2011 Topps Kimball Champions Inserts
I will say right off the bat that I love the Kimball Champions inserts. I feel like the majority of bloggers and collectors enjoy “bite size” baseball cards as a bonus to the regular old cards. They are like mini chocolate chip cookies, only these won’t make your pants tighter (well, and they probably don’t taste as good).
Who doesn’t like opening a pack and seeing a tiny card fly out?
I really feel like this insert set will be one of the more successful insert sets, and one of the sets they should continue to spread throughout 2011. The Series 1 set is 50 total cards, which seems totally doable for the set collector or mini set collector. I would love if they did a black parallel set later in the year maybe in Series 2 or in the Updates set.
While I love this set, I don’t know if I could see it surviving as a release in and of itself. I seem to fall in love with new “vintage” cards easily, and generally like them while most people hate them. The appeal of the mini card is that it’s something different, at least with the Kimball Champions it is different. This is a new subset that will draw in the people who like to build mini sets, retro sets, and the obscure.
I have a separate binder for my mini cards and for the most part all mini cards are in there from Allen & Ginter, Goodwin Champions
, and now Kimball Champions
. Some of my Cano mini cards are floating in 9 pocket pages in his binder, and others are in their 15 pocket (better) sheets in the other binder.
This leads me to my next thought… Where are all the die-cut cards? Why can’t we see more of those? The Target Red Diamond inserts would be awesome as die-cut cards, and the Topps 60
would be, too. I think a die-cut set or parallel set to one of the Series 1 subsets would be freakin’ sweet. I know I miss die-cuts and from a couple of conversations I have had with fellow bloggers it doesn’t seem that I am alone in that thinking.
What do you guys think? Die-cuts would be a thumbs up or thumbs down?
I’m not going to say I would be building die-cut sets, but I would like to add some odd shaped cards to my Cano and Pujols collection.
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I think the die cuts are going to be a diamond giveaway only thing.
And I'll second the love of mini's. The Kimballs are by far my favorite insert this year, just like Turkey Reds in the last two years. I think I'm going to have a hard time completing my set as it seems everyone wants to keep there kimball's. And I'll also agree that I doubt it would make a good stand alone product but as an insert it is awesome. Hmmmm but an all mini set can't be far behind, with the way Topps likes to take anything good it comes up with and ruin it. Like the manurelics.
Die cuts thumbs up.
Kimball Champions – Love 'em. Almost completed Series 1.
Die Cut Diamonds – Like cb said, I believe those are being given away through redemption starting the 15th.
Die Cuts in general – Why should Pacific have all the fun? Those topps 60 cards would look shard being Die Cuts.
I've already said the Diamond Duo cards would've worked much better as diecuts. It would give life to what's already become a dull insert series.
The Kimball minis are OK, but a little too flimsy for me. I prefer the A&G, Goodwin minis that were thicker.
Die-Cuts would be sweet, I'm a sucker for die-cuts. I also love the Kimball's and I'm considering trying to collect the set of 50.
Topps probably won't make die-cut inserts though cause it cost too much and destroys their profit margin. At least that would be my guess. I don't know if Topps (at least the base set Topps product) would gain any more in sales by having a die-cut set.
For a product whose overriding theme is the 60th Anniversary of Topps Baseball, an insert based on a set released six decades *before* Topps seems out of place. They probably should have saved the Kimballs for next year.
Love the Kimballs!!! These will be going into huge binder full of other retro minis; Allen & Ginter, T206, and Goodwin Champions!
Chris makes a good point, while I'm still pro mini and really like the Kimball's, how cool would it have been for Topps to pull out a Topps retro insert. Maybe like Hocus Focus or mini red and blue backs that weren't retail exclusives. That would have been more fitting for the 60th anniversary set.
I love the design, but I dislike minis. Also, these seem a bit flimsier than the Allen & Ginter ones.
IMO, I think Kimball was included as an insert to see the general reaction of collectors. I think it becomes a full-fledged set in the future.
But what the heck do I know?
The Kimballs might be a nice full size set for Topps to put out.