Category Archives: Hobby Box

2017, Baseball, Hobby Box, Stadium Club

2017 Topps Stadium Club Hobby Box Break

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The year of the Judge continues with the Stadium Club release.  While Aaron Judge has seemingly driven a lot more attention on the hobby, he has already really inflated the release prices for unopened packs.  Will he live up to the hype?  Time will tell.  Will the product live up to the prices?  Well, that will be a taller order, if you don’t hit a Judge.

 

The Stadium Club release seems to have really hit its stride.  We’ve come to expect unique images on nicer card stock, along with on card autographs.  It’s a simple set, but very visually appealing.   There are also a few parallels and inserts, but the main set is really the focus.   A hobby box features 16 packs of 8 cards each, with 2 on-card autographs.

This box contains:

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2017, Baseball, Box Break, Hobby Box, Topps Archives

2017 Topps Archives Hobby Box Break

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I have a love/hate relationship with Topps Archives. I like the theory of using throwback designs, but it’s much better executed in Heritage. It can be nice to see the more recent vintage designs, without the almost 50 year lag time, though. That shine can be easily lost a bit when recent designs like 1982 get overused. This year’s set features 1960, 1982, and 1992.

One improvement in this year’s release, is the lack of regular short prints as part of the set. There are alternative image short prints, as well as various parallels. In the past, Archives has offered insert sets like cards from the motion picture Major League. This year, their pop culture references involve autographs of people like “Bald Vinny”, who seems to have limited appeal outside of Yankee stadium, and a baseball collector that most are not able to name. I’m not sure I would exactly call that an improvement.

A box advertises 24 packs of 8 cards, including two autographs per box.

This box contained:

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2017, Box Break, Hobby Box, Topps WWE, Wrestling

2017 Topps WWE Hobby Box Break

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The 2017 edition of Topps WWE follows the recent pattern, using the same design as the flagship baseball set. The set is grouped by teams, if you will, as the wrestlers are separated by Raw, Smackdown, NXT, and Legends. These are all available in various parallels, as well as a handful with alternative images.

There are a few inserts sets included, as well. The main inserts sets all seem to share a similar design, which I’m not particularly a fan of. It’s a shame, as the content of those sets is interesting, just not the layout.

Each box contains 24 packs of 7 cards, and advertises two hits. The hits once again include Mat relics, shirt relics, manufactured championship belts, and autographs. `

This box contained:
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2017, Hobby Box, Star Wars, Topps

2017 Topps Star Wars Rogue One Series 2 Hobby Box Break

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The second release for the latest Star Wars installment, Rogue One, carries on with a similar feel to the first series, but once again is not merely a continuation. The only piece that is a clear sequel to the previous release is the Darth Vader set. The main set, and any returning insert subsets, start over with their numbering at 1. The base set has difference in the design, but it took me a while to realize it, just like from the The Force Awakens sets.

The box advertises 24 packs, with 8 cards per pack, and 2 hits per box. The hits once again vary from manufactured relics to Sketch cards to cast autographs.

This box contained:

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2017, Baseball, Hobby Box, Topps Opening Day

2017 Topps Opening Day Hobby Box Break

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The Opening Day set gives a nice alternative set with a much more modest price tag. It’s an attainable set, with a lot of fun inserts included. The 200 card base set features a handful of players from each team, including some who did not appear in series one, in their new uniforms. You see some old favorite inserts such as Superstar Celebrations, Opening Day Stars, and Mascot cards. There are also autographs and relics, but they are very rare, and not guaranteed in a box as with most other releases.

The box promises 36 packs of 7 cards each. Despite enough cards, there were a lot of duplicates in my box, so I’m pretty far from a set, still, which is unusual for this release.

This box contained:

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