The Great Zo
Verified Trader,
Nothing but Tim Thomas cards for this mail post, including one item off my most-wanted list, and a special completion at the end!
Mail Post #9 for 2014
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Upper Deck UD Exclusives Tim Thomas (074/100)
Let's start with one of the basics -- a UD Exclusives parallel from Thomas' only appearance so far in a 2013-14 Upper Deck base set. I did see one copy of the High Gloss version on ebay, but I was not able to win the auction.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 ITG Ultimate 11 Cup Finals Silver (19/24)
-- Tim Thomas (Black) / Zdeno Chara (Yellow) / Patrice Bergeron (Yellow)
-- Roberto Luongo (Green / White Seam) / Henrik Sedin (Black) / Daniel Sedin (Black)
This card features swatches from Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks jerseys, commemorating their battle in the Stanley Cup Final of 2011.
I'm really not sure where the black jersey swatches came from on the Canucks' side of the card. I looked really closely and they appeared to match the Tim Thomas swatch in color.
-------------------------------------------------------
12-13 Panini Certified Path to the Cup Quarterfinals
-- Karl Alzner / Tim Thomas (268/399)
This card highlights Game 1 from the first round matchup in 2011 between the Capitals and Bruins. In that game, Tim Thomas pitched a shutout in an overtime win. I also have the jersey (/250) parallel to this card, but I have yet to get the very rare prime version (limited to just 10 copies).
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Crown Royale Lords of the NHL Materials Jersey Tim Thomas
This card, which features a black jersey swatch, is also an error card. The word "prime" appears near the top left corner, even though this is obviously just the jersey version of the card. In fact, I don't believe a prime version was ever made for this set. I can only find evidence of three variations:
1) Base (with silver foil)
2) Jersey (with green foil)
3) Patch (with green foil)
It appears that this printing error affected the entire jersey set. The jersey cards have no stated print run, but the patch versions are numbered to 25.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Playbook Limited Edition Jerseys LE-TTH Tim Thomas (36/99)
My first card from Playbook is a pretty underwhelming jersey issue. I have yet to see any of the parallel versions of this card. This one comes adorned with an awesome white swatch.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Totally Certified Jersey TC-TTH Tim Thomas
The standard jersey set in Totally Certified doesn't have die-cutting, acetate, or etching -- to make up for that, I think Panini just went with the brightest printing colors they could find! This card is the base version, with a black jersey swatch, and no stated print run or serial numbering.
-------------------------------------------------------
Base cards
12-13 O-Pee-Chee Retro 309 Derek Dorsett
Here are a few base cards (and one parallel) that were included with the next card in the post.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Totally Certified Jersey Prime Blue TC-TTH Tim Thomas (40/50)
I also picked up the next-better version of the Tim Thomas jersey card from Totally Certified. The blue version (which is just as bright as the red version) contains a prime swatch -- white jersey and black seam. I haven't yet been able to acquire the gold or green patch variations.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Totally Certified Clear Cloth Jersey CL-TTH Tim Thomas (075/100)
Tim Thomas was also included in the rather popular Clear Cloth jersey set. This set is structured similarly to the base jersey, with the red jersey version being the easiest to find. However, this card (with a black jersey swatch) is indeed serial numbered.
The better parallels have all sold very well on ebay, and I haven't been able to get any of them yet.
-------------------------------------------------------
Base Cards
Here are a few more base cards that were included with the next item. This batch actually included a few Tim Thomas cards, as well as some tough base from 13-14 SP Game Used. Those will find a home in my yearly binder project.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Panini Limited Jumbo Materials Jersey Number Tim Thomas (05/49)
Tim Thomas was featured on a very large number of cards in 2011-12 Panini Limited, and it's almost impossible to keep them all straight. There are way too many meaningless parallels and variations, and I find them very tough to keep track of.
The Jumbo Materials set was pretty confusing, but it's easier to keep track of these things when actually owning most of the cards in a collection. That's now the case here. I previously owned the base jersey (/99) and prime (/50) variations, which both use a standard swatch window.
There were also base and prime versions created with jersey number cut-outs for the swatch window. Here's the base version, which is limited to 49 copies, and features a black swatch under the #30 worn by Tim Thomas.
-------------------------------------------------------
Base Cards
Just a few more random base cards here, which came along with...
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Panini Limited Jumbo Materials Jersey Number Prime Tim Thomas (02/10)
This version is among the nicest Tim Thomas cards in the Panini Limited product! It features an awesome prime swatch (yellow jersey / white seam / black jersey) under the jersey number cutout.
Yes, there's a fifth variation -- an NHL shield 1/1 card. I haven't seen it.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 The Cup Foundations Jersey Tim Thomas (09/25)
Here's a decent card from The Cup, with four Tim Thomas jersey swatches. I like the arrangement of the colors -- two black and two yellow.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Titanium Quad Memorabilia Tim Thomas (08/25)
-- Standard (black jersey)
-- Prime (yellow jersey and black jersey with seam)
-- Patch (black jersey / white patch / yellow patch / white patch / black jersey)
-- Fight Strap (white)
Here's an even nicer quad-memorabilia card, with four different types of jersey swatches! It's a shame the design is rather plain, but the assortment of fabric is pretty neat.
-------------------------------------------------------
10-11 Between The Pipes Autographs Tim Thomas (SP)
Tim Thomas was included in several Between The Pipes Autograph sets, and his card was a short print in most of them. That was the case for 10-11, and though I've seen several copies, I would doubt if the print run is any higher than 50-75. Several copies on ebay over the past few years sold for just barely more than I felt like paying, but patience finally brought this one to me for a reasonable cost.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Between The Pipes Cup Tandems Gold Tim Thomas / Tuukka Rask (/10)
I've owned the silver (/50) version of this card for a long time, but the gold parallel is superior in just about every way. The Tim Thomas swatch is from a Boston Bruins jersey, and has a two layer swatch (black seam and yellow jersey). The Tuukka Rask swatch is from a Providence Bruins jersey, and has three layers (yellow seam, white seam, and black jersey). Both swatches are bulging well away from the card surface. This is one of the nicer ITG memorabilia cards I've picked up in a while.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Panini Prime Quads Prime (07/15)
-- Tim Thomas (Yellow/Black)
-- Jonathan Toews (White/Red)
-- Evgeni Malkin (Gold/Black)
-- Henrik Zetterberg (White/Red)
This card was an absolute steal -- a short print run, prime jersey swatches, and outstanding players. All four of these guys won the Conn Smythe trophy, and Tim Thomas might actually be the worst (and least popular) of the quartet!
I already own the base jersey (/75) version of this card. There's also a patch parallel, which is limited to only 10 copies.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Panini Certified Shirt Off My Back Signatures 3 Martin St. Louis / Tim Thomas (19/25)
This is a bittersweet card to finally add to my collection. It completes the run of four parallels from the set, which include base jersey (/99), prime (/25), and prime signatures (/10). The jersey signatures version pictured here has two black swatches and two fully-contained sticker autographs.
I long considered Martin St. Louis my favorite player in the NHL that I didn't collect, and his history with Tim Thomas (teammates at the University of Vermont) was a story I enjoyed. I was thrilled when Panini finally came out with the first ever card featuring both players, and sought out to acquire all four versions. I acquired three of them before the end of 2012, but this one took me until the middle of 2014 to finally obtain.
Unfortunately, the pursuit for completion lingered on into the post-Marty era in Tampa Bay. Lightning fans are not at all happy with what happened, and I join with that opinion. The guy who spent his career with a chip on his shoulder had turned and built a pedestal under his feet.
I no longer have any interest in Marty or his cards, but I'm dedicated to my collecting goals, and for the sake of my Tim Thomas collection I'm glad to have these done.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Dominion Emerald Tim Thomas (3/5)
This post will begin winding up with three very tough base parallels. First up is this emerald variation from 11-12 Dominion, one of four versions of the base set. I already own the base and gold (/25) versions, but the black 1/1 is still out there somewhere.
-------------------------------------------------------
12-13 Score Black Ice #17 Tim Thomas
This tough card from a low-end set was sitting on ebay for months (maybe a year) before I threw in a lousy offer that was surprisingly accepted! Tim Thomas has two cards in the base set -- a regular card with the rest of the Bruins, and this season highlights subset entry. This card commemorates his fourth straight All-Star Game win -- an NHL record.
This is the only copy of this Black Ice parallel that I've seen, and I have yet to come across one from the regular base card. I do already own both of the base and Gold Rush versions.
-------------------------------------------------------
07-08 Upper Deck Victory Black 61 Tim Thomas
When it comes to nearly-impossible base set parallels, this card is as good as it gets! Has anyone really enjoyed chasing Victory Black cards? Discounting the Upper Deck Series 2 update versions, they're among the toughest parallels in the hobby.
I even had this card listed on the most-wanted list in my signature, which I don't normally do for cards I have little hope of finding. Why was this card so important to me? It was the last Victory Black parallel of Tim Thomas still on my wantlist. I now own all six!
* 2006-07 #13
* 2007-08 #61
* 2008-09 #177
* 2009-10 #18
* 2010-11 #16
* 2011-12 #19
Believe it or not, that's not the only reason I'm excited to get this card -- it's the final non-1/1 Tim Thomas card on my wantlist from the entire 07-08 product year! Furthermore, my non-1/1 wantlist from the 08-09 season is only four cards long, and they were all released after then turn of 2009. What does that add up to? I own every non-1/1 Tim Thomas card created through the end of 2008.
How can I possibly top that to end the mail post? A 1/1, right?
Not just any 1/1 will do -- how about one with some meaning?
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Upper Deck Printing Plate Black Tim Thomas (ONE-OF-ONE)
Right -- this is just another Upper Deck press plate, one of many in my collection. It's my 72nd Tim Thomas 1/1 card in all.
So, why is it so special?
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Upper Deck Printing Plate Black Tim Thomas (ONE-OF-ONE)
08-09 Upper Deck Printing Plate Cyan Tim Thomas (ONE-OF-ONE)
08-09 Upper Deck Printing Plate Magenta Tim Thomas (ONE-OF-ONE)
08-09 Upper Deck Printing Plate Yellow Tim Thomas (ONE-OF-ONE)
Here's why! It completes the entire set of four Tim Thomas press plates from 08-09 Upper Deck.
It's actually my second press plate completion for Tim Thomas, after 09-10 The Cup. It's also my third press plate completion overall, and some of you might remember what I did when I acquired all of the 08-09 Upper Deck Cory Murphy plates.
Looks like I'll have to do it again with Tim Thomas. The challenge is as follows: can I use Photoshop to recreate a base card? Can I digitally "print" my own hockey card from the ink left over on the plates?
-------------------------------------------------------
As the plates indicate, there are four colors used in the printing process -- Black, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. I started by scanning all four Tim Thomas plates at high resolution, and getting the four images matched up and aligned exactly with one another.
I had to force each of the four images to grayscale to prepare for the next step. Working in a channel-separated image file, I took the four grayscale images and assigned them into their respective color channels. Upon merging the four CMYK channels into one image, I ended up with a remarkably accurate result!
The slightly dull image needed only a few more adjustments. I tweaked the contrast and color correction, and came out with an image that almost perfectly matches the original card.
My re-constructed version
A scan of the 08-09 Upper Deck base card from my collection
Quite honestly, the end result is so good that it's almost impossible to tell the two pictures apart! The one obvious difference is the lack of foil stamping on the reconstructed version, which allows parts of the original card to be seen un-stamped for the first time. There was also a very minor color aberration on the cyan and magenta plates, which led to the slight discoloration that is evident just above Thomas' leg pads.
As when I did it with the Cory Murphy plates in 2011, this has been a fun experiment, and now I'm getting a little bit better at it. I have two or three other press plate sets that I'm sitting at 3-of-4 with, so maybe I can complete another one soon.
-----------------
News and notes:
** Panini is including new Tim Thomas sticker autographs in recent products (Rookie Anthology and Father's Day), but my 11-12 Score redemption remains unfulfilled. Shouldn't they be taking care of those first, before making new cards?
** Lest I only complain about Panini, Upper Deck should be ashamed for stuffing over half of Boone Jenner's 13-14 Fleer Showcase RCs with Los Angeles Kings patch swatches.
** To replace the 07-08 UD Victory Black parallel of Tim Thomas on my most wanted list, I added the 03-04 Upper Deck MVP Gold Script card of Steve Martins. Whenever I free up another spot, I'll be adding the Kevin Weekes card from the same set. Those cards are limited to just 25 copies each, but are much harder to find than the similar Canadian Exclusives (red script) parallels.
That'll be it. Thanks everyone!
--Andy
http://www.thegreatzo.com/cards/
-------------------------------------------------------
Mail Post #9 for 2014
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Upper Deck UD Exclusives Tim Thomas (074/100)
Let's start with one of the basics -- a UD Exclusives parallel from Thomas' only appearance so far in a 2013-14 Upper Deck base set. I did see one copy of the High Gloss version on ebay, but I was not able to win the auction.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 ITG Ultimate 11 Cup Finals Silver (19/24)
-- Tim Thomas (Black) / Zdeno Chara (Yellow) / Patrice Bergeron (Yellow)
-- Roberto Luongo (Green / White Seam) / Henrik Sedin (Black) / Daniel Sedin (Black)
This card features swatches from Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks jerseys, commemorating their battle in the Stanley Cup Final of 2011.
I'm really not sure where the black jersey swatches came from on the Canucks' side of the card. I looked really closely and they appeared to match the Tim Thomas swatch in color.
-------------------------------------------------------
12-13 Panini Certified Path to the Cup Quarterfinals
-- Karl Alzner / Tim Thomas (268/399)
This card highlights Game 1 from the first round matchup in 2011 between the Capitals and Bruins. In that game, Tim Thomas pitched a shutout in an overtime win. I also have the jersey (/250) parallel to this card, but I have yet to get the very rare prime version (limited to just 10 copies).
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Crown Royale Lords of the NHL Materials Jersey Tim Thomas
This card, which features a black jersey swatch, is also an error card. The word "prime" appears near the top left corner, even though this is obviously just the jersey version of the card. In fact, I don't believe a prime version was ever made for this set. I can only find evidence of three variations:
1) Base (with silver foil)
2) Jersey (with green foil)
3) Patch (with green foil)
It appears that this printing error affected the entire jersey set. The jersey cards have no stated print run, but the patch versions are numbered to 25.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Playbook Limited Edition Jerseys LE-TTH Tim Thomas (36/99)
My first card from Playbook is a pretty underwhelming jersey issue. I have yet to see any of the parallel versions of this card. This one comes adorned with an awesome white swatch.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Totally Certified Jersey TC-TTH Tim Thomas
The standard jersey set in Totally Certified doesn't have die-cutting, acetate, or etching -- to make up for that, I think Panini just went with the brightest printing colors they could find! This card is the base version, with a black jersey swatch, and no stated print run or serial numbering.
-------------------------------------------------------
Base cards
12-13 O-Pee-Chee Retro 309 Derek Dorsett
Here are a few base cards (and one parallel) that were included with the next card in the post.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Totally Certified Jersey Prime Blue TC-TTH Tim Thomas (40/50)
I also picked up the next-better version of the Tim Thomas jersey card from Totally Certified. The blue version (which is just as bright as the red version) contains a prime swatch -- white jersey and black seam. I haven't yet been able to acquire the gold or green patch variations.
-------------------------------------------------------
13-14 Panini Totally Certified Clear Cloth Jersey CL-TTH Tim Thomas (075/100)
Tim Thomas was also included in the rather popular Clear Cloth jersey set. This set is structured similarly to the base jersey, with the red jersey version being the easiest to find. However, this card (with a black jersey swatch) is indeed serial numbered.
The better parallels have all sold very well on ebay, and I haven't been able to get any of them yet.
-------------------------------------------------------
Base Cards
Here are a few more base cards that were included with the next item. This batch actually included a few Tim Thomas cards, as well as some tough base from 13-14 SP Game Used. Those will find a home in my yearly binder project.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Panini Limited Jumbo Materials Jersey Number Tim Thomas (05/49)
Tim Thomas was featured on a very large number of cards in 2011-12 Panini Limited, and it's almost impossible to keep them all straight. There are way too many meaningless parallels and variations, and I find them very tough to keep track of.
The Jumbo Materials set was pretty confusing, but it's easier to keep track of these things when actually owning most of the cards in a collection. That's now the case here. I previously owned the base jersey (/99) and prime (/50) variations, which both use a standard swatch window.
There were also base and prime versions created with jersey number cut-outs for the swatch window. Here's the base version, which is limited to 49 copies, and features a black swatch under the #30 worn by Tim Thomas.
-------------------------------------------------------
Base Cards
Just a few more random base cards here, which came along with...
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Panini Limited Jumbo Materials Jersey Number Prime Tim Thomas (02/10)
This version is among the nicest Tim Thomas cards in the Panini Limited product! It features an awesome prime swatch (yellow jersey / white seam / black jersey) under the jersey number cutout.
Yes, there's a fifth variation -- an NHL shield 1/1 card. I haven't seen it.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 The Cup Foundations Jersey Tim Thomas (09/25)
Here's a decent card from The Cup, with four Tim Thomas jersey swatches. I like the arrangement of the colors -- two black and two yellow.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Titanium Quad Memorabilia Tim Thomas (08/25)
-- Standard (black jersey)
-- Prime (yellow jersey and black jersey with seam)
-- Patch (black jersey / white patch / yellow patch / white patch / black jersey)
-- Fight Strap (white)
Here's an even nicer quad-memorabilia card, with four different types of jersey swatches! It's a shame the design is rather plain, but the assortment of fabric is pretty neat.
-------------------------------------------------------
10-11 Between The Pipes Autographs Tim Thomas (SP)
Tim Thomas was included in several Between The Pipes Autograph sets, and his card was a short print in most of them. That was the case for 10-11, and though I've seen several copies, I would doubt if the print run is any higher than 50-75. Several copies on ebay over the past few years sold for just barely more than I felt like paying, but patience finally brought this one to me for a reasonable cost.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Between The Pipes Cup Tandems Gold Tim Thomas / Tuukka Rask (/10)
I've owned the silver (/50) version of this card for a long time, but the gold parallel is superior in just about every way. The Tim Thomas swatch is from a Boston Bruins jersey, and has a two layer swatch (black seam and yellow jersey). The Tuukka Rask swatch is from a Providence Bruins jersey, and has three layers (yellow seam, white seam, and black jersey). Both swatches are bulging well away from the card surface. This is one of the nicer ITG memorabilia cards I've picked up in a while.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Panini Prime Quads Prime (07/15)
-- Tim Thomas (Yellow/Black)
-- Jonathan Toews (White/Red)
-- Evgeni Malkin (Gold/Black)
-- Henrik Zetterberg (White/Red)
This card was an absolute steal -- a short print run, prime jersey swatches, and outstanding players. All four of these guys won the Conn Smythe trophy, and Tim Thomas might actually be the worst (and least popular) of the quartet!
I already own the base jersey (/75) version of this card. There's also a patch parallel, which is limited to only 10 copies.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Panini Certified Shirt Off My Back Signatures 3 Martin St. Louis / Tim Thomas (19/25)
This is a bittersweet card to finally add to my collection. It completes the run of four parallels from the set, which include base jersey (/99), prime (/25), and prime signatures (/10). The jersey signatures version pictured here has two black swatches and two fully-contained sticker autographs.
I long considered Martin St. Louis my favorite player in the NHL that I didn't collect, and his history with Tim Thomas (teammates at the University of Vermont) was a story I enjoyed. I was thrilled when Panini finally came out with the first ever card featuring both players, and sought out to acquire all four versions. I acquired three of them before the end of 2012, but this one took me until the middle of 2014 to finally obtain.
Unfortunately, the pursuit for completion lingered on into the post-Marty era in Tampa Bay. Lightning fans are not at all happy with what happened, and I join with that opinion. The guy who spent his career with a chip on his shoulder had turned and built a pedestal under his feet.
I no longer have any interest in Marty or his cards, but I'm dedicated to my collecting goals, and for the sake of my Tim Thomas collection I'm glad to have these done.
-------------------------------------------------------
11-12 Dominion Emerald Tim Thomas (3/5)
This post will begin winding up with three very tough base parallels. First up is this emerald variation from 11-12 Dominion, one of four versions of the base set. I already own the base and gold (/25) versions, but the black 1/1 is still out there somewhere.
-------------------------------------------------------
12-13 Score Black Ice #17 Tim Thomas
This tough card from a low-end set was sitting on ebay for months (maybe a year) before I threw in a lousy offer that was surprisingly accepted! Tim Thomas has two cards in the base set -- a regular card with the rest of the Bruins, and this season highlights subset entry. This card commemorates his fourth straight All-Star Game win -- an NHL record.
This is the only copy of this Black Ice parallel that I've seen, and I have yet to come across one from the regular base card. I do already own both of the base and Gold Rush versions.
-------------------------------------------------------
07-08 Upper Deck Victory Black 61 Tim Thomas
When it comes to nearly-impossible base set parallels, this card is as good as it gets! Has anyone really enjoyed chasing Victory Black cards? Discounting the Upper Deck Series 2 update versions, they're among the toughest parallels in the hobby.
I even had this card listed on the most-wanted list in my signature, which I don't normally do for cards I have little hope of finding. Why was this card so important to me? It was the last Victory Black parallel of Tim Thomas still on my wantlist. I now own all six!
* 2006-07 #13
* 2007-08 #61
* 2008-09 #177
* 2009-10 #18
* 2010-11 #16
* 2011-12 #19
Believe it or not, that's not the only reason I'm excited to get this card -- it's the final non-1/1 Tim Thomas card on my wantlist from the entire 07-08 product year! Furthermore, my non-1/1 wantlist from the 08-09 season is only four cards long, and they were all released after then turn of 2009. What does that add up to? I own every non-1/1 Tim Thomas card created through the end of 2008.
How can I possibly top that to end the mail post? A 1/1, right?
Not just any 1/1 will do -- how about one with some meaning?
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Upper Deck Printing Plate Black Tim Thomas (ONE-OF-ONE)
Right -- this is just another Upper Deck press plate, one of many in my collection. It's my 72nd Tim Thomas 1/1 card in all.
So, why is it so special?
-------------------------------------------------------
08-09 Upper Deck Printing Plate Black Tim Thomas (ONE-OF-ONE)
08-09 Upper Deck Printing Plate Cyan Tim Thomas (ONE-OF-ONE)
08-09 Upper Deck Printing Plate Magenta Tim Thomas (ONE-OF-ONE)
08-09 Upper Deck Printing Plate Yellow Tim Thomas (ONE-OF-ONE)
Here's why! It completes the entire set of four Tim Thomas press plates from 08-09 Upper Deck.
It's actually my second press plate completion for Tim Thomas, after 09-10 The Cup. It's also my third press plate completion overall, and some of you might remember what I did when I acquired all of the 08-09 Upper Deck Cory Murphy plates.
Looks like I'll have to do it again with Tim Thomas. The challenge is as follows: can I use Photoshop to recreate a base card? Can I digitally "print" my own hockey card from the ink left over on the plates?
-------------------------------------------------------
As the plates indicate, there are four colors used in the printing process -- Black, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. I started by scanning all four Tim Thomas plates at high resolution, and getting the four images matched up and aligned exactly with one another.
I had to force each of the four images to grayscale to prepare for the next step. Working in a channel-separated image file, I took the four grayscale images and assigned them into their respective color channels. Upon merging the four CMYK channels into one image, I ended up with a remarkably accurate result!
The slightly dull image needed only a few more adjustments. I tweaked the contrast and color correction, and came out with an image that almost perfectly matches the original card.
My re-constructed version
A scan of the 08-09 Upper Deck base card from my collection
Quite honestly, the end result is so good that it's almost impossible to tell the two pictures apart! The one obvious difference is the lack of foil stamping on the reconstructed version, which allows parts of the original card to be seen un-stamped for the first time. There was also a very minor color aberration on the cyan and magenta plates, which led to the slight discoloration that is evident just above Thomas' leg pads.
As when I did it with the Cory Murphy plates in 2011, this has been a fun experiment, and now I'm getting a little bit better at it. I have two or three other press plate sets that I'm sitting at 3-of-4 with, so maybe I can complete another one soon.
-----------------
News and notes:
** Panini is including new Tim Thomas sticker autographs in recent products (Rookie Anthology and Father's Day), but my 11-12 Score redemption remains unfulfilled. Shouldn't they be taking care of those first, before making new cards?
** Lest I only complain about Panini, Upper Deck should be ashamed for stuffing over half of Boone Jenner's 13-14 Fleer Showcase RCs with Los Angeles Kings patch swatches.
** To replace the 07-08 UD Victory Black parallel of Tim Thomas on my most wanted list, I added the 03-04 Upper Deck MVP Gold Script card of Steve Martins. Whenever I free up another spot, I'll be adding the Kevin Weekes card from the same set. Those cards are limited to just 25 copies each, but are much harder to find than the similar Canadian Exclusives (red script) parallels.
That'll be it. Thanks everyone!
--Andy
http://www.thegreatzo.com/cards/
-------------------------------------------------------
