2012-13 Upper Deck SP Authentic basketball

Have a basketball pack today here on APTBNL. From my scan folder, we have an Upper Deck release from a few years ago. Since UD hasn't had an NBA license for years, this set is of NCAA players.

No shock that UD would put a Tar Heel'd Jordan on the pack. This is a mid high end product. I believe on release there were $10 a pack for 5 cards. If you have seen any of Upper Deck's other SP releases, this falls right into line with the look and feel.

The Worm. As usual, you get UD's great photo selections. Foil appears on the UD logo, the player's first name and the school nick name. The player last name is printed on the card stock in a dark grey/black. You see the monotoned background to bring the focus on full Technicolor® Rodman.

This set is basically the stars of the NBA as collegiate players. If I recall, Hakeem was a member of Phi Slamma Jamma.

Insert alert. A little on the busy side, these Flashback Rookies fall one per pack I believe. Really, it's just more of the same players as the base, just with a different look.

WHO??? Miles Plumlee? Shows how out of touch I am with the current NBA as this name is totally clueless on me. But Google says he plays for the Bucks and has a nickname of "the Colonial Revival". Ok - that is a lame ass nickname.

From the angle of this card, you almost think it's Panini with a shop job on the uniform. There's my 5 and no hit. Oh well. Here's the card back.

Recycled photo. Full college stats. Short bio. Full school name. NCAA license info. UD hologram.

1992 Fleer Ultra series II

Oh yeah!!!! Junk wax at it's finest. These are a staple in those "find the old pack" Hidden Treasures repacks you can pick up. In fact - nothing but junk wax in those things, but if you want to rip as a buck a buck, they are the thing to buy.

This is the 2nd year of the Ultra brand. Fleer decided after a years of their standard production to jump into a more premium brand. Full bleed. High gloss. Ultra had everything, including 14 cards in a single pack. I broke it into two card scans.

So 90's with the marble background on the name plate. The images were a step up from the regular Fleer releases, and the full bleed (for the most part) was a nice look. Heavy gloss to show off the cards, and a simple logo in the upper corner with the only spot of foil to be found. Sort of like 2015 Topps stole this idea. Good use of the colors to match the teams, except the Yankees are not black but a dark navy blue.

While the images are a step up, they are still kind of sedate and a lot of the same. Ultra improved the images in later years.

Boom - White Sox. And properly black.

Note that the Ultra logo does move about the top of the card. Also, the Rookie flag on the Williams.

Another rook with Ashby. Little too much of the same delivery pose for the pitchers.

Nice image on the Perez, getting the ball just being released. Expo sighting!

Last two card, and both players are admiring their blasts. And by blasts, I mean a pop up to shallow left center. Turning over a card...

Two images - no reuse either. Just the past year in stats and a career total. But holy 90's! Card design brings this to my mind...

2013-14 O-Pee-Chee hockey

Back into the scan folder bring up a pack of OPC hockey. I am going to say this did not come from a hockey repack box but an edition of pack wars at the card shop. We are all familiar with O-Pee-Chee, and not quite sure why I added "hockey", as the brand left it's baseball foray many moons ago and is strictly a hockey brand for Upper Deck, but it's good to be exact.

Kaner get the pack. I am not sure what the designers in the office were eating or listening to when the time time to choose the pack colors. Pretty bold and bright, that's for sure. 8 carted par paquet - nous allons faire cette chose!

Whoa! The colors are not just on the pack. O-Pee-Chee went bold in the color choices for the 13-14 release. Simple design, being all slanty and stuff. The bar on the left seems useless and unnecessary. 

The colors are really painful, though, since they don't match the teams. Sure, you can luck out with some, like the Flames here. There is red, but not a lick of blue in their palate. 

Pink and yellow. Someone really wanted to go back to the mid 80's with this release. I'm done (hopefully) making comments about the colors choices, Let's blow through the rest of the pack.

I forget the rate that rookies fall. I don't think it's a one per pack deal. And recrue - French for recruit.  Not sure I am liking the thinner font on the first name. Almost makes Tye's name disappear. 

And nuts - I failed to scan the back. Let's steal an image....

Thank you COMC. Nothing flashy (ever) about the OPC backs. Simple name and player bio information, with full career stats - that is always a plus and one of the best things about O-Pee-Chee.

2015 Topps Archives Signature Series

A couple days before I bought that box of Star Wars High Tek, I had stopped at my LCS because they got in Archives Signature Series. I had never bought one in the past, but the checklist of autos for the product is really low - just 67 guys. I figured the chances were far better on pulling a decent auto than spending the same money for a pack of Tribute where I might get someone currently in the league I have little desire to add to my collection.

Normally I am not a high end, "going after the hits" card buyer, but I just wanted this one. And when I saw the price my LCS was selling it for (a few bucks UNDER everyone online at the time), well, I ponied up the debit card and removed the plastic wrap from a box. From what the guys at the shop were telling me, a lot of Mets were coming out of the boxes being opened.

I added my name to that list. I cannot complain at all on my pull. All the autographs are on card. There are a couple redemptions in the boxes, but for the most part you will have your encased card in hand. As you see, I have a nice 1992 Bowman buyback of Doc Gooden, numbered 1/5, so a very low number buyback series. Do you care about the back?

I'll show it. Nothing is done to the back of the card by Topps. Just the foil stamping to the front that shows it's from the Signature Series, the serial number and the player's autograph. Notice it's no a screw down but a BCW magnetic case. Like I'll ever open it, but still.

I might buy another one of these as well. Let's see if Santa makes that happen.

2015 Topps Mini Chrome Football

Stopped in to the old LCS after Sunday football.  Figure I'd pick up a couple packs of what's new to share here.  First up is Mini Chrome Football.  Just like regular Chrome you get 4 cards per pack, lots of parallels and one auto per box.  You also get one rookie per pack.

I lucked out and got a second rookie card in the pack and this one is the box hit. Too bad it's an undrafted guy who's been bouncing around practice squads and currently doesn't have a team.  Sad to say this might not be the best card in the box, but an auto is an auto.  Also Topps' sell sheet for this product stated all rookie autos would be on card, that clearly is not the case from what I've seen.

2015 Topps Star Wars High Tek

It goes without saying the the Star Wars franchise is going straight up crazy. Once Disney owned it, the licensing was to anyone and everyone with the right amount of cash. That being said, Topps has had a very long line of Star Wars card releases, from the original blue/red/yellow/green/orange sets, to more recent Galaxy, Galactic Files, Chrome and others. Topps went high end on this set - Star Ward High Tek. Just like the Tek of old, and of recent with the return of Tek last season, Topps took the characters of the current Star Wars canon (sorry EU) and Tek'd them up.

My scanner did no justice to the box, so you get a kind of crappy photo with my really crappy cell phone. This is just like baseball Tek - you will get a hit in this box. On card autographs are more common, but sketch cards are available. My LCS ripped a couple boxes and pulled a 1/1 sketch of IG-88. Very nice. High end or not, I was going to rip a box. Let's see it.

If you know Tek, then you know what you are getting - gorgeous acetate cards. I have searched the web, but I have yet to find a listing of all the backgrounds. The list of parallels was easy to find. But I cannot tell you the pattern behind this First Order Flametrooper.

Full run of the movies and TV shows still within the current Star Wars canon, so Episode 1 Captain Panaka shows up.

Now we are talking, character wise. BTW - those spots by the name are not my scanner. The black background for the name and affiliation logo is meant to look like a star field.

Halfway through the box, as you get 8 cards - 7 base and the auto or sketch. No parallels yet for me.

Jedi Bariss Offee, once a trusted padawan to Luminara Unduli, she fell away from the Jedi teaching and bombed the Jedi temple during the Clone Wars.

Final base card in the box of Ric Olie. Let's look at the backs.

Here is where simple works perfectly. His name, his affiliation and the card number. That as all you need. Ok - I pulled one serialed insert card.

This is Armor Tek and all the cards are numbered to /50. Vader - not a bad pull.

Just felt like I should show you that the Armor Tek appear to have something printed on the back side. And my guaranteed hit is...

...an autograph of Nika Futterman, voice actress on Asajj from the Clone Wars series. Nika also has plenty of other voice and acting work under her belt. Certainly not a high end autograph of one of the huge stars, but I enjoyed the box and don't mind the hit. Maybe, just maybe, I'll pick up another box of this.

1991 Pro Set Platinum Football Series 1

Pro Set came out with Platinum series likely to counter with Topps Stadium Club with glossy high end photo cards. Let see who are the 12 cards.

123 - Andre Collins - unlike TSC the back do not have stats. It provides short summary of the player's career.

64 - Richmond Webb

105 - Burt Grossman

76 - Eric Martin

91 - Reggie White - the late Ministry of Defense who is one most feared defensive lineman to play

28 - John Elway - one of greatest QBs to play the game. After being bridesmaid in the Super Bowl three times he finally won it ending his career with two straight Super Bowl wins.

51 - Derrick Thomas - one of top linebackers to play his career would end in car crash that left him paralyzed and resulting in his death few months later.

140 - Jerry Rice - sweet shot of him celebrating with his teammates. On back of the card he outran Prime Time

11 - Neal Anderson

118 - Gary Anderson - there was two Gary Anderson playing in NFL at same time. This one was a running back for Buccaneers.

149 - Art Shell - first black head coach in NFL coach the Raiders til 1994. He would return and get another shot in 2006.

10- Jim Harbaugh - after playing his career ended he took up coaching ranks which include leading 49ers to Super Bowl. Now currently coach of University of Michigan

I notice it didn't come one of those playbook games Pro Set inserted.