Author (Read 16155 times)

Russell CircleCityCards · « **on:** July 13, 2012, 12:05:26 PM »

Hey Guys!

If you haven't read THIS yet, please do so. It explains how Circle City got involved in the creation of the Hornet deck.

OK, now that that's out of the way let's get to the fun stuff! These cards are top-notch, I know this because I oversaw the whole production with USPCC. The cards are printed on premium-Aristocrat stock with Cambric finish. The design is a reprint from nearly 100 years ago and is one of USPCC's first designs. Only 2500 'standard' decks have been printed and we had a special run of 144 decks with gilded edges and gold wax seals. Much like the recent release of the CARC's Erdnaseum Bee Squeezers, I wanted to pay homage to the original while bringing it up to date ever so slightly including a couple of unique bonus cards.

Let's dive right in to what makes this deck stand out in a time where there are many options. First up are the Jokers, I take a great pride in showing these off! I played around with the idea of tying in the very concept of Hornets in many different ways. What you see below is the result! There is a subtle reveal on the second joker (Seven of Diamonds), can you spot it?

Next up are the 'advert cards'. The first ad card:
The tried-and-true, long lost, ingenious 'SUBSTITUTE CARD' made famous in New York Consolidated Card Co's decks of cards. It works as a replacement for a damaged or missing card. Yeah, most people don't use them, but wow, it's a great looking card!

The second ad card:
What ever happened to the good-ole-days of shameless self promotion IN the product that you can only see AFTER you bought it?!?! Congress playing cards were noted for doing this along with many cigarette manufacturers. There's something about the language used, the verbosity, that really makes you care about how the cards were produced and you feel the quality and time that went into making them.

The back design:
These cards were originally printed in 1905 with a reprint and update in 1915. The brand of Hornet my have disappeared but the artistry of the back design holds the test of time. The fine details in the creases of the outer ivy and the dot perfect center ornamental flower are really something to behold. This is a classic design.

This deck is the first in a passion project of mine, The Heritage Collection. Twice a year I am going to be releasing a 'lost' deck from the archives of USPCC. I'm not the only one who will be picking what decks get a new lease on life, you get to choose the next deck in a poll! Each classic deck will be transformed to it's glory days and given a facelift. There are literally hundreds of cards to choose from, I have a few in mind and I can't wait to share them with you after the release of the first of The Heritage Collection - Hornet.

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Enough about the design of the deck, let's get to what you really want to know, the cost!

The original flier that went around had pricing on it. Now that I am in charge of everything I've decided to lower the cost of everything. I thought it was a bit to high since this is hard times and the market is flooded with cards right now.
'Standard' deck is only $6.95. That's a great price for a premium deck, compared to how ridiculous the price of decks has gotten in the recent years. ($10 for a non-uspcc kickstarter deck?!?! Really?!?!) In quantity, the decks get to low as $4.95 each. Only 2500 of the 'Standard' decks were made.
'Gilded' decks are $9.95. There were only 144 gilded decks printed up and those are sealed with a gold wax stamp. There is a strict limit of 2 gilded decks per order to ensure anyone who wants one can get their hands on them. I will be hand numbering the bottom of each of those tuck boxes in gold ink.
Uncut Sheets are $50. USPCC has a minimum of 25 uncuts to be ordered. I will be selling 20 of them, each one will be hand numbered on the bottom in gold ink. (The other 5 are for personal use and won't be sold.)

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This was a long post, thanks for checking it out guys! What originally was an 'oh-shit!' moment for me has turned into a great success so far. I can't wait to get them delivered to you. I should be taking delivery in 2 weeks and have them in my website right after that. You'll be able to pick them up at www.circlecitycards.com

Thanks again everybody!

- Russell

------ EDIT ------

The decks are now on sale!

Evan · « **Reply #1 on:** July 13, 2012, 02:37:43 PM »

The deck looks great! I loved it from the start! I'm really looking forward to having them!

NathanCanadas · « **Reply #2 on:** July 13, 2012, 05:23:31 PM »

Honestly, the design doesn't really work for me. However, knowing that you are in charge of it, if it truly handles as well as it is marketed to handle, than it seems promising. I also love the two extra cards and jokers. I'm also glad to hear about your heritage collection project. With the All Wheel Back deck, the heritage design sets etc, it seems like a popular idea, but I'm glad to hear it is a project of yours as well. Can't wait!

John B. · « **Reply #3 on:** July 13, 2012, 08:43:46 PM »

I like it + I won a free one so I am happy.

jmrock · « **Reply #4 on:** July 13, 2012, 11:24:26 PM »

I'm good for a deck... I've enjoyed everything Circle City has done thus far...

xela · « **Reply #5 on:** July 14, 2012, 12:11:24 AM »

Quote from: NathanCanadas on July 13, 2012, 05:23:31 PM

Honestly, the design doesn't really work for me. However, knowing that you are in charge of it, if it truly handles as well as it is marketed to handle, than it seems promising. I also love the two extra cards and jokers. I'm also glad to hear about your heritage collection project. With the All Wheel Back deck, the heritage design sets etc, it seems like a popular idea, but I'm glad to hear it is a project of yours as well. Can't wait!

It's a vintage design, as far as I know Russell's job is to "recreate" the design in a vector format that allows for modern day printing. I'm sure he can do some modifications to the tuck case as well. Other than that, it would be a terrible reprint if he was like "AND NOW SKULLS" while doing the Jokers.

And of course the handling will be perfect, seeing as how it's USPCC and they have what, two options last I checked? Four possible combinations?

Don Boyer · « **Reply #6 on:** July 14, 2012, 12:37:12 AM »

Russ, this looks to me like a fine deck and I'm looking forward to the release.

If that poll of yours for the next deck doesn't include at least ONE vintage Tally Ho design, "you 'n' me is gonna have some woids out in the alley..."

Joker and the Thief · « **Reply #7 on:** July 14, 2012, 03:15:37 AM »

I love the idea of a subsitute card... Well done.

Don Boyer · « **Reply #8 on:** July 14, 2012, 04:42:14 AM »

Quote from: Joker and the Thief on July 14, 2012, 03:15:37 AM

I love the idea of a subsitute card... Well done.

I have to say, I thought that was a pretty interesting concept as well. As a kid (when I couldn't always buy playing cards and they had to last), if a card was lost or ruined you just wrote the value in pen on one of the jokers and called it a day, usually making very crude-looking pips for the indices... This at least looks classier!

KPopFever605 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 14, 2012, 11:59:04 PM »

O.o - I agree with Joker, the Substitute idea is amazing. Great Work CCC!

Russell CircleCityCards · « **Reply #10 on:** July 15, 2012, 12:16:36 PM »

Yeah, I really like the Sub card too. Each one of the following Heritage Collection decks will have a unique card similar to that one.

I'll have more info about future decks in the Heritage Collection after the release of the Hornet deck. Also, don't worry, I'll still be designing custom decks, this is just a side project.

Here is a rendering of the deck in the world famous Circle City perpective. Real picture to follow very soon.

Kingman · « **Reply #11 on:** July 19, 2012, 08:47:44 AM »

Wow, what a great looking deck! I will love to add these to my collection. The quality sounds like it will be great.
Thanks for the hard labor on this one.

Kingman

Russell CircleCityCards · « **Reply #12 on:** July 19, 2012, 01:19:41 PM »

Thanks Kingman, welcome to the forums!

Here is the first shot of the gilded decks. We are really surprised how reflective the gold is! There will also be a gold stamped wax seal on the back of the tuck. We only had 144 of them printed up, they will be for sale the beginning of August.

Later today we have a special announcement to make. It's an event that you'll want to clear a bit of time out on your schedule Monday afternoon.

Click here to see the photo.

Russell CircleCityCards · « **Reply #13 on:** July 19, 2012, 06:18:11 PM »

As promised, here is some great news for you!

As you might have known, the Hornet decks were originally scheduled to arrive this week from USPCC. They are now going to come in roughly 2 weeks. Here's why: All of the decks were boxed up and ready to ship; during the final quality control check someone noticed something was off. Does anyone remember the GOLD MONARCH situation? We are in exactly the same boat. Simply put; the color of the decks did not match the color of the tuck cases. After a couple conversations with my fantastic rep, we decided the best course of action was to scrap the whole thing and start from scratch. In all, 2,500 (+144 gilded) decks were destroyed in order to make sure we bring you perfect cards. They are doing a special rush job to get the decks to us in record time.

Before we get too far… let's back up. Before USPCC destroyed the cards, I had them deliver a few bricks of the misprinted decks to me. We received 4 standard bricks and 1 gilded brick. Again (similar to the Gold Monarch scenario) the boxes are identical, only the cards on the inside are mis-printed.

We are going to be selling off 50 decks of what might be the RAREST CARDS to come out of USPCC.

Out of the 50 orders, 10 people will be selected randomly to receive a Gilded deck (hand numbered). Because we are card enthusiasts first, the price of the decks will go for the same $6.95 that the standard decks will be selling for in a few weeks! Decks will ship immediately after your payment is processed. The page to purchase the cards will go live this Monday at 7pm Eastern time (11pm UTC). We really don't expect the cards to last more than a few minutes as there are only 50 to grab.

Also, we are on top of it. We asked our server host to bump up the server load for an hour just before and after the event. Hitting 'refresh' is the worst possible thing you can do when a site is slow, it bumps you to the end of the line. Don't do it.

Well, that's all for today. We will be uploading more info and pictures of the Hornet deck over the next few days. Sorry for the slight delay in the release.

---edit---
There is a limit of 1 deck per order. We want as many of you as possible to pick one up.

john · « **Reply #14 on:** July 19, 2012, 06:32:46 PM »

Quote from: Russell CircleCityCards on July 19, 2012, 06:18:11 PM

As promised, here is some great news for you!

As you might have known, the Hornet decks were originally scheduled to arrive this week from USPCC. They are now going to come in roughly 2 weeks. Here's why: All of the decks were boxed up and ready to ship; during the final quality control check someone noticed something was off. Does anyone remember the GOLD MONARCH situation? We are in exactly the same boat. Simply put; the color of the decks did not match the color of the tuck cases. After a couple conversations with my fantastic rep, we decided the best course of action was to scrap the whole thing and start from scratch. In all, 2,500 (+144 gilded) decks were destroyed in order to make sure we bring you perfect cards. They are doing a special rush job to get the decks to us in record time.

Before we get too far… let's back up. Before USPCC destroyed the cards, I had them deliver a few bricks of the misprinted decks to me. We received 4 standard bricks and 1 gilded brick. Again (similar to the Gold Monarch scenario) the boxes are identical, only the cards on the inside are mis-printed.

We are going to be selling off 50 decks of what might be the RAREST CARDS to come out of USPCC.

Out of the 50 orders, 10 people will be selected randomly to receive a Gilded deck (hand numbered). Because we are card enthusiasts first, the price of the decks will go for the same $6.95 that the standard decks will be selling for in a few weeks! Decks will ship immediately after your payment is processed. The page to purchase the cards will go live this Monday at 7pm Eastern time (11pm UTC). We really don't expect the cards to last more than a few minutes as there are only 50 to grab.

Also, we are on top of it. We asked our server host to bump up the server load for an hour just before and after the event. Hitting 'refresh' is the worst possible thing you can do when a site is slow, it bumps you to the end of the line. Don't do it.

Well, that's all for today. We will be uploading more info and pictures of the Hornet deck over the next few days. Sorry for the slight delay in the release.

... And you did this because we all love the Gold Monarch scandal, and because T11 got so much respect because of it?

Russell CircleCityCards · « **Reply #15 on:** July 19, 2012, 06:55:27 PM »

Haha, no. We are just in the same situation. Circle City cards doesn't nearly have the same following as T11 or E. We wont have a huge server problem or angry fans. We have announced everything ahead of time and we are transparent with our customers.

Being upfront and not hyping is what sets us apart from other companies (big and small).

billysac · « **Reply #16 on:** July 19, 2012, 08:55:51 PM »

Tell USPCC that I would be happy to purchase the rest of the botched gilded decks at cost!

John B. · « **Reply #17 on:** July 19, 2012, 09:05:39 PM »

just found out i will be at work when this happen FML. I need to find someone to cover me, I so want this deck.

Russell CircleCityCards · « **Reply #18 on:** July 23, 2012, 06:27:04 PM »

Just a heads up, the mis-print Hornet sale starts at 7pm (EDT). That's just around 30 minutes from now.

Only 50 will be sold, 40 standard decks and 10 gilded (randomly selected).
They are $6.95 each with a limit of one deck per order. They will start shipping immediately.

The order page link will be up at 7pm on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/circlecitycards
While you're there don't forget to 'like' us!

Thanks everyone and good luck!

- Russell

Russell CircleCityCards · « **Reply #19 on:** July 23, 2012, 07:00:59 PM »

http://circlecitycards.com/hornetspecial.html

good luck!

MSimonart · « **Reply #20 on:** July 23, 2012, 07:09:22 PM »

I made two orders without really noticing. A little mistake. Will I get two decks now or will I get send one and be refunded for the other one? Don't really care what it will be, I'm just happy I got one.
Are these sold out already or not?
Thanks

Aaron · « **Reply #21 on:** July 23, 2012, 07:13:37 PM »

I also made 2 orders (one for me and one for my brother) I am expecting to recieve both so I would asume you also will.

Russell CircleCityCards · « **Reply #22 on:** July 23, 2012, 07:23:17 PM »

If you made multiple orders you will receive multiple decks. Check out our Facebook page for more info!

Thanks everyone, it sold out in about 10 minutes!

loldudex2 · « **Reply #23 on:** July 23, 2012, 08:14:41 PM »

Awwh man, my power went out, so I did not haw the chance to get them. Oh well though, I guess I will just need to get some during regular release. Good luck to everyone who got one!

John B. · « **Reply #24 on:** July 23, 2012, 08:39:30 PM »

i was at work.