Friday, January 31, 2020

2017 WWE Then Now Forever Hanger Box 2

Nope, not a creative title, but it isn't a creative box either.



First the scoring...

Base Card 1
Base Sports Card Need 3
Base Wrestling Card Need 4
Base Variation / Short Print Card Odds
Base Toronto Card 15
Base Toronto Variation / Short Print Card 5 * Odds
Insert Card Odds
Toronto Insert Card 5 * Odds
Box Bonus Cards Per Pack Odds
Error Card Double Score

then, well...know what else wasn't very creative....a lot of the same cards in this box as the last...



Yeah - even the roster updates which are exclusive to these boxes saw 4 of the 5 cards being identical to the first hanger box I opened. I could get down on these negatives, but instead will focus on the fact I can change these dupes into cards I want via trade - always a positive.

So what did I get out of this box to keep?



Just 5 base additions, however getting Drew, Elias and Ruby were exciting adds. Ruby reminds me of Paige a bit in the "outside the box" look and character, which I personally find amazingly great. Would love to see her get a great push in the Women's division.

Best news of the box would be the insert adds...



The Charlotte card is a great photo - base or bronze, and getting a couple more of my missing finishers and signature move insert set is great as I am closer to finishing that one off.

Overall though, a very blah box, so no surprise, a very blah score.

1) 2018 Diamond Kings Baseball 6.0400
2) 2019 Topps WWE Women's Division Blaster 5.6825
3) 2017 Panini Chronicles Blaster 3.0000
4) Dollarama 80 Card Assorted Baseball Pack 2 2.5432
5) Dollarama 80 Card Assorted Baseball Pack 1 2.4578
6) 2017 WWE Then Now Forever Hanger Box 1 2.1190
7) 2017 WWE Then Now Forever Hanger Box 2 1.7857

Thursday, January 30, 2020

A little is enough and a lot is unexpected

The second half of the 80 card pack up for today.

The set build helpers...



The A's of the late 80s and early 90s is a team I know better than most. Likely because they were one of the really good teams, and one I measured the Jays against each year. Specifically looking at 1988 through 1992 as the 1989 year saw the Jays lose to the A's in the playoffs, and of course 1992 was revenge when the Jays went through the A's on their way to winning the World Series that year.

Terry Steinbach was one of the cogs for those years and a player, with the same career, but in the NL, I probably wouldn't really remember as well.

Speaking of Jays though...



Neither new, but still - woo hoo!

With printing errors, sometimes being off just a little is just enough to make it into the error binder in my collection...



You can see the misalignment on the name and team at the bottom, which was enough that I notice, and can call this a misprint (I know, not really an "error", but I use the term error more loosely to include printing errors).

We finish with the "stuff you can have, just ask" pile...



A bit heavier in the "junk" period than some of the ones I have done, specifically 1990 Donruss.

81 Cards, 206 Points.

1) 2018 Diamond Kings Baseball 6.0400
2) 2019 Topps WWE Women's Division Blaster 5.6825
3) 2017 Panini Chronicles Blaster 3.0000
4) Dollarama 80 Card Assorted Baseball Pack 2 2.5432
5) Dollarama 80 Card Assorted Baseball Pack 1 2.4578
6) 2017 WWE Then Now Forever Hanger Box 1 2.1190

Well, it does show me at least that, unless a hangar box is a set I want to collect, and something not yet started in my collection, these repacks may be a better bet for the price.

What is the better bang for the buck? Trading partners - you get a lot of what you want and need without the excess. Today, part of a recent package I received from baseballcardstoreca at TCDB, but also the online store at https://baseballcardstore.ca/collections which, as you can see from the partial package here, isn't really just baseball cards.



First up is a bunch of help on the 1991-92 Stadium Club set build as I needed some Toronto dupes and some other nice cards like Ed Belfour (great mask photo) and Mario Lemieux and even Patrick Roy (a decent mask shot there as well). I still have a few dozen cards to go, but may look to wrap this one up this year by trades as I presume the cards I need should be fairly accessible.



2006-07 Upper Deck Power Play was a set I bought a box of to get the 100 card pure base set. You also got 6 of the 30 rookie cards in a box, but I figure, it should be decent enough to try and finish the entire base set, so still looking to slowly add the rest of those missing rookie cards, including this one.



Though no completed sets from what was included, I did get two completed Leaf team sets out of it with the few missing 1998-99 Upper Deck MVP set cards I needed, and the entire 4 card team set (well, not included high number SNs and such) 2003-04Upper Deck Rookie Update. A typical UD design for the period, not too offensive, but doesn't really stand out to me. Is highlighted by Mogilny who was a face before joining the Leafs, along the same lines as Lindros.



Here we start getting into the random pile of new Leafs for my collection. How can you not love that bottom row of cards of "The Cat". Especially the Electric Ice parallel in the middle, such a great shot of his mask.

Even the other Parkie and Gold Topps parallels are solid - as well as Tim Horton, can't forget about Timmy!



We move into some mid-90 shine with Metal and Leaf Limited which are the first cards from the set for me. Love them for the solid card stock - one of the easy wins to get into my good books, a solid card stock.

The 1997-98 Donruss Preferred would be a set that I'd try and complete if I thought I could pick up a bunch quickly and affordably, but don't see them much, let alone the die cut parallel like this one.

Also want to point out the last Pacific card, Tie Domi, is a nice red parallel, as are the couple here...



Gold Label cards again, thick card, nice shine, decent scan here, just solid, high quality feeling cards. Also - it's Cujo!

We also add some Sundin, and then get into the third goalie in the string that were big names in goal while I really watched growing up...The Cat, Cujo, Eddie The Eagle...so I guess that would be cat, dog and bird?



Early 2000s bring some Upper Deck needs and Ian Turnbull in another of the throwback type legend sets - not as dear to my tastes as 2008-09 Upper Deck Masterpieces though.



Oooooh - die cuts! On one hand, the crown shape for Pacific makes perfect sense, which the round shape on the Grinders....no idea what they are going for there, but enlighten me if you know.

Otherwise, lots of metallic shine between the Prizm, O Pee Chee Platinum and Certified sets here, including heavy goalie content.



We end as excited as we start with a rookie Marner card to top it off. It may not be an Upper Deck Young Gun, but doesn't matter much to me - an awesome Leaf who will hopefully be here for a good long time, and a great rookie card to have.

To the same extent, the Bozak Canvas is awesome for a different reason - how do you know love the pic and get a feel for the emotion of the kid enjoying the game?

Amazing package of Leafs, but that wasn't all that was sent, though it will take me a few days to get to the Jays content. I am getting into the busier time of year with work, so not always the easiest to get to everything I want to.

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Another Dollarama 80 - First Half

Before getting into another Dave and Adam item, let's break with another 80 baseball cards from Dollarama. As these typically don't have inserts, it would take a decent number of Jays required to have this move up the list of "best items" for this year, but you never know. Actually, more likely that a couple errors show up and add some points.

Scoring
Base Card 1
Base Sports Card Need 3
Base Wrestling Card Need 4
Base Variation / Short Print Card Odds
Base Toronto Card 15
Base Toronto Variation / Short Print Card 5 * Odds
Insert Card Odds
Toronto Insert Card 5 * Odds
Box Bonus Cards Per Pack Odds
Error Card Double Score

Today, I get to talk about an early 1990s insert set I am missing a lot of..1990 Donruss Grand Slammers.


Sure, it is only a 12 card insert set, but the cards were inserted one per cello pack. I never got cello packs from my mom. Heck, don't know if they were really available in our area at the time. I happen to have two others likely from trades or other repacks, but wouldn't mind getting all 12 at some point. Not high priority, but on the outskirts of my collecting radar I guess.


Jays pitching is covered in this half. Actually the Hentgen cards came back to back which was an unusual surprise. The 1993 Score was a need, so getting that was extra nice.

Set helpers out of this half are...


Some good 1989 love with Fleer and Topps Traded help. I am sure the star cards of 1989 Topps Traded would have been skimmed out, but otherwise, I think these repacks could get maybe 110 of the 132 cards in that set collected the way these go.

The dupes for those interested in...


Usual suspects with 1989 Topps, 1990 Donruss (and an elder Griffey), and a quick 1991 Donruss as well.

As seems to happen, a few cards between about 1995 and 2010, and that is it. It'd be awesome to get one of these with all the cards falling in that range instead. Not going to happen, but would make for a more interesting experience since so many of those sets are still foreign to me.

Maybe with the second half tomorrow at least?

41 Cards, 113 Points.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

End of the quick box with a SN



Here is an absolute perfect example of the numerous parallels of base sets that companies put out these days. The only difference? The foil stamp of the c in the bottom left corner is gold instead of silver.

Yeah - small differences.

It isn't enough of a change that I would expect a desire for all of them, unlike when maybe there is a wide border, and the border colour is changed - like Topps flagship base sets.


No keepers here, but one final insert...



Jorge spent 2019 in Miami and played a majority of the games there - about 130. 18 home runs and a .262 average, but being on the young side at only 26, would expect him to be able to improve over these numbers again the next couple years.

3 Packs, 15 Cards, 45 Points

Early on, and we have plenty to go for the year, but so far...

1) 2018 Diamond Kings Baseball 6.0400
2) 2019 Topps WWE Women's Division Blaster 5.6825
3) 2017 Panini Chronicles Blaster 3.0000
4) Dollarama 80 Card Assorted Baseball Pack 1 2.4578
5) 2017 WWE Then Now Forever Hanger Box 1 2.1190

Again, feels about right for the box, even though it is a really small one given all of 15 cards, but at least there were a few keepers out of it.

Monday, January 27, 2020

Schmidt, don't Ryne



I have mentioned before that Ryne would be a PC guy for me if I did such things, along with Tony Gwynn, Still, not the prettiest of cards, but I can appreciate that base set including retired players like this. Doesn't make this a set I want, but a plus for it nonetheless.

I forgot to mention yesterday, and though not scanned here, the design on the back has a lot of blank space as well. It's at least a different picture used in the space background, but still wasted space for the card.



No short prints or SNs in the base cards today either....but one insert...


That Rated Rookie symbol takes me back as they use the old Donruss design for it on the Donruss cards here. Matt had a great 2019 and has been doing great things for Oakland. The 2017 card here highlights his interest debut game where he didn't have a hit, but two walks and scored a run which had been over 2 decades since the last Oakland player to have such a debut.

2 Packs, 10 Cards, 32 Points

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Success with a box I don't need?

That is the question because today we start....



Okay Panini - 2017 Chronicles baseball. Another box which will give me issues as there aren't per pack odds really available, and because I have no interest in having 15 cards (as I put away one of the packs for THAT collection, to have me interested in chasing down this set....even if the base set is only 100 cards (well, the pure base set as there are 50 SN cards at the end of it to make it 150).

Sad that such a big pack includes four packs...



Oh well. Let's start this, whatever this is going to be...

Base Card1
Base Sports Card Need3
Base Wrestling Card Need4
Base Variation / Short Print CardOdds
Base Toronto Card15
Base Toronto Variation / Short Print Card5 * Odds
Insert CardOdds
Toronto Insert Card5 * Odds
Box Bonus CardsPer Pack Odds
Error CardDouble Score

Pack 1:



Not really a fan of the design at all. The duplicated picture isn't great when it could have been two different ones, the front is taken up by too much verbiage, and the lack of colour is noticeable.



Well, this at least makes up for it a bit as I can knock one of the Jays off the want list at least. The news article write up is different, but I much rather if they would have just kept it all on the back.



Prizm rookie inserts - my guess is every 6 packs or so on this one. Mancini has become a solid player for Baltimore whereas this card comes after he was in 5 games in 2017 (though he has since played almost all games for Baltimore in 2017-2019).

So, another box where I have to guesstimate on points for my scoring...at least the base and Jays take care of themselves.

1 Pack, 5 Cards, 24 Points

Saturday, January 25, 2020

A box in a day

I don't usually buy hanger boxes, but I did end up with a few in the Dave and Adam purchase from last year. A couple boxes of 2017 WWE Then Now Forever because I have half of that set, and at 42 cards in each, I am hoping 2 will get me close to, or completed on the set.

Only time will tell, but today, we knock through one of those....



The box is a little beat up, but odds are all clear and can be read, and I am sure the cards inside are good. Reminder on the scoring and off we go...

Base Card1
Base Sports Card Need3
Base Wrestling Card Need4
Base Variation / Short Print CardOdds
Base Toronto Card15
Base Toronto Variation / Short Print Card5 * Odds
Insert CardOdds
Toronto Insert Card5 * Odds
Box Bonus CardsPer Pack Odds
Error CardDouble Score

The box, in simple terms, acts like 6 packs put together - similar odds, so will use the pack odds for the cards (though the only one that matters is that the John Cena inserts fall every 6 packs, otherwise, the odds aren't enough to make a difference as dupe inserts here, for what they are, single points anyway because the finishers and signature move cards fall two per pack anyway.

Keepers...


I forgot there would be so many insert cards in the 42, that the number of base are low enough, I hope to be under 25 to go when this is over.

These got better as they progressed - Natalya onward are some good cards - especially Shawn.

There were some insert keepers as well...



I like the bronze parallels, even if they aren't very rare coming every other pack. The Cesaro is nice with the red and bronze playing well colour wise. The Cena insert is every 6 packs, so one here makes sense, and the 5 roster update exclusive cards are all new. Love getting the Velveteen Dream, he is going to be such a star for the next decade if he wants to be.

Dupes...



As there would be with 6 packs, 12 inserts from the finishers set, and as I have 45 of the 50 cards already, not a single new one and I still have 5 to go.

I also didn't fare the best on the base set as I should have gone 50/50 since I had half the set, but with only 9 new cards, there were 13 dupes. At least one is Mandy Rose - makes me feel a little bit better.

Definitely a little deflated on that one, though it cost less than $5 CDN, so no real harm done. Hopefully the second one I get to later does a little bit better.

1 Pack, 42 Cards, 89 Points.

Yeah, definitely the low end here, even below the Dollarama 80 I opened so far. Makes sense given the cards - would have taken a real hit to save this one.

A couple other quick shares with...a single Listia card pickup...



My first parallel from the 2019 Topps 150 year anniversary stamped set. Really stepping in it there Sean...

We also have a small PWE trade with fordwaters at TCDB...



I don't collect minor league cards, but these have always confused me. Though not pictured in Toronto garb, these are noted as being Toronto draft picks on the back. I debated collecting them or not, and well, for now, will collect them as long as the cards note the Toronto drafting. Still not collecting minor league cards, but these will do for now...