Fun with Flexichrome-1952 Topps Baseball

[Mark70Z]

Originally Posted by Phil68

Mark,
Thank you! The lipstick is intentional, of course. I wanted it to pop big time! I have updated the Brooks. I went back to the drawing board....literally...and now have a flexichrome '52 for him as well...
They don't look too different, actually. I do prefer the Flexichrome version, however. I gave it a more traditional crop, slightly widened the borders and evened the skin tone. I also went with a Mid Century Gothic font that topps used on some cards. The '52 set used 11 different fonts! Crazy details.

WOW! I prefer them BOTH...

[Exhibitman]

Those are really nice.

[irv]

Being a 52 Topps collector, I enjoyed viewing those a lot!

Great job, Phil.

[Phil68]

Originally Posted by irv

Being a 52 Topps collector, I enjoyed viewing those a lot!

Great job, Phil.

Thank you, ALL!
If it's cool with you guys, I'll post a few each week as they come out. Today was just one card. I licensed this image today as I didn't have a Maris in pins I hadn't used yet that would look good as a '52.

[Phil68]

And for our rookie card purists...

[Phil68]

Today's Addition is an upgrade for card #16-- Dodgers oddball hurler Billy Loes

[Phil68]

...and '52 Play Ball #69, also, Billy Loes
You can probably see the difference in the painting of the images. The Play Ball was done in paint shop with what's known as an "alien skin" filter. The Topps was done with Flexichrome. Good opportunity to see the differences.

[Phil68]

Originally Posted by irv

Being a 52 Topps collector, I enjoyed viewing those a lot!

Great job, Phil.

Dale,
As a fellow collector of 52's, what draws you to them? Aside from the obvious reason they were Topps first major set and groundbreaking, is there something else about them?
I thought you might appreciate some of the production detail I'm working on.
You may or may not know that I use vintage substrates on my cards. There is a texture to it that is unique and 1952 Topps cards are exactly the same.
I hand gloss each card and when I do, the color tones just fall into place and you can see the actual surfaces. It tones the cards down and makes them "warm"... Anyway, this is one of the traits that draws me to this set. The sometimes crude production or slipping print plates makes it challenging and gives 52's that "hand-made" feel as well.
Anyway, I took a photo of a Mattingly and tried to show the surface texture.
There just are not that many people that might share the enthusiasm for details like another '52 collector...

[irv]

Originally Posted by Phil68

Dale,
As a fellow collector of 52's, what draws you to them? Aside from the obvious reason they were Topps first major set and groundbreaking, is there something else about them?
.

Phil, unlike most others likely, my love for them came when my father gifted me 148 of them over 30 yrs ago.
As a kid, being a CDN, I only collected hockey cards and stuck with those until I lost interest, likely just before becoming a teenager?

When my father gave those to me, the card hobby was exploding, which rekindled my desire to collect again, somewhat.
I knew nothing of the 52 Topps cards at that time but I obviously looked into them to learn as much as I could.
Being the age I was with life changes happening so fast, I didn't do much with them other than put them in top loaders and put them in a large cardboard box.
My father and I went to a couple shows, I purchased the odd one here and there, etc, but then the hobby collapsed due to the junk card influx, and that was pretty much it until around late 2015/2016 when I dug back in and found this site.
Since 2016, I was aggressively buying them like they were going out of style in an attempt to maybe finish the set before my father moved on, but, like anything, due to various reasons, I have slowed significantly for the last 6 months or longer and now just mainly collect hockey cards again when time and money permits.

Of course 52 Topps will always be my favorite baseball set due to the family connection so I have not quit collecting them entirely, but even outside of that, I honestly think, due to the history around them, etc, they would likely be regardless?

[Phil68]

Man, I love looking at 'em. That's quite a compilation you've got going there!!!
Thank you for sharing. That's amazing that your Dad had them. My Dad never collected a single card. I was definitely on my own there, Lol.

[jasonc]

Yes, nice pic Dale!

Really impressive seeing them all together like that.