2012 Gypsy Queen blaster

A Gypsy Queen blaster from the Easter haul. I liked the look of this product at first glance. It was a vintage style, what's not to like. I baulked at the prospect of collecting the base set and opted instead to just go after the Red Sox and the many, many variations of Jacoby Ellsbury that are on offer.
However there are 300 cards in the base set, 50 of which are available in a short printed variation.
There are blue frame, gold frame and mini parallels of the base set.
There are mini variations of the mini parallels which come in numerous designs;
Gypsy Queen Back, Straight Cut Back, Black border, Green border, Gold border and Sepia Tone.
There are relics and autographs. A really interesting relic is the Indian Head Penny Relic.
There are inserts too; 20 Moonshots (+ mini version), 10 Glove Stories, 15 Sliding Stars, 15 Hallmark Heroes, 15 Future Stars.
One standout insert is the Gypsy Kings, which are also available in relic and autographs. With names like Prince Wasso, Felek Horvath,  Adamo the Bold, Aladar the Cruel and Savo the Savage. These are cards I would like to get my hands on.

The base set Red Sox including variations are:

22A Kevin Youkilis (In follow thru)

22B Kevin Youkilis (bat above head) SP

35 Jon Lester

59 Clay Buchholz

60A Jacoby Ellsbury (running)

60B Jacoby Ellsbury (batting) SP

92 Adrian Gonzalez

143A Dustin Pedroia (white jersey)

143B Dustin Pedroia (blue Jersey) SP

151 Carl Crawford

173 David Ortiz

174 Josh Beckett

213 Ryan Lavarnway

234 Carlton Fisk

248A Wade Boggs (catchers glove only)

248B Wade Boggs (catchers knee visable) SP

266 Carl Yastrzemski

275 Mark Melancon

The blaster contains 8 packs of 6 cards.

Pack 1:

#29 Ryan Roberts D-backs

#143 Dustin Pedroia Red Sox SP

#159 Shane Victorino Phillies

#158 Ricky Romero Blue Jays

#201 Allen Craig Cardinals

#219 Alex Cobb Bay Rays mini gypsy queen back 

Pack 2:

#40 Ichiro Mariners

##104 Desmond Jennings Bay Rays

#221 Javier Vazquez Marlins

#GS-JF Jeff Francoeur Royals

#SS-JE Jacoby Ellsbury Red Sox

#233 Duke Snider Dodgers mini black

Pack 3:

#50 Miguel Cabrera Tigers

#83 Ryan Howard Phillies

#242 Al Kaline Tigers

#268 Rod Carew Angels

#HH-JB Johnny Bench Reds

#196 Adam Wainwright Cardinals mini

Pack 4:

#22 Kevin Youkilis Red Sox

#44 Matt Kemp Dodgers

#67 Josh Hamilton Rangers SP

#135 Clayton Kershaw Dodgers

#MS-AP Albert Pujols Angels

#45 Madison Bumgarner Giants mini



Pack 5:

#61 Yunel Escobar Blue Jays

#110 Jose Bautista Blue Jays

#219 Jesus Guzman Padres

#276 Ricky Nolasco Marlins

#FS-MP Michael Pineda Yankees

#336 M Trout Angels mini gypsy queen back

Pack 6:

#59 Clay Buchholz Red Sox

#107 Chris Sale White Sox

#117 Marco Scutaro Rockies

#285 Carlos Santana Indians

#FS-MT Mark Trumbo Angels

#185 Lance Berkman Cardinals mini

Pack 7:

#39 Jaime Garcia Cardinals

#79 Melky Cabrera Giants

#148 Dan Harden Angels

#185 Lance Berkman Cardinals

#HH-MM Mickey Mantle Yankees

#70 David Price Bay Rays mini

Pack 8:

#67 Josh Hamilton Rangers

#157 Nelson Cruz Rangers

#244 Roger Maris Yankees

#257 Ryne Sandberg Cubs

#256 Nolan Ryan Astros blue frame 147/599

#83 Ryan Howard Phillies mini straight cut back

I feel this was a pretty good blaster. 4 Red Sox but a numbered Nolan Ryan, the variation of the minis, 2 gypsy backs, 1 straight cut and 1 black border and short prints. The stated odds of 1in3, 1in6, and 1in12 packs. I didn't do too bad.

2012 Topps Series 1

Topps Series 1 from the recent Easter haul. 330 Total Cards in the base set of which there are;
265 MLB Veteran Players, 30 Rookie Cards,10 League Leaders, 2 Cy Young Award Winners, 2 League MVP's, 2 Rookie of the Year, 5 Record Breakers, 4 World Series Highlights, 10 Active Leaders and 6 Post Season Highlights.
Phew.
There are some short printed variations of the base set.
As per the usual, contained within the Topps set are plenty of inserts such as; Golden Moments, Golden Futures, Golden Greats, Solid Golden Greats,Timeless Talents, 1987 mini's, Classic Walk-offs.
It doesn't stop there either. Each of the inserts has autograph and relic variations.
The Red Sox available from the Series One base set are:

#10 Jon Lester
#33 Adrian Gonzalez LL
#50 Adrian Gonzalez
#61 Daniel Bard
#137 Jarrod Saltalamacchia
#158 Josh Reddick
#160 Kevin Youkilis
#170 Jacoby Ellsbury
#212 Tim Wakefield AL
#239 Adrian Gonzalez LL
#247 Clay Buchholz
#318 Erik Bedard
#328 John Lackey

There are 36 cards in the Jumbo pack.
Included within this jumbo was:
#2 Trevor Cahill Athletics
#3 Jaime Garcia Cardinals
#27 John Buck Marlins
#43 Brett Wallace Astros
#44 Edwin Jackson Cardinals
#81 Liam Hendriks Twins
#82 Rick Porcello Tigers
#87 Craig Kimbrel Braves
#99 Michael McKenry Pirates
#114 Matt Garza Cubs
#122 Ted Lilly Dodgers
#153 Mark Melancon Astros
#159 Active Leaders golden parallel

#160 Kevin Youkilis (formally of) Red Sox
#165 Michael Morse Nationals
#179 Denard Span Twins
#194 Danny Duffy Royals
#198 Matt Dominguez Marlins
#204 Tom Gorzelanny Nationals
#206 David Robertson Yankees
#233 St Louis Cardinals
#243 Justin DeFratus Phillies
#245 Adam Lind Blue Jays
#247 Clay Buchholz Red Sox
#248 Stephen Drew D-backs
#261 Kyle Blanks Padres
#265 Aroldis Chapman Reds
#298 Jeff Keppinger Giants
#299 Mitch Moreland Rangers
#306 Ubaldo Jimenez Indians

#GGC-10 Sandy Koufax Dodgers golden giveaway
#GF-17 Dee Gordon Dodgers  gold futures
#GG-61 Jackie Robinson Dodgers golden greats
#GM-38 Matt Kemp Ddogers golden moments
#GMA-MBY Marlon Byrd Cubs autograph
#TM-26 David Wright Mets 1987 mini

Wow that was definitely a Dodgers insert pack.
Not bad for a jumbo pack, 2 Red Sox and a sticker auto.

2012 Topps Archives

The 2012 Topps Archives base set of 200 cards contains 50 cards from 4 different eras.
The cards are fashioned after Topps cards printed in 1954, 1971, 1980 and 1984.
Each of the 200 base cards is available in a gold variation.
There are 40 short printed cards in a variety of Topps designs and 1 super ridiculously short print of Bryce Harper.
There are many inserts available: 50 Gold stamped reprints, 10 Classic Combos, 10 In Action, 25 1977 Topps cloth, 25 1967 Topps stickers, 15 1969 Topps deckle edge and 15 1968 Topps 3-D.
There are also relics, autographs, original autographs, framed mini autographs and all -time fan favourite autographs.
At first glance this looks like a super set, not only for the inclusion of 1980 Topps, but for the other interesting inserts.
The jumbo rack packs contain 14 cards.

The pack included:

1954 design

#8 Matt Moore Bay Rays

#17 Mat Latos Reds

#28 Melky Cabrera Giants

#47 Drew Pomeranz Rockies

1971 design

#65 Jordan Zimmermann Nationals

#69 Ryan Zimmerman Nationals
#76 Miguel Montero D-backs
#98 Johna Santana Mets
1980 design
#130 Giancarlo Stanton Marlins
#148 R.A.Dickey Mets
1984 design
#192 Brad Peacock Athletics
#195 Brandon Morrow Blue Jays
#199 Mark Reynolds Orioles

#683D-MK Matt Kemp

No Red Sox, but the inclusion of 2 1980's cards saved this pack from a pony.