Archives and the Orange Wave

 

The latest #CrackinWaxMailDay from @CrackinWax brings home another new annual release and more. 

Topps Archives is out, in case you haven't heard. You've probably heard. I usually like this release, but not enough to seek it out after it's been on the shelves for a few weeks. It's fun to pick up a blaster or a few packs and see what they did to the old designs, at least.

These Archives cards come courtesy of some more group breaks I bought into at Crackin' Wax. I do not like what they've done with the fonts here on the '74 design. It's not good.

I like these a lot better, even though they're still a bit off from the original 2002 release. Maybe it's the matte finish? I enjoy a matte finish. I wonder if it's somehow more expensive to not apply the ubiquitous UV coating that we've seen on every flagship set since 1994. There's a short printed version of the Yadi card that has Placido Polanco's photo on the back, the same photo used on the uncorrected error version of the original Albert Pujols card from 2002. I don't have this version yet.

The other design used is the 1955 design. It's fine, I guess. Of course, Heritage did it better.

There are enough rarities and inserts that I keep coming back to Stadium Club group breaks from last year. I suppose this year's version will be out soon enough.

There are parallels-a-plenty, like this red foil Goldy. Now I just need the black one, the sepia one, the black & white one, the absinthe one, the laser beam one, the big horrible void one...

Of course, the best card of the lot had to be the Paul DeJong Topps Chrome orange refractor, which is also numbered to 25 like the one I previously received. Of course, this one is an orange wave refractor, which just makes it another thing altogether. How do you like your refractors... wavy or non-wavy?