1995 Topps Dimension III baseball packs

In line with the direction my collecting habits have taken of late, I purchased some packs of Topps Dimension III, of 'D3' as it became known.

I ignored some sensible advice, such as avoiding this product like a plague infested cat. However I wanted to see Topps's attempt at 3D/lenticular technology for myself .

Maybe it's a weak extraocular muscle or just my poor eyesight but these things look bloody awful... from any distance.

It begs the question. What were they thinking?

 

There are 59 base cards in the set and 6 Zone inserts. There are only two Red Sox in the set;

#9 Roger Clemens
#34 Mike Greenwell
I purchased 5 packs from e-bay for about $1.00 a pack (which is a little better than the original price of $5 a pack).

Pack1:

#3 Ruben Sierra Athletics

#12 Andy Benes Padres

#26 Paul O'Neill Yankees

#44 Doug Drabek Astros

#DIIIZ 1 Frank Thomas White Sox

 

Pack 2:

#10 Cal Eldred Brewers

#23 Mike Stanley Yankees

#32 Ivan Rodriguez Rangers

#34 Mike Greenwell Red Sox

#57 Orlando Merced Pirates

 

Pack 3:

#23 Mike Stanley Yankees

#32 Ian Rodriguez Rangers

#41 Tim Wallach Dodgers

#57 Orlando Merced Pirates

#DIIIZ 3 Jeff Bagwell Astros 

Pack 4:

# 7 Albert Belle Indians

#18 Scott Leius Twins

#20 Brian Anderson Angels

#37 Don Mattingly Yankees

#47 Bip Roberts Padres



 

Pack 5:

#10 Cal Eldred Brewers

#11 Dennis Eckersley Athletics

#14 Andres Galarraga Rockies

#22 Bobby Bonilla Mets

#32 Ivan Rodriguez Rangers 

 

These cards look better scanned than they do in the flesh, but the pictures still appear to be out of focus rather than three dimensional. Pinnacle's UC3 was apparently a much better product, which couldn't have been too difficult.

At least I pulled an Eck.

1990 Sportflics Magic Motion baseball cards

I have become strangely obsessed with the 3D/ Lenticular cards both past and present. It may be the strange combination of plastic and cardboard or the 'oddball' nature of these cards, but I have been feeling the urge to add a few to my collection.

So what better way to add to the lenticular collection than 'Sportflics'.

By 1990, Sportflics Magic Motion cards were in their fifth year and had not been the spectacular success that the producers had hope they would be.

The 250 base card set only featured 6 Red Sox players;

#2 Wade Boggs
#50 Mike Greenwell
#72 Nick Esasky
#80 Ellis Burks
#149 Roger Clemens
#217 Dwight Evans

I have six packs of these 3D marvels. Each pack contains three superstar cards and two trivia cards.

Pack 1:

#7 Ken Griffey.Jr Mariners

#76 Jose Deleon Cardinals

#158 Julio Franco Rangers

 

Trivia #24

Trivia #151

1. Pick out the MVP who smashed the most home runs in the 70's?

A. Jim Rice

B. Dave Parker

C.Willie Stargell

D. Reggie Jackson

 

Pack 2:

#43 Greg Briley Mariners

#161 Joe Magrane Cardinals

#185 Mike Moore Athletics

 

Trivia #81

Trivia #142

2.What MVP holds the record for most home runs in a four game World Series?

A. Reggie Jackson

B. Mickey Mantle

C. Lou Gehrig

D. Hank Greenberg

Pack 3:

#6 Tony Fernandez Blue Jays

#35 Bob Welsh Athletics

#167 Mike LaValliere Pirates

 

Trivia #63

Trivia #150

3.What MVP was the first switch-hitter ever to win a batting title?
A. Rod Carew
B. Pete Rose
C. Mickey Mantle
D. Frank McCormick

Pack 4:

#2 Wade Boggs Red Sox

#46 Pat Borders Blue Jays

#163 Ricky Jordan Phillies

 

Trivia #11

Trivia #144

4.What MVP has the most RBIs in a four game World Series?
A. Yogi Berra
B. Reggie Jackson
C. Lou Gehrig
D. Mickey Mantle

Pack 5:

#24 Tom Glavine Braves

#156 Len Dykstra Phillies

#190 Dan Cladden Twins

 

Trivia #62

Trivia #149

5. Who was the only pitcher ever to win back-to-back MVP Awards?
A. Hal Newhouser
B. Bob Gibson
C. Sandy Koufax
D. Carl Hubbell

Pack 6:

#18 Glenn Davis Astros

#93 Roberto Alomar Padres

#176 Jeff Huson Expos

 

Trivia #38

Trivia #119

6.What MVP had the most career walks in the NL?
A. Willie Mays
B. Henry Aaron
C. Joe Morgan
D. Maury Wills

answers
1.C Stargell , who bashed 256 homers
2.C Gehrig , who hit four home runs in the '29 series
3.C Mantle, who won the AL hitting title with a .363 batting average in'56
4.C Gehrig, who had a record nine RBIs in the '28 series
5.A. Newhouser, in '44 (29-9) and '45 (25-9)
6.C. Morgan, who holds the NL record with 1,799 walks in his 22 year career.
(answers as of 1990)

2013 Topps Opening Day Lenticular insert Opening Day Stars

The lenticular insert has become a staple of recent Topps products; 2011 Lineage, 2012 Archives and 2012 and 2013 Opening Day. There is just something about these types of cards that interests me. The Lenticular process, which is used to create movement or depth in a picture, is nothing new. Topps tested lenticular /3D baseball cards in 1968 and 3D became a regular feature of Kellogg's cereals through-out the 1970's and early 80's and every collector has Sportsflix tucked away in there collection somewhere.
These modern inserts are showing depth rather than movement, nevertheless, this is a collection for the odd-balls amongst us or anyone who appreciates diversity in their baseball collection.
The insert set contains 25 cards and I intend to collect them all.
#1 Prince Fielder - Detroit Tigers
#2 Justin Verlander - Detroit Tigers
#3 Miguel Cabrera - Detroit Tigers
#4 Buster Posey - San Francisco Giants
#5 Derek Jeter - New York Yankees
#6 Robinson Cano - New York Yankees
#7 Evan Longoria - Tampa Bay Rays
#8 David Ortiz - Boston Red Sox
#9 Joe Mauer - Minnesota Twins
#10 Albert Pujols - Angels
#11 Mike Trout - Angels
#12 Josh Hamilton - Angels
#13 Yu Darvish - Texas Rangers
#14 Felix Hernandez - Seattle Mariners
#15 David Wright - New York Mets
#16 R.A. Dickey - Toronto Blue Jays
#17 Adrian Gonzalez - Los Angeles Dodgers
#18 Cole Hamels - Philadelphia Phillies
#19 Bryce Harper - Washington Nationals
#20 Stephen Strasburg - Washington Nationals
#21 Joey Votto - Cincinnati Reds
#22 Ryan Braun - Milwaukee Brewers
#23 Andrew McCutchen - Pittsburgh Pirates
#24 Matt Kemp - Los Angeles Dodgers
#25 Yadier Molina - St. Louis Cardinals

Completed 22nd April 2015

2012 Topps Archives 3D inserts

In retrospect I think that I should have just tried to collect the whole set of 2012 Archives. The inclusion of 1980 Topps design, Deckle Edge and stickers weren't enough, there was one set of inserts that definitely captured my imagination -the 3D set. Similar in design to 2011 Topps Lineage, which were also based on the experimental 1968 3D Topps release, only slightly larger.
The set contains 15 cards featuring some stellar names from past and present.
They were inserted in 2012 Archives at a ratio of 1in 8 packs.
Since there are only 15, why not collect the whole set?

AK Al Kaline
BR Babe Ruth
CS CC Sabathia
CU Chase Utley
DP Dustin Pedroia
FH Felix Hernandez
JU Justin Upton
JV Joey Votto
MC Miguel Cabrera
MK Matt Kemp
MM Mickey Mantle
NC Nelson Cruz
RC Robinson Cano
RCL Roberto Clemente
WM Willie Mays

COMPLETED

1970 Kellogg's Cereal Baseball Cards

The 1970 Kellogg's set was notable for two reasons, firstly the 3-D look and secondly, these were the first cards released by a breakfast cereal company. The cards were inserted in specially marked packs of Kellogg's Corn Flakes.  Unfortunately due to the fact that these cards are made of plastic, they are subject to warping and cracking- not desirable features.
There are 75 cards in the set included a huge number of future Hall-of-Fame players, most notably: Tom Seaver, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Reggie Jackson and Johnny Bench
Two noticeable omissions from the set were Carl Yastrzemski and Hank Aaron.

The 75 cards in the set are:
1 Ed Kranepool
2 Pete Rose
3 Cleon Jones
4 Willie McCovey
5 Mel Stottlemyre
6 Frank Howard
7 Tom Seaver
8 Don Sutton
9 Jim Wynn
10 Jim Maloney
11 Tommie Agee
12 Willie Mays
13 Juan Marichal
14 Dave McNally
15 Frank Robinson
16 Carlos May
17 Bill Singer
18 Rick Reichardt
19 Boog Powell
20 Gaylord Perry
21 Brooks Robinson
22 Luis Aparicio
23 Joel Horlen
24 Mike Epstein
25 Tom Haller
26 Willie Crawford
27 Roberto Clemente
28 Matty Alou
29 Willie Stargell
30 Tim Cullen
31 Randy Hundley
32 Reggie Jackson
33 Rich Allen 
34 Tim McCarver
35 Ray Culp
36 Jim Fregosi
37 Billy Williams
38 Johnny Odom
39 Bert Campaneris
40 Ernie Banks
41 Chris Short 
42 Ron Santo
43 Glenn Beckert
44 Lou Brock
45 Larry Hisle
46 Reggie Smith
47 Rod Carew
48 Curt Flood
49 Jim Lonborg
50 Sam McDowell
51 Sal Bando
52 Al Kaline
53 Gary Nolan
54 Rico Petrocelli
55 Ollie Brown
56 Luis Tiant
57 Bill Freehan
58 Johnny Bench
59 Joe Pepitone
60 Bobby Murcer
61 Harmon Killebrew
62 Don Wilson
63 Tony Oliva
64 Jim Perry
65 Mickey Lolich
66 Jose Laboy
67 Dean Chance
68 Ken Harrelson
69 Willie Horton
70 Wally Bunker
71 Bob Gibson
72 Joe Morgan
73 Denny McLain
74 Tommy Harper
75 Don Mincher