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Best2u

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Journal Entries posted by Best2u

  1. Best2u
    The results are listed but do I dare look.
    Just check my submission of the 4 Gang Busters issues that were graded by CBCS and broken out for a CGC submission. They said they were being shipped so that means the grades are listed online. Do I look or do I wait till they show up at the PO Box before I report back to you people. I've been getting a bad vibe since I saw that the #13 had a trimmed cover. I know I made some predictions of what I was thinking they would come back as and I'll stick to them but now I'm thinking I should have lowered those predictions by half a grade if not a full grade. I still can't believe that CBCS missed a trimmed cover. I would think that being the new player in the game they would try to cover all their bases. Oh well, I did this more to see how the 2 services compared. The books were a cheap buy off from ebay as not to many people were bidding on them.
    I don't know what happened but when I try to see what people have replied on the chat boards all I get is a notice that there is a UBB error. Sorry I can't reply to any ?'s you may have put up. Till next time when I will give results.

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  2. Best2u

    New comics in comic cave

    By Best2u,

    It was time to change the comics being shown in the cave. The first 2 are in honor of  Halloween. The next 3 are up because I was in a wedding. The flower for my lapel is made of a comic book page.




  3. Best2u
    Must be nice to go to ebay and find the series you're collecting/looking for in CGC holders.
    Yeah, that's right, I'm feeling kind of jealous right now. Of who you ask. I'll tell you. All you people that collect all the popular series of comic books. Yeah, you know who you are. All you who collect Amazing Spider Man, Batman, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and on and on I could go. Must be nice to do your eBay CGC search and see hundreds of hits for your series there in front of you, what excitment you must get seeing that. Thinking you could find that issue you need or maybe just a up-grade of a issue you already have. Sure, you may not find one but at least there was the feeling that you could out of the hundreds to look at. What would you people do, if say, you ran a search for X-Men CGC and you got no hits. You'd be floored. You'd check your search box to make sure you typed in X-Men CGC right. If that was right, then you'd check to see that youe computer was not frozen. If that wasn't it you'd redo it all over again thinking there could've been a ghost in the machine. Still no hits and you'd start praying. Well, welcome to my world. Every day I'll run a CGC ebay search for the 8 or 9 series I collect and chances are I won't get more than 2 or 3 new hits. Go ahead, try running a search for "Headline Comics CGC", see how many hits you get. Now hold on, it's not that I'm mad at you guys, I'm just jealous of your excitment. Think of it like this, you collect Amazing Spider Man and you need a copy of #1, there are 1,631 grade (CGC) issues, you know every time you look for it at ebay there's a good chance some body has listed one in the last several days. How about #129, ready, 3,320 graded CGC slabs out there, my guess is that a new one gets listed on ebay every other day. I can go weeks with out getting a new hit for some of my collected series. Okay, why don't I collect some series that gets listed all the time. I've tried. I started to collect Batman from issue #200 on. Lost interest in a month or so. Just don't like the Super/Action hero type of comic. I did latch onto the Gold Key Star Trek series, but they only come up every few weeks or so. So, I guess what I'm saying is, I wish I got the feeling you guys must get when you look on ebay everyday and see all the choices you have for comics you need. Some times I see issues so seldom that I have to buy them raw and send them to CGC myself as I did with the copy below which came back as a 8.5 with white pages. Good luck to all in finding what you need, even if it's some what easy to do.

  4. Best2u
    The sound of the crack, the flying of broken plastic, the sheering of the scissors.
    Okay, recently picked up four issues of Gang Busters off from ebay. All four were in CBCS slabs and within the grade range of books that I wanted to start my Gang Busters Registry set with.
    When I purchased them I told myself that I was not going to crack them out and send them to CGC. They would be just fine setting in the Gang Busters box with my only other issue, Gang Busters #51 CGC-7.5 ow/w Aurora pedigree. That did not happen. I mean, why have four issues and not be able to have them in my Registry set.
    This past weekend they were broken out of their CBCS coats and are on their way to CGC.
    That being said, the test is on.
    Before cracking them out I watched a video of a guy cracking a CBCS slab on You Tube. I got out my tools and out they came. I was very careful, even had my wife help with the extraction of the book from the inner liner. I then very carefully went over ever book to see if I agreed with the CBCS grade. That be done and recorded, wanted to be sure I did not forget later what I had thought, I packaged then so a bomb could not hurt them and off they went to CGC.
    Here is what I sent out and what grade I gave the books...
    -Gang Busters #6 CBCS-9.4 W pgs. (9.4 OW/W pgs.)
    -Gang Busters #10 CBCS-9.0 W pgs. (9.0 W pgs.)
    -Gang Busters #13 CBCS-8.0 OW/W pgs. (7.5-8.0 OW pgs.)
    -Gang Busters #18 CBCS-7.5 OW/W pgs. (7.0 OW pgs.)
    There you have it. I used my Registry coupon for this so it should not be to long for the results. When they come back I'll share with you the results.

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  5. Best2u

    My own comic room???

    By Best2u,

    I've always wanted my own room to display my comics in and now I have one. True, I do have to share it with other family members, but when I'm in there by myself it's my own little comic cave. The view's great whether sitting or standing or just digging some meds out of the pantry. Thanks to the family for letting me put up any comics I want. I've been changing comics every 2 or 3 weeks. The comics now on display are Summer Love #46 and 47 with Beatles covers due to the fact it is summer still and Flying Saucers #1 and 2 because I'm reading a book by Corso and Birnes titled 'The Day after Roswell'. Hey everyone, enjoy what's left of summer and I'll post my next selection when they get changed.



  7. Best2u
    Oh no, not going to well for CBCS.
    Make sure you read part 1 first. Here is a update. Just looked to see how my order was coming along and noticed that they had marked the Gang Busters #13 as having a trimmed cover. Hard to think that CBCS would have missed that. Think I'll be staying with CGC.
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  8. Best2u
    Sorry this took so long.
    Okay, I'm back with part four. Sorry it took so long but I got the chance to go hiking in upstate NY for a week and the comics came back the day I was to leave. If your new to the series of posts please read the first parts to see what's going on. The first book to look at will be the Gang Busters #6. CBCS graded as 9.4 with white pages. I was thinking it would hold that grade but maybe have OW to white pages. CGC sent it back as a 9.2 with white pages. I guess I can live with that as there is a tiny bend with color break on the right top corner. CGC did add the name of Win Mortimer as a artist which CBCS didn't have. All in all not bad as I only spent $76 for it. Seemed like a fair price for a book from 1948. This was also the first time that I could see the grader notes on a submission I sent in. They're okay but they only show what's wrong with the cover. That's something I can see for myself. I'd rather know what wrong with what I can't see, the inside. Maybe they do that and this book didn't have anything wrong inside but neither did the other three books. Give me a few more days and I'll do the next book. That's the one with the trimmed cover. (CBCS got in touch with me over that one, be sure to read the next one)

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  9. Best2u
    Trim or no trim, that is the ?.
    Well here we go. Purchased off from ebay for $44 in June along with 3 others Gang Busters comics (#10,18, and 6). All were graded by CBCS and this issue, #13, was graded 8.0 OW/W pgs. After deciding to break them out for grading by CGC I started this journal to let people know how things were going. CGC has since removed some or all of them I'm told. This issue came back from CGC as a 8.0 white pgs. but with the "Cover Trimmed" note. I was somewhat shock as to how CBCS could have missed this and said so in a couple of the past parts of this journal. It was shortly after that post that W. Stepen of CBCS, a senior grader, got in contact with me by email and said the following- "We noticed an odd cut on the right edge of the comic, but after scrutinizing it, we determined it was from manufacturing, not post-manufacturing. Apparently CGC also noticed the odd cut & came to a different conclusion." He went on in some detail about how comics were made at the time and a bit about CBCS. All in all, a very nice email.
    After all of that went down I couldn't wait to get it back from CGC to have a closer look at that right edge. Well, I've look at it now for a week or more and I'm not sure myself if it's been trimmed. I can see where both companies saw what they saw and came to their conclusions. There is a tiny bit of a wave in the cut that may look as if it's been trimmed but it happens at a point where there may have been a fold in the cover before the manufacturing cut and that caused the slight wave on the edge. Knowing that all four book came from the same collection, as they all have the same flowing "M" and a few numbers on the cover, and that none of the others were trimmed, makes me believe that this one wasn't either. But I do see why CGC may think is was trimmed.
    I am glad I broke it out so that I can add it to my Registry.
    Final words, CBCS seemed like a okay place to talk to and I do like their notes much better than CGC's. CGC only note is that it's a photo cover where CBCS note the actors in the photo cover along with four of the artists and that the story was by Phil Evans. They also tell which stories are in the book on the back label. As for the grade, 8.0 W pgs. I agree.

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  11. Best2u
    Lack of info.
    Sorry for the amount of time between my posts. This journal is about the Gang Busters #10 that I broke out of its CBCS jacket and submitted to CGC. I do have a bit of a problem with it being lowered a full point from 9.0 to 8.0. This is the one comic I was thinking would be a sure lock for the same grade. I'm sure I didn't do any damage cracking it out or that anything happened in packaging or shipping. I'm pretty sure the covers grade a 9.0 so it must be something CGC found inside the book that CBCS and I missed. I've said this in one of my other posts but I sure wish things inside the book that are a problem would be listed in the CGC notes instead of just cover problems. Oh well, all in all, I'm happy I did what I did.
    One other thing I'd like to note is the amount of info that CBCS puts on its tabs compared to CGC. On this comic CGC lists one artist compared to CBCS listing five artists and the person who wrote the story plus the actors who appear in the photo cover and that's just on the front of the tab. The back is filled with the story titles in the comic and even some of the important ads that are in the book. Come on CGC, I love ya but it's time to update your info and even your tab.

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  12. Best2u

    WARNING, WARNING,

    By Best2u,

    Centered covers a must
    The first 15 covers of the Ghosts series are very difficult to find without some portion of the cover design cut off. I even think there may some cover that cannot be found complete. I just found the #5 cover in the ComicLink auction with a full cover. I had to pay a bunch for it but it's the first one I've seen. Check out my Ghosts collection in the Registry to see some other full covers and some almost full covers with just a bit of the design missing.

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  13. Best2u
    No ace in the hole here.
    Once again, sorry for the delay. Life got going and I got to go visit my kid for a couple weeks. It's time to do the last book, Gang Busters #18. This was graded 7.5 by CBCS and came back 6.5 from CGC. I don't really have to much of a problem with that. There are a lot of little things that show up. Staples are out of place, a few little chips, edges a bit ruff, and a few bend here and there, and that's just the front cover. The back has a pretty big dust shadow, tiny piece missing from one of the bottom corners, and looks a bit faded. About that back cover, it has a great ad for RC Cola staring "R.C." and Quickie a pair of young cowboys. One last thing, check out the info that's given on the two labels. Notice any difference?
    Stay tuned for my last part in which I'll give my roundup of this whole saga of the Gang Busters test.

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  14. Best2u

    How low do you go?

    By Best2u,

    Is there a bottom grade that you never go below with your CGC slabs?
    I recently decided to start collecting more of the GHOSTS series other than the first 15 which have a different design to thier covers than the ones after issue #15. Now, its a long series with 112 issues and a few specials listed in other series. I decided to collect the first 15 issue because they are so hard to find well centered. After issue 15 they becomes a bit easier to find well centered. I've decided to still only buy well centered issues with no design elements cut off, but where as on the first 15 issues grade wasn't that important, on the next 97 issues I had to set some kind of rule as to how low a grade I would buy. I decide on the following. Issues 16 to 49 would have to be CGC's 9.4 with OW/W pages or better and issues 50 to 112 would have to be 9.6 with white pages or better. I'd love to have gone with 9.8 but the price gets to high at that grade, around $90 compared to $35 for 9.6's.
    Where is this long rant going? What's the bottom grade that you accept? GHOSTS is a 1970s-80s series so there seem to be plenty of copies out there in high grade, with I'm sure, many more to be graded. Should low grades be lowered as the issues get older? Series from the 60's are around in high grade but not that often placed in the marketplace. Do you lower you grade so that you can own one soon or just wait till a high grade comes along? I've kind of set my low grade for silver age stuff at 8.0. That all leads to the golden age. Some of these issues just never come up for sale so do you just buy them no matter what the grade is? I do. They still have to be good looking for the grade and come at a price that the grade dictates but if you don't think you're ever going to see one again, I buy it. Would you? Let me know what you concider the lowest grade you would buy for a modern, silver, and golden age comic. (See one of my lower graded comics below. I have one graded lower but can't find the picture of it. It's a SHOWCASE #20 in CGC-4.0)

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  15. Best2u
    Could I have just discovered a new variety for a Batman comic?
    Well, it took me awhile to find this, it's been sitting in the collection for a year or two, but take a look at the picture below. When the Aurora Comic Scenes hoard started coming to the market I decided to get one copy of each. After getting 5 of the 10 issues I notice that the other five were not coming up for sale very often. I did a CGC pop. check and found that the Batman(15 graded), Tarzan, Tonto, Spider-Man, and Lone Ranger had very few graded copies. I kept trying to get all of the issues and ended up with all but the Tarzn, still trying, and even started to buy more than one copy of the low pop. issues.
    Just recently I started to update all my collection on the Registry. The Aurora Comic Scenes came first and as I was scaning pictures to upload, I notice the new variety, if that's what it is. When I look at both of then side to side it sure looks like it's an entirely different book. It doesn't look like they ran out of ink during the printing. I don't think it was a mixup in ink because both copies have the person with the yellow shirt toward the right. Both of the front covers on my issues are exactly alike as is everything else but for the tree colors on the back. I may put this up on the Chat Boards just to see what other people think.
    I know it doesn't seem right but I would like to name the two different varieties Yellow Batman and Green Batman. I guess that sounds kind of lame, lets just forget the naming for now.

  16. Best2u
    Blue dealer stamp on a blue cover
    I have a Boy Commandos #30, CGC-7.5, that has a dealer stamp in blue ink that is almost the same color blue as the cover. The stamp has 3 lines and the top one says "Brownies Smoke Shop" but I can't make out the other lines. Just wondering if anyone knows anything about the stamp or has the same stamp on one of thier comics. I would like to know what the other lines say also. Thanks and let me know if you know anything about it. Best2u

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  17. Best2u

    Whatever happened to...

    By Best2u,

    Seems like ten years ago I heard about it.
    Anybody in the know have any information on the pedigree book that's be in production for the last decade or so. I looked forward to buying that thing for five years at Christmas time and it never came out. I then got mad for a few years that it was taking so long and then said if it ever came out I wouldn't buy it, I was just that pissed. Well, it's been another year or so and haven't heard a thing about it. Anybody know if it's still on the table or has if just disappeared? I keep thinking I won't buy it for stringing me along for a decade but deep down I know I'll buy it the day it comes out. I'll give those guys another 10 years but that's it.
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  18. Best2u

    I'm a COMICLINK loser.

    By Best2u,

    I won a auction lot, then why do I feel like a loser?
    After to going through all the lots in the latest Comiclink auction I had picked out all the Thrilling Comics lots to bid on. I was going to win one of those lots if it was the last thing I did. It's been a long time since I had added a comic to my set on the Registry and here was a good chance to do that. My main goal was to get either the #43 or #71 as they were the highest grade of the lots. Things started going bad as soon as the first Thrilling Comics lot sold. It went about $30 higher than I was thinking. After a couple more, that went higher than I was willing to pay, I knew I'd have to put a pretty good bid in to win the #43 issue. I had set my limit in the mid $200 range but now knew that won't do it. Okay, so it was, kill the budget time. I put a bid of a bit over $300 on the lot with about a min. to the end. I was halfway hoping to get out-bid as it seemed way to high to pay for a mid-grade Thrilling Comics. In fact, I was hoping to get outbid when there were a few seconds remaining. , I won the lot. I'm now the proud owner of a #43 Thrilling Comics that I feel I overpaid for. I'm happy I get to add something to my Thrilling Comics Registry set after a long dry spell. I'm happy to have seen so many Thrilling Comics come on the market, as I rarly see more than one or two a year that I can actully afford. But still, somehow, I feel as if I was a loser instead of a winner at this auction. Oh, and here's the bad news. I still have about 10 other comics I know I'm going to want to overbid on in the next few sections of the auction. Wish me luck or beter yet, don't.

  20. Best2u
    Just got done with putting a custom set together in my Registry of all my “Aurora Comic Scenes” collection doubles and realized I have more copies than any normal collector should. I mean, who needs 5 copies of the Lone Ranger issue. Oh wait, that’s not the worst of it, how about 9 copies of the Batman issue. I seem to justify the Batman issue by thinking he’s a very popular character and people will always want one of these issue as time goes by. Don’t think that’s really going to happen and some day I’ll probably just sell them at a loss. Good thing they’re pretty inexpensive. Anybody else have way to many copies of a single issue that isn’t really justified other than just a inner need to own then.



  21. Best2u
    A few journals ago I gave my predictions, let's see how I did.
    Following is a copy of my journal when I predicted what the grades would be, I'll let you know what they came back as after that journal. I just shipped off 6 comics to CGC and as always I write down what I think the comics will grade at when they come home. I'd like to share my predictions with fellow journal watchers. When they come back we'll see how good a grader I am. So without futher words here they are. 1.- Midnight Tales #5, Mass. Copy, super hi-grade inside but the cover has a small scuff which shows up a bit on the black cover. My guess-9.2. 2.- Space War #12, Circle 8, nice copy but for a little edge wear and a slight bend to one corner. My prediction-8.0. 3.- Space War #13, Circle 8 pedigree, really nice insides and front cover, back cover a bit faded. My inkling-9.0. 4. Space War #14, Circle 8, a touch of spine roll and some scuff around staples but real faint. I'm thinking-8.5. 5. Space War #32, I've been looking for a gradeable issue for 3 years now and this is the best I've seen so far. Feeling I'll get- 8.5. 6. The Return of Gorgo #2, Vintage Collectables had this as a 7.5 in thier auction and could well be as there are spine breaks. I always buy raw auction comics thinking it's at least a grade lower than stated. I'm going with- 7.0. That's it. When they come back, could be 2 months, I'll repost this and the returned grades and we'll see how bad a grader I am. Best2u, Ed
    Okay, so here is what they came back as, 1. Midnight Tales #5 Mass. Copy, I predicted a 9.2 it's back as a 9.8, guess I was a little off on that one, but I did say it had a super high grade inside. I guess the little scuff wasn't that bad. 2, Space War #12 I predicted a 8.0 and it's back as a 6.5, Wow, that hurts a bit. That little bent corner must have been bigger than I saw it. 3. Space War #13 I perdicted 9.0 and that's what it came back as. I knew it. That's right, I'm the MAN. 4. Space War #14 I guessed a 8.5 and once again I'm the MAN. It's CGC-8.5. 5. Space War #32 I predicted a 8.5 and do you believe it, it's a 8.5, Who's the Man, I'm the MAN. 6. Return of Gorgo #2 I said a 7.0 and it's back as a 8.0. Okay, so I'm not the Man but at least I was wrong on the low side. Not so bad on my grading I'd say. I had 3 right on the nose, 2 that I undergraded, which is always better than overgrading. I was really only off on 1 book and only off by a 1.5 points. Ya, guess I should have spotted that. I'll give myself a B+. See ya in the Journals, Best2u.

  22. Best2u

    #1 cover in my collection

    By Best2u,

    Here it is. My favorite cover that I own.
    Check out my past journals to see my other top covers. From E.C. Comics in Jan. of 1953 comes Frontline Comics #10. This cover grabed me from the min. I saw it in the CGD gallery of covers for Frontline Combat. I do go there a lot to look at covers I'm missing from series I collect. Some of the finest artists in the comic kingdom worked on this cover. J. Severin did the pencils, B. Elder did the inks with M. Severin on colors and B. Oda on lettering. Now I've never read this comic due to the fact I can't find a cheap reading copy but the first story in the book is titled "Baby" so I'm hoping it's about the cover. I love the colors on it. Everything come out clear as a bell due to the great color mix. I love the little bit of yellow used on the smoke to show there's a fire some where close with out really showing the fire. The little kid crying as the focal point is great. I also love the detail of the ruins laying about the child. Well, I'm glad I got that out of my system. Next week I'd like to talk about collecting Pedigree comics. Oh ya, mine is a CGC-7.5 off-white pages from eBay in May of 02. Cost was a nice $95. To bad theres that writing along the top edge. Don't know what it means but it says- 5-9-10.

  23. Best2u
    I posted this journal over 2 years ago,
    Anybody have new info?
    Posted: 2/26/2011 12:13:19 PM | Views:489
     
    Seems like ten years ago I heard about it.
    Anybody in the know have any information on the pedigree book that's been in production for almost the last decade? I looked forward to buying that thing for five years at Christmas time and it never came out. I then got mad for a few years that it was taking so long and then said if it ever came out I wouldn't buy it, I was just that pissed. Well, it's been another year or so and haven't heard a thing about it. Anybody know if it's still on the table or has if just disappeared? I keep thinking I won't buy it for stringing me along for a decade but deep down I know I'll buy it the day it comes out. I'll give those guys another 10 years but that's it.
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  24. Best2u
    Don't blame me there is no spell checking. Star Trek #1 needs fixing.
    First I'd like to say "Sorry" for all the bad spelling that happens in my journals. I just got done reading a few of my old entries and saw how many misspelled words and typos there were. I don't know how to type, I just pick, and sometimes spend 20 seconds looking for the right letter. There is no spell check for the journal and I'm to lazy to go back and correct them all. Once again "Sorry" and I'll try to do better.
    I'd like to take a look at the rarity of the Gold Key Star Trek #1 issue. I was recently looking at the auction lots at Vintage Collectables where they have a Star Trek #1 photo back up for bids. The auction discreption calls this-This copy has the rare variant photo back cover, the most valuable version of the run's most valuable issue. Ya right, the photo back version is the least valuable of the three variants. There is a variant for the photo back, I've never seen a picture of it, where something on the front cover is differant that has only one copy graded, a quaified CGC-5.5. Then there is the ad back, which I've seen but never up for auction which has only 20 copies graded, three are CGC-9.0 and two CGC-8.5s. Then there is the photo back that you always see up for sale and listed as rare. There are 161 graded copies with 1 CGC-9.6 and 6 at CGC-9.4 and a bunch more in the mid grades.
    My guess is that every dealer that has ever sold one of these photo back issues knows that it is very easy to find and not rare, maybe scarce, at all. I think it all started with Overstreet calling it rare many years ago and never changing it. Shame on them.
    I'd love to have one of the ad backs but it's hard not to like the photo backs the most. I mean, William Shatner as a Pin-Up. That's hard to beat

  25. Best2u
    When something comes along that's to good to pass up do you bend your rules a bit.
    When I start to collect a series of comics I plan it out and set a bunch of rules to keep me from getting carried away. You know, rules like- only CGC slabs, only grades between this and that, off-white pages or better, issues 1 thru whatever, and on and on it could go. An example would be my collection of "Ghosts". Rule #1 was issues #1-15, rule #2 is well centered copies with no elements cut off, rule #3 was CGC copies only 8.0 or better with C/OW pages or better. Bingo, I'm within all my rules for years, and then, Dingo, I went and broke them. Quality Comix had a nice auction going on and I spotted a great copy of Showcase #20, first Rip Hunter, that would have been a nice upgrade for my set. Wouldn't you know it, there were also some high grade Ghosts issues that didn't fit my rules, not within issues #1-15. I kept telling myself no but I ended up telling myself I'd bid on then and if I won I wouldn't put them in my set on the Registry. That's a little bend of the rules but now that I won them I just had to put them in my Registry set. So I broke all the rules, big deal, I'm happy and it did move me ahead of one other collector in the Registry. I do hope I don't feel the need to now go after the whole set as then I'd have to make a whole bunch of new rules. You know what they say "The more rules you set the more rules you get to break".