The base set is comprised of 150 cards plus another 20 short printed "color tint" cards. I actually don't care for the way the tinted SP cards look so if I decide to chase the set I'll just stick with 1-150. In typical Panini fashion there is at least one sequentially numbered parallel set - Crystal Collection.
Inserts are many and most of them look really sharp. Bronze History, Cooperstown Signatures (on card autos!), Induction, Famous Moments, Famous Moments Signatures, High Praise, Field Generals, Museum Pieces, Hall History, Ballparks, The Village, Credentials, With Honors (a cool military salute), Voices of Summer, Ty Cobb Georgia Peach (1 card) and Ty Cobb Iron Horse (1 card). I should mention these are cards that can be found in retail packs like the one I've sampled. I believe there are retail blaster exclusive cards as well as the stand hobby exclusive stuff.
The card fronts are nice looking and have that throwback look. With the black and white photos there isn't a lot of color splash, but I kinda prefer that. At the top of the card you have the year the player was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
The card back gives you some info on the player, but not much in the stats department. I'm guessing most collector's already know the stats for these guys so Panini just opted to highlight one particular year of their career.
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It appears the inserts are inserted one per pack. Part of me likes this as it keeps me coming back for more packs, while the other half of me realizes it'll take longer to put this set together without having a trading partner.
The insert in this pack is from the Famous Moments set. While it may not be my favorite insert set it still has a very nice design. The words in black just above the bat states this is the bat used by Willie Mays on April 30, 1961 when he hit 4 home runs in a single game.
Flip the card over and you're treated to more information and career highlights of the player, in this case of the "Say Hey Kid".
Thus far I've bought a few retail packs and I've gotta say I really like what Panini has done here. I've quickly been losing interest in building sets (thanks in part to 2012 Topps and their shenanigans), but this is a set I could see building...well at least #1-150. I do hate SP cards when they are numbered as part of the base set, but I guess that is something I should get used to in this day and age of collecting.
If you have bought any of these cards or if you want to trade shoot me an e-mail. I'll probably get a want list and trade list posted soon.
I have picked up quite a few and am working on putting together a want list. I am going after most of the insert sets in addition to the base 1-170. Let me know when you have your list together and hopefully we can work out a trade.
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