Hi all,
Over in the 50th Anniversary thread there's been some discussion and friendly debate about rumors regarding Old School Series 6 coming soon from Topps. Having a strong affection for the Old School series and what it's given to the hobby and this community these past years, I wanted pen an open letter to Topps. Making some impassioned requests as well as kicking off a dedicated thread to this topic to perhaps have our collective voice be heard. Old School is a series that is geared toward our community and I think we can have a voice in how it is shaped. How it evolves, if in fact there is a need for it to do so.
I'm going to kick this off with a want list.
This list of impassioned requests is directed at Topps - a list of what I'd like Old School 6 to include. This is predicated by the understood mission of Old School, which was to create a premium, direct-to-collector series that captured the old school look and feel of the OS Wacky Packages sets (a stripped down, less chase-card driven series than modern versions), while incorporating some premium bonuses not readily found in modern series (things like the sketches in each and every box).
Here goes:
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1. Keep the format of Old School. That is to say, give us our 32 base sticker series illustrated by Dave, presented in packs and sold in classically-styled display boxes.
2. Have full thick black borders and have the stickers die-cut, as Wackys have always been - certainly how "old school" Wackys have always been. Personally, I'm willing to pay a little more to get this.
3. A sketch card in each box - while not a classically "old school" element, the sketches strike such a positive chord with the collector community - and where so many of the artists are close to this community (many are an involved part of it), this is quite a special element of the series. It brings the community and the creators closer together. It connects us and to a degree gives us a feeling of personal investment in it. That's a beautiful thing.
4. Have a 9 piece puzzle set - folks dig 9-piece puzzles around these parts.
5. Just do a single base set - a tan back set for instance - and ignore the variation backs. This might not be universally embraced, but if this adjustment would put resources back towards the above things, why not. We don't need Ludlows or white back variants, although they're certainly a fun little element.
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And that's it. These five points are a request to the powers that be at Topps to consider us in the calculations for this series. Those of us in this community and this forum have learned a lot through the years of the Old School series that have come before. Certainly we've learned about the processes and steps that go into a series like this - it's been an education. It's a lot of complicated pieces to create the manufacturing, packaging and distribution picture. So we understand that things like diecuts cost money, and sketches take time, and so on.
I'd like to think that, from the communities side, given our understanding of what goes into these Old School series paired with our desires of what to see in this next one, there would be a willingness to pay for a "more complete" version of what we want. And that there would similarly be a willingness for Topps to meet that demand.
I invite other members to share their own desires, hopes and requests for Old School 6 with Topps here - and with luck, they'll take a glimpse at what the hobby community (represented by this forum) is saying and thinking. And wants.