Trader TV: Toy Story Fun Packs Two-Pack Blister Break

This was supposed to go live last night but for whatever reason, it didn't upload right. Below you'll find a two-pack break of Topps' new Toy Story Fun Packs. They combine elements from all three films, offering cards, stickers and other goodies like magnets and motion cards. Because they're aimed at kids, I recruited a couple of very excited helpers.

As you can tell, Evelyn and Ethan were very excited about these cards. Within ten seconds of finishing filming, the magnet was on the fridge and the pop-up Buzz was put together. Ethan had to be stopped from putting a sticker on his hand (these stickers belong in a book).

When you hear the chatter about bringing kids back into the hobby, this is the way to do it. The emphasis is on playing with the cards and interacting with them rather than hoping for a valuable hit. I got into the hobby by ripping packs and sorting through them. "Collecting" came later. But without the initial fun I would have never continued.

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy! Random Pack Break: The Ren and Stimpy Show Triple Shot

The Ren and Stimpy Show is one of the strangest, most bizarre shows I've ever had the pleasure of being addicted to. Somehow Topps' 1993 set based on the cartoon has evaded me. While at the card store a while back I came across a cheap brick of old non-sport packs that I snatched up seeing a few of these on an end.

Blending old-school Topps with new fandangled prism technology (at least for the time), each pack has four cards and one sticker parallel. So it's fancy, but not exactly complicated.

Here's a sampling from a trio of packs.

Pack One:

Sticker

The first card sums these up perfectly. Oh joy!! Shiny, silly and subversive, the artwork captures what Ren and Stimpy was all about. Card backs are classic Topps puzzles! Double bonus. My one beef is that the stickers look pretty much exactly like the cards. The tiny numbering on the backs differentiate cards and stickers.

Pack 2:

Sticker

Two packs, one double. Another thing that I love about the set are the captions. They could easily be used to sum up my feelings on various things. So watch out for random postings.

Pack 3:

Sticker

I'm officially going after this set now so if you have any extra cards kicking around, please let me know. As much as I love stickers, they seem redundant in this set so I'm passing on those if anyone needs the ones I have.

Dang, this set is great.

 

Random Pack Breaks: 2010 Topps National Chicle Baseball

When Topps first announced 2010 Topps National Chicle Baseball, the discussion that ensued was intense. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact it was a rare new brand to baseball. Or maybe it was the questionable images that were released without any background info. But whatever the case, controversy followed the set more than Dallas Braden complaining about some sort of phantom baseball code.

A few months have passed, the set's out and all seems pretty quiet. I have to say, I'm still intrigued. I managed to track down a sample pack on my trip to the city on Friday to get a small taste of what the release offers.

102. Adam Wainwright

 This is probably my favorite card from the pack. I like the water tones a lot. It gives the card a distinct feel. Artist: Jeff Zachowski

157. Jimmy Rollins

 Meh. I can't say it's totally memorable. But not horrible either. It appears to be slightly impressionist inspired mixed with realism. Rollins' blank face is somewhat symbolic of my indifference to this card. Artist: Mike Kupka

192. J.D. Drew

 I'm familiar with Chris Henderson's work and like it a lot. In fact, a few years ago I ordered four custom sketch cards from him, which I plan on displaying really soon when I pay tribute to the subjects. Henderson shows he's excellent at getting a stylized realistic look.

15. Brad Hawpe

 Brad Hawpe says, "Brad Hawpe is tired. Brad Hawpe go to bench after this swing and take a nap. Wake Brad Hawpe up when it's time to go in the field." Artist: Ken Branch

306. Chipper Jones

 Honestly, when I first saw this card I was thinking someone busted into my pack and drew the glasses on Chipper like I used to on photos of people I wasn't too fond of in my yearbooks. Nope. It's part of the card. Between Chipper Ruth and this, National Chicle appears to be bullying Mr. Jones.
 Artist: Monty Sheldon

24. Kevin Kouzmanoff

 Not a lot for me to say, other than very nice clean rendition. Artist: Ken Branch

89. Chone Figgins

 Another card from Monty Sheldon, this one is something of a comeback compared to the above Chipper. It's cleanly painted, although the pose is a little bland.

109. Nelson Cruz

In case you've ever wondered what a reverse bobblehead looks like, here you go. Cruz reminds me of the shrunken head guy in Beetlejuice. Artist: Paul Lempa

Overall, I'd say I really like about half of the art shown in this pack. And even the stuff I don't like so much, it still makes for an interesting set. I also like that the artists are given significant prominence in the set with short bios on every card. But that said, I'd probably have preferred simply their name and website URL so I could check them out myself rather than reading the same bio over and over again.

For better or worse, I suspect there won't be the same amount of discussion from any of the reamining baseball sets this year. Topps is playing it pretty safe in 2010. I don't necessarily see that entirely as a negative as they're not rocking the boat with anything drastic other than the whole exclusive license thing.

I like that National Chicle presents something new, even if a good chunk of it isn't the greatest. It's a fresh concept that I think with a few manageable tweaks could really take off. That is if it's popular enough to warrant being given a chance for a follow-up in 2011.

Random Pack Break: 1992 Bowman Baseball Redux

Not long ago I busted a pack of 1992 Bowman Baseball. It should have been two but a slight mix-up from the online dealer I ordered from missed one. No biggie. They sent it along with a small bonus on my next order. So let's see what the pack brings us, shall we:

574 Steve Finley

33 Edgar Martinez - It's rare that the game's all-time great DH is shown holding a glove. I adore the history of the game, but if there's one reason to support the designated hitter, it's Edgar.

1992 Bowman Baseball 33 Edgar Martinez

255 Ramon Martinez - Back in the day, he was one of the most exciting pitchers to watch. Within a couple of years, though, his brother Pedro would steal his thunder.

1992 Bowman Baseball 255 Ramon Martinez

 82 Pedro Martinez - A kid you not, back-to-back brothers. If it weren't for 1991 Upper Deck Final Edition, this card would be a lot more exciting than it is today. Unless you're first name is Mickey, second-year cards don't have the prestige as a rookie. That said, there was a time when this was a $20 card.

1992 Bowman Baseball 82 Pedro Martinez

92 Jerry DiPoto

200 Jeff Bagwell - Another excellent second-year card. So do Pedro and Bags get the Hall call in a few years? Let the debate ensue.

1992 Bowman Baseball 200 Jeff Bagwell

 682 Michael Tucker (Foil)

324 Dave Righetti

532 Manny Ramirez - Anyone heard of this guy, because I just got his rookie card. His glare makes him look a little intimidating though. But, he is standing in front of either a church or some preppy school that was built following a massive brick backlog to look like a church. Prognosis: I think this guy'll do okay.

1992 Bowman Baseball 532 Manny Ramirez

 523 Roberto Munoz

630 Lou Whitake

96 Donovan "Quit Calling Me Super Dave" Osbourne

518 John Doherty

44 Kim Batiste and a pair of brown Franklin batting gloves that didn't stay in fashion very long, even on the one team where it matched the uniforms.

1992 Bowman Baseball 44 Kim Batiste

 704 Checklist

Ah, when the rookie card was simple to understand and make sense of. You either scored like a Manny or you thought what could have been with a decent second-year pull like Bagwell and Pedro. This is what made Bowman relevant in the hobby again. No gimmicks, no short prints, just every rookie they could get. And some retrospectively ugly fashions.

Random Pack Break: Topps 2010 UFC Main Event (Rack Pack)

I finally found something at my local (Canadian) Wal-mart that wasn't hockey, Bella Sara or Pokemon and I caved to the idea of opening something I have very limited knowledge in, the world of mixed martial arts. Specifically: 2010 Topps UFC Main Event.

Let's see if the cards do their job and train me a little bit about the "it" sport of last year that's being juiced by Topps for all it's worth before the clock strikes midnight. The packs are rack packs featuring a massive 11 cards spread over two compartments. The first half:

15. Rich Franklin

131. Mike Pierce vs. Brock Larson "UFC Debut"

42. Randy Couture (I've heard of this guy.)

 Top 10 Fights of 2009 TT09-29. Nate Quarry vs. Tim Credeur

(So the insert set is about the Top 10 fights of last year yet this is card #29?)

105. Eliot Marshall

29. Nate Diaz

Second part:

8. Dan Miller

84. Chael Sonnen

147. Donald Cerrone "WEC Fighter"

134. Brian Foster vs. Rick Story "UFC Debut"

10. Anderson Silva

 Checklist 4

These cards have a lot of shine to them. However, I think that the foil board is used correctly to jazz up this set and give it a high-end feel. I do have one major issue with the design, though. The names are almost unreadable. Like many of my students who think it looks cool to convert their stories into so fancy font, the designers went overboard here. Not knowing who a lot of these fighters are, I'm not sure if I even typed their name correctly due to the fact that Old Antique or whatever this supposedly old fashioned typeset is tough make out the difference between the 'T' and 'C', amongst others. The backs don't make it much easier:

Overall, I kind of like this set. It's flashy yet straightforward. I got nothing too exciting and the Top 10 Fights insert set makes no sense to me whatsoever. But when you live far from a card shop and Wal-mart is the main spontaneous pack-purchasing alternative, I've certainly experienced worse.

Random Pack Breaks: 1992 Bowman Baseball Jumbo

I still recall going into a card shop in early 1993 and seeing two boxes sitting on the counter, both offering $1 packs: 1992 Bowman Baseball and 1992 Triple Play Baseball. Still feeling that 1991 Bowman Baseball was bad (I'm actually a big fan of the checklist now), I went for the fire-red borders of the kid-friendly Donruss product. A couple months later 1992 Bowman would catch the hobby fire and go-on to be a late-blooming classic of the excess-era.

Fast-forward 17 years and I finally get to bust my pack of 1992 Bowman Baseball. It was a little more than the dollar back then, but on-par with most modern sets. And it was a jumbo pack as well. Let's look for some early-90s fashions.

350. Mike Bordick
282. Greg Perschke
536. Billy Spiers
358. Jason Bere (I'm wondering if the picture on the back is Bere as his alternate dimension zombie self.)

 23. Paul Quantrill, eh!

677. Gregg Olson
451. Johnny "HR" Ruffin "Stuff"

 488. Dave Henderson
221. Alan Newman
267. Paul O'Neill
187. Bruce Hurst
666. Bob Walk (Is he throwing the ball or a fist?)

 

649. Pete Castellano "Foil"
623. Ryan Klesko "Foil"

550. Danny Tartabull
285. Keith Miller
352. David Wells
108. Henry Rodriguez
480. Doc Gooden
681. Willie Randolph blowing a bubble

160. Deion Sanders
239. Victor Cole
469. Steve Sax

No Mike Piazza, no Manny Ramirez, no Chipper Jones' jean shorts, no Cliff "Air Jordan" Floyd, but still a fun pack to bust. The Quantrill will go into my Canadians box and the rest will be set aside while I ponder building a set. I already have a number of the pricier cards somewhere so a starter set would likely be a cheap way to get a long way through at a fraction of the cost.

1992 Bowman Baseball benefits from a clean design that is dominated by white. The combination of an extensive rookie card checklist and the unique team-specific stats grid made Bowman a unique brand back in the early 90s. It was simply structured and a fun set I looked forward to building for a while. Then it became a brand that was gimmicked all to hell. Topps had a good opportunity to rebrand it with their Minor League license but rather it appears to be the same old stuff with USA Baseball replacing the World Baseball Classic cards from last year.

So here's to nostalgia, a modern classic set and a fun albeit uneventful pack break.