All posts by dpatera

2016, Box Break, Hobby Box, Star Wars, Topps

2016 Topps The Force Awakens Series 2 Hobby Box Break

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This follow up the very successful movie release late in 2015, with a second series of cards. The first series was released in late 2015 along with the movie. This one is officially called a second series, even though the numbering has been reset.

The base set is 100 cards, featuring scenes from the entire movie, with a number of possible parallels. There are also two reported short prints in the set, numbered 101 and 102. Many familiar inserts return from series 1 or the Journey to The Force Awakens set, with Character Stickers, Concept Art, Heroes of the Resistance, Power of the First Order, and manufactured Medallion cards.

The Hobby Box release advertises 24 packs of 6 cards, with two hits per box.

This box contained:
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2016, Baseball, Box Break, Hobby Box, Topps Opening Day

2016 Topps Opening Day Hobby Box

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We get a pretty standard release from Topps this time.  Topps Opening Day is an entry level release with a lot of fun features for a very affordable price.  You miss out on the guaranteed autographs and relics of the more expensive releases, but you get fun insert sets featuring the team mascots or players blowing bubbles.

That’s not to say there are no autographs.  There is a limited autograph checklist, but you do find some stars.  The hits are few and far between, but that’s not really what this set is about.  For the price, it’s tough to beat.

This box contained:

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2016, Baseball, Box Break, Donruss, Hobby Box

2016 Donruss Hobby Box Break

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It took a couple of years, but it seems the yearly Donruss release is becoming a low key fan favorite. It offers a nice and fun alternative to the Topps baseball monopoly. It would be impossible to dethrone Topps, at least while there is no mlb license, but it still offers a lot of affordable features. I know some people are completely turned off by the idea of no team names and logos, but there is really so much more than that.

Once again, Donruss offers a mix of current players along side recent stars from the 80s and 90s. They also take advantage of the lack of MLB license. What other set do you see featuring Pete Rose? You can even find special San Diego Chicken memorabilia cards!

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2016, Baseball, Box Break, Hobby Box, Topps Heritage

2016 Topps Heritage Hobby Box Break

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The 2016 Topps Heritage release features the 1967 Topps design, with many throwbacks to that era. The set has never really been about hits, though it does advertise one autograph or relic per box. Instead it focuses much more on the base cards, with a few hidden short print variations.

There are no real surprises here, but that might be what makes it popular. The set always delivers on what it is meant to be, and this year is no exception. Once again, a hobby box contains 24 packs of 9 cards. A full base set is 425 plus an additional 75 SPs.

This box contained:

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2016, Baseball, Jumbo Hobby Box, Topps

2016 Topps Series 1 Jumbo Hobby Box Break

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The first baseball release always brings an early taste of spring each year. It seems Topps has started taking some more chances with the base card designs, after many years of primarily a solid white border. Last year, they ventured in to a multi color border, but this year, the border is almost completely gone.

I really liked the design when I initially saw it online. It’s different from the standard releases. Then someone from the comic shop completely changed how I saw them by saying one word. Panini. After he said that, I do see it. It feels a lot like the types of designs Panini would release. Somehow, despite not having a border, the cards have more of a flat feel than usual.

It’s possible it will grow on me, but my initial feel is a bit of a let down. I still like seeing Topps change it up a little bit, even if some years end up missing the mark a little bit.

There is the usual assortment of inserts, including autograph and relic versions. In what seems almost a yearly occurrence now, buyback cards are featured once again. It looks like they go beyond base topps this year, and include other releases and even stars. They’re also starting to include different parallel levels of buybacks, based on the color of the foil stamp up to a 1/1 gold stamp.

This box contained:

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