Category Archives: Star Wars

2019 Topps Star Wars Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Hobby Box Break

This has turned in to a pretty standard release before a new movie, but it’s starting to feel like it’s going back to the same well too many times. The throwback blue starfield design recalls the first series of the 1977 A New Hope release, which was nice once. Now that it seems to show up for every new movie, it’s losing some of its shine. The 110 card base sets features all the main movies, as well as some teaser pics from the upcoming release.

The base set features a number of parallel starfield colors, but they really don’t seem to parallel the original release very much. There are a few insert sets, including schematics and stickers. The box contains 24 packs of 8 cards, and includes two hits, one of which is an autograph.

This box contained:

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2019 Topps Star Wars Black & White The Empire Strikes Back Hobby Box Break

As a follow up to the A New Hope release from 2018, Topps releases a new set featuring The Empire Strikes Back. When it first showed up last year, I wasn’t sure what to really think of it, but over time the release grew on me. The black & white photos bring a less familiar feel to the thirty-six year old images.

It follows the same format as last year, with a 150 card base set, parallels, and a few insert sets. There is nothing really surprising, but this is more about the images than anything else. This is going to be a tough set to put together from packs, however. A box contains 7 packs with 8 cards in each. Each box also advertises one autograph or sketch card.

This box contained:

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2018 Topps Star Wars The Last Jedi Series 2 Hobby Box Break

This release has been sitting on a shelf for quite a while just waiting. I think it may be partially the hang over from the movie, and partially just being overloaded with releases this year. But now, some time has dulled my view of the movie a little bit, and that shouldn’t hurt the cards, right?

The second series restarts the card numbering back at 1, and this time features photos from action in the movie. It’s a small base set of 100 cards, but there are a number of insert sets, as well, sometimes falling as little as once per box. The base set has a set of parallels available. Many of the insert sets also feature parallels.

The box has a fairly standard configuration, advertising 24 packs with 8 cards per pack. Each box also includes two hits, one of which is an autograph.

This box contained:

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2018 Topps Star Wars Galaxy Hobby Box Break

This is a new type of release for me.  I have dabbled in some other Star Wars releases, but never Star Wars Galaxy.  I wasn’t very familiar with the previous releases, but decided to take the plunge.  Galaxy features contains cards of various artwork, rather than images directly from the source.  While it gives you some fun re-imaginings, not every piece is a win.  Overall, it’s a very fun release, though.  

The first thing to really jump out at me is just the size of the box.  It seems with modern releases, a sealed box is a fairly compact unit.  This is not.  Instead of a small footprint, this is a similar size to an 80s wax box.  There’s a lot of air inside the box, but the packs are presented more than just packed in.  

The release contains a number of parallels, plus a handful of insert sets, all featuring artwork.  Each box contains 24 packs of 8 cards.  It advertises 2 hits per box, including 1 autograph.  The autograph checklist is rather large, so you may dig pretty deep with your hit.  

This box contained:

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2018 Topps Solo A Star Wars Story Hobby Box Break

A new Star Wars movie means a new Topps release.  This time, it features Han Solo’s origin story.  It’s a fun movie, but it’s a little bit of a departure from the recent releases.  The card set, however, seems to follow a similar pattern.  The base set contains 100 cards, along with many familiar insert sets including Icons, Silhouettes, Stickers, Patch Cards, Sketch Cards, and Autographs.

The base set is a fun design featuring the Millennium Falcon along the edge, and numerous parallels.  I question the black parallel, however.  It looks much more grey than black.  If you have the black and silver together, it is easy to tell which is which, but apart, it may be more difficult.

Maybe it’s just me, but many of the insert designs seem to blend together, as well.  I guess they’re easy if you know what you’re looking for, but they don’t seem quite so obvious at first glance.  The different insert sets are displayed below, so you can judge for yourself.

This box contained:

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