Hobby Oddities: 1999 Fleer Tradition Spectra Star All Star Baseball Kites

Spectra Star was a toy company known for making marbles, flying discs, yo-yos, and kites.

In 1995 they were purchased by now defunct Toy Biz.

Most of their products featured the images of licensed properties – Star Wars, Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, etc…

One specific line of kites they sold jumps out to me. Spectra Star released six kites that have baseball cards on them. Specifically six cards from the 1999 Fleer Tradition set. The players they made kites for are Ken Griffey, Jr., Greg Maddux, Mike Piazza, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Derek Jeter.

The kite measures 28″, and is a sled style.

Included with the kite is a matching baseball card.

The card looks just like it’s normal counterpart found in the regular 1999 Fleer Tradition set except for one tiny difference.

You can see the card that comes with the kite has a different number.

Kite cards are numbered “X OF 6”. This Derek Jeter kite card is numbered “6 OF 6”. Derek Jeter’s regular base card found in packs of 1999 Fleer Tradition is #5.

Card of the Day: Sammy Sosa 1999 Fleer Tradition #2

Card of the Day: 1999 Original Hand-Painted Baseball Art by Monty Sheldon – Sandy Koufax #20

Card of the Day: John Elway 1999 Sports Illustrated for Kids Series 2 April Fools’ #788

Card of the Day: Alex Rodriguez 1999 Topps Power Players #8

Product Highlight: 1999 Topps Action Flats Baseball

I can still remember going into my local card shop and seeing these crazy little dudes for sale.

The Topps Action Flats line actually began in 1998 with the NFL. Football fans got another dose in 1999 as well. But baseball fans only received one set which was released in 1999. Another baseball set was in the works before the product line got officially dropped altogether.

What are Action Flats? An Action Flat is a small (flat) figure that comes on a stand. It was another attempt at competing with Starting Lineup. The 1999 Topps Action Flats Baseball set consists of (12) players:

• Chipper Jones
• Greg Maddux
• Mark McGwire
• Sammy Sosa
• Kerry Wood
• Barry Bonds
• Alex Rodriguez
• Ken Griffey, Jr.
• Cal Ripken
• Juan Gonzalez
• Nomar Garciaparra
• Derek Jeter

The Action Flat figure is posed to mimic the image on the accompanying card. Cards look just like the flagship set, but have a “Action Flats” foil stamp on them.

Topps did make some parallels to chase. Away and Classic Jersey parallels apply to the figures only. Classic Jersey parallels are more difficult to find. The cards that come with the figures are the same whether the figure is a parallel or not.

Props to Topps for trying something different. But the Action Flats line never really caught on.

Card of the Day: Michael Tucker 1999 Upper Deck MVP #54

Card of the Day: Mark McGwire 1999 Sports Illustrated for Kids #790

Under The Tree: 1999 Racing Champions MLBPA Superstar Yo-Yos Series 1

Happy Holidays! Time to look back and remember some of those favorite sports related toys you received as a kid.

When I was in middle school there was a major yo-yo fad. Where it got started and how it began still remains a mystery. All I remember one day is that yo-yos began to popup everywhere. It wouldn’t surprise me if some teachers still have those confiscated yo-yos at the bottom of their desk drawer.

In 1999 Racing Champions (yes I said Racing Champions) known specifically for their die-cast race cars issued a set of MLBPA licensed yo-yos.

The set consists of (10) player yo-yos:

• Kevin Brown #1
• Ken Griffey Jr. #2
• Tony Gwynn #3
• Derek Jeter #4
• Greg Maddux #5
• Mark McGwire #6
• Mike Piazza #7
• Cal Ripken Jr. #8
• Ivan Rodriguez #9
• Sammy Sosa #10

Another set of baseball yo-yos was issued by Racing Champions. This set consists of the same (10) players. The images differ from Series 1, and use holographic foil. Instead of a solid color the yo-yo itself is transparent with glitter.

I believe Racing Champions even had some specially made yo-yos for the National Sports Collectors Convention. You rarely see these.

The Racing Champions brand is still around today. It is currently owned by the Round 2 Corp. They make models, die-cast cars, slot cars, and model train accessories.

Card of the Day: Joe Rudi 1999 Sports Illustrated Greats of the Game #52