An Alien and the Cute Little Green Guy...

I've been waiting for months for Indiana Jones Masterpieces to be released. My twin brother and I had both ordered a case, so we were going to break them together. At the last minute I hedged my bet.. "wanna split whatever we get?" I asked him. He agreed. It just made sense. What if one of us had pulled a Harrison Ford autograph or one of the other monster pulls? Finally Masterpieces was released. I opened my case and read the odds.. 1 sketch in every 24 packs. Then I opened my first box. It had two sketches in it! A hot box I figured. Wrong. My second box had two sketches.. and the third.. and the fourth. Then my next box had a Panoramic sketch AND two sketches! What amazed me even more was the quality of the sketches. So many beautiful sketches. I was almost done with my case when my brother hit gold... our first Duron. The "Alien" from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull movie. I had opened cases of LOTR Masterpieces II, Heroes Series II, Star Wars Clone Wars, plus various boxes of other products and I had never pulled a Michael Duron sketch. Okay, TECHNICALLY I hadn't pulled this one either, but we were splitting whatever we got.. so that Duron was mine. My brother, knowing of my Duron collection, had to get in his digs... "maybe we should put this on Ebay..." he says. "HELL NO.. that Duron is mine!" was my response. It wasn't much of an argument- like I said my brother knows about my Duron collection.

Then two days later I was set up at a Sportscard show and business was slow. Snails were moving faster than my cards. Lucky for me the guy beside me had boxes of Non-Sports.. Indiana Jones Heritage, Indiana Jones KOTC, Indiana Jones Masterpieces, and Star Wars: Clone Wars. I had alot of luck with Clone Wars when it came out, so I thought I'd try a box... break up the monotony.. change my luck for the card show (I hope). My nephew was with me so we both took half of the box. The cel inserts started showing up right from the start.. in fact four cels in the first six packs. "Maybe a hot box" I thought. Four more cels and two parallels later I figured I was right. All that was left was finding the sketches. I found mine first.. a Dalla Vecchia "Grievous" sketch. Christian Dalla Vecchia may do alot of sketches for sets, but the work is always quality. Then my nephew found his sketch.. and we saw a splash of color... green. A cool Yoda sketch.. by none other than MICHAEL DURON!!! I couldn't believe our luck. So I thought I'd share my luck with all of you. Have a great holiday season all! Thanks for reading...

Mace Windu

What a cool card! Not a ton of detail, not a color sketch, but I love how Mike drew this card. I particularly like the middle of the face- how he drew the forehead, the nose, and the eyes looking to the side. Mace Windu, who's not a main character but definitely a recognizable one, was played by Samuel L. Jackson and appeared in "The Phantom Menace", "Attack of the Clones", "Revenge of the Sith" and of course the new film "Star Wars: Clone Wars". Mace Windu is also a major character in the Cartoon Network series "Star Wars: Clone Wars". Like I said, what a cool card! Thanks for reading...

Captain Rex

Well, it's been awhile since I posted, so if you check in from time to time I'm sorry that I haven't been more diligent. Card shows and life in general has kept me busy. Luckily I've been able to pick up a few new Durons, including this color Captain Rex. Clone Wars is definitely one of my favorite sets that Mike's worked on, but then again, I think that every time I see new cards from him. I was a big Lord of the Rings fan, so when I saw his LOTR's cards I thought they were super cool. I've always liked the Indiana Jones movies, so Mike bringing characters and scenes to life just made me like his cards all the more. And then I wasn't sure what I was more excited about- hearing there'd be a new Star Wars movie (Clone Wars) or a Topps set with Mike's sketches in them. I bought two of Mike's returns from Clone Wars and I'm waiting to get them- the first return cards I've ever bought.. so I'll be sure to post them when I get them. As alot of Mike's fans know, he's been going thru a rough stretch in his personal life, so I hope everyone can be patient and understanding with him. Thanks for reading...

The Evil Emperor?..

Sorry that it's been awhile since I've posted- summer seems to slow down my motivation. I picked up this beauty on Ebay (pic enclosed).. I'm not sure but I think it's the Emperor. Send me your thoughts- I'm open for suggestions.

I know that Mike's going thru some tough times- I'm just hoping he can keep his spirits up and come out the other side. I know what it's like to be apart from the ones you love- it's rough. Phone calls, emails, Instant Messages, text messages or any other form of technological communication can't replace what we really want- the daily interaction with the ones we love- but it's better than nothing. Hang in there Mike.. your love for your daughters won't change nor will their love for you. It'll just make the time you spend with them all the more precious.

Thanks for reading... Dave

Star Wars!

I might not be a Star Wars fanatic, but I've always loved the series. So when I heard Topps was putting out a card set featuring sketch cards I was pumped... especially when I heard Michael Duron was included in the set. It doesn't get much better than Star Wars and Michael Duron for a collector like me. I ordered a case and waited patiently.. okay, maybe not patiently, but I waited. Finally I started seeing case breaks on Scoundrel, so I knew the time was getting close. Then I got the call... my case was in. I had a game plan for my case- as I opened the packs I chanted the names of sketch artists I wanted to get.. "Duron- Plunkett-Pence- Bellinger" (no offense to any other sketch artists, but those were my "Big 4"). I tore into my first box and hit my first sketch pretty quickly... an Animator sketch by Matt Gaser.. it was sweet (picture enclosed)! I also noticed an unusual amount of cel cards, so I thought "maybe it's a hot box". Eight cel cards and 2 numbered parallel later I got to the bottom of the box and hit a second sketch- an awesome Rich Woodall Padme color sketch (right down to her green eyes). I was off and running. Box #2 brought me an awesome Jason Sobol Ahsoka color sketch, and box #3 another sweet Ahsoka color sketch by Jamie Snell. By this time I'm starting to wonder if I'm dreaming... 3 boxes and 4 incredible sketches. Box #4 produced my first b/w sketch, but it was a sweet Ventress sketch by Don Pedicini Jr.. box #5 another b/w sketch, but it was a very nice Obi-Wan sketch by Chris Trevas. Box #6 was a dud... bummer. Box #7 was another Ventress b/w sketch- this one by Howard Shum. Down to my last box.. #8.. I kept chanting the "Big 4" names- hoping, but not really believing I'd ever pull one. My stretches of good luck opening cards are few and far between. I finished one row and was almost done with the other row thinking I had gotten another dud box when I got my last sketch... and I was stunned. I could hardly believe the card in my hand was a sketch because it looked so amazing (picture enclosed). A Killian Plunkett! I was blown away. As much as I wanted to keep the Plunkett I figured it would easily pay for my case, so I posted it on the Scoundrel Message boards and took offers. I ended up accepting an offer from Grendel4 that included cash and.... a Michael Duron Clone Wars sketch (pic enclosed). I've picked up a few other Duron Clone Wars sketches, so I'll post them when I get them. As for now, thanks for reading... Dave

One Ring to Rule Them All...

I got a message from Mike (Deckard on the Scoundrel Art Message Boards) two weeks ago asking me if I'd be interested in his lone Michael Duron Lord of the Rings sketch- a sweet Sauron sketch holding up the Ring of Power. It was such a cool card and it was a Duron.. so of course I was interested in it! We worked out a deal and a few days later I got it. Thanks Deckard! I love the tag line that Michael Duron put on the card: "One Ring To Rule Them All".. that's one of the underlying themes of the LOTR's series, and with Sauron's sinister helmet behind the hand holding up the ring, this card reeks of his evil power. An awesome addition to my collection. I have a few Star Wars Clone Wars cards on the way, so I'll be posting them soon. Until then, thanks for reading... Dave

Rats....

Rats...

I just got back from Steel City Con and "Rats..." had to be the theme of the weekend. First, because I picked up a great Michael Duron sketch from one of the other Dealers- Bryan Schemine- a great guy from Ohio. Another Indiana Jones Heritage to add to my collection. I had asked Bryan on Friday when we were setting up if he had any Michael Duron sketches and he didn't think he did, but on Saturday when I got there he said "why didn't you say 'Locoduck'? I have one of his"... and it turned out to be this furry rodent (see enclosed picture). The second reason "Rats..." was the theme of the weekend still has me crying in my Cheerios. The new Star Wars: Clone Wars just came out, so people were busting boxes left and right at the Con (myself included.. as always, hoping for a Duron). One of my customers said he had busted a box and all he could tell me about the sketch was "it had a big nose"... big nose.. hmmmmmmm. I asked him if I could see it, thinking maybe, just maybe he had pulled a Duron.. so he went and got it. Sure enough, there was a Count Dooku sketch done by none other than Michael Duron! And he and his sister-in-law had bought the two boxes right before I did! "Would you like to trade? Would you like to sell it?".. I didn't want to seem too desperate but I think he saw thru my not-too-calm exterior. No amount of asking/pleading/begging worked.. he wanted to take it home and do some research on it. Still though, he took my email address, so I'm hoping beyond hope that he'll contact me. I was that close.... RATS!.... Thanks for reading... Dave

FINALLY!!!!

Finally! It's taken me months (literally) to finally get a Michael Duron sketch that WASN'T from Lord of the Rings, as I was able to win "The Swordsman" from the Indiana Jones Heritage set on Ebay. All I can think is that Deckard is on vacation or already has some version of this card, because he's done quite a job of snagging a healthy percentage of all of the Indiana Jones Duron's that hit Ebay (and alot that don't too). I've always been a big fan of the Indiana Jones series, so being able to get (at least) one of Mike's sketches from the sets is great. So now I have one from the Heritage set, and hopefully I can pick up at least one from the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull set. I'm a happy camper. Thanks for reading all..... Dave

A Good Week

Not even tearing all of the ligaments in my right thumb (ouch.. it really hurt) could stop this week from being a good one. So many good things happened, including picking up two more of Mike's sketches.. an awesome Oliphant sketch that I got from Jonas (Bombadillio on the Scoundrel Art message boards), and a sweet Treebeard sketch that I picked up on Ebay. I love the detail on both, from the smile on the face of the guy riding on the Oliphant's back, to the "punt" and the x'd out eyes of the Orc being punted. Your work always amazes me Mike!

Heroes Volume 2 came out this week, and I've already seen some awesome pieces of Mike's handiwork both on Ebay and on Scoundrel Art posts. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up a few. Since I pre-ordered a case of Star Wars Clone Wars and can't afford to buy cases of every product that comes out, I was still able to buy four boxes of Heroes Volume 2 on Ebay from Craig- ebay id: dreamjoey, one of my favorite sellers. I bought my first case of Indiana Jones KOTCS from him, and he's great to deal with. I had been reading the Scoundrel Art message boards on the Heroes 2 case breaks, and people were freaking out about how bad their breaks were.. some cases only giving up 5 hits where 9 were "guaranteed" by Topps (7 boxes with one hit, and one "hot box" with two hits). I also saw some people were getting 12-14 hits in a case, which I thought had to be a typo.. that just doesn't normally happen in Topps products. I figured I'd land on the short end of the stick.. I usually do when it comes to breaking products. I got my boxes 2 days after the release (fast shipping by dreamjoey) and tried the first box.. and got two hits- an autograph and a sketch card! I almost fell out of my chair. Me getting a hot box, who'd have thunk it? lol. So I opened the 2nd box.. and got two more hits- a costume card and an autograph! Whoa. So on to the 3rd box.. and two more hits- an autograph and a cool Jeff Chandler sketch card. Now I'm thinking, I'm either dreaming or I'm in the Twilight Zone, because this just doesn't happen to me. So on to the 4th box.. in which I pulled an autograph. Almost anticlimactic and almost disappointing, but with 7 hits in 4 boxes I was on cloud 9.

I hope all the readers out there had a great 4th of July weekend. My special someone (Mandy) has kept a smile on my face all week (one of the biggest reasons the week has been so GOOD), so thus continues my good week... Thanks for reading.. Dave

Legolas and Pippin

I just got these two sweet sketches in the mail yesterday, thanks to Ian Doughty (itd64 on the Scoundrel Message boards) and a trade we worked out. They cost me a really nice Katie Cook Galadriel sketch w/quote, and one of the nicest Chris Henderson LOTR sketches I've seen (subject was Sam and his wife and was just beautiful), but it was worth it to me for the Durons. Ian was great to deal with and I wouldn't hesitate to do so again. I didn't have a Legolas before, so when I saw this one I really wanted it. The Pippin holding the Palantir, well that's just Mike picking another great scene from the movie and making it come to life. I love it.

I still haven't had any luck picking up any Durons out of any product other than LOTR. I'm pretty sure Mike did Heroes2 and Star Wars: Clone Wars, so I can't wait for those two releases. Here's hoping Mike's computer problems get fixed soon. I miss seeing new entries to his blog. Thanks for reading... Dave

Gimli and the Urakai

Finally, something to write about! Though not from a lack of effort, I had been unable to pick up any new Michael Duron sketches for the past few weeks. Finally a breakthrough! Someone had posted 4 Duron sketches for one day auctions, so I was hoping to snag a few for my collection. There was one extremely nice color sketch of Smeagol and Deagol fishing that was won by a fellow Scoundrel Art Message Board poster named Ian... I found out who he was because the next day he saw my post looking for Duron sketches and sent me scans of 8 that he had. I was drooling. I worked out a deal for two of them (yippppeeeeeeeeeeeeee) and I'll be posting them when I get them, but in the meantime I was able to pick up these two beauties for a bargain (see enclosed scans). I love Mike's interpretation of Gimli in this sketch, especially the big nose contrasting with the small eyes and mouth.. what an awesome sketch! I'm not sure if it was the subject matter, but I picked up the Urakai getting it's head sliced off (with the added "sound effects") for a great price ($4.99 starting bid... ended up being the only bid). I thought it was cool.

Just an added note... I hope Mike doesn't mind but my avatar on the Scoundrel Art Message Boards is Gimli's head from one of his sketches that I bought (my favorite sketch.. see past posts). It took me FOREVER to finally get his head small enough for Scoundrel to let me use it as my avatar, but I think it was worth the effort.

Here's hoping Mike gets his computer up and running soon. It sucks that his computer crashed, but in the end we're all going to end up the winners when we see his Star Wars Clone Wars sketches that he's had extra time to work on. I've got my fingers and my toes crossed that I'll pull one in the case that I ordered. Thanks for reading... Dave

Rollin....

I picked up a great trade via the Scoundrel Art Message Boards this week- a color Michael Duron sketch from Masterpieces II that he entitled "4 Little Hobbits Rollin Down A Hill" (picture enclosed). I made the trade with David Tapia (knmdave on the Scoundrel Art Message Boards) and was very satisfied with it (quick shipping and great communication). I gave up a Shia LeBeouf autograph but he threw in another sketch card (a Carly Monardo.. thanks to the message boards for helping me identify it), so I think we were both satisified with the trade. That brings my Duron sketch total to 11, two being colored. I'm not sure what's up with Mike- he hasn't posted on his site since May 9th, but hopefully all is okay and (if we're lucky) he's just been busy working on more sketch cards for us to enjoy. Thanks for reading...

Dave

A Good Week

It's been a good week. I was able to work two deals on the Scoundrel Art Message Boards for two Michael Duron sketches including the one of Gollum in this post (thanks to Gary Krock- "diamond" on the Message Boards- for a smooth transaction). This week also brought me a Cave Troll bonanza, including my new favorite- the one with the Cave Troll chasing Gimli (that's one BIG hammer). I had seen this card on Ebay with a higher "Buy it Now" price than I wanted to pay. Luck was with me as the card didn't sell and the owner relisted at a cheaper price (more in my price range) that I quickly snapped up. This one came from "across the Pond" from the United Kingdom- the second Duron sketch that I've got from the U.K.

You may have noticed a trend with my Duron sketch cards- so far I've only bought Michael Duron sketches from Lord of the Rings Masterpieces. This is not from a lack of trying to buy from other sets, it's just bad luck and bidding against other Duron collectors with deeper pockets (you know who you are out there.. Mike and Ed in particular). As I've said before, it's understandable being that Duron's stuff is the coolest out there. I also bought Mike's "IT CAME FROM THE POND" sketchbook from his site and I'm waiting to get it in the mail.. looking forward to it. Speaking of his site, check out his Marvel Masterpieces 2 preview- he did some absolutely amazing sketches for that series. He hasn't posted on his site for awhile, but his last post said he was sick. Here's a shoutout hoping that you're feeling better soon. Thanks for reading..

Dave

Bling Bling..

Okay, maybe it's not exactly bling-bling in the traditional way, but my first Michael Duron color sketch deserves a grand title. That goes double for the sketch card of the Fellbeast and Nazgul about to attack Frodo.. when I got this sketch card it immediately became my new favorite. Unfortunately, that title will be short-lived, as I just recently purchased a sketch card that (as soon as it arrives in the mail) will become my new fav. You'll have to come back in the near future to find out which one that is.

I have to say I had one of my biggest Ebay disappointments one morning this week. I had checked out all the current Michael Duron sketch cards and nothing new had been put on that day (that was still available), but for some reason I decided to check "completed auctions" to see what Duron's had recently sold. I almost broke into tears when I saw the card on the top of the list. I haven't purchased any of Michael's Star Wars cards, but that's because I have yet to see one on Ebay. There was one on the top of the list.. a Princess Leia in the garbage chute with the garbage monster staring at her with love in his eye.. and it sold on a "Buy it Now" for $13!! THIRTEEN DOLLARS!!! Uggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggghz. Another Princess Leia one sold later that day (also on a "Buy it Now") for $15!! Double Ugggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggghz! Ya win some ya lose some.. but some of those losses really hurt. Thanks for reading...

I've Got a Beautiful Pair of.......

I've got a beautiful pair of.... Michael Duron sketches- and I got them in the mail today (see enclosed pictures). Two more "oldies but goodies" from the Lord of the Rings Masterpieces series. The first is Frodo holding the Light of Earendil in the cave of the giant spider Shelob. You gotta love Frodo's hairy feet- they look about size 15's on his 3.5' tall body. Just a wonderful drawing by Michael Duron. The second is a stoic pose by Gandalf holding his staff (lots of lonely nights on the road so what else is a Wizard to hold?). I picked both of these up from the same seller on Ebay (always save on shipping whenever possible people- one of Ebay's golden rules for buyers).

I ripped my second case of LOTR Masterpieces II the other day. Sorry to say no Duron's, but I did pull a sweet Patrick Hamill that I put on Ebay and it sold for $150 via a "Buy it Now" within an hour. Two case of Masterpieces II and two Patrick Hamill's. I can't really complain since I've sold the two for $200 and $150, but I'd love to have pulled a Duron. More soon, but for now thanks for reading...

Dave

What a Bargain!

What can you get nowadays for a dollar? Chicken nuggets at Wendy's, a 1/4th of a gallon of gas, or a 2-liter of pepsi (if it's on sale)... May 11th must have been my lucky day because on that day I got a Michael Duron sketch card for .99 (picture enclosed). I'm calling it an "oldie but a goodie" since it's from 2006 (yeah, real old huh? lol) and he signed it MikeD instead of his newer handle of Michael "Locoduck" Duron. May 11th was bonus day- I also picked up a Leah Mangue from the same ebay seller for $5.50 that ironically was also a Gollum sketch. Maybe it was Gollum Discount Day or the first annual Smeagol Sales Spectacular and I didn't know it, but whatever the case I was one happy camper. I'm going to venture a guess that it'll be the first and last Michael Duron sketch that I find for under a dollar... but then again who knows? Only 362 days til next year's Smeagol Sales Spectacular. More to come, but for today thanks for reading...

Dave

Indiana Jones Crystal Skull Case Break

So I got my case of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on Thursday and couldn't wait to tear into the boxes, hoping for a killer sketch card or at least one of the big autographs from the set. I opened my first box and got... nothing. No sketch card and no autograph. I called my buddy who had opened a case the day before to see how many dud boxes he got.. none he told me. So I opened and opened and pulled 7 sketch cards including this amazingly detailed one by Leah Mangue (picture enclosed), but no autographs. Personally, I put more stock into the sketch cards than the autographs, but odds stated on the packs that autographs were 1:78 packs, so who knows- maybe my box was supposed to have Harrison Ford or Steven Spielberg or George Lucas. I was pretty bummed. A call to Topps Customer Service the next day did nothing to alleviate the mood- they told me: "We don't guarantee anything so we won't send you anything extra". I felt a little cheated. So I checked the internet for message boards to tell the world about how Topps treats their customers. This isn't my first run in with Topps- I've collected sportscards for 20+ years so I've had to contact them before... thing is, with sportscards they're usually fair with me, but now with non-sports they're giving me a hassle.

My luck changed today. I just won two Michael Duron sketches on Ebay, so I'll be posting pics as soon as I get them. I'm also sending out thanks to Leah Mangue- I emailed her to ask her about the card I pulled and she was very gracious to return my email with extra information that I could use in my ebay listing. Check out her website at: http://www.lmangue-art.net/ . Thanks for reading...

Dave

For all you Michael Duron fans out there who bid on ebay, you make it very tough for me to add to my collection.. but that's understandable, and it makes it more of a challenge. I won this one about a week ago (picture enclosed), so pulling this one out of the envelope today only wanted me to add more Michael Duron sketches to my collection. What I like about this is sketch is it's a 3 for 1 deal- 3 characters on one card.

On a disappointing note, Topps has pushed back the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull card set another week. Luckily the promos for the product now say Topps is putting a "Hot Box" in every Hobby case. So we'll have to see if that pays off. There's only one thing I'm anticipating more than getting my case of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull...

Thanks for reading. Dave

Locoduckfan's Blog

I've been a sportscard collector for 20+ years, but just recently got hooked on opening Non-sports cards when I spotted Lord of the Rings Masterpieces II sketch cards on Ebay. I loved the LOTR movies, and I thought the sketch cards were ultra cool, so I split a case with my brother, hoping to pull some cool sketches. Eight boxes with 2 sketch cards per box- I was pumped. Then in my first box I pulled a color sketch card by Joanne Mutch, so I was hooked. Even better, later on in the break my brother pulled an incredible color detailed sketch by Patrick Hamill (picture enclosed), so by now I'm diving headfirst into the world on artist sketch cards. I got on Ebay to search LOTR sketch cards, and got my first look at Michael Duron's work. Wow. Now, there's some people that go for the life-like sketches, and some people that go for the caricature versions.. maybe it's because of my love of cartoons, but I'm drawn (no pun intended) to the caricatures. I bought my first Michael Duron sketch on Ebay a few days later- an awesome one of Gandalf (picture enclosed), and now I check Ebay every day for new Duron sketches. His web site (http://locoduck.blogspot.com/) is my new favorite internet site. Check out the link on his site entitled "Topps TV Promo Video Starring ME?". The new Indiana Jones "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" card set was released this week and I ordered a case hoping to pull a Duron sketch card. I'll let you all know what I get. Thanks for reading.

Dave