1999 Topps Action Flats

Among the many offbeat issues from Topps in their long history is the 1999 Action Flats set. The idea behind this set of 'action figures' was that Topps would produce a set of cards and then include a small standup figurine that was based on the picture of the player from the card. Not an altogether terrible idea, but the execution isn't the greatest. The figures themselves are 2 1/2" to 3" tall and can barely be called three dimensional. Kind of along the lines of an embossed piece of plastic. The real problem with the figurines is that they are hand painted and the paint jobs just aren't very good. Especially on the faces. But for a suggested retail price of $2.99, I guess you can't expect too much. Anyway, Topps produced one series consisting of 12 different players who each have a home and away jersey version (aways are short prints, 1 per 12 figures on most player, 1:24 for Sosa and 1:36 for McGwire). Sammy Sosa and Kerry Wood are the Cubs in the set.


The cards that accompany the figurines share the same design as the regular 1999 Topps base issue set, but the photos both front and back are different from the regular set.



In addition, the cards have an Action Flats logo on both the front and the back of the card.


The same card was issued for both the home and away versions, so there is only one card per player in the set.