Metal Universe Update

It took over 10 years, but I finally completed my favorite 90's hockey set: 1996-97 Fleer Metal Universe. I remember getting a few packs of this stuff here and there as a kid and I loved everything about them. There was nothing like it at the time and ever since those few packs I've always wanted to complete the full base set.

Well, thanks to a fellow collector on Twitter (@mruzz), I was able to fill the last three holes in my base set. I am finally done with this portion of my Metal Universe side project after starting it all the way back in 2010. The best part was completing it via several different avenues. I bought a hobby box, picked up a few from the forums, and even got a few like these from Twitter. Even though it took what seems like forever, I'm glad I didn't just outright buy the full set. It seemed more appropriate this way.

My favorite of the last three is this Esa Tikkanen. It is card #160 in the set and features the Canucks skate uniform from the 90's. Those colors look great with this set. Not exactly sure what the background is supposed to be, but it looks pretty cool.

Up next with another cool 90's uniform is card #129 featuring Petr Nedved of the Pittsburgh Penguins.  This one has some awesome dragon wings or something in the background. The purple and green are a nice contrast with the Pens' black colors. 

And to bring things to a close for my set we have card #196 featuring Landon Wilson of the Colorado Avalanche. This one really makes me miss those old Avs jerseys. These make whatever they are wearing today look like garbage. The need that shoulder patch back too. I hated the Avs as a kid, but still bought a replica jersey because they look so good.

This was always my favorite base set as a kid and I'm really excited to have it complete and all in a single binder for safe keeping. It is a lot of fun to flip through all the pages and see all the names I grew up watching. There are a ton of big names in this set too.

The timing of this is perfect as the next iteration of this set is being released soon. Upper Deck's 2020-21 SkyBox Metal Universe. I'll be adding the newer version of this same design to my want list for the project. It even has the PMG's again like in 2012-13 Fleer Retro.

Metal Universe Update

Another project I included in my most recent COMC order was my 2012-13 Fleer Metal Universe set build. This set is a tribute to the original set from 1996-97 version, which is one of my favorite hockey sets of all-time. I got a great deal on two new cards.

Up first is card #43 featuring Corey Schneider of the Vancouver Canucks.

The other one was card #46 featuring Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins. 

These two bring my set total to 14 out of 60. While these look great, they are just not the same as the originals. I've got a ways to go before I can complete this set though, so we'll see how long that takes. Definitely looking forward to finding some more.

2012-13 Fleer Metal Universe Total: 14/60

Metal Universe Update

Here's an update that's been long overdue. I mentioned this 2012-13 Fleer Metal Universe set way back in the spring of 2013 when it was first released. It is a tribute to one of my all-time favorite base sets: 1996-97 Fleer Metal Universe and I've wanted to build it since. 

While it is not as over the top as the original set, these are some great looking cards. I have some good side by side comparisons of the two sets in my previous posts here and here. 

I hadn't given it much thought until recently as I've had a bit more time lately for card shopping with everything going on. I also wanted to try and build the set on a budget so getting a good deal was a priority for this one. Some of the singles for this set are pretty expensive on COMC and eBay. This is where Sportlots.com came in handy. 

I was able to find one seller with a ton of singles for sale. I found 12 that were $0.50 each and placed my order. This was one of my first orders from the site and I was really happy with the results. Definitely recommend this site for set building. 

Let's start things off with someone who was actually playing in the NHL when the original set was released. This one featuring Arturs Irber with the San Jose Sharks is card #12 and has a great look at this famous all white pads and his signature helmet/cage combo.

Up next is card #4 featuring Eric Lindros of the Philadelphia Flyers. He is shown in the Flyers awesome orange road jersey from the 90's. I will always remember him and these jerseys from the 1997 Stanley Cup Final when they were swept by the Wings.

More 90's goodness with card #15 featuring Doug Gilmour of the Toronto Maple Leafs. I love how the background works with the team colors on this one. The centering of the photo is also peferct here as none of Gilmour is cropped out.

The last of the 90's players is card #25 featuring Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings, although he is pictured sometime in the late 2000's as evident by the NHL shield on the front of the uniform. This one also works well with the background.

As far as the modern players go, card #39 featuring Tyler Seguin of the Boston Bruins is probably my favorite design of the lot. This one has a great action shot of Seguin about to release the puck. It definitely looks a lot better in person than the scan.

Up next is card #29 featuring P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens. This one is a good example of the contrasting background. The black and white definitely make the Habs dark uniform stand out. The red around the set name really pops as well.

Then there was card #27 featuring Ilya Kovalchuk of the New Jersey Devils. I almost forgot he played there. I always picture him with the Atlanta Thrashers. Now that uniform mixed with this set would've made for a sweet looking card.

Card #26 has Ondrej Pavelec of the Winnipeg Jets. I'm not really sure why he was included in this set over some of the other goalies in the league at the time, like Jimmy Howard for example. Oh well, this is still a nice looking addition to my set.

Continuing with the goalies, card #8 features Antti Niemi of the San Jose Sharks. Just like the Irbe above, his white pads really stand out against the darker background of the card.

Card #23 features Jussi Rynnas of the Tornoto Maple Leafs. Again, another guy where I'm not sure why they decided to include him in the set. Whatever happened to Rynnas anyway? Regardless, this is still a great looking card and a welcome addition to my set.

Our final goaltender for today is Pekka Rinne as featured on card #42. This one makes me miss those Preds jerseys. I still think the ones they have now are way too simplified.

Last but not least is the magic man Pavel Datsyuk as featured on card #19. The red really stands out against the darker background here and that makes for a great looking card.

Not a bad start to my set, even if it is a few years overdue. I'll have to get back onto Sportlots to see if there are more good deals like this. I only have 48 more to commplete it now, but there are some bigger names in there, so we'll see how it goes .

2012-13 Fleer Metal Universe Total: 12/60

Metal Universe: What Could've Been...

Since Upper Deck did not include my favorite player in their recent Fleer Retro set, specifically the Metal Universe inserts, I thought I would take a few minutes and come up with my own. I will admit that I took a few shortcuts with this one, the main one being the image that I already had cropped from another custom set I did a while back. Otherwise I just reused the same template from the set of Metal Universe cards I posted in January.

Here's what I came up with:

If you remember the post I did with nine of these things, you will notice a few differences from that iteration to this one. I did those designs before the new Fleer Retro cards were released, so I just kind of threw something together when it came to the fonts. Here you will notice that I inverted the text colors to better match the real thing.

Another small change was switching the text on the year above "Metal" to read 2012 instead of the 2012-13 like in my previous design. For whatever reason, it just looks a little bit cleaner this way. Do you agree?

Have you ever had a set that you thought your player should've been included in? If so, have you ever gone ahead and designed your own card like this?

Metal Universe: Past and Present (Part 2)

After a little searching, I found that there are actually 13 more players that are featured in both the 1996-97 and 2012-13 Metal Universe sets. Since these just came out, it was actually pretty easy to track down scans of all the new stuff on eBay. Between these and the other three I showed, this would make a cool little side project, or at least a good way to start going after the 2012-13 cards.

Here are both versions featuring Dominik Hasek. They both show him with the Sabres. It looks like the new version has a picture of him from a later season based on his equipment.

Martin Brodeur is one of the few from the original set that still play in the NHL. His original is one of my favorites from the set and the new one is pretty cool too.

The next pair features Pavel Bure of the Vancouver Canucks. It looks like the 2013 version has an older picture than the original, based on seeing the 75th anniversary patch.

Similar to the Bure, the 2013 version of Ray Bourque's card has an older picture than the original. In this case I have to say I like the original background a bit more than the new one.

The next pair both have Doug Gilmour with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In this case, I can't tell if the picture on the newer version is from the same season or not.

Here we have Brett Hull, shown with the St. Louis Blues on the original card and with the Dallas Stars on the new version. I kind of like the look of the new one a bit more in this case.

Here's another one where two different teams are featured. Unlike the Hull, I think I prefer the original background for this one. The colors are just a bit more vibrant and stand out nicely. Plus its always fun seeing a mullet on a card.

Yet another pair featuring two different teams. Koivu was originally shown with the Canadiens where he started his NHL career, but now is with the Ducks. I'd give the new version the edge here when it comes to the background design, but just by a little bit.

Here's another one where I just love the background on the original. This is what these cards should look like. Seeing the new version, which is still pretty nice on its own, next to this one makes it seem that much better, doesn't it?

Messier is another good example of the differences between these two sets. On the left you have a sweet looking castle wall looking background with smoke rising from the bottom. On the right is a simpler design that still complements the picture quite well.

The original Sakic is an example of a design that was repeated, as evident by the Lemiuex from my last post. Not sure if any of them were repeated in the new set, although it appears they are all unique. That makes sense since the new set is just 60 cards.

Here is an example of a night and day difference between the two versions of this set. The original Selanne on the left has a bright and obnoxious background, while the new one is darker and bit more subdued.

The last pair features Mats Sundin, shown with Toronto Maple Leafs on both versions. In this case I have to give the edge to the new version, just because of the better picture choice and a more diverse looking background. 

After seeing all of these side by side, it seems like they tried to tone down the background designs a bit for the new versions, would you agree? I also noticed that none of the new ones seem to cover up any of the player image, where several of the original ones did. The best example is probably the laser headset on the original Marty Brodeur card.

Metal Universe: Past and Present

Now that Upper Deck's Fleer Retro has been out for a little while, I've finally gotten a good look at the new Metal Universe inserts and I can't wait to start going after them. While they are not as cool as the originals from 1996-97, they are still pretty sweet in a time where it seems like people have lost interest in simple insert cards. 

I am just three cards away from completing the 1996-97 set, but have decided that I want to add the 2012-13 version to my want list. I will of course wait for the prices to come down a bit before trying this set, especially considering the product just came out. 

Since I had really nothing else ready to post today, I thought I would do a quick side-by-side comparison of the past and present Metal Universe sets, as there are a few players featured in both. The first one I noticed was Mario Lemieux.

The next one I noticed was Patrick Roy. 

The third one I could find for now was Wayne Gretzky.

I have to say I still like the originals more, but these new designs are just awesome. I have to give the designers at Upper Deck credit for this, they look amazing. Now I just need to go out and get some for myself to see what they are like in person. What do you guys think of the new version? Anyone else going to go after the set?

Metal Universe Update

Just one card to show off today. In my last post I mentioned there would be more to come from the two trades I made on SCF recently. Along with the other Fedorov's I picked off one of the trade lists, I was able to grab another important piece for my Metal Universe project.

 Here is the third card from the Lethal Weapons insert set.

This is the sixth one of these I've been able to get now, leaving only 14 more to complete the set. I will say that it does look much better in person. For some reason, the scanner does not really like this set, along with a bunch of other sets. Maybe its time for a new printer/scanner. After all I have had this old HP since high school. Any suggestions for one that's good at scanning cards?

Metal Universe Update

Time to show off a few more cards from the Gibraltar show over the weekend. These three were a nice surprise when I found them sorting through a $0.50 box. These are all regular versions of the "Lethal Weapon' insert set from 1996-97 Metal Universe.

Although its kind of hard to tell in the scans below, this is actually a really nice looking design. I like how the players really stand out against the darker background even if the "Lethal Weapon" and player name text overlap them a bit.

The first one featured Eric Lindros of the Philadelphia Flyers.

 

The second one features Ron Francis of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The last one features Pavel Bure of the Vancouver Canucks.

These three bring the insert set total to five for this one. There are 20 cards total in the set, so at least I am 25% of the way there now. The cool thing about these coming from the show is that I don't have to pay the shipping I would on eBay, plus you can't beat the price for these kind of inserts.

Metal Universe Update

Now that I only need a handful of cards to complete my 1996-97 Metal Universe base set, I figured it would be a nightmare tracking down the last few, but I was wrong. Thanks to Brad over at Cards from the Crease, I am now two cards closer to a complete set. 

The first was this one featuring Andy Moog of the Dallas Stars.

The second was this one featuring Oleg Tverdovsky of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Both are pretty cool cards. I really like the Moog though, as the goalie cards from this set are probably the best looking of all. I really wish someone would resurrect this set from the dead and bring it back for another go round similar to some of the other reboots out that are out there now thanks to Panini. 

Anyway, these two bring my base set total to 197 out of the 200 for the set. That leaves me with three cards, which will probably be the three most difficult to track down, right? And thanks again to Brad over at Cards from the Crease for sending these two my way.

Metal Universe Update

I'm getting closer and closer to completing the base set for this project now. Today's post comes from another trade I set up through SCF. It was actually a base for base swap, specifically just within this set, so it was kind of cool to help someone else out with the same set by getting rid of some of the extras from my box break. 

I sent three cards his way and got these four in return.

Out of this group, I have to say the Janney is probably my favorite. The Alfredsson and Bure and prett nice, and the Roenick is the same exact design as the Bertuzzi I showed off from the box break. Too bad the scans don't show how nice these cards really look. 

These four bring my base set total to 195 out of 200. I can see the light at the end of the base set tunnel now. Hopefully these last five don't take me too long to track down. I should be getting at least two of them here soon, so that just leaves me with three.

Metal Universe Update

Other than my MVP SC Edition base set, this one is the closest one to being completed. Before today I only needed ten cards to finish the set. Now, thanks to Sal over at Puck Junk, I am just nine cards away from hitting the 100% mark on the base set. 

He was nice enough to send this Alexei Zhamnov my way, which is definitely one of the cooler looking designs I've seen from the set. It's a little hard to see in the scan, but in person these cards look amazing. I really wish someone would bring this set back...

I've got another trade in the works on SCF that should bring me a few more cards closer to completion, so stay tuned for that updated here soon. Once those are in, I should only have five cards left, which I'm guessing will be the five most difficult to come by.

Box Break: 1996-97 Metal Universe

Finally, after a few years of searching, I was able to track down an unopened hobby box of this stuff. I may have overpaid a little bit at $34 plus shipping from eBay, but that's perfectly fine with me. They are almost impossible to come by and it helped me knock most of the base set off my want list. Now I only need a handful of cards to finish it. 

There were 24 packs in the box with 8 cards per pack, so not too bad of a deal for the $34 I mentioned earlier. That works out to just under $1.50 per pack. Given the rarity of these boxes and the age of the product, I'd say that's pretty reasonable, wouldn't you?

Base:
Here's nine of my favorite base cards from the box:

How can anyone not love this set? There are so many different designs that you have to go through about 50 cards or so to find one that repeats itself. I just wish they scanned a little bit better, these things look so much better in hand.

Lethal Weapons:
While I didn't get any of the Armor Plate cards I was hoping for, I did manage to pull two of the Lethal Weapons inserts: Mark Messier and Keith Tkachuk. 

Other than these two I was just glad to get both of the checklists cards from the box, because I need them to complete the set and people tend to not have random checklist cards for sale or trade. Overall though, I really enjoyed this box. A lot of the guys in this set were in the prime of their careers back in the 90's when I was just getting into hockey and collecting, so that's kind of neat. 

Metal Universe Update: Contest Winnings

Recently one of my favorite hockey card blogs, Puck Junk, held a contest to coincide with it's relaunch. The winner of the contest received a nice 1987-88 Topps Patrick Roy. While I wasn't the lucky one to win that particular card, I did end up with a consolation prize that was even better than the Roy as far as I'm concerned. 

It's another important piece of my 1996-97 Metal Universe set project, check it out:

I've actually never even seen this card before, so that makes it that much better, plus it's another one for my ever growing Red Wings collection. It's the third Wing I have from the set, leaving me with just a few more to complete the team set. 

This one brings me to 67/200 for the base set. Just want to say thanks Sal for putting on a great contest and for sending out the consolation prizes.

Metal Universe Update: A Goalie Eight Pack

Metal Universe is one of those love it or hate it kind of sets. Me, I loved it as a kid and I still love it now. That's why I decided to try and build the set, as it's something kind of unique with it only really being produced twice in hockey.

That said, it literally has been forever since I updated this project, but again as part of the big trade with Brett from MHCO I was able to add a few nice pieces, which I should say were thrown in as extras. Thanks Brett!

As you can see there is a nice mix of 90's goalies here. The designs in this set seem to be the coolest on the goalie cards, with things like brick walls and the eyeballs. What I did notice though, is that some are reused within the set, like the Barrasso and Fichaud. 

These eight new additions to the set bring me to 66 of the possible 200 base cards, not a bad place to be at this point. I'd like to finish the set as soon as I can that way I can focus on some of the inserts, as I haven't gotten any of those yet. 

New Project: 1996-97 Fleer Metal Universe

Lately I've been tossing around the idea of starting another set collection to go along with my MVP Stanley Cup Edition project. After sorting through some more base cards recently, I've settled on one set in particular. As you can see from the title of the post, I've decided to take a shot at completing the 1996-97 Fleer Metal Universe set.

I've kind of hit a standstill with the Stanley Cup Edition set as I have all of the base cards and I'm just working on the hard to find parallels. This one gives me the opportunity to chase regular base cards as well as a couple of insert sets.

If you haven't been keeping track of My Picks on Card Boarded, I've already shown off three different cards from the set, Bill Ranford, Hnat Domenichelli, and Martin Brodeur, so it fits that I want to complete and share the entire set.

I've always been fascinated by this set. I remember buying packs at the LCS as a kid and I thought they were the coolest thing back then. I like the fact that there is a different design for each base card, with only a few duplicate designs. Some are pretty neat and some just make you wonder. Here's a sampling of cards from the set:

I'm really interested in seeing all the goalie cards from this set as they tend to have some of the cooler looking backgrounds. How can you go wrong with the brick wall backgrounds like on the Roy and Fuhr? 

According to Hockey DB, there are 200 cards in the base set including two checklists. Beyond the base set, there are 12 Armor Plate inserts, 12 Cool Steel inserts, 12 Ice Carvings inserts, and 20 Lethal Weapons inserts. That makes for 256 cards altogether, not too bad.

Apparently there are also short-printed refractor versions of all the insert sets out there, so that would make for an additional 56 cards, bringing the master set total to 312.

As far as parallels, I was searching on ebay and came across some "Precious Metal Gems" parallels in the basketball version of the set from the same year. I've never seen any in the hockey set, so if anyone has any information on that I would greatly appreciate it.