A to Z
The collector's glossary
The words you will hear in games shops, card groups and figure forums, explained in plain English.
- Basecoat
- The first solid layer of colour on a miniature, ideally applied as two thin coats rather than one thick one.
- Booster pack
- A sealed pack of randomly assorted cards from one trading card expansion.
- Booster box
- A sealed display box containing many booster packs from the same set.
- Centring
- How evenly a card's printed image sits within its borders, front and back. One of the main grading criteria.
- Chase card
- A particularly desirable card in a set, usually rare, that collectors hope to pull from packs.
- Chase variant
- A limited variant of a vinyl figure, such as a different colour or finish, packed in smaller numbers and marked with a chase sticker.
- Cold-cast resin
- Resin, often mixed with powdered stone or metal, poured into a mould without heat and hand-painted. Detailed, heavy and brittle.
- Contrast paint
- A one-coat hobby paint that combines a basecoat and shade, settling darker in recesses over a light primer.
- Drybrush
- A painting technique where most paint is wiped off the brush before flicking it over raised texture, which picks up the colour.
- Edge highlight
- A fine line of lighter paint along the sharp edges of a miniature to make them stand out.
- Elite Trainer Box (ETB)
- A Pokémon TCG storage box with booster packs and player accessories such as sleeves, Energy cards, dice and dividers.
- Exclusive sticker
- A sticker on a vinyl figure box showing it was released only through a particular retailer, event or region.
- Grading
- Professional assessment of a card's authenticity and condition, usually on a 1 to 10 scale, followed by sealing in a slab.
- Holo
- A card with a shiny holographic foil area, traditionally the artwork box.
- Mould line
- A thin raised line on a model where two halves of the mould met. Removed with a hobby knife or scraper.
- OOB / in-box
- Out of box versus still in the original box. Used to describe how a figure is displayed or sold.
- Penny sleeve
- A thin, soft, clear plastic sleeve that is the first layer of protection for a card.
- Primer
- An undercoat sprayed or brushed onto a bare model so that paint grips evenly.
- Pull rate
- How often a type of card appears in packs. Official rates are rarely published, so figures shared online are estimates.
- Regulation mark
- A small letter printed on modern Pokémon cards that determines whether the card is legal in the Standard format.
- Reverse holo
- A card where the foil effect covers the card except for the artwork, the reverse of a standard holo.
- Shade / wash
- A thin, pigment-rich paint that flows into recesses to add shadow and depth.
- Side-loading pocket
- A binder pocket that opens at the side, so cards are less likely to fall out or collect dust.
- Slab
- The sealed, tamper-evident plastic case a graded card is returned in, with a label and certification number.
- Sprue
- The plastic frame that miniature kit parts are attached to. Cut parts free with sprue clippers.
- Toploader
- A rigid plastic holder a sleeved card slides into, used for storage and posting.
- Vaulted
- A vinyl figure that has been retired from production and is now only available second-hand.
- Wet palette
- A tray with a damp sponge under a sheet of baking paper that keeps acrylic paint workable for longer.