I was just wondering what everyone thought of collecting the cards on back of Action figures.
The completest in me had to buy two of every Star Trek Playmate first and second series to keep one figure on
card and the second to cut out the character information card on the back.

Definitly an interesting idea. I don't usually collect figurines with cards (Wish the ones I have come with cards) but that's cool you have a compete unopened collection and a separate card collection too.

So I'm clear when you say character card - Is this the card board part of the box with character info or an individual trading card of the character?

Thanks

I'm all over the map where this topic is concerned. I do NOT collect the information cards on the back of Plamates figures, but do collect some of the Galoob stuff. THere's little rhyme nor reason to my actions. Here's a few images for people interested:
Sorry to tease with this iamge, it's a prototype toy, but happens to be the only one I have a full back iamge of (not alas, do not have the card in my collection)

I collect the trading cards that come packaged with some action figures. However, I don't collect action figures so I have to find someone who knows enough to sell the card but still opens the pack! I used to have an arrangement with my local comics shop for any figures that had cards. They would ask if the buyer was intending to open the pack and give a discount if the person gave the card to the shop and then I would buy the cards from them.

Interesting subject. Australia and New Zealand once issued quite a large collection of small historical figurines called Mondos (don't ask) with series of 5 figurines representing about a dozen different countries. Each miniature had a cigarette card sized card inserted in the cello wrap making about 50-60 different cards to collect. Naturally my obsessive/compulsive personality kicked in and I accumulated great masses of them. Trouble is, I couldn't bring myself to crack them open so they stay hoarded away in a draw somewhere!

So are you commenting on cards that come with figures {like Kenner Jurrasic Park did}, or cards that were printed on the packaging {like Disney Ducktales or Talespin characters].

And what about cards printed on cereal boxes? Do you cut out the cards or keep the whole box? I've got cereal boxes with cards from Barbie, Hot Wheels, High School Musical, & most recently the Olympics. Then you have Animal Planet cereal which made the whole box collectible with 3 tradings cards on the back & different front cover pictures for 4 different boxes.

Or what about Kid Cuisine frozen dinners? They did trading cards for the animated movies Surf's Up & Open Season. One card on each different frozen dinner. My daughter cut the cards off the boxes before I realized it. But again, looking at the cards in a 9-pocket page is simpler than sifting through 9 frozen dinner boxes to look at the same 9 cards.

For me it boils down to do I find the entire packaging necessary & eye-appealing. Or do I just want the card...

I think everyone would pretty much agree that cards attached to figures or food products, whether part of the packaging or contained in the box, can't be regarded as mint if cut out or opened.

Having said that, I really don't think it matters very much because these types of cards rarely obtain any interest that makes them worth collecting in terms of value. They are oddities and may enhance a collection in that sense, but I can't think of any that have significant prices, even though they may be limited.

I know I had a lot of the cards that came with the small sports figures at one time and nobody ever cared about them. The only Nabisco cards worth keeping were the autograph redemptions, while there are volumes of food stuff cards in Beckett that are worth about a nickel each.

So if you have a desire to collect these types of cards I think you should be able to safely display them anyway you want, without worrying about it too much.

quote:

But again, looking at the cards in a 9-pocket page is simpler than sifting through 9 frozen dinner boxes to look at the same 9 cards.

For me it boils down to do I find the entire packaging necessary & eye-appealing. Or do I just want the card...

For me it's always a constant worry about how you fold an entire cereal box up to fit a 9 pocket Ultra-Pro page.