how come the foil label carts aren't in the rarity guide?

[homerwannabee]

I am pretty sure I have a combat aluminum foil cartridge. The first time I saw it I thought it had a super new look to it but then I realised that my other combat carts did not look like this one. I was wondering why something so unique was not in the rarity guide?

[A.J. Franzman]

You probably have it backwards. I'll bet you just got one of the Taiwain-made Combats with the deep black, shiny label and bright red and white text and outline, right? That's actually a non-foil label! The Atari and Sears text labels (every title!) with the matte-finish, not-quite-black background and text in color and silver with silver outline all have a foil layer in them -- these foil labels are not rare at all! Don't believe me? Grab one and a heatgun or hair dryer and peel up a corner to look at the back.

 

Now that that's straightened out (I hope!), IMO you're correct in one way; the gloss black Combat text label should be noted as a significant label variation. Have you checked the guides to see if it's already in there?

Edited November 3, 2006 by A.J. Franzman

[homerwannabee]

You probably have it backwards. I'll bet you just got one of the Taiwain-made Combats with the deep black, shiny label and bright red and white text and outline, right? That's actually a non-foil label! The Atari and Sears text labels (every title!) with the matte-finish, not-quite-black background and text in color and silver with silver outline all have a foil layer in them -- these foil labels are not rare at all! Don't believe me? Grab one and a heatgun or hair dryer and peel up a corner to look at the back.

 

Now that that's straightened out (I hope!), IMO you're correct in one way; the gloss black Combat text label should be noted as a significant label variation. Have you checked the guides to see if it's already in there?

I checked the guide and they have a picture of the taiwan cart but it is not listed as a label variant. I still think it is on the rarer side. Here is a picture of it compared with another cart which is probably the foil cart.

[Omegamatrix]

It looks like one of those plastic type Combat labels from your picture. Those are quite common and are great for peeling off to make repo carts. AFAIK the foils labels came only with the original Atari number text carts like 01 Combat.

[madhatter667]

Yeah, I agree with the cartridges having production numbers on them (combat being 01, not sure about the others). I think those are foil labels, but as far as I know aren't represented in the guides. I have a few different combat cart variants:

the foil, light red letters, dark red letters, and then copyright/trademark symbols next to the game variants. Dont know if the light/dark text variations are due to labels or to sunlight exposure....but they look fine (as in not damaged by elements).

 

Edit: Oh yeah, and the picture label too.

Edited November 9, 2006 by madhatter667

[A.J. Franzman]

It's not just the "# text" label carts that have foil labels; most text label cartridges are foil labels. I can't tell from homerwannabee's photo if either of those carts is a non-foil label. The only difference I see is the brightness of the red ink; the black backgrounds and the rectangular borders look about the same. If I still had my glossy Taiwan label Combat cart I'd post a good photo but I recently got rid of my dupes and currently only have one (pic label) Combat cart.

 

Without peeling the label, the places to look closely at are the Atari "Fuji" symbol, the "game program" (and any similarly-colored) text, and the rectangular border near the label edge. If any of these places looks the least bit gray or silver, it's a foil label. On non-foil labels these areas will often be bright white.

 

EDIT: I have now noticed that some carts were made in "fake foil" variations using silver ink, not just white ink. See post # 8 below. If a cart is in pristine condition, you might need good vision or magnification to tell the difference between a true foil and a fake foil label. If you can tell that the silver printing is slightly raised above the surface of the label, or if there's a scratch across any silver part and the black background color shows through, it's a "fake foil" label. On true foil labels the silver areas are transparent, allowing the silver foil layer below the surface to show through. Sometimes, but not always, the silver areas of true foil labels will have somewhat mirror-like reflectivity, while on the other, duller foil labels, the top surface is of such low gloss that this reflectivity is almost not noticeable.

Edited November 17, 2006 by A.J. Franzman

[homerwannabee]

here is a closer up picture of the one on the box

[A.J. Franzman]

This looks like a normal foil version to me -- definitely silver with the matte grayish "black" background. Aside from different shades (or for a few titles, completely different colors) of the colored text, text label variations can also be found where the colored text is transparent and picks up a metallic look from the silver foil behind it. This Combat appears to have opaque red ink, so the red areas do not have that metallic look.

 

Here's a thread with some Combat cart photos: Most useless thread EVER

 

The first photo has 3 different text label carts in the top row (the first two look about the same, but it's possible that the first one is matte and the second is glossy). Only the 4th one looks like a foil label.

 

There's also 2600 Connection, issue #70 which has an article (not available online) showing something like 13 different Combat label variations. They were selling Combat label variation collections with one of each of these for a while; I don't know if any sets are still available.

Edited November 9, 2006 by A.J. Franzman

[homerwannabee]

Oh well thought I had something there. Well, atleast ya gotta admit it is in pristine condition

[A.J. Franzman]

Hmm, today I just had a good look at the 3, $3 common text label carts that have been sitting in a local thrift store for a couple of months. Home Run and Football are both foil labels but the Combat is a "fake foil" label -- the parts that would be silver on a foil label are printed in silver ink on the top surface of the label. Naturally, this ink does not have the same reflective quality of foil, but it does look metallic. Some scuffs and scratches in the silver ink reveal the matte black background (a true matte black, not the dark gray of real foil labels) beneath it. The red ink is a very bright opaque red like homerwannabee shows above.

Edited November 10, 2006 by A.J. Franzman

[Rom Hunter]

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