." I guess a couple of the original guys that walked in on our mock panel continue it to this very day, having a midnight panel that is random and just dumb. And that is the joy of it. I was surprised our spontaneous act to just make ourselves happy has grown to this recurring event with no purpose at all but fun. I should have applied for a patent. Oh well. Since we are talking nerd, here's the obligatory one card image.

I bought a box of Star Wars Topps Tek last year, and I did it again this year. It's nice the autographs are on card. Not a big pull in any way, but Mike Edmonds has carved out a long career in the entertainment industry. Far more movies and TV shows then I have appeared in.

So honor me for inventing some good in this world. Maybe, in the future, there will be a 5th Ninja Turtle with my name.

Slashing prices.... on vintage

Remember Crazy Eddie?

Pictured: not actually Eddie

For those who have been under a rock, Crazy Eddie was an electronics store in New York, and in the commercials was a DJ portraying Eddie and he's slashing prices and beating all deals. You know the drill. I  remember when cable was first out nationwide, seeing his commercials if I flipped past the WWOR channel. According to Wikipedia, the real Crazy Eddie did some serious criminal stuff, fled the country but ultimately came back to pay his dues in jail. He just died a month ago, in fact.

For the recent Orland show, the spirit of Fast Eddie was apparent. Quantity wise, I grabbed dang near as much cardboard that was pre 1980 as post. And I could have gone insane with my spending if I didn't get overly selective and have my want lists a cell phone away.

Only 40 years into building the complete 1977 Topps release. I found 4 cards I needed - two yellow and two orange. I should bite the bullet and finish this off via COMC, but I'll wait until the National next year. Hey - ya never know what you might find at the National.

I'm at booth 127

Found nine more for my 1964 build, which puts me franctions of a percentage point over 70% complete. If I recall, that gorgeous condition McCover/Wagner set me back 50 cents. Robin was a quarter maybe, or a dime. You can see the pen marks on Frank Howard. Someone just had to remember this was from the '64 set. It's ok. Quality is fine when the cost is a dime.

Fourteen miscuts were found. Not sure if any are better than a 2nd year parallelogram card of Carlton Fisk. Lowell Palmer and his shades play the position of "pitch" for the Phillies. And I thought that was what Europe plays their football games on.

Vintage bunts!!!! These were all needed. I think Geronimo is using that bat Kirby Puckett was hugging on his 1993 Topps. The angle of the photo makes that thing huge. The George Banks appears they used the same image, just shopped the position of his arm and put a ball in his hand. The Kellogg's at the top is Ron Hunt. Yeah - exactly. Luckily, Wikipedia tells us he holds the record for most hit by pitch in a single season (since 1900) with 50. He's third in career hit by pitch with 243. However, he did it with 3000 less at bats that Baylor in 2nd and 5000 less AB than the leader Biggio.

Lots of Sox. I am sure I grabbed a few I didn't need, like 3 1971 Wilbur Wood cards. Yup - 3. Anybody need one? But I killed a lot of the mid 60's needs. That '59 series is probably the worst condition wise, besides the pen marks noting the year you see on the Al Lopez. Again - condition don't mind when the cost is a dime (or two).

And not just baseball vintage for cheap prices. I could have destroyed my budget with the amount of easly 70's Topps and OPC in the 5 for a buck box. Grabbed what I enjoyed, though. Like some vintage Topps of defunct teams like the Seals and the Scouts. Found a couple Atlanta Flames too. No Rockies, though. And my Blackhawks box got some needed help with a dozen or so vintage finds. I will take any and all Maggie's when you price them under a quarter. Pappin scored the Cup clinching goal for the Leafs in 1967. Bill White was paired with Pat "Whitey" Stapleton in the early 70's, becoming one of the best pair of blue liners in the league at that time.

The find of the day, though, was this gem.

The cost? A buck. Someone offers you a card of Casey Stengel for a dollar, you shut your mouth and take out your wallet.