Arrived in my mailbox today. The cover is "This Is Only A Test" with the featured article being on mainly vintage test cards. Specialized subject there.

There were two promos. I got Ultraman Series Two NSU Promo 5 and CZX Middle-earth P4.

Test cards have always been a popular subject with non-sport collectors, Topps has even covered them in a couple of sets. I have many test cards in my collection, Land of the Giants, King Kong and Superman in the Jungle to name a few. Looking forward to seeing the article.

I'm looking forward to reading that article too. It is a specialized subject in that no card company seems to be test-marketing a series in a given area anymore so the number of test sets is about the same as it was in the 70's. I assume it's because of the always rising price of licensing. They are either all-in or out. I think there was a test set in the 80's.

The Roy Rogers set by Arrowcatch in 1992 had "test cards" but they were really just promos. I think there was a test version of a Little Bighorn set around that time too - not sure.

I was born too late and lived in the wrong part of the country to see many of those 60's and 70's non-sport test cards. They're expensive now especially the ones I would want (Land of the Giants, King Kong, Room 222, and Six Million Dollar Man). I did, however, unknowingly get in on the 1975 Topps baseball mini-cards that were test-marketed only in California and Michigan. I think I bought just a couple of packs - still have those cards somewhere.

I've heard that some test cards were discovered by dumpster-divers behind Topps headquarters. Is it just a legend?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: catskilleagle,

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:
I'm looking forward to reading that article too. It is a specialized subject in that no card company seems to be test-marketing a series in a given area anymore so the number of test sets is about the same as it was in the 70's.

It's a cool article with lots of pictures of cards that many collectors may have never seen. The full cover reads "This Is Only A Test . . . A Look At An Obscure Part Of The Hobby". I call it specialized because I think its an area that only experts really pursue and these vintage tests cards are valuable within that high-end group. I think NSU choose the word "obscure" because it is one of those tight knit groups but, unlike the more expansive range of promo collectors, test cards have been capped off in the hobby. Maybe they will have a revival if their profile is raised.

On another note, I just read Alan Biegel's "Ground Zero" and I thought it was a good article about "Zerocool", for those collectors not up to date on Fanatics ideas. I would also say that they should catch up on the Card Talk forum threads, which are more opinionated in nature.

The explanation of the Blind Dutch Auction format was very clear. There are two things more I would have mentioned because I find them impactful on the hobby and some collectors don't realize it yet, but perhaps print space was restrictive. This format brings both direct distribution to all buyers and effectively replaces the wholesale price selling usually reserved for distributors and dealers buying in bulk. The secondary market essentially becomes the retail price without any SRP from the manufacturer. Those are huge changes in the card food chain.

It's a radical approach and creates different issues, which is why it's interesting that the article specifically includes the line regarding concern over changing old Topps titles, "For longstanding lines, like Stars Wars and GPK, likely nothing. Topps will continue to create entertainment products". Hope that's true. It's also stated that new Fanatics licenses and collaborations will depend. It's a timely and well balanced read.

Mine arrived today - I got the P5 Middle Earth Promo. Really enjoyed the test set article - I have seen the Twiggy uncut test sheet, I would really like one myself.

My copy arrived today, my Middle Earth promo was P6.
regards

John

quote:

Originally posted by JOHN LEVITT:
My copy arrived today, my Middle Earth promo was P6.
regards

John

Which characters appear on the P6? The P5 had Legolas (Bloom) and Arwen (Tyler).

P6 has Bilbo (Martin Freeman) image as below:-

[IMG:left] [/IMG]

regards

John

I went to B&N today thinking the new issue would there since the Dec/Jan issue was early and maybe the Mar/Apr issue too (I was sick whenever that arrived) but few copies of the Mar/Apr were still there. It seems the release schedule for out here has crept back to what it has been.

Second issue of my subscription still a no show. How long should one wait?

I just got told by Beckett that the June/July issue is not out yet and that I wont get mine until the 21st of June.

Am I crazy or are all of you?

I think the April/May issue says to display until May 24, but I took a trip to B&N today and there was the June/July issue

I went to a B&N today too and found the new one on the shelf.

The test card article was great with great photos. Allender's list notes a test pack for "Total Recall" (Pacific, 1990) and there was a test pack for "Twin Peaks" (Star Pics, 1991).

That was a crazy price for the Fleer Ultra Spider-Man (Upper Deck, 2017) Precious Metal Gems 50-card subset. $168,000.

It's interesting that Abrams is doing another book. This one won't be on a Topps set. It's Impel's "Uncanny X-Men set from 1992 and it's going to have cards with it too.

I liked the Jurassic Park article too but there were other cards it didn't mention (cards with Kenner toys with variants in different languages; lenticular cards with Jelly Belly candy, etc.) but you can find discussions of them just by doing a search on Card Talk.

Great issue. I got the CZX Middle Earth P5. Nice Ultraman card too.

quote:

Originally posted by Heroes For Hire:
I think the April/May issue says to display until May 24, but I took a trip to B&N today and there was the June/July issue

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:
I went to a B&N today too and found the new one on the shelf.

Kinda sad that B&N is more reliable than a subscription. Back on the phone Monday.

Yeah, there seems to be odd problem somewhere with a couple of contributing factors, the mail being slower and then they said it was going to be even slower. Maybe they get only a partial run from the printer which allows them to ship some of it to the east coast first or maybe they can get only so much of it in the mail every day, working a skeleton crew to save money. It's weird that someone at Beckett told you the issue isn't out yet when other members had had it for over two weeks already.

It's also weird that our fellow members in the UK get it before people on the west coast but then there was that bizarre issue that Hammer was dealing with for a few months. I've noticed that I see it locally about three weeks after the first person reports getting their subscription copy.

quote:

Originally posted by mykdude:

quote:

Originally posted by catskilleagle:
I went to a B&N today too and found the new one on the shelf.

Kinda sad that B&N is more reliable than a subscription. Back on the phone Monday.

These days if I didn't have a subscription I would never see it here in the UK. I was fortunate that someone from my branch of the Cartophilic Society was a reader and subscriber of the "Wrapper" who advised me of NSU's existence. I managed to find copies of NSU on sale here in the UK only very occasionally but where I cannot remember so I eventually became a subscriber. I believe NSU had been in existence for a few years at that time because I remember getting a large box of back issues direct from them. Later on but still some years ago I can remember going into a "Borders" shop in London's Oxford Street and seeing it on display. This happened once or twice. From then on I certainly don't recall ever seeing a copy anywhere else although that does not mean that there weren't any.

regards

John

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JOHN LEVITT,

quote:

Originally posted by JOHN LEVITT:
These days if I didn't have a subscription I would never see it here in the UK. I was fortunate that someone from my branch of the Cartophilic Society was a reader and subscriber of the "Wrapper" who advised me of NSU's existence. I managed to find copies of NSU on sale here in the UK only very occasionally but where I cannot remember so I eventually became a subscriber. I believe NSU had been in existence for a few years at that time because I remember getting a large box of back issues direct from them. Later on but still some years ago I can remember going into a "Borders" shop in London's Oxford Street and seeing it on display. This happened once or twice. From then on I certainly don't recall ever seeing a copy anywhere else although that does not mean that there weren't any.

regards

John

If you have a comic shop near you, you can always get them to order it for you even if they don't stock regularly. I used to get mine from a comic shop.

Raj

Agreed, a local comic shop would have been ideal, however by the time I discovered that a local comic shop would have been a good source I had already become a subscriber (despite having to get an IMO from the bank) which in my mind at the time guaranteed receiving the magazine on a regular basis. In the long run a subscription was the better option as when I did find a local comic shop it folded after a couple of years when the owner spent more than he had.

I am always concerned whenever I renew my 2 yearly subscription that I might miss an issue. So far it has happened once, in when in 2018 I missed the June/July issue, when Beckett sent me my renewal notice 3 weeks after renewal was due. When I complained I was told that it was my fault for not renewing earlier as they always advise subscribers to renew 2 t0 3 months before expiry as it takes 6-8 weeks to get the renewal started.

As it happens the June/July 2018 issue sold out quickly due to the free promo card being in demand. I eventually managed to get a copy of the magazine but without the promo which by this time was fetching a large sum. I am still missing the card.

So when I read about Hammer's subscription problem I began to get a little uneasy as my subscription was nearing renewal. Now that I have renewed I will be on tenterhooks until the Aug/Sep issue arrives.

regards

John

Well, I have not received my subscription issue yet, and so I just sent an email to Beckett customer service requesting a replacement issue. Hopefully it will get here before the next issue is released.

Try searching for "comic shop near me" in google.
It just came up with a few for me - some I wasn't aware of.