Card(s) of the Week & New Layout

First off, I got a new layout which I like a lot better than the old one in part because of the translucence of the foreground in this template that I think matches well with my blog's concept. Now if I could only figure out how to use my own background picture rather than using one from blogger's selection I'd be set.

Anyway, in celebration of the new layout here are two cards of the week. I'll show them both together first to give you some appreciation of their respective sizes (the smaller one is the size of a normal baseball card).


So these are both from Topps Gallery's Gallery of Heroes subset. The 1998 and 2000 versions. They are both made of acetate, which I have already described here. The great thing about these is that they are made to look like stained glass. The larger 1998 version was a box topper in 1998 Hobby Boxes of Topps Gallery and does an amazing job of replicating the feel of the famed Tiffany Stained Glass.

If you are a fan of Tiffany Stained Glass or Stained Glass in general, I highly recommend the Museum of Stained Glass which always offers free admission at Chicago's Navy Pier. They do have some sports related stained glass there including a Michael Jordan window, but unfortunately nothing as nice as either of these.


The textured look accomplished by modifying the acetate is incredibly cool, and cannot be done justice by these scans. So, these are some of my favorite cards because 1. They are clear and made of an alternate material (acetate) and 2. They are made to look like a second material (glass) of which I am also a big fan.

Goodbye Ken Griffey Jr.

I was a big Griffey Jr fan as a kid. In fact, I really liked the 90s Mariners and several players on the team (including Jay Buhner). I'm sure this had a lot to do with their victory over the Yankees in 1995, but there seemed to be a lot of likable and good players on the team.

The Mariners remain my favorite AL team today, despite their lack of success in recent seasons. I thought it was cool that Griffey Jr returned there last year and had some moments of success. I kind of stinks that the limited success of last year could not carry over into this season, but it is nice that Griffey Jr is the one to say he is leaving the game.

Anyway, here is my only clear (Acetate) card of Griffey Jr, a fitting way to honor him on this blog:

Weekend Bonus Card of the Day: An Ambitious Start

2007 Upper Deck Elements #111

Jose Reyes

Materials: Acetate (PETG)

The Card:

So when Upper Deck came out with a set called "Elements" I was already excited by what eX had been doing and looked forward to getting my hands on some cards from the set.

As you can see in the scan, if you look closely, the card is translucent and made completely of the acetate (you can barely see the white rectangle containing the statistics on the back of the card through Reyes' torso).

I actually just purchased my first several of these cards at the end of the 2009 Baseball season, and I am pleased with them. I was quite happy to obtain this Jose Reyes gem along with some other nice ones.

Elements was an interesting set as you can see from this press release, which was the best information I could find on the set: http://sports.upperdeck.com/news/article.aspx?aid=2643. Each player had three different cards: one in acetate, one in foil board (which is textured), and one in light fx (which seems like a smother foil card). Each had its own distinct picture on the front.

I have to say, though, that the acetate cards were the most special of the bunch. I have all three versions of Johan Santana and while the foil board and light fx are nice, to me they do not appear much different from many of the traditional inserts. Though, they are all base cards. The acetate base cards are some of the nicer alternate material cards in my collection; however, I think Upper Deck could have made more use of the transparency of the acetate than they did in the design of the cards.

The Acetate:

Chemical Name - Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol

(aka PETG)

Brand Name - Vivak

Description - "VIVAK is a transparent thermoplastic sheet. In the point of purchase industry, VIVAK is the brand and market leader for all clear plastics. Among its advantages, VIVAK offers superior impact strength over acrylic and cost effectiveness compared to polycarbonate. VIVAK offers deep draws, complex die-cuts and precise molded-in details without sacrificing structural integrity. It die-cuts and punches easily and can be bonded or fastened with adhesives, ultrasonic welding or rivets. In addition, VIVAK is easily decorated by painting, silk screening or hot stamping. Easy to fabricate, form, bond and decorate, VIVAK is well suited for a variety of point of purchase and sign applications.

Applications: Typical applications include video tape shelves, greeting card displays, revolving merchandise racks, indoor signs, point of purchase displays, menu displays, photo frames and slat wall inventory displays."*

* This information along with additional technical information on PETG can be found in the following pdf file: http://www.plasticsintl.com/datasheets/PETG.pdf