The first breaks of December 2020 featured two mid-90's product that was heavy on lenticular technology. I've made no bones about loving these motion cards in the past and I figured this would be a fun break. The box of 1995 Topps DIII was actually a bonus I included for free as the planned box (1998 Upper Deck Special F/X) didn't show up on time. Since we were already breaking the box of 1996 Sportflix I thought the DIII would complement the break perfectly.
Topps had planned to do a second series of DIII, but I'm guessing it didn't sell well so they pull the plugged. What we were left with was one series of a "one & done" product. While the lenticular cards aren't as nice as Sportflix in my opinion, they are still nice. Printed on slightly thicker stock that Sportflix, the DIII cards don't seem to have that familiar curl.
The only insert set found in DIII was called Zone. Seeded at just 1:3 packs we managed to pull the entire 6 card set.
Up next is 1996 Sportflix. This is probably my favorite design since Pinnacle brought the set back in 1994. Sadly the 1996 set was the last set released. I'm still currently working on building this set.
The set features a good mix of horizontal oriented cards which feature some nice images, though if you are familiar with lenticular cards then you'll know they don't photograph or scan very good. You have to hold these in your hands to get the effect and realize just how awesome they can be. There are also several traded cards that feature an image of the player, but when "flicked" the image turns to a stadium with the words "Traded to the _____" and the team logo. These are just "meh" to me, but I made sure to include this Tino for a certain lost blogger.
There were two subsets in the set, including "Rookie". Obviously not Jeter's RC, but still a cool card none the less. These alternate between the leather & stitches of a baseball to the woodgrain of a bat.
The other subset was called UC3. If that sounds familiar it's because Pinnacle released a UC3 set in 1995. It's a garish looking set, one that I've built and particularly love. These cards however look much nicer and feature some nice photography.
A Pinnacle parallel staple, Artist's Proof, were included at a rate of 1:48 packs. Our box beat the odds as we pulled this Jay Buhner parallel.
There were several insert sets to chase in the set. Perhaps the easiest to pull at 1:17 packs are ProMotion. The image of the player morphs into baseball equipment when "flicked". Griffey here changes into several bats while Ripken turns into a fielding glove. In my youth I loved these cards. Today they are just a novelty at best...but that doesn't mean I don't want the rest of them for my set!
Until we pulled this Powersurge card (1:35 packs), I had never seen one of these before. Printed on a clear plastic, this card is fantastic looking. I believe 1996 was the first year featured clear lenticular cards. Exclusive to jumbo packs was an insert set called Double Take that features this same technology.
Overall I thought the box of Sportflix really delivered a lot of fun. I will be buying a box for myself soon in the hopes to finish off the base set and possibly make a dent in the insert department.
Our second break of December occured on 12/11/20 and featured two more boxes: 1996 Leaf with a few bonus backs of 1999 Skybox Molten Metal. The "lost" box of 1998 Upper Deck Special F/X also appeared!
Gold Leaf Rookies have been an insert set in Leaf sets in the past, but this time around they were part of the base set. The participant that grabbed the Yankees was happy to see these two Jeters pulled. I was happy to hear they didn't already have this card! That's why I like hosting these cheap breaks...to help collector's with their collections and to just have fun.
Press Proof parallels came in three varieties (Bronze, Silver Gold) and are seeded 1:5 packs. The top row are Silver and the bottom row are the Bronze parallels. The Billy Wagner especially looks nice. Since the card's front already featured foil, the added bronze color makes the whole card shiny as opposed to just the two sides on the normal design.
MVP Contenders (1:8 packs) highlight players that had highlight seasons in both leagues. We pulled Reggie Sanders, Tony Gwynn and Mo Vaughn.
The odds really weren't in our favor to pull any of the other inserts, but we beat the odds! Picture Perfect were seeded 1:140 packs and features a faux wood grain front. Serially numbered to 5000, I love the look of these cards. If they were so hard to pull/find I'd consider building the set as I love cards made of materials other than cardboard.
As a bonus with the box of Leaf, I had 4 hobby packs of 1999 Skybox Molten Metal. This is a product I've longed to open for some time, but it's not exactly cheap so I haven't pulled the trigger. That may have to change however after opening these 4 packs.
The set is broken down between Metal Smiths, Heavy Metal and Supernatural. Each 6 card pack should yield 4 Metal Smiths, 1 Heavy Metal and Supernatural are seeded 1:2 packs. The Manny Ramirez is a Heavy Metal while the rest are Metal Smiths.
The best short printed Supernatural card pulled from the packs was this Derek Jeter.
Xplosion is a parallel of the base set and are seeded 1:2 packs. Printed on metal - think 1996 Leaf Preferred, but with two rounded corners. I love these! Trying to build that set would be a huge undertaking and you'd have to be pretty crazy to try...but oh what fun it could be. I'm sure these would test the welds of Ultra Pro Platinum pages for sure!
In addition to the Xplosion parallel set, there are also 3 other sets that feature just 50 cards each. Fusion, Sterling (#'d to 500) and Titanium (#'d to 50). I don't know what the odds are of pulling these, but I'm sure the odds weren't in our favor with just 4 packs...
...but we beat the odds! Check out this beautiful Titanium Heavy Metal Fusion (don't you just love that name!) of Tim Salmon, #05/50! It didn't look like the Angels were going to be claimed so I grabbed them...with the hopes of pulling a Tim Salmon. Holy smokes, I never imagined pulling anything like this! Of course as soon as this card was shown I could "hear" chants of "RIGGED" being shouted through YouTube's live chat!!
If you enjoyed these 4 packs of Molten Metal and want to see more, please let me know. I can grab a box...but like I said previously it's expensive. I would probably do 15 slots where you pick a team and have a team randomly assigned. Prices per two team slot would be between $13-$16 more than likely. This would be with me breaking even too by the way. If that sounds like something you could get behind please leave a comment or email/tweet me please.
The last box was the late 1998 Upper Deck Special F/X. A retail exclusive, this box had just 10 packs. This made it hard to get a good sample of the set. The set was a parallel of the base 1998 Upper Deck set.
Beautiful cards, each one featured Upper Deck's etched foil. Trust me, these look much nicer in hand.
The set featured 3 insert sets, but with just 10 packs per box the only odds that were in our favor was Power Zone, of which we pulled this Kenny Lofton.
Seriously, what's with all the Indians being pulled from my breaks lately!
Two great weeks of breaks. I've got one more planned for Friday, 12/18/20 and perhaps one other announcement coming. Stay tuned!
Glad you ended up with that awesome Salmon!
ReplyDeleteSweet Salmon! Never seen one of those in person, but I own a Sterling and it's a great looking card.
ReplyDeleteGreat products and enjoyable breaks as always. Thank you for having me!
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