Just parking this space and will finish off the other two soon - yes, I'll keep nichj99 waiting as long as possible - hah hah
KB - otherwise known around these parts as patch royalty!
This is the deepest round of the competition and the patch king busts out some Brilliance which is hardly a high end product!
The jumbo patch has all the qualities you'd expect, big window, multiple breaks and stitching which features straight and curved lines which adds a nice touch to the overall look of it. The card itself has a good blend of full colour graphics and pics with the big metallic chrome finish. It reminds me of the big yank tank gas guzzlers from the 50s and 60s with their bright paint finishes and the big chrome grill right in yo' face! Coupled with that great front on action pic feels like Aminu is sizing you up off of the dribble and about to break you down... What's not to like? Well as big and juicy as the patch is it still is only two colous and is a little bit lacking when it comes to what great colours we expect from Hornets patches. The big mono-chrome look is also something you love or hate - for me it just looks a little half baked finish with not a lot of contrast.
I'm pretty sure KB has dropped a NT RPA in each round so far and he's saved the best for last! It's a young looking Aminu and even though the Clips jersey isn't the best this card takes the choicest bit of the logo and whacks it smack dab in the middle of the card. We've got the triple team colour, insane number of breaks, stitching on stitching (you know when a patch is that chunky you just want to trace yoru finger over it more than once! Tell me it ain't so KB?!) The best patch is a chunky patch raising out of the card like a 3-D pop-up book! Most notable of all you know exactly where it has come off of the jersey because the pic matches the patch and the card tells a story. The well trained eye will also notice this is the rarer gold version too so it just adds that extra little bit of class! Oh, and classic old school scorpion sig - nasty!
Hmm, I guess everyone has to bust out the logoman in the finals. It's the Rolls Royce of any PC collection. Not all logomen are created equally though... What's nice about this particular offering is that the whole card is designed around the logoman itself. How do we know that? 1) The card is called 'NBA Logoman' 2) A purpose built window to accomodate the logoman (great looking border btw) 3) A great pic of Aminu doing his best Jerry West Silhouette impersonation. Even the subtle green hatching behind the pic is a nice touch which is in keeping with the design of the whole card. Overall, I guess you'd just say the card just has a nice feel to it and everything seems in its place - the lettering, the pic, the borders, the colours, the layout. Just a great card. What's not to like is the stamping underneath. 3/5? If this is the Rolls Royce of my PC there shouldn't be 4 other guys out there with the same card! Just leave the stamping off the card! Oh, and a red card for whoever listed it as /3! LIES!
Araiee aka Bron Bomber is at it again!
Big on card Bronski autos left, right and centre from round 1 to the grand final! This guy's collection is as consistent as it is DEEEEEEEEEEEP!
The rookie year auto captures a young Bron signing a very abbreviated sig. I like the rookei year cards because it captures that moment in time before he knew what lay ahead of him, Lebron didn;t know if he was going to be the next Hakeem Olajuwon or Kwame Brown. It also reminds us of how young he was leaving high school straight for the pros - the last of a generation of such players. The card itself is 0.5 away from being technically absolutely perfect. The cards shortcomings are in a way kind of endearing for a rookie year auto. The shortened sig and cheesy staged rookie photo shoot just all add to the innocence of this card and alludes to a time when King James was yet to ascend to the throne. It has to be said though that the card design itself though leaves a lot to be desired <insert player pic and auto here> and just isn't as nice as some of the lowered numbered, higher end stuff...
...some low numbered and higher end stuff such as this highly sought after Willy Wonka Golden Ticket! This card is literally Black Gold! Texas Tea! The stuff that millions search for and very few find! The black and gold colour combo has been around since cocky was an egg and the golden auto just rocks my world - it's big and blingy just like the card itself. It demands attention! The imprinted team and manufacturer logos and that classy metallic shimmer add that touch of class which lower end products try to emulate or imitate. The horizontal auto box allows for the massive sig which is showcased in all its glory. The golden sharpie is a nice touch and it would have been good to see Bron in at least a yellow Cavs jersey for some added impact (or perhaps the gold and marone jersey they had at one point). A big pic or some GU material would have made the card too busy so the simplicity is truly elegant, sometimes good design is just knowing when to stop. The small portrait pic is reminiscent of notable historic figures on our stamps and currency. ..and yes, this card definitely has value too! /15 - impressive!
The SP dual is a bit of a controversial choice for the final, because if you're a Kobe fan it just reinforces what LBJ isn't. For me though Bron > Kobe so it reminds me of his all round game. I love the photography here because it captures the holofoil in all its glory and shows off all of those sweet little symmetrical design elements, like the pics, logos, massive signing space and same sharpie. What would have been great is if they reduced the signings space and instead of the portrait pics had full body length pics as if they were staring each other down across the card, sizing each other up as it were. Perhaps a little more effort on that instead of fancy 3-D looking hexagons would have put this card over the top! As it is though a super fine card which all Kobe and Bron collectors would have chased with a passion.
