2021 Hobby Goals

Happy New Year!  As I have mentioned several times in the past, I love reading about how collectors did with their past year's collecting goals and their goals for the upcoming New Year.  I like to do them to help me focus my purchases and hobby time to help give me focus.  2020 was good hobby year for me, but just like everyone else I had to overcome all the challenges living under a pandemic.  I have a feeling most of 2021 is going to look like 2020 and am hopeful we can get back to normalcy by the end of the summer.  Thanks to all my readers and here are my 10 collecting goals this year:

Goal #1: Blog 60 posts this year!

I barely hit my blogging goal last year with posting on average once a week, but this year I want to challenge myself to get 60 posts.  Blogging is more therapy than anything and I hope I can provide a brief bit of information, knowledge, and entertainment as well to the larger collecting community.  I won't be short of things to blog about and am hoping the rest of my life can cooperate.  

 

  

Goal #2: Publish the 5th Edition of the Sumo Menko and Card Checklist.

This is it!  This is the year to get the next edition of my book self-published.  The 4th Edition was completed way back in 2017 and there have been numerous updates and additions ready to be captured in the 5th Edition.  To help me get motivated, I created a draft of the cover already....let's hope this is the year.

Goal #3: Get to the halfway point with my 1973 Calbee set

The 1973 set is a monster in terms of cost to complete.  With cards ranging anywhere from $50-$200 or higher, this 36-card set is a monster to put together.  It takes time and definitely resources to whittle away to completion.  Crazy enough, this is the most expensive sumo set in existence....it even eclipses the sets made in the 1890s....yes 1890s not 1980s...as well as the ultra-rare pre-war sets.  Because of supply and demand, prices have been elevated for a while now, but I am feeling lucky this year to get to the 50% completion mark.  

  

Goal #4: Relabel my Binders/Sets and Pass Along Excess "Stuff"

The majority of my Japanese card collection is in binders, but needs a bit of TLC to properly relabel each of my sets and relabel my binders.  Since my collection has grown from when I first started, I am continually organizing the sets within the binders but wanted to wait until it had settled out a bit before I went back in there and put more permanent labels on everything.  I also need to get into my misc. cards and make sure everything is tidied up and pass along some of my excess in care packages.  Not to mention I need to get my desk stacks incorporated into my collection.  This is the year I'd like to get that done.  Speaking of organizing, look at this binder carousel!  I have my binders on shelves, but this carousel is no joke.

Goal #5: Expand my 1980s/1990s Japanese Telephone Card Collection

I have been totally enamored recently with holographic cards.  Doing some browsing on Yahoo Japan Auctions, there are some legitimate and awesome looking Japanese holographic telephone cards.  I plan on picking up some here and there to complement my sumo wrestling telephone card collection.  Speaking of which, my sumo wrestling telephone card collection was sadly put on the backburner for the past several years, but this is the year I am going to start expanding it.  I used the word "expand" since I don't know which direction I want to take both the hologram and sumo telephone cards yet, but defining them and growing them will be this year's goal.  The real question is, how do I take good quality photos of holographic cards since scanning does not do them any justice?  

Goal #6: Do Something with my Yukata Card/Bolt Collection

I spent a good amount of energy this past year collecting Japanese indigo yukata bolts with their attached cards....so much in fact that there are very few left out there that are coming up for auction.  It's weird...you used to be able to find them on every street corner, now they are almost non-existent.  Anyway, I need to take the 40 or so I have to the next level.  I'll probably try and establish some sort of catalogue system for them and publish them on my blog.

Goal #7: Continue Giving my Non-Sumo Collections Some Love

I'm collecting specific non-sumo sets and want to continue working towards completion of them.  Each one is in a different stage of completion so I have specific goals this year of inching ever closer to 100%.

Amada Nintendo (NES)/Famicon Mini Cards

This 360-card set was issued in 6 different series and is so much fun to chase down.  These cards depict game art as well as actually screen shots from different NES games that were popular in the mid-1980s.  Right now I have only 170 of the cards leaving me a little over 47% complete.  My goal is to see if I can bump the total up by 10% to around 57% which means I need to add about 35 cards to my collection this year.

1983 Myojo Noodle Mechanical (Meca) Cards

Back in 1983, Myojo issued 9 different series of cards depicting different types of mechanical machines: Series 1 - World Steam Locomotives, Series 2 - World Racing Cars, Series 3 - World Classic Cars, Series 4 - World Ships, Series 5 - World Jets, Series 6 - World Motorcycles, Series 7 - World Space Machines/Meca, Series 8 - World Dream Cars, Series 9 - Star Wars Machines/Meca.  Each of these series has 30 cards for a total of 270 cards.  I only have 55 of the cards at the moment (20%), but am looking to boost that total up to 33%, or another 35 cards.  I have confidence that I can do that this year, no doubt!

2014-2020 Airport Trading Cards

I first heard about this set while I was flying through Chicago back in 2015.  I was instantly hooked and have made it my goal to try and collect them all.  No one knows how many there actually are in the master set.  I have it pegged at 156 cards, but I am likely a few short.  Back in October I talked about the "Dirty 5"....these are the 5 toughest cards to get out of the set and my goal this year is to get at least 1 of the Dirty 5!

1974 Japanese Yamakatsu Bruce Lee "The Way of the Dragon"

In 1974, Japan was going crazy over Bruce Lee and to capitalize on his popularity and promote his movies, Yamakatsu issued a three-series set covering 144 cards (48 per series).  Series 1 was focused on the movie "Enter the Dragon", Series 2 on "The Way of the Dragon" and Series 3 on "The Green Hornet".  Each Series gets progressively harder to complete and I was finally able to finish Series 1 back in September.  Right now I am down to needing only 4 more card for Series 2.  My goal for 2021 is to finish Series 2 "The Way of the Dragon" and then turn my focus to Series 3 "The Green Hornet" and add 5 more cards there.  Even something more cool about Series 2 is that it also captures the very first trading cards of Chuck Norris on them!

Radio Shack Zip Zap Cards

Some of the very first miniaturized radio control cars that came to market were the Zip Zap cars marketed by Radio Shack.  These were a huge hit and millions were sold.  All sorts of accessories, upgrades, body kits, and motors were available to customize each of the cars.  Included along with the cars and some of the accessories were trading cards.  Right now, I have been able to track down 82 cards in the master set, but I think there are more than that out there....I have 51 of the 82 (62%) cards, but would like to get that number close to 70% by the end of the year.  I need to go in and update the checklist too and try to get it reflected on the Trading Card Database.

Brandon Laird and Yuta Tabuse Cards

My three PC guys are Nolan Ryan, Brandon Laird, and Yuta Tabuse and my only goal this year is to continue adding to each of the PCs.  I don't have a specific number goal, but at least for Brandon Laird my goal is to start building up his Japanese-issued cards.

Goal #8: Get out at least 1 Care Package a month

I love sending random care packages....I actually enjoy shopping for things to put in them because of the challenge of trying to help fellow collectors out.  I am hoping I can get out at least 12 care packages this year!

Goal #9: Get to The National!

Assuming it is still on this year, my goal is to get out to The National.  Two scenarios: 1) I can hop on a redeye from LAX, land in the morning in Chicago and then hit up the show all day and fly home late that evening, or 2) spend a couple of nights in a hotel and then I can spend a few days at the show.  It all depends on my work schedule and how much time I can take off. 

Goal #10: Maintain/Improve Google/Yahoo/Bing Search Engine results for Sumo Card(s) & Menko

As a repeat from the past four years, my goal has been for this blog to be the #1-at-the-very-top-of-your-browser result when you go search up Sumo Card(s) and Menko.  In 2019, I was the #1 on Yahoo, almost the #1 on Bing, and the #1 to #6 on Google.  Now I am in the top 3 all around!  Here is where I currently stand, let's hope I can maintain that this year!

Sumo Card: Bing #1, Google #2, Yahoo #1

Sumo Cards: Bing #1, Google #2, Yahoo #1

Sumo Menko: #1, Google #1, Yahoo #1

Sumo Wrestling Card: Bing #3, Google #3, Yahoo #3

Sumo Wrestling Cards: Bing #2, Google #2, Yahoo #2

I hope everyone has great luck, fortune, and health in 2021!  Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!

The Dirty 5 - Airport Trading Cards Update

For those of you who are collecting the 2014-2020 Airport Trading Cards, I hope you have good luck on the last five cards needed to complete the 156-card master set....I've dubbed them the "Dirty 5".  Several fellow collectors and I just can't seem to find these last five cards.  Rumors are abound that the cards exist, there are images of them on the internet, but no one seems to have any and they don't pop up for auction.....or hardly at all.  And 4 of the 5 cards are from large, well-traveled airports which makes it that much more odd on why they are so hard to find.  Here are the "Dirty 5":

2014 ATL-001 Hartsford-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

2018 ATL-003 Hartsford-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

2018 LAS-001 McCarran Las Vegas International Airport

2014 SJC-001 Mineta San Jose International Airport

2014 YLW-001 Kelowna (Canada) International Airport

If anyone out there has any of these 5 and is willing to part with them, let me know.  I will make it worth your while, promise.

I was able to whittle away at the 156-card master checklist this past weekend picking up these 7 beauties and knocking down one from the tough 2014-series, MKE.  COVID has made a lot of the airports rethink if they would issue a 2020 series which has allowed me to catch up a bit instead of new cards again flooding the market.  Usually at the annual conference of the Airports Council International - North America (ACI-NA) the new series of cards are revealed as "new" airports hop on board this fun collectible program to help promote their airports...or the "old" airports reveal the next card they will produce.  However, this year the conference was cancelled and I have not heard a peep if 2020 will up the 156-card master checklist again.  Oh well, this has been an awesome set to chase.

Anyone else out there collecting these?

2020 Collecting Goals

A lot of bloggers out there seem to hate writing their New Year Collecting Goals.  It is sometimes viewed as an obligation or mandatory....something they have to do.  Not me. I love setting hobby goals and this post isn't as much for my readers as it is for me...although I definitely enjoy the loyal readers who are sharing in this adventure with me.  Let's hope 2020 was as fruitful and enjoyable collecting sumo wrestling menko and cards as was last year.  Here are my 10 collecting goals this year:

Goal #1: Blog at least once a week - 52 posts this year!
I had a lot of stuff to blog about last year, but not enough time and bandwidth to do it all.  This year, I am going to set a goal of publishing a blog post at least once a week which should be easy to achieve.  Hopefully I'll be able to add a few extra blogs in the middle of the week here and there to knock this one out of the park.  Thanks to my loyal readers for making this blog fun!

 

 

 

Goal #2: Publish the 5th Edition of the Sumo Menko and Card Checklist.

Gah, I really need to get this book out the door.  There are a ton of new checklists that I have catalogued or that are in the queue.  Lots of new information and several corrections.  Not to mention that this I have revamped some of the sections to make it even more comprehensive and historically accurate.  This is the year to do this!

 

 

 

Goal #3: Add 5 more Sumo World magazines from 1973-1999 to my collection.

This will be a tough one for sure as these Sumo World magazines are harder and harder to find on the secondary market.  Now that I am down to basically filling in holes with my collection, finding affordable copies will be hard.  Luck will have to be a factor here.  For those that haven't read any Sumo World magazines, they were once the only English-language source of sumo wrestling information.  People from all over the English-speaking world had subscriptions and it was the go-to guide for sumo enthusiasts.  With the advent of the internet, the publication quickly became outdated, but the historical value captured inside these is second to none.  A true treasure trove of information that is contained nowhere else.

 

 

 

Goal #4: Attend three card shows this year.

It is no secret that card shows are a dying event across the U.S.  Even with a rich sports market out here in California, we can't muster up much in the way of some local shows.  But I still love going and even more excited for the nostalgic euphoria that I get from the thrill of the hunt and the browsing.  My goal is to make three shows this year...and hopefully one or two with Fuji with a celebratory Del Taco feast afterwards.

 

Goal #5: Add three more 1973 Calbee cards to my set.
If I can snag three reasonably priced cards for this set this year, it will definitely be a miracle.  Acheivable, but still difficult.  I need to save my dollars and yen for the really expensive cards later on....if they are around.  If I can knock out 10% of the set every year, I should be done by the time 2026 rolls around.  Here, just take my money now, it is not going to be cheap!

Goal #6: Keep rounding out my Japanese yukata fabric bolt & card collection.
Most of you are like, WTH?  Yeah, this is one of the quirks in my collection.  In the 1960s and early 1970s, Japanese cloth makers would add photo cards to bolts of indigo yukata material to help entice the buyer into buying the material to take home to make their own yukata.  Say what?  Yeah, hard to explain, but here are a few pictures to help give you a visual.  The problem with these is not so much the price, but they are heavy and expensive to import to the U.S.  Not sure what I am going to do with them all, but I'll figure it out at some point.  I am assuming it will just come to me on why I have them at some point.  Weird, huh?

 

 

 

Goal #7: Publish at least 6 BBM Card Set reviews.
I used to do a better job at this, but with limited time this one has fallen to the wayside.  However, I'd like to continue with blog reviews (ideally YouTube box break reviews).  I should be able to cover all the sumo wrestling releases as well as the B.League basketball sets leaving me with doing a few of the non-sport and other "fun" releases that BBM does every year.  Wish me luck!

Goal #8: Add 20 more cards to my Non-Sport Collection
I am very particular with my non-sumo wrestling sets and only have a few sets that I am actively collecting: 1980s Japanese Myojo Noodle Cards, 2002-2005 Radio Shack Zip Zap Cards, 1980s Famikon (NES) Amada Cards, Airport Trading Cards, & 1970s Yamakatsu Bruce Lee Cards. Since I am whittling my sets down to singles now, large lots are hard to come by so achieving 20 cards in this category will be quite challenging.

 

 

 

 

Goal #9: Send out 10 care packages.

For those that know me, I love to give random stuff.  Much like Kenny's Zaps, it feels good to give.  Enough said....

 

 

 

Goal #10: Maintain/Improve Google/Yahoo/Bing Search Engine results for Sumo Card(s) & Menko

For a third year in a row, I want to be the #1-at-the-very-top-of-your-browser result when you go search up Sumo Card(s) and Menko.  Last year I was the #1 on Yahoo, almost the #1 on Bing, and the #1-#6 on Google.  This is a fun one to chase and trying to beat the search engines algorithms is always a challenge.  Plus, I want to be at the top of the list so I am easy to find for all you future readers out there.

 

 

Well, there you have it again.  Thanks for stopping by and sticking with this post to the end and thanks for sticking with this blog all these years.  Happy New Year and best of luck collecting!

2019 Year in Review

Here we are again....it seemed just like yesterday that I was writing this blog's 2018 year in review and now in a blink of an eye 2019 is almost over.  It was quite a year with some international travel, a big move, and a new job.  Here is hoping 2020 bring as much excitement as 2019 did.  Let's see how I did with my 2019 collecting goals.  Over the past two years, here is how I faired:

2017 Overall Grade = B

2018 Overall Grade = A-

 

This year I set out to accomplish 12 collecting and hobby goals.  I knew it was ambitious, but I thought most of them could be easily achievable....I wanted my trophies and to get my "A" grade.

 

Goal #1: Finish Editing and Print the 5th Edition of my Sumo Menko and Card Checklist Book -  Grade "D"

 

- I really thought I was going to be able to knock this goal out of the park, but the workload of my job prevented me from putting forth a valiant effort here.  Plus it seemed like every time I turned the corner I was getting new sets to catalog and the backlog of unchecklisted sets grew.  I did make a dent in editing, but I still have a large dent that I need to conquer before it is ready for print.  This goal will carry over to next year for sure.  Not a complete failure since I did get some stuff done, but below average for sure. 

 

 

Goal #2: Update this Blog's Content and Publish 75 Posts - Grade "D"

 

- This goal kicked me in the butt as well.  I was on the correct glide path to make 75 posts, but could never get in a rhythm the second half of the year.  It'll be pure luck if I can land 61 posts for 2019.  I had planned on publishing 6 times a month, but that quickly got derailed once we moved.  Plus, I never got around to editing the material in this blog to spice it up and make it more user friendly.  I did add some additional sections to the blog and felt like I kept it somewhat clean so, again, not a complete failure, but below average for what I had planned.

 

 

 

Goal #3: Add 5 New Cars to my 1973 Calbee Set - Grade "A"

 

- I made a "serious" dent in this set this year and was able to add 5 cards to the most expensive sumo set out there.  This set will cost the average collector at least $3000 to complete and cards rarely come up for under $100 per card.  I am now sitting at 13 cards...a whopping 36% complete.  The more expensive cards are the second half of the set...cards #19-#36.  Scored an "A" here...I'll drink to that!

 

 

 

Goal #4: Expand the Checklists for Sumo Wrestling Telephone Cards - Grade "C"

 

- I was able to make a small dent in this and was even able to card out a section in my book for this new CT series of cards.  However, prices continued to detract me from being a serious telephone card collector.  At an average of $15 per card, these cards couldn't tempt me to pull the trigger all that often.  Although unique, I doubt I will be able to expand the checklists much over the next few years even though this is an underappreciated genre of card collecting.  Considering how huge the telephone card craze was in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s, these cards still carry cost premiums that don't make sense for my pocketbook.

 

  

Goal #5: Expand the Event-Signed BBM Sumo Card Checklist - Grade "A"

 

- I'm not going to lie, I "cheated" here.  A fellow sumo card collector, Paul, has done almost all the legwork.  Once we figured out where these cards were getting printed, signed, and distributed, Paul was a hound dog in trying to compile the checklist.  As I mentioned before, I can't believe that BBM can produce these really awesome event cards, yet use sticker autos for their main BBM releases.  These gold ink versions with embossed seals are really sharp.  Paul will get all the credit in my book for compiling the checklist, but we now have captured the information for posterity!

 

Goal #6: Earn 1000 points on the Trading Card Database - Add BBM Sumo Wrestling Checklists - Grade "D"

 

- Gah, I thought this one would be easy, but it was hard to find the time to scan and get things organized.  I'm at 674 points...not much progress was made this year....but I did make some progress so not a complete failure.  I feel like this could be a worthy goal in 2020, but we'll see.  I do have some ideas to boost my numbers as I'd really like to get to the 1000 point mark and attain Level 7 which I think would open the door for me on expanding checklists.

 

 



 Goal #7: Start a YouTube Channel with BBM Card Box Breaks - Grade "A+"

 

- I really had fun with this one and I hope to get back into the swing of making videos.  Before we moved back to the United States, I was able to publish several of these videos a month.  Now I haven't touched the recording equipment in months although I do have the setup all ready to go in my house.  Maybe I'll make a video or two over the holiday break.  Checkout my SumoMenkoMan channel.  Hopefully I can restart adding new content sooner than later.

 

 

Goal #8: Add 5 New Sumo World Magazines to my Collection - Grade "A+"

 

- Boom, nailed this one.  I am down to needing only 28 more magazines to have the complete run from 1973-1999.  Plus I was able to add more post-2000 magazines although I am not focusing on those and only picking them up if they happen to be a good price.  These are pieces of sumo history that shouldn't be forgotten....and they are definitely fun to read....although really hard to come by on the secondary market!

 

 

 

 

Goal #9: Finish my Yamakatsu Bruce Lee Series 1 Set, and Add 5 More Cards to Series 2 & 3 Sets - Grade "A+"

 

- I did it!  I finally finished my 48-card Series 1 set and am down to the final 9 cards for Series 2 and 32 cards for Series 3.  I was able to pick up handfuls here and there so felt really good about this goal.  I didn't think I was actually going to knock this one out, but splurged a little and slightly overpaid for the last two cards.  Oh well, it is complete and now I can sit back and enjoy it while I whittle away at Series 2.  Bruce Lee is no joke and you never finish collecting until Chuck Norris tells you to stop. 

 

 

Goal 10: Maintain Google/Yahoo/Bing Search Engine Rankings for Sumo Card(s) Menko - Grade "B+"

 

- This one was a really fun on to go back and see how the search engines adjusted to my blog and blog traffic.  Last year's rankings are in brackets [ ].  Stayed #1 on Yahoo and improved on Bing, but lost ground on Google. 

 

Sumo Card: Bing #2 [#7], Google #6 [#9], Yahoo #1 [#1]

Sumo Cards: Bing #2 [#2], Google #4 [#2], Yahoo #1 [#1]

Sumo Menko: Bing #1 [#2], Google #1 [#1], Yahoo #1 [#1]

Sumo Wrestling Card: Bing #1 [ #2], Google #3 [#1], Yahoo #1 [#1]

Sumo Wrestling Cards: Bing #1 [#1], Google #2 [#1], Yahoo #1 [#1]

 

 

 

 

Goal 11: Add Additional Cards to my Brandon Laird and Yuta Tabuse Player Collections - Grade "A"

 

- Thanks to Fuji and eBay, I was able to beef up my two player collections, although these days it is hard to find any new Laird cards except for Japanese ones, but the Tabuse cards are still pretty plentiful.  Laird did rather well with his new team, Chiba Lotte Marines, and led his team in homers.  Tabuse is still with the Tochigi Brex and leading the East Division.  The season is halfway over and the next season of BBM B.League cards will soon arrive at my doorstep.  I think if I would have added a small handful more of these, I would have reached the A+ pinnacle.  Whoop!

 

 

 





 Goal 12: Add 10 additional Cards to my Airport Trading Card Collection - Grade "A+"

 

- Last year around this time there were about 125 known cards in the master set of Airport Trading Cards.  As of right now, there are 153 known cards and I am now down to needing only 14 more.  Every year the checklist expands, but I manage to hold my own.....some of the older cards are almost impossible to find no doubt.  I'm not sure I will ever be able to collect them all, but who knows!

 

There you have it.  With some solid "A" grades and some significant "D" grades I feel like I earned an overall Grade of "B" in 2019!  Not bad.  Had I knocked out some of my higher goals this would have pushed up into the B+ range...maybe even A-.  Oh well, there is always next year for sure.

 

2019 Overall Grade = B