I've been Zapped! Thanks Kenny at Torren' Up Cards!

Kenny over at Torren' Up Cards opened some packs of 2018 Topps Stranger Things and had a wishlist.  I opened up 3 Blaster Boxes of Topps Stranger Things and had doubles I needed to unload.  I offered to do a straight trade for the ones he needed for the one I needed...my double cards needed a good home and my doubles box was not it.  But Kenny took it upon himself to zap me and load me up with some goodness.

First up is the Will Byers sticker I needed.  For those that have not see the Netflix series....go watch it....you wont be disappointed.

Next up is a sweet auto (#3/5) of Hiroshi Gondo who played for the Chunichi Dragons (and won Rookie of the Year I might add) in the 1960s and was a manager off and on after that up until 2012.  Thanks!!

Beau Burrows was the Tigers' First Round pick in the 2015 draft and is currently developing in the minors.

 



 

Raz did a write up on his haul of Sega Card Gen cards, but these are the first ones I have ever owned.  For those that don't know, these cards are used to play an arcade game in Japan.  I've linked a YouTube video of it here.  Pretty cool, and thanks for hooking me up with this 2011 Sega Card Gen of Matt Belisle now currently with the Twins.



 

Another video arcade card...this time of Masahiro Tanaka.  This game is called Baseball Heroes from Konami and the cards were printed in 2011.  If I was rich, I'd have these arcade games in my basement and I'd invite all my friends over to play.

This is my first ever Calbee Card....This is a 2016 card of Shogo Akiyama celebrating his new record of 215 hits in the 2015 season.

 

Gotta love me some BBM Baseball.  This 2016 BBM is from the 2nd Version and of player Daiki Tomei.  He is still pitching, but didn't do too hot last season.

Time for some color....this is the 2014 Bowman Platinum Chrome Purple Refractor of Jesse Biddle. Jesse is now with the Braves.

Another auto!  This one of Jake Sweaney (Did I mention his birthday happens to be today...at least the day I wrote this??).  Jake isn't playing at the moment it looks like, but I love these on-card autos.

Some more acrade game cards...this time of Sega WCCF International Clubs Soccer.  I don't recognize any of the names, but you can see how the game is played here.  Again, these video games that incorporate the card collecting aspect are legit in my book!

Lastly are some nice looking ladies on cards....Mayuko Iwasa and Nanami Kawakami.

 

Thanks again Kenny and I am hoping we can do a trade at some point again in the future!

Itty Bitty Teeny Weeny - New Sumo Wrestling Set / 1940 Mini Rikishi 5 (R4011)

Sumo menko from the 1930s are not all that uncommon which is really surprising given the amount of destruction that occurred in the 1940s during World War II.  What is really unusual, however, are really small menko from the 1930s.  How these survived without falling into small little crevices and being lost forever are beyond me.  These are the only six from this set that I have ever seen in the almost 20 years of me collecting.  This particular set is from 1940 and easy to date because Ayanobori was only ranked a Komusubi for a few tournaments and lines up to 1940 with the other rikishi ranks as well.  I've labeled this as the 1940 Mini Rikishi 5 set with a catalog number of R4011.

What is the smallest card set you have seen?

39 Steps Back - 2018 Airport Trading Cards Are Here

Last month the North America Airports Council International (NA-ACI) held their annual conference and announced the release of their 2018 series of Airport Trading Cards (Noted in orangish/pink below).  This year, there are 39 new cards in the 2018 series with 14 new airports represented.  For a set completionist like me, this means a whole new challenge as I try and track down these 39 new cards along with the 8 that I am still missing from the previous years.  Cards are already starting to hit eBay and so I have been able to whittle a few down this way.  Does anyone live near any of these airports?  If so, are you tempted to collect?

Right now there are 122 cards in the master set with the checklist below (Note: Yellow is my wantlist from the previous series of cards): 

21D-001	Lake Elmo Airport (Minnesota)
AGC-001	Allegheny County Airport (Pennsylvania)
ANE-001	Anoka County-Blaine Airport (Minnesota)
ATL-001	Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport 2014 (Georgia)
ATL-002	Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport 2015 (Georgia)
ATL-003	Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport 2018 (Georgia)
AUS-001	Austin-Bergstrom International Airport 2014 (Texas)
AUS-002	Austin-Bergstrom International Airport 2018 (Texas)
AVL-001	Asheville Regional Airport (North Carolina)
BDL-001	Bradley International Airport (Connecticut)
BNA-001	Nashville International Airport (Tennessee)
BOS-001	Boston Logan International Airport (Massachusetts)
BTR-001	Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (Louisiana)
BUR-001	Hollywood Burbank Airport (California)
CHS-001	Charleston International Airport  (South Carolina)
CLE-001	Cleveland Hopkins International Airport 2015 (Ohio)
CLE-002	Cleveland Hopkins International Airport 2018 (Ohio)
CLT-001	Charlotte Douglas International Airport (North Carolina)
CMH-001	Port Columbus International Airport 2015 (Ohio)
CMH-002	John Glenn Columbus International Airport 2018 (Ohio)
CVG-001	Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (Ohio)
DAL-001	Dallas Love Field Airport (Texas)
DCA-001	Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (Virginia)
DEN-001	Denver International Airport (Colorado)
DTW-001	Detroit Metropolitan Airport (Detroit)
ELM-001	Elmira-Corning Regional Airport (New York)
ELP-001	El Paso International Airport (Texas)
ELP-002	El Paso International Airport 2014 (Texas)
FAI-001	Fairbanks International Airport (Alaska)
FCM-001	Flying Cloud Airport (Minnesota)
FLL-001	Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport 2015 (Florida)
FLL-002	Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport 2018 (Florida)
GSO-001	Piedmont Triad International Airport 2014 (North Carolina)
GSO-002	Piedmont Triad International Airport 2016 (North Carolina)
GSP-001	Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (South Carolina)
HOU-001	William P. Hobby Airport (Texas)
HSV-001	Huntsville International Airport (Alabama)
IAD-001	Washington Dulles International Airport (Virginia)
IAH-001	George Bush Intercontinental Airport (Texas)
ICT-001	Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (Kansas)
IND-001	Indianapolis International Airport (Indiana)
JAX-001	Jacksonville International Airport 2014 (Florida)
JAX-002	Jacksonville International Airport 2015 (Florida)
JAX-003	Jacksonville International Airport 2018 (Florida)
LAS-001	McCarran International Airport (Nevada)
LAX-001	Los Angeles International Airport (California)
LAX-002	Los Angeles International Airport (California)
LCK-001	Rickenbacker International Airport 2015 (Ohio)
LCK-002	Rickenbacker International Airport 2018 (Ohio)
LEX-001	Blue Grass Airport (Kentucky)
LGB-001	Long Beach Airport 2014 (California)
LGB-002	Long Beach Airport 2018 (California)
LVN-001	Airlake Airport (Minnesota)
MCO-001	Orlando International Airport (Florida)
MDW-001	Chicago Midway International Airport 2015 (Illinois)
MDW-002	Chicago Midway International Airport 2017 (Illinois)
MEM-001	Memphis International Airport (Tennessee)
MHT-001	Manchester–Boston Regional Airport (New Hampshire)
MIA-001	Miami International Airport (Florida)
MIC-001	Crystal Airport (Minnesota)
MKE-001	General Mitchell International Airport (Wisconsin)
MSN-001	Dane County Regional Airport (Wisconsin)
MSP-001	Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport 2014 (Minnesota)
MSP-002	Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport 2015 (Minnesota)
MSP-003	Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport 2017 (Minnesota)
ONT-001	Ontario International Airport (Ontario)
ORD-001	Chicago O’Hare International Airport 2015 (Illinois)
ORD-002	Chicago O’Hare International Airport 2017 (Illinois)
PHX-001	Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport 2014 (Arizona)
PHX-002	Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport 2018 (Arizona)
PIT-001	Pittsburgh International Airport 2014 (Pennsylvania)
PIT-002	Pittsburgh International Airport 2018 (Pennsylvania)
RDU-001	Raleigh-Durham International Airport (North Carolina)
RSW-001	Southwest Florida International Airport (Florida)
SAN-001	San Diego International Airport 2014 (California)
SAN-001	San Diego International Airport 2015 (California)
SAT-001	San Antonio International Airport 2014 (Texas)
SAT-002	San Antonio International Airport 2018 (Texas)
SAV-001	Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport 2014 (Georgia)
SAV-002	Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport 2015 (Georgia)
SAV-003	Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport 2018 (Georgia)
SFO-001	San Francisco International Airport (California)
SJC-001	Mineta San José International Airport (California)
SJC-002	Mineta San José International Airport 2018 (California)
SLC-001	Salt Lake City International Airport (Utah)
SNA-001	John Wayne Airport 2015 (California)
SNA-002	John Wayne Airport 2018 (California)
SPI-001	Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport (Illinois)
SRQ-001	Sarasota Bradenton International Airport 2015 (Florida)
SRQ-002	Sarasota Bradenton International Airport 2018 (Florida)
SSF-001	Stinson Municipal Airport (Texas)
SSF-002	Stinson Municipal Airport 2018 (Texas)
STL-001	Lambert-St. Louis International Airport 2014 (Missouri)
STL-002	Lambert-St. Louis International Airport 2015 (Missouri)
STL-003	St. Louis Lambert International Airport 2018 (Missouri)
STP-001	St. Paul Downtown Airport (Minnesota)
TPA-001	Tampa International Airport 2015 (Florida)
TPA-002	Tampa International Airport 2018 (Florida)
TZR-001	Bolton Field Airport 2015 (Ohio)
TZR-002	Bolton Field Airport 2018 (Ohio)
VQQ-001	Cecil Airport (Florida)
YEG-001	Edmonton International Airport 2014 (Alberta)
YEG-002	Edmonton International Airport 2018 (Alberta)
YLW-001	Kelowna International Airport (British Columbia)
YMM-001	Fort McMurray International Airport (Alberta)
YOW-001	Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport 2014 (Ontario)
YOW-002	Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport 2015 (Ontario)
YOW-003	Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport 2016 (Ontario)
YOW-004	Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport 2018 - English (Ontario)
YOW-005	Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport 2018 - French (Ontario)
YQM-001	Greater Moncton Romeo LeBlanc International Airport (New Brunswick)
YQR-001	Regina International Airport (Saskatchewan)
YTZ-001	Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport 2015 (Toronto)
YTZ-002	Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport 2016 (Toronto)
YWG-001	Winnipeg Richardson International Airport (Manitoba)
YXS-001	Prince George International Airport (British Columbia)
YYC-001	Calgary International Airport (Calgary)
YYJ-001	Victoria International Airport (British Columbia)
YYT-001	St. John's International Airport (Newfoundland)
YYT-002	St. John's International Airport 2018 (Newfoundland)
YYZ-001	Toronto Pearson International Airport 2015 (Ontario)
YYZ-002	Toronto Pearson International Airport 2018 (Ontario)

Topps Stranger Things is stuck in the Upside Down!

For most people reading this blog, you are probably of the age to relate to most things from the 1980s.  Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, ET, trading cards, Dungeons and Dragons...the list goes on.  If you are still reading this blog, you definitely need to check out the show "Stranger Things" on Netflix if you haven't already done so.  An amazing cast of child and adult actors, a great storyline, and set in the 1980s which brings back a ton of nostalgia.  After two years, Topps was finally able to secure the license to manufacture trading cards.  Announced back in June, the original release date was mid October and eventually pushed back to 31 October.  Further delays have pushed the Hobby boxes back to the end of November, but Topps was able to release Blaster and Retail Boxes last week......which is fine by me because I really want to only collect the base set anyways.  Sure, it would be a lot cheaper to just buy the base set from folks are just chasing the inserts and parallels, but given the old-school nostalgia of the show, I want to hand collate the 100-card base set from packs....just like I did back in the 1980s.  I'll probably complete the Character Cards, Character Stickers and Scene Sticker sets as well.

Topps gave us a sneak peak with some online picture teasers and this promotional card handed out at the New York Comic Con.  Singles are already starting to pop up on eBay and the scramble to pick up the hard-to-find parallels will be in full swing.

Who else is chasing this set?

1960s Japanese Fabric Beauty

Recently, I've been obsessed with collecting bolts of Japanese yukata and kimono material from the 1960s that have bromides attached to them.  These bromides, usually of famous people, show the cloth being worn by the person to give an idea of what it would look like.  I have quite a few now and need to start cataloguing them.  I picked this "beauty" up off of eBay a few weeks ago....unfortunately, there is no name on the bromide so I don't know which celebrity this is.  Nonetheless, the cloth is made from indigo dye (which all that I have found are) and is a beautiful geometric pattern that fades to different sizes with flowers added in.  The manufacturer placed a sticker with the number "82"...probably to indicate the style. 

Simply beautiful!