The 1996 Tempo (Down Under) Simpsons Trading Card Series is one of the best series of Simpsons TradingCards (if not the best). Not only was it a big improvement over the 1994 Skybox Series 2 set but it included the Super Super Rare Chase Card - THE BARTARANG! In addition, there were several features that were unique to this series. It was the only series of cards to offer Box Cards and Sample Cards. Of course, this set was produced by Tempo (in Australia) and all the other sets were produced here in the USA. In fact, to this day, it was the only major Simpsons Card set to be produced overseas. Yes, there are a few things that could have been different but there are also many things that far surpass any other series There is also a lot of specifics worth mentioning. Here we go:
Each pack contained 7 high quality UV-coated cards.
There were 30 packets to a box and 12
boxes to a case. There were a total of 15,000 numbered display
boxes released worldwide. (450,000 packets). There was a total of 1250
cases. There was also a limited edition (1000) binder produced to house
the cards.
The Promo Cards: The promo cards from
this set do not have any distinguishing features. P1 is very similar (but
not exact) to Card #1 in the base set. P2 is the same as Card #70 from the
base set (at least the front is). P3 is the same as Card #53 from the base
set (at least the front is) and P4 is the same as both the Couch Case Card and
the Binder Card.
The Base Set:
The base set was divided into 4 sub sets (really 6 if you count the Checklist
Cards and the Tempo Card)
# 1-36: Character Cards - "36 cards depicting
your favorite Simpsons characters." This is by far the best set of
character cards from any of the trading card sets. Not only are there many of the "less
known" characters (ie Uter, Mr Largo, Snake, Cletus and Brandine, etc) but the
back of each card has interesting (and little known) facts about the character.
SUPERB!
#37-81: Bart vs. Australia
- "44 scenes from the Simpsons infamous trip to Australia. Including
character quotes from the script." The front of each cards shows a scene
from the show and the back tells the time in which the scene occurred and a
description of what happened in the scene. While this is an interesting
concept (especially because the cards were produced by an Australian company in
Australia), it could have been done using fewer cards. 44 Cards was way
too much. I think this section is kind of a waste and I would have rather
seen more character cards, however the back of each Bart vs. Australia card has
artwork that can be "flipped" quickly to create an animated scene of Maggie
sliding (or whatever she does) from one side of the card to the other and back
again. Click on the image below to see what it looks like:
#82-90: Puzzler - "9 card
set that makes up 2 wild Simpson's puzzles. This was a nice sub set,
especially because you could form 2 puzzles...one with the front of the cards
and one with the back of the cards. The checklist calls it a "zombie
puzzle" but they don't look zombies to me. Here are scans of the completed
puzzles:
1996
Tempo (Down Under) Series
Front of Cards #82-90 (Puzzle)
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1996 Tempo (Down Under) Series
Back of Cards #82-90 (Puzzle)
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#91-96: The Tour of Springfield
- "take a tour to some of Springfield's most notable public landmarks.
A neat set of 6 cards.
#97: Tempo Card - Tempo
promotes themselves. They list other upcoming card sets. There is
another set that has the Simpsons as one of the upcoming card sets but it is
impossible to tell from looking at the card which card set it came from. I
will have a scan of that card shortly.
#98-100: Checklist Cards -
This is such a good series of cards, it takes 3 cards to complete the checklist!
The Homer As Cards: While I an not a huge fan of these cards, the concept was interesting and unusual. There were 7 cards and each one depicted a "brand new exclusive image showing Homer as various Historic and notable Australian personalities." A nice feature is that the cards were gold embossed (Tempo called in 18 ct. gold leaf foil) and were also numbered in gold (Tempo used the "sing" authentication process). There were 7000 of each card produced and they were inserted on average 1:9 packs.
The 7 Duffs Cards: These cards were a spoof on the 7 dwarfs and supposedly represent the "seven stages of Duff Beer consumption". These cards were made out of a new material called "Polycard". This was the first time this material had been introduced in the world of trading cards and made the cards bendable and plastic like. In addition, the were die cut to the shape of the bottles. While the topic may be strange, the cards were inventive and unique. The new material did create a problem that apparently was initially overlooked at Tempo. The cards were supposed to be limited to a run of 2500 each and each one was to have been numbered. If you look at your cards, you will see they are numbered #1/2500. So are mine and so are everyone else's. Apparently, this new material couldn't hold the ink from the numbering machine and all the cards were printed with 1/2500 on them. Supposedly, there were 2500 of each one produced and they were inserted on average 1:30 packs.
The Springfield's Finest Cards: "A set of 4 cards featuring Nelson Muntz, Krusty the Clown, Montgomery Burns and Apu Nahasapeemapetilon." These cards were also made with "Polycard" and as a result had the same problem with the numbering. All cards from this insert set are numbered 1/1750. There were 1750 of each one made and they were inserted on average 1:65 packs.
The Redemption Series: This was a 3 card set. One of the card (the red one) was inserted in random packs and if you pulled it, you could send it in to Tempo and they would hole punch it and return it to you along with the Black "Brady Bunch" looking card and the Blue certification card. These cards were made out of standard card material and were both stamped in gold foil and also numbered in gold. There were 1250 of each card made and they were inserted on average 1:360 packs. If you think about it...if each pack costs $2.00, then in could cost you on average $740 to find this card. Whew! Of course, to add a little excitement to the mix, Tempo went out of business before all of the cards were redeemed and now no one knows exactly how many unredeemed cards (and Blue and Black cards) are around. I know I have an unredeemed one and there are many unopened boxes floating around so there are probably at least a few more out there.
THE BARTARANG!: This was a "TEMPO EXCLUSIVE - 50 ONLY." According to Tempo, "you may redeem this card for an authentic Boomerang hand painted in the 'Dot' style by Australian Aboriginal artists. No two are the same - each is a hand painted original and features the Simpson Family in this traditional painting style." This cards has been called "The Grand Daddy" of trading cards and is definitely one of the rarest of all the Simpsons Trading Cards. The only other cards that comes even close is the "Lucky Day Card" from the 1993 Skybox Series 1 set. It may very well be one of the rarest of all non-sport trading cards. If you were lucky enough to pull the card, you could send it in to Tempo and they would then send it back to you with a hole punch in it (redeemed) along with the actual Bartarang, a Hessian Bag for storage and a letter of authenticity from the company. The interesting thing is most people (including die hard Simpsons fans) do not even know about the Bartarang and those that do have never seen one. Until now. This object is probably one of the rarest and hard to find of all Simpsons Collectibles. The Bartarang Redemption was very rare. As I mentioned above, only 50 were made and they were inserted on average 1:9000 packs. In other words, it could have cost as much as $18000 to find one. One final note on this card / item...like the "Woo Hoo" Redemption Set, Tempo went out of business before all of the cards were exchanged and no one knows for sure how many Bartarangs there actually are. I know I have an unredeemed card and there are lots of sealed boxes out there so I imagine there are more unredeemed cards out there. Of course, it's too late to send in the card if you pull one, but it's still a nice (and rare) card to have. If you happen to have a Bartarang or Bartarang Card or know someone who does, please get in contact with me at yale@donthaveacowman.com. I would love to see a scan to compare it to the one I have.
That finishes the notes on the normal card set but we are just getting started. This set had lots more cards associated with it.
The Box (Display) Cards: There were 4 box cards and they were also made of "Polycard". They were roughly 7" across and 4 1/4" down. There were 625 of each card made and they were inserted approximately 1:6 boxes. (Note: That is boxes, not packs...since there were 30 packs to a box, that means 1 card per 180 packs on average). Like all the other Polycard cards, there was a problem with the numbering and they all are numbered 1of 625. It is interesting that these cards are harder to find than the case cards.
The Case Cards: There were 2 case cards and they were also made of "Polycard". They were much larger than the box cards. They measured 11" by 7". There were 625 of each card made and they were inserted 1 in each case (or 1:12 boxes or 1:360 packs). These cards were NOT numbered. Today, these seem to be easier to find than the box cards. Note: The "Couch" Card is identical to the front of the P4 promo card and the front of the binder card.
The Binder: Tempo
also produced a limited edition (1000 made) binder "for the ultimate in safe
storage and lifetime protection of your Simpsons Card collection".
Officially called "The Simpsons Downunder Collector Card Binder" it
featured:
4 colour printing on front and spine
3D ring clamp with 25mm capacity
finest quality vinyl covering, 4mm foam padding -
front, back and spine.
capacity of approximately 200 cards.
size 270mm x 290mm x 34mm
Tempo claimed it was "absolutely the best quality binder on the market". I
still have mine and it is as good as the day I purchased it.
The Binder Card: The binder card was a limited edition (500) card that was given away with the first 500 binders purchased. The front of the card is identical to the front of promo card #4 and the "Couch" case card. The card is gold embossed and numbered in gold.
***ANSWER ME THIS!!!
Why is the Art d'Bart Card worth so much more than the Binder Card when there
only 500 of each one made?
Here are two reasons why...
1) Binder cards were relatively easy to get. All you had to do was buy a
binder while the ADB card had to be pulled out of luck. You could not be
sure of getting one.
2) The ADB card is a hand drawn sketched that is autographed and numbered.
No 2 are alike and it is considered "art" while the binder cards are all
identical even though they are numbered, they are still mass produced.
The Sample Cards: Tempo also released "sample cards". These included the full set of seven Homer As Cards, the full set of three "Woo Hoo Redemption Cards, the Bartarang Card and the Binder Card. They were identical to the cards from the set but instead of being numbered in gold, they had "sample card not for resale" printed in gold where the number would be. Although the cards seem to be in somewhat limited supply, I am sure they were widely available when the first came out. No one know exactly how many were printed or how many are around today. Sample Cards are one of the things that were unique to this series of cards.
Uncut Card Sheets: Tempo also offered a limited number of uncut card sheets. There were four sheets total. One sheet consisted of the 100 card base set. The production run was limited to 100 sheets and each one was numbered. The second sheet was made of polycard and contained the 7 Duffs and the Springfield's Finest. There were 4 of each card on the sheet plus a few cards from another card set (The Rugrats). The production run on this sheet was 50 but the sheets were not numbered because of the polycard material. The third sheet contained eight cards. They were the seven Homer As Cards and the Bartarang Card. This sheet was also limited to a production run of 50 and the sheets were all numbered. The last sheet was four cards. It was the three Redemption Cards and the Binder Card. It was also limited to a production run of 50 and each sheet was numbered. All four sheets are very rare and hard to find and the values are subjective. They make great collection pieces because once they are framed and hung, they are very colorful.
Large Promo Poster / Information Sheet: This was a large poster on one side. The poster is similar to the Kangaroo Case Card except for some writing at the top ("Bart's in trouble, and now he's gotta pay!!"). The poster also lists all five Simpsons at the top of it. See scan below. The other side consists of 4 sections and contains information about the cards. See below for scans. Note: the first section of the back side of the poster is identical to the large poster on the front side except it is 1/4 the size.
1996 Tempo (Downunder) Series
Back of Promo Poster - Page 1
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1996 Tempo (Downunder) Series
Back of Promo Poster - Page 2
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1996 Tempo (Downunder) Series
Back of Promo Poster - Page 3
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1996 Tempo (Downunder) Series
Back of Promo Poster - Page 4
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One final note: According to Tempo, "Tempo offers the collector custom made frames to display their rare Tempo Box Cards. The mat within each frame is exclusively foil printed with the title of each series. For further information contact Tempo for a free merchandise brochure and price guide." I have never seen these frames but would be very interested in getting a hold of them. If you have any information about the frames or any other merchandise from this card set, please email me at yale@donthaveacowman.com. Thanks.
VALUES:
Promo Cards:
Set of 4 ($10)
Large Poster / Information Sheet ($15-$25)
Base Set
100 cards ($15
- $20)
Chase Cards
Set of 7 Homer As Cards ($3-5
each or $30 for the set)
Set of 7 Seven Duffs Cards ($6-9 each
or $50 for the set)
Set of 4 Springfield's Finest Cards ($15-20 each
or $60-80 for the set)
"Woo Hoo" Redemption Card (not redeemed) ($75-80)
Set of 3 Redemption Cards ($125-$175)
Bartarang Card (not redeemed) ($750-$1000)
Actual Bartarang (along with redeemed card, Hessian bag
and letter of authenticity from Tempo ($3000-$4000)
Redeemed Bartarang Card
(only) ($750)
Actual Bartarang (only) ($1000)
Display (Box) Cards (4 cards) ($50-60 each or $225 for the
set)
Case Cards (2 cards) ($30-40 each or $65 for the set)
Binder ($30)
Binder Card (1 Card) ($40-50)
Sample Cards
Set of 7 Homer As Sample Cards ($10
each or $75 for the set)
Set of 3 Redemption Sample Cards ($50
each or $150 for the set)
Set of 1 Bartarang Sample Card ($75-100)
Set of 1 Binder Sample Card ($50)
Uncut Card Sheets
Base Set Sheet ($200)
7 Duffs & Springfield's Finest ($250)
Homer As & Bartarang Card Set ($350)
Redemption Set & Binder Card ($250)
Other Items
Sealed Box ($80-100)...the
reason these boxes go for so much is the chance (even thought it is rare) of
finding an unredeemed Bartarang Card. By the way, if you are going to try
your luck and buy a box in hopes of finding an unredeemed Bartarang Card, you
should know, they were inserted on average 1:300 boxes.
Sealed Pack ($5)
Empty Display Box ($3-$5)
Empty Wrapper (3 varieties) ($1
each)
