Review: Panini Golden Age Baseball 2012

If I was a movie reviewer and this was a movie I would give this product two thumbs waaaaaayy up!! From the outside in this product was a ton of fun to open. Just check out this review and you will see why.

Box Break Down:

• 24 Packs Per Box, 6 Cards Per Pack
• (1) Autograph and (1) Memorabilia Card Per Box!
• Box Toppers!
• (24) Mini Parallels Per Box!
• Boxes will run between $60-$70

BASE CARDS: Classic appeal. They are not very glossed and brings you back in time to way cards used to feel. The base set consists of pretty much everything. From baseball to football to jockeys to movie stars and even the Three Stooges. This would be one fun set to put together. And this blogger rather enjoyed looking at each base card front and back.

INSERTS: As with rest of the set, the inserts have classic touch to them and also range from different sports and movies and more. Each base card has a mini parallel. And even the minis have back parallels with what appears the blue ones is the hardest to pull only getting one in our box. We were also lucky enough to pull a black parallel of the base cards which are tough finds at 1/1 each made. This product also includes pop up cards..whens the last time we had one of those in a pack? You can find two of these per box. Overall, fun.

AUTOGRAPHS: One autograph and one memorabilia are per box. Our autograph is on card, but not someone we personally know but we Googled who he is and he had an impressive career with 455 stolen bases. But this product as a ton of big names to find. The signatures can be of personalities covering all fields of the Golden Age of America, including baseball and other sports, entertainment and the political arena.

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS: Really digging the design and the mix of celebrities and sports. As the card is called, Museum Age, it feels like something you would discover in a history museum hanging on a wall or other display. There is supposed to be one of these per box but we lucked out with two hits! One of the more unique pieces that could be pulled are pieces of pine wreckwood believed to be from the deck of the Titanic.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Buy it!! You won't regret it. For under $70, you get nice looking base cards, 24 minis, 1 auto, 1 memorabilia and a shot at a ton of stuff. This was probably the most fun I had with a bust in 2012. Panini did a great job with this product and hopefully they bring it back in 2013. If you are fans of Ginter or Goodwin Champions, this is Panini's version and a product for you.

RATINGS:  Bloggers Note: Our ratings are based specifically on the blaster, box or packs we opened and do not express what the overall product could bring. Ratings based on a 1-5. 1 Being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
                Packaging: 3
                Base Design: 4
                Insert Design: 4
                Memorablila/Autographs: 5
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 5

FANdom Card Of The Day: 2009-10 Upper Deck Game Materials Dual #DGML LeBron James/Michael Jordan Jsy

With Lebron having a career stretch everyone is again talking about who is better Lebron James or Michael Jordan. It doesn't matter who you think is better - this card has both of them!

2009-10 Upper Deck Game Materials Dual #DGML LeBron James/Michael Jordan Jsy

Thanks goes out to Jammin JDcards for providing this card for us to share!

Review: Donruss Elite Extra Edition Baseball 2012

This is a product I have always wanted to try. I am an Elite fan, I like baseball cards and I like rookies and autographs. So it seems this is the product for me. So gave it a run and we were lucky and got a hot box.

• 20 Packs Per Box, 5 Cards Per Pack
• Look for (6) Autographs Per Box!
• Find HOT BOXES containing (10) Autos!!
• Find short-printed Green and Red Ink Autos!
• $100 per box

BASE CARDS: Just look below (we forgot to take a picture of base card) at the autographs and picture them without the auto to see what the base cards look like. Not a bad design as it sticks the the Elite theme of silver cardboard. But since this is a rookie laden product adding the red to the base cards make the silver cardboard a thing of the past.

INSERTS: The inserts look good but not as eye catchy as the Aspirations die cuts. Each one is numbered and depending on the color to a different number. Pictures sometimes cannot do these justice but I tried my best to capture the shine. My other favorite insert in the product is the Diamond Kings. I like the combo of baseball future star and a King from a deck of playing cards.

# to 25

AUTOGRAPHS:We would say this is what you would call a "Hot Box" from the product. Overall you are supposed to get 6 autos per box. We got 8 and technically 9 if you consider the dual autographs separate autos.The Building Blocks combines the autographs of two players linked by school, team, position or some other common denominator. We were lucky to hit one of these numbered to 25. There are also ink variations as well to the base autos. The autos also look great because of all the glimmer and shine.

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS: N/A

OVERALL THOUGHTS: If you are looking to get the baseball rookies autographs before they hit the playing field this is the product for you. What other product offers this type of rookie loaded, 6+ autos per box all for under $100. Bet you can't find one. There is plenty to take a chance on in this product as the future of MLB and the next big stars auto could be hidden within a box of this.

RATINGS:  Bloggers Note: Our ratings are based specifically on the blaster, box or packs we opened and do not express what the overall product could bring. Ratings based on a 1-5. 1 Being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
                Packaging: 5
                Base Design: 4
                Insert Design: 3
                Memorablila/Autographs: 5
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 4

FANdom Card Of The Day: LaMichael James Sp Authentic Rookie Patch Auto Gold

It has been one week since the Super Bowl and this player had a very costly fumble. But this is still one of the nicest college patches I have ever seen.

2012 SP Authentic Rookie Patch Autographs Gold #269 LaMichael James 02/25

Thanks to Jammin JDcards for providing us with the FANdom Card Of The Day.

Topps Unveils The Largest Sport Card Ever!

All morning long Topps kept teasing all of us Twitter followers with news of a record breaking card. And it is quite large to say the least. They had to use a helicopter to reveal these images to everyone. They also had the man on the card as a special guest for this even in Prince Fielder among others. Here is the unveiling and to our eyes...we have no idea how you would store or even display something of this size.

 

Fielder showing off...well himself.

All of these images are from Topps on Twitter. You can follow them @toppscards to see even more images from their huge event.

Let us know your thoughts in comments!

Review Part 2 HOT BOX: Panini Classics Hockey 2012-2013

I really enjoyed this product the first time around..why not the second? I did and even more so with a HOT BOX with 8 autos instead of 6. Without rookies in 12-13 hockey products, Panini did a great job bringing back some not every day names autos and included them into a classic feel product. Here is how we did:

Box Break Down:

• 6 Packs Per Box, 5 Cards Per Pack
• Find (6) Autograph Cards per Box!
• ONE AUTO PER PACK!
• Boxes will run ya $180

Back of Base card

More base

BASE CARDS: This is a product for the old-school-hockey collectors,  as the name suggests its a Classic with Classic players and players autos. As for the base card, its a simple throwback design. Making it have a very Classic appeal. A base set would take you awhile with only 30 cards in a box with 6 of those being autos and 6 of those being the insert cards. But that would be a fun one to chase and you have the chance to bust it a few times.

INSERTS: You get one of these die cuts per pack. I have always been a fan of die cuts. I do wished a player picture was involved instead. But still not bad in terms of design. And some of them are Sp. Our first box we got one and this box Howe is one.

AUTOGRAPHS: Some of the autos are Sp'd in this product and very rare finds. We also ended up getting a HOT BOX this time around. Really like the fact that ALL of the cards are signed on card and you find autos of players you may not find all of the time. We actually got one of the Sp cards of Darryl Sittler.

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS: N/A

OVERALL THOUGHTS:This product has appeal. Classic autographs you may not see everyday and a classic overall feel. I love the old photography on the base cards reminding us of great moments on the ice and taking the boredom that some of us might have waiting for the NHL to get over its lockout and move onto the season. I also hope Panini turns this to a football product as well. On card autos, a deep checklist, nice look and a chance at a hot box of 8 autos though the price may be steep for some and the average collector, but for those who can afford it, this is a good hockey product.

RATINGS:  Bloggers Note: Our ratings are based specifically on the blaster, box or packs we opened and do not express what the overall product could bring. Ratings based on a 1-5. 1 Being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
                Packaging: 5
                Base Design: 4
                Insert Design: 3
                Memorablila/Autographs: 5
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 4

FANdom Card Of The Day: 2012 Press Pass Redline Relics Red Danica Patrick NNS

With Nascar season right around the corner let's kick it off with Danica. Will this be her year to finally rise to a top 12 driver? This will be the first season that she is 100% committed to the Sprint Cup.

2012 Press Pass Redline Relics Red #RLDP2 Danica Patrick NNS 27/75

If you are interested in this awesome card here is a link to it - http://bit.ly/VQUr2I

Review Topps Baseball 2013 (2 Rack Packs)

The first product that says 2013 on it from Topps. I do collect baseball on and off and this is a product that I get every year to get things going for baseball. We all dabble into other sports time to time. By they way, my first 2013 baseball card was a C.C. Sabathia Base card.

I have been disappointed in the past few years as Topps has killed it a little with the overload of inserts that look lame. But this year...they turned the corner on the product and I am very impressed.

Rack Pack Break Down:

• Packs will run you around $5
• Comes with 3 blue border parallels per pack (Walmart version)

BASE CARDS: Topps has always stuck with basically the same design on the base cards. There is not too much different about them year in and year out. My one complaint about this every year is how much the border takes up the card. I wished they could minimize it some and give us the full baseball photography more. Since they like having a white border on their base product, maybe minimize the bottom a little and just put the name in silver right onto the card itself centered.

INSERTS: FINALLY!!! The Topps officials must have sat down and said..how do we impress Sport Card Collectors this year with our inserts??? Lets take time on them and improve them and that they did. After busting into the first pack and seeing the glimmer and shine and inserts that jumped out to me..I actually looked forward to busting the second one and possibly more now. Kudos to Topps for going back in time and taking some of their best classic inserts and bringing them back. I can actually feel the collectability in these and would put sets together. And finding 4 or 5 per pack doesn't bother me as much anymore. Hope they keep this trend up!

AUTOGRAPHS: N/A (it would be rare to find in a retail, but you never know)

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS: Was surprised to find this in my second of the two rack packs. Brought even more value. I also like the design.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I hope all Topps products are like this, this year and I hope they bring to football Topps like they brought to this one. If they do it will be epic. I am finally very happy to buy baseball cards again and hope the effort they put into this product carries onto their other 2012 products.

RATINGS:  Bloggers Note: Our ratings are based specifically on the blaster, box or packs we opened and do not express what the overall product could bring. Ratings based on a 1-5. 1 Being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
                Packaging: 5
                Base Design: 3
                Insert Design: 5
                Memorablila/Autographs: 4
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 4

Random Card Of The Day: Upper Deck Iron Man 2 Artist Sketch Card

Upper Deck held a Christmas contest where you had to take a picture of yourself or animals or so on with a Christmas scene and a Upper Deck card. The most creative, the better chance to win. There were 10 winners overall and I was one of the lucky ones. The prize lot arrived a few days ago, inside was a UD Authenticated calendar 2013, 2 packs of card (a box breakers of 2 hockey packs), and some other odds and ends some of which will be used in upcoming giveaways! But the one thing that caught my eye was this sketch card. My very first sketch card.

The one thing I do in my collection is try to expand it to cover all sorts of cards. This takes a sketch card off from my Hobby Bucket List.Other than a video card, a Booklet Card is the only thing left on it.

Let me know your thoughts on my new one of a kind addition to my collection!