Chuck's Box Breaking Thread

[chuckbartowski]

2010 Rittenhouse Marvel Heroes & Villains ($53.67) box number 5864/8000 ($53.67)

24 packs/5 cards a pack

Rittenhouse Archives’ Heroes & Villains set marked the first time that a company required a minimum of two characters per sketch card. It also marked the first time the company required each artist to produce at least one multi-card sketch card puzzle. This was also the first set for the now insanely popular Melike Acar.

What's in a box?
81 card base set
Marvel Most Wanted - 1:8 (9 cards)
Alliances Cards - 1:12 (18 cards)
Hero/Villain Lenticular Flip Cards- 1:48 (6 cards)
Tri-Fold Poster Cards - 1:48 (6 cards)
Parallel Base - 1:3 (81 cards)
Sketch cards - 1:24 (80+ artists)

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 1 with 24 extras - 50%

Inserts - 46.67%

Marvel Most Wanted - 1:8 (3:box) - pullrf M4, M6, and M9
Alliances Cards - 1:12 (2:box) - pulled A1 and A10
Hero/Villain Lenticular Flip Cards- 1:48 (0.5:box) - pulled L1
Tri-Fold Poster Cards - 1:48 (0.5:box) - none
Parallel Base - 1:3 (8:box) - pulled 6, 11, 39, 57, 65, 69, and 74
Sketch cards - 1:24 (1:box) - pulled Captain America and Madame Hydra by Chris Gutierrez

A box should have 15 inserts per box and I pulled 14 for 14/15 * 50% = 46.67% for a total of 96.67% for an A

Aesthetics - A
Base set - B
The base set has dark borders which is the only thing I really dislike about the set. The dark borders make the cards a little dark. The cards are vertically arranged which is good, and all the art is top notch. Each card depicts a versus theme. There are a ton of classic versus cards like Wolverine vs. Mystique and Spider-Man vs. Electro, and some less known battles like Nova vs. Penance. Here are some of the base cards:

Inserts - A
As with the other Marvel releases I’ve reviewed, the inserts in this product are top notch. The first insert set is a parallel base set. These are the base set minus the black border, and with a silver Marvel emblem instead of the black one used on the base card. The base set would have gotten an A if they had looked like this:

Next up is a Marvel’s Most Wanted set which depicts some of the greatest Villains in Marvel’s history. Some great characters in this set such as Red Hulk, The Leader, Red Skull, and Mystique. These cards look much better than they scanned. Here are the three that I pulled:

Next is the Alliances set which shows some of Marvel’s most famous Super Hero/Villain teams like The X-Men, S.H.I.E.L.D., Masters of Evil, The Runaways, and the Inhumans. Here are the two that I pulled:

Both of the above subset have a refractor type quality to them that really make them pop.

The last non sketch insert I pulled was one of the lenticular cards which I just don’t card for. I pulled Hulk/Red Hulk:

Sketch Card - B
Once again I didn‘t pull a high value sketch card, but the artist, Chris Gutierrez did a pretty good job on it, and it doesn‘t look like a complete rush job. The design of the card isn’t as nice as the Fantastic Four Archives design. Just pretty basic in this case:

Value - C
Set - $5
Inserts - $10
Sketch Card - $25

Total $40/53.67 = 74.5% for a C

Fun Factor - B
The base set is nice, and the inserts are pretty awesome so I think the box breaking experience would be pretty decent even without the sketch card. Like most of the Marvel releases it seems like these were more aimed towards adults in the design.

Overall - A
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - A (5)
Value - C (3)
Fun Factor - B (4)

Total - 17/4 = 4.25 for a B

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2006 TK Legacy JAG Premiere Edition box #1163/3000($39.99)

24 packs/6 cards a pack

TK Legacy appears to mainly be a college sports cards company specializing in cards from specific colleges. I’m not sure that they even produce another non sports card set. Interestingly enough, these cards are packaged similar to the premium packs from Rittenhouse in that they are 24 cardboard packs with each pack containing 6 cards in a protective plastic. The plastic pack was kind of annoying to open, but I do love the extra card in the cardboard package.

I don’t know anything about this show other than Catherine Bell was in it, it was really popular, and it spun off NCIS which is also really popular. I will say that I’ve seen the episode of JAG that was the backdoor pilot for NCIS.

What's in a box?
66 card base set w/4 checklists
Trevor Goddard Tribute Cards - 1:12 (6 cards)
JAG Clips Gallery Cards - 1:24 (4 cards)
JAG Spotlight Cards- 1:12 (10 cards)
Autograph Cards- 5:box (54 cards)
Sketch cards - 1:144 (all by John Czop)

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 67/70 with 77 extras - 47.9%
First product where I didn’t get what I would consider a complete base set. I pulled all 66 cards of the base set, but the checklists appear to be 1:box as I only pulled Checklist #1 which has a small picture of David James Elliot on it, and a complete checklist of cards.

Inserts - 49.1%

Trevor Goddard Tribute Cards - 1:12 (2:box) pulled TG1
JAG Clips Gallery Cards - 1:24 (1:box) pulled G4
JAG Spotlight Cards- 1:24 (1:box) pulled CB3 and DJE3
Autograph Cards- 5:box (5:box) pulled Chamers/Elliot dual, Corbin Bernsen (yay), Steven Culp, Sibel Ergener and Andrew Divoff (yay)
Sketch cards - 1:144 (0.167:box) - none

A box should have 9.167 inserts per box and I pulled 9 for 9/9.167 * 50% = 49.1% for a total of 98% for an A

Aesthetics - B
Base set - B
The base set is pretty solid. The card stock is thicker that any of the Inkwork or Rittenhouse sets out there which gives it more of a premium feel. Most of the card images are crisp, and while I’ve only seen two episodes of this show they do make it look fun. Here are a couple of the bad base cards:

The white balance on this card looks totally off:

Dark and blurry:

Here are some of the better base cards:

My favorite base:

Inserts - B
Pretty cool inserts, but they are somewhat limited excluding the autographs. They are also really basic in design with two of them spotlighting specific characters. The Tribute insert set are all of Trevor Goddard who died in 2003. I’m not real familiar with his work, but it appears he was in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and the Mortal Kombat movie. I pulled TG1:

The other insert set that concentrates on specific characters is the Spotlight insert set. I pulled one Catherine Bell one and one David James Elliot one. They are decent looking cards, but pretty basic in design:

I do really like the JAG Clips Gallery Cards. I don’t think there is anything special about the film piece in the card. I don’t think it’s from an episode of the show. Still a cool looking card:

Don’t know if this is really an insert, but I pulled sketch card checklist SK2. Shows some of the art on the sketch cards:

Autograph Cards - B
There are multiple designs on the autograph cards, and the checklist is ginormous at over 50 autographs. I obviously prefer the vertically arranged autographs. They are the JAG Signature Series cards. I pulled two of these including my favorite. If I couldn’t pull a Catherine Bell I wanted to pull a Corbin Bernsen, and I did just that:

I’ve also heard of Steven Culp, but mainly because of his handful of Enterprise episodes:

The second design is called the JAG Debut Autographs. This is a pretty cool concept as the reverse on these cards give the character and what episode they made their debut in. I pulled two of these as well including a Andrew Divoff who I’m most familiar with from LOST:

Both of the above autograph designs stuck with the red, white and blue motif which fits this show really well.

The next design is the JAG Ensemble Autograph cards. These are dual and triple autographs of multiple cast members. I was lucky enough to pull JC1 which is Nanci Chambers and David James Elliott. I know this is a decent hit because I know David James Elliott was a pretty big part of this show. Here’s a scan:

There is also a “Black-Back” variant set, but they are very rare (1:700 packs). Only David James Elliott and Catherine Bell has autos in this variant set.

Value - A
I’m pretty sure that the autos would pay for the box by themselves. There just hasn’t been much that have sold lately, but the Bernsen is about $10, and the Divoff is $5. The JAG Clips Gallery insert is $5 as well. That’s $20, and I’m sure I could get at least $20 for the other 4 autos (could get that for the dual by itself).

Total $40/$40 = 100% for an A

Fun Factor - A
The base set is nice, and so are the inserts, and since you pull an auto every 5 packs, and some sort of insert pretty much every other pack it makes for a pretty fun break. I also liked the packaging. This box actually made me want to watch a few episodes of the show just to see if it’s any good. I think it's unfortunate that it appears this company didn't try out other non sport licenses.

Overall - A
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - B (4)
Value - A (5)
Fun Factor - A (5)

Total - 19/4 = 4.75 for an A

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[200lbhockeyplayer]

Didn't even know they ever made JAG cards.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2008 Rittenhouse Archives Batman Archives box #4977/7500 ($40)

As with most of the comic trading cards I know nothing about Batman the comic. My exposure to Batman has been the movies, and the TV show The Birds of Prey. I am familiar with a lot of the characters, but that’s from the movies.

24 packs/5 cards a pack

What's in a box?
63 card base set
Retro 1940 Batman Gum Cards (9 cards) - 1:8 packs
Batman: Dark Victory Glow-in-the-Dark Cards (9 cards) - 1:12 packs
Lenticular cards (9 cards) - 1:24 packs
Sketch Cards (33 artists) - 1:24 packs

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 1 with 49 extras - 50%

Inserts - 50%

Retro 1940 Batman Gum Cards (3:box) pulled BG2, BG5, BG6, and BG7
Batman: Dark Victory Glow-in-the-Dark Cards (2:box) pulled DV1 and DV4
Lenticular cards (1:box) pulled L6
Sketch Cards (1:box) - Catwoman by Uko Smith (300 sketches)

I pulled more inserts that I should have so it gets another 50% for a total of 100% so an A for Contents.

Aesthetics - B
Base set - A
I really like this base set. All 63 cards are of Batman covers. I like this because I know nothing about the comics, and by seeing the covers it allows me to judge if this is something I would like to read. I would be for a Rittenhouse Marvel set where there is a huge base set of just comic covers. My only complaint with the base is set all the wasted white space. I will also add that the earlier covers are cheesy like you would expect of the era, and I didn’t care for those as much, but still love the concept. Here are scans of some of the base cards:

Inserts - C
Yikes. I don’t know what it is about the Rittenhouse DC sets, but the inserts aren’t good. The fact that one of the inserts concentrates on the 1940 Bubblegum cards plays some into this, but the Dark Victory cards are terrible. I think they are supposed to glow-in-the-dark, but I tried it out and nothing. There is also a Lenticular insert set, and like other lenticular cards I’m just not a fan. Here are the inserts I pulled:

Sketch Card - A
The sketch card design is great, and I pulled a nice Catwoman head shot sketch by Uko Smith. It appears that Uko did a great job, and the sketch definitely doesn’t appear to be a rush job which is awesome considering Uko did 300 sketches for this set. Here’s a scan:

Value - C
Set - $5
Inserts - $5
Sketch - $20

Total $30/$40 = 75% for an C

Fun Factor - B
The base set is great, and I pulled a decent sketch, but the inserts were awful so I had to deduct a grade because of that. Love the cover concept for a base set and hope Rittenhouse does this on a future comic release. I’d love to see 5finity do a Grimm’s Fairy Tales base set of Grimm covers as well.

Overall - B
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - B (4)
Value - C (3)
Fun Factor - B (4)

Total - 16/4 = 4 for an B

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2006 Inkworks LOST Season 2 ($26.51)

I mostly enjoyed LOST. Even the last season after I watched it over. I really disliked the Alternate timeline being Limbo

36 packs/7 cards a pack

What's in a box?
90 card base set
? Puzzle Insert Set (9 cards) - 1:11 packs
Betrayal Foil Cards (6 cards) - 1:17 packs
Autograph Cards (12 cards) - 1:36 packs
Pieceworks (11 cards) - 1:36 packs
Box loader (3 cards) - 1:box

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 2 with 58 extras - 60%

Inserts - 50%

? Puzzle Insert Set (3.27:box) - pulled ?-6, ?-7, ?-8, and ?-9
Betrayal Foil Cards (2.12:box) - pulled B-1 and B-2
Autograph Cards (1:box) - pulled Sonya Walger as Penelope Widmore
Pieceworks (1:box) - pulled PW-4 Josh Holloway as Sawyer
Box loader (3 cards) - pulled BL-1

I pulled more inserts that I should have so it gets another 50% for a total of 110% so an A for Contents.

Aesthetics - B
Base set - A
I like the base set a lot for season 2. It is split up into 6 subsets. The first 50 cards are episode cards with two cards for each episode except there are 5 cards for the Season Finale episode Live Together, Die Alone. The next 19 cards are character cards and features main characters. Then there are 7 “The Others” character cards. After these there is a 5 cards “Sawyer Speak” subset which appears to have some of Sawyer’s famous nicknames for other Islanders from Season 2. A 4 card “Tragic Romances” set and “Interwoven Lives” set are the final to subsets with a Checklist to finish off the base set. I really love the break down of the set into the multiple subsets and I also really love the design of the base set even though the episode cards are horizontal. There is also a nice touch on the number in that the “numbers” 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42 are colored white with a black border instead of black with a white border like all of the other episode cards. The character cards are also very well designed: Here are some scans of base.

Inserts - C
Unfortunately the inserts are lacking, and aren’t really that great. The puzzle insert is better than most in that at least there is a complete character shown on the card, but the Betrayal insert is repetitive, and just not well designed. Here are some of the inserts I pulled:

Piecworks - B
The pieceworks for the seasons 1, 2 and 2 Inkworks’ sets are pretty basic and the same. There is an image of the actor/character on either the left or right with the costume piece on the opposite side. I’m just not a huge fan of the color scheme, but it’s still an above average design. The image is also somewhat dark and blurry. Here is the one I pulled:

Autograph - B
The autograph has a similar design to the pieceworks. I do like the design a little better though. As with the pieceworks the image used on the card is dark and blurry, but even worse so in this case. Not a bad character to pull though:

Value - A
Set - $10
Inserts - $2
Pieceworks - $10
Autograph - $10

Total $32/$26.54 > 100% for an A

Fun Factor - A
Season 2 of LOST was great so it was really fun being reminded of all the episodes. The subsets are really cool, and I love the character cards. Probably wouldn’t lose money on the box either so that’s a plus. Good stuff all around.

Overall - A
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - B (4)
Value - A (5)
Fun Factor - A (5)

Total - 19/4 = 4.75 for an A

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2007 Stellar Sports Illustrated Swimsuit ($69.65)

Another Stellar Sports Illustrated break here. This year’s product did not have any material cards, but did have autographs (including Bar Rafaeli) and printing plates inserted at least one of each per box. As with the 2009 box this review won’t be completely biased because the cards really are B-E-A-U-Tiful.

24 packs/10 cards a pack
What's in a box?
100 card base set
2007 Rookie (10 cards) - 1:4 packs
Beyonce (10 cards) - 1:4 packs
Autograph Cards (10 cards) - 1:18 packs
Base Printing Plates (400 cards) - 1:24 packs
Chase Printing Plates (120 cards) - 1:72 packs

Content - A
What did I pull?
Base sets - 99/100 with 126 extras - 49.5%
Yeah…I didn’t get a full base set which really sucks especially since there were more than enough cards in the box to complete two sets. The card I’m missing is number 81 - Selita Ebanks. I don’t think it’s short printed or anything. Just didn’t pull one.

Inserts - 50%
2007 Rookie (6:box) - pulled 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9
Beyonce (6:box) - pulled 2, 4X2, 5X2, 6, and 7
Autograph Cards (1.33:box) - pulled Anne V and Irina
Base Printing Plates (1:box) - pulled card 2 (black I think)
Chase Printing Plates (0.33:box) - none
I pulled more inserts that I should have so it gets 50% for inserts for a total of 99.5% so an A for Content.

Aesthetics - A
Base set - A
While I like the 2009 set much better in terms of the overall quality, the 2007 set is still awesome. The photography is still top notch which is to be expected and all the women are beautiful. Many of the models in this base set had 10 cards. They are all arranged in groups so sorting was a snap, and it was nice to be able to somewhat sort by the images on the front although the backs on these cards are amazing as well. They have a close up of the front of the card at the top and the photographer and location of shoot on the bottom. As with the 2009 set, all photos are on location and not in a studio. Lots of scans of the base follow:

This is probably my favorite base. I’ve never heard of Ms. Praver before, but dam is she sizzling hot

Another of the Praver bases:

These next two are actually preview checklists for the 2008 release that were inserted into the 2007 set:

Inserts - A
This time around the insert sets include a 2007 Rookie insert set, and a Beyonce insert set. Unlike the 2009 Danica Patrick cards it appears all of the Beyonce cards are shot on location rather than in a studio. I’m assuming the rookie insert set shows images of models who posed for SI for the first time in 2007, but I can’t say that for sure. There is also at least one printing plate inserted per box. I’ve never been a fan of printing plates, and the fact that there is a beautiful woman on it doesn’t change my mind about them. Here are the inserts I pulled:

Autographs - A
The autographs have a pretty good design to them. Pretty much a full bleed type of design. As with the base set images on the autos are top notch and while I didn’t pull a Bar Rafaeli I’m not disappointed by any means since I did pull two autos. Here they are:

Value - A
Base cards - $20
Beyonce Inserts - $5 each x 7 = $35
Rookie inserts - $5
Autograph - $15 each x 2 - $30
Printing plate - $5
Total $95/$69.65 > 100% for an A

Fun Factor - A
Gorgeous cards. Great photography and really solid inserts. I’m a really big fan of these Stellar releases. I’m going to try and track down the other years that I haven’t opened yet because these boxes are a blast to open.

Overall - A
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - A (5)
Value - A (5)
Fun Factor - A (5)
Total - 20/4 = 5 for an A

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2009 Rittenhouse X-Men Origins: Wolverine box 3437/6000($56)

I think being reviewed after a Sports Illustrated box is probably unfair because of how much I like the Stellar releases, but I’ll try to be unbiased on this.

24 packs/5 cards a pack

What's in a box?
72 card base set
Classic Confrontations (6 cards) - 1:12 packs
Casting Call (9 cards) - 1:8 packs
Wolverine Archives (9 cards) - 1:8 packs
Autographs/Sketch cards (15 autos and 50 artists) - 1:14 packs

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 1 with 38 extras - 50%

Inserts - 50%

Classic Confrontations (2:box) - pulled G2 and G6
Casting Call (3:box) - C1, C8 and C9
Wolverine Archives (3:box) - A1, A7 and A9
Autographs/Sketch cards (1.71:box) - pulled Daniel Henney and Kevin Durand

I pulled more inserts that I should have so it gets 50% for inserts for a total of 100% so an A for Content.

Aesthetics - B
Base set - B
The base set is decent, but nothing really sticks out about it. It does have a Behind the Scenes subset and that’s pretty nice but for the most part it’s just images from the movie. There are some issues with the images chosen as well as some of the cards are dark or blurry, but this is a problem with a lot of sets. The whole base set is also arranged horizontally which isn’t great. Here are a few images from the base set:

Inserts - A
The inserts are great as they seem to be on all Rittenhouse Marvel releases. Not a huge fan of the Casting Call inserts as they are just repeat images that are on the autograph cards, but the other two comic related inserts are outstanding. Here are the inserts from my box:

Autographs - B
The design of the autograph cards are solid, and I have at least heard of Kevin Durand from his LOST stint, but unfortunately neither auto is very good.

Value - F
Base set - $5
Inserts - $5
Autographs - $10

Total $20/$56 < 50% for an F

Fun Factor - D
A pretty blah base set, and two low value autos more than overcome the great inserts and makes this product a pretty bad busting experience. I think pulling a sketch would have help some. Plus the movie was pretty weak. I don’t really think I can recommend it to open for the fun of it.

Overall - C
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - B (4)
Value - F (1)
Fun Factor - D (2)

Total - 12/4 = 3 for an C

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2004 Inkworks Buffy, The Vampire Slayer: Big Bads ($47.53)

Seems like Inworks took a chance on doing a set concentrating just on the bad guys on a show, but there were so many great “Big Bads” on Buffy that it makes some sense. Even the baddies that only stuck around for an episode or so were mostly top notch.

24 packs/7 cards a pack

What's in a box?
72 card base set
Seasons of Evil puzzle (9 cards) - 1:12 packs
The Other Side (6 cards) - 1:17 packs
Box Loader (3 cards) - 1:box
Pieceworks (7 cards) - 1:24 packs

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 1 with 90 extras - 50%

Inserts - 50%

Seasons of Evil puzzle (2:box) - pulled SE-7 and SE-8 X 2
The Other Side (1.41:box) - pulled OS-6
Box Loader (3 cards) - pulled BL-1
Pieceworks (7 cards) - pulled PW2

I pulled more inserts that I should have so it gets 50% for inserts for a total of 100% so an A for Content.

Aesthetics - B
Base set - A
I’m a fan of the foil base set. There were still some image issues on this set though. Some of the images used were somewhat blurry. None were really dark. The best thing about the base set though is that it really reminds you of how awesome Buffy was even when it wasn’t great. Even the less that stellar baddies were still pretty good. I mean as lame as The Trio was Warren turned out to be a legitimate psycho. The base set here are broken down into 8 subsets (pretty much a subset for each of the Scooby Gang - Buffy, Giles, Xander, Willow, Angel, Dawn, Spike and Anya). Each subset shows how different baddies affected the lives of each of the Scooby’s. (and of course some of the Scooby’s made an appearance as the Big Bad). Here are some scans of the base:

I like Faith as a baddie. While I’m glad she redeemed herself by the end she was still good at being evil

I also didn’t mind Adam even though season 4 was pretty weak overall (although there were some great episodes that season as well):

And who can forget the memorable appearance of “the vampire” Dracula in the season 5 premier:

How awesome was Nathan Fillion as Caleb. Look at the joy in his face has he pokes one of Xander’s eyes out:

And let’s not forget one of the creepiest baddies on any show ever…The Gentlemen:

Baddie Willow was also great. Her going dark side was in the works since she first started using magik:

And my favorite baddie Glory played to perfection by Clare Kramer:

Inserts - C
The inserts are pretty weak. There are only two inserted into packs excluding the pieceworks. There is a puzzle insert which is hard on the eyes, and scans horribly, and a psychedelic “The Other Side” insert which is pretty decent. There are scans, and I apologize for the crappiness of the puzzle card scans:

Here is the box loader I pulled. It has a pretty decent design:

Pieceworks - A
The pieceworks design for this set is really good. I like it better than any of the other Buffy sets except for maybe Buffy Memories. Its one of the few piecework sets that Inkwords arranged vertically and it really works well here. I pulled the best one you could as well so there may be a little bias in my opinion here. Here’s a scan of the Drusilla pieceworks agains:

Value - A

It’s safe to say that I would make money of this box with the Dru pieceworks so it gets an A here.

Fun Factor - A
The base set really makes this a fun break. Lots of great memories of the Big Bads from this show. Add that to the fact that I got the thrill of pulling the best pieceworks in the set, and you get a very good time.

Overall - A
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - B (4)
Value - A (5)
Fun Factor - A (5)

Total - 19/4 = 4.75 for an A

Hope you enjoyed the break and review...btw...I sold the Dru pieceworks for $225, and I've seen it sell for $300+

 

[200lbhockeyplayer]

Wow, that's a great sale on that Pieceworks card. I don't know Buffy at all, but non-sports always intrigues me.

 

[chuckbartowski]

Wow, that's a great sale on that Pieceworks card. I don't know Buffy at all, but non-sports always intrigues me.

Yeah...it was extremely short printed...like 1 in 6 cases. It's the best pull I've had in the 45 or so boxes I've done this year (excluding my case breaks).

 

[moxacaine]

Love the breaks, keep them coming. Ive really wanted to busts some dexter. Also my gf is a huge buffy fan so ive thought about grabbing her a few boxes to open.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2005 Stellar Sports Illustrated Swimsuit ($44.65)

I know I’m going backwards with these reviews. I still have the 2004 box to review as well. This release had a bunch of inserts, and like the other two I’ve reviewed was a blast to open.

24 packs/10 cards a pack

What's in a box?
100 card base set
Underwater Beauties (12 cards) - 1:4 packs
Fresh Face (8 cards) - 1:6 packs
Olympian Amanda Beard (8 cards) - 1:6 packs
Autographs (8 cards) - 1:24 packs
Swimsuit Memorabilia cards (7 cards) - 1:24 packs

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 1 with 128 extras - 50%

Inserts - 50%

Underwater Beauties (6:box) - pulled 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9
Fresh Face (4:box) - pulled 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
Olympian Amanda Beard (4:box) - pulled 4, 5, and 6
Autographs (1:box) - pulled Daniiella Sarahyba
Swimsuit Memorabilia cards (1:box) - pulled Michelle Alves

I pulled the number of inserts that I should have so it gets 50% for inserts for a total of 100% so an A for Content.

Aesthetics - A
Base set - A
I think you’ve heard it all before on the other two reviews. Beautiful women: check. Beautiful photography: check. Beautiful locations: check. Here are some scans:

Love this card:

And this card:

Women in hats are hot:

Inserts - A
More beautiful cards in the insert sets. I’m not completely sold on the Underwater Beauties set, but the concept is interesting, and it made for some interesting shots. The Olympian Set features 8 cards all of swimmer Amanda Beard who is scorching hot in the shots, and the Fresh Face set is an eight card set of new comer Alicia Hall. Here are scans of the inserts of which there are many:

IMG]http://www.allthingswhedon.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/insert14.jpg[/IMG]

Bikini Swatch - B
The design isn’t great here, but it’s still decent and is at least vertically arranged. The image in the window is slightly blurry, but not horrible. The model is of course beautiful:

Autograph- B
I love the design of the card itself, but the surface was poor for signing as you can see from the smearing of the autograph. The space for the autograph should have been bigger as well. There aren’t any really big hits in this series, but I was happy with the one I pulled:

Value - B

Set - $10
Amanda Beard insert set - $3
Underwater Beauties - $6
Fresh Face - $5
Material card - $5
Autograph - $10

Total = $39/$44.65 = 87% for a B.

Fun Factor - A
As with the previous SI products, this was a blast to open even though I didn’t hit anything great (there really isn’t a really great pull from this product to be had, but it was still great).

Overall - A
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - A (5)
Value - B (4)
Fun Factor - A (5)

Total - 19/4 = 4.75 for an A

 

[moxacaine]

Lol, im at work so i cant really check out the swimsuit breaks. Where do you get your boxes? ive had trouble finding dexter and buffy boxes.

 

[chuckbartowski]

Lol, im at work so i cant really check out the swimsuit breaks. Where do you get your boxes? ive had trouble finding dexter and buffy boxes.

Mostly eBay...they don't show up for reasonable prices very often though.

 

[moxacaine]

Mostly eBay...they don't show up for reasonable prices very often though.

ahh, yeah i try to stay away from ebay boxes if i can help it. But you seem to be doing pretty well so maybe ill try it then.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2008 Topps Indiana Jones Masterpieces ($53.99)

Indiana Jones Masterpieces is an all painted set. That’s right all base cards are painted similar to the sadlittles sets.

24 packs/7 cards a pack

What's in a box?
90 card base set
Silver Foil Cards (9 cards) - 1:4 packs
Bronze parallel (9 cards) - 1:24 packs
Gold parallel (9 cards) - 1:167
Foil Refractor parallel (9 cards) - 1:15,829 packs
Etched Foil Puzzle Cards (6 cards) - 1:6 packs
Original Etched Foil Artwork (6 cards) - !:23,744 packs
Sketch cards - 1:24 packs
Panoramic sketch cards - 1:124
Autographs (4 cards) - 1:7,123 packs
Printing plates - 1:414 packs

Yeah…there are a ton of inserts.

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 1 with 63 extras - 50%

Inserts - 50%

Silver Foil Cards (6:box) - pulled 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, and 9
Bronze parallel (1:box) - pulled 1
Gold parallel (0.144:box) - none
Foil Refractor parallel (0.002:box) - none
Etched Foil Puzzle Cards (4:box) - pulled 2, 3, 4, and 5
Original Etched Foil Artwork (0.001:box) - none
Sketch cards (1:box) - pulled Short Round by Kate Glasheen and Marion Ravenwood by Chris Henderson
Panoramic sketch cards (0.194:box) - pulled Mola Ram by Ingrid Hardy
Autographs (0.003:box) - none
Printing plates (0.058:box) - none

I pulled more inserts that I should have so it gets another 505 for 100% total for an A in content.

Aesthetics - A
Base set - A
As mentioned in the introduction, the base set is all painted, and it’s a great set. Lots of great art both realistic and cartoonish. It makes me want to buy a box of the Lord of the Ring Masterpieces. Have a look at some of the base and see if you agree:

Inserts - B
The inserts are decent. Again great art on them, but I’m not a huge fan of the combination of the art with the foil look. It’s not terrible, but no where as nice as the base set. Here are the inserts I pulled:

This is a bronze foil parallel:

Regular sketch cards- A
The sketch cards have a nice design to them. They have a vintage look which is great for this set. And in an argument as to whether or not you should always sort your base, sometimes when you do you find something you missed the first time through and I did. I thought I only pulled one regular sketch, but I actually pulled two and the second one is pretty nice. Interestingly enough the stated odds on the pack indicates sketches are 1:24 and Jeff’s site says 1:12. I’m wondering if the pack is a misprint. Here are the two regular sketches I pulled:


Kate Glasheen (number not indicated)

Chris Henderson (106 regular sketches)

Panoramic sketch card- B
This only loses a grade because of the odd 3.5” X 5” size I don’t have anything to store it in really. It still has a great design to it, and I pulled one of the rarest artists on this set. Here’s a scan:

Ingrid Hardy (10 panoramic sketches)

Value - A

I can’t say for sure this is an A, but sketches similar to the Hardy sketch have sold for more than $100 by themselves. I’m pretty sure I can get at least 90% of the box value on this.

Fun Factor - A
I really loved opening this box. It was more enjoyable than the Heritage, and the fact that it makes me want to purchase a Lord of the Rings version says a lot about how much I liked it.

Overall - A
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - A (5)
Value - A (5)
Fun Factor - A (5)

Total - 20/4 = 5 for an A

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2004 Stellar Sports Illustrated Swimsuit ($74.65)

This box was pretty expensive because of the potential of a Marisa Miller autograph. There are two versions of her auto in this product. It also has body paint cards of Miller which sell really well too (the last two sold for $40 each).

24 packs/10 cards a pack

What's in a box?
100 card base set
Fresh Face Cards (10 cards) - 1:4 packs
Hall of Fame Cards (10 cards) - 1:4 packs
Body Paint Cards (10 cards) - 1:24 packs
Swimsuit Cards (8 cards) - 1:24 packs
Autograph Cards (8 cards) - 1:24 per Jeff’s site, but no stated odds by Stellar

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 93/100 with lots of extras- 46.5%

Yeah…this was a weird one. I pulled very few cards numbered 41 through 55, and a ton of other cards. Not sure if those 15 base are short printed, but it was definitely weird when I was sorting them.

Inserts - 50%

Fresh Face Cards (6:box) - pulled 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8
Hall of Fame Cards (6:box) - pulled 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, and 10
Body Paint Cards (10 cards) - pulled 9
Swimsuit Cards (8 cards) - pulled Michelle Lombardo number 5 (green suit)
Autograph Cards (no stated odds on box) - none

I‘m going to say that there is no guaranteed autograph so I pulled the inserts I should have so it gets 50% for inserts and a total of 96.5% for an A..

Aesthetics - A
Base set - A
This set is a little different than the others. It’s still shot on location, and the cards are still high quality (although there was some damage from the cards sticking together). The difference is that all the photography was shot in the good ole USA. As with the other sets, the base cards really are awesome. Here are some scans:

Inserts - A
The inserts are also top notch.The fresh face insert set for this set features Michelle Lombardo who is ridiculously hot, and the other insert set in a Hall of Fame insert set which features the best of the best past swimsuit models. Here are scans:

Material Card - C

Not a huge fan of the design of the bikini material cards, but they aren’t the worst design I’ve seen. They are also horizontally arranged which is a minus. Anyway…here’s what I pulled:

Value - C

Base - $20
Body Paint - $10
Swimsuit card - $15
Other Inserts - $10

Total - $55/$74.65 = 74% for a C.

Fun Factor - A
You would think opening boxes with pictures of hot women on the cards would eventually get old, but it really doesn’t. While not quite as fun as the other years because of the lower number of hits it was still a fun break.

Overall - A
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - A (5)
Value - C (3)
Fun Factor - A (5)

Total - 18/4 = 4.5 for an A

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2007 Inkworks Lost Season 3 ($52.64 from Ink Vault box)

This is the first review from a box from my Ink Vault break. I paid an average of $52.64 per box. The Ink Vault box included a John Hannah The Mummy Returns autograph, Dorian Gregory Charmed autograph, and Amber Benson Supernatural autograph so when I get to value I will deduct what I could sell those cards for from the price of the box.

36 packs/7 cards a pack

What's in a box?
90 card base set
Fighting Back Foil Puzzle set (9 cards) - 1:11 packs
Ties to the Island Foil Die-Cut Cards (6 cards) - 1:17 packs
Through the Looking Glass (3 cards) - 1:36 packs
Autographs (10 cards) - 1:36 packs
Pieceworks (11 cards) - 1:36 packs

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 2 with 61 extra- 60%

Inserts - 50%

Fighting Back Foil Puzzle set (3.27:bpx) - pulled FB-4, FB-5, and FB-6
Ties to the Island Foil Die-Cut Cards (2.12:box) - pulled TI-3 and TI-4
Through the Looking Glass (1:box) - Pulled LG-1
Autographs (1:box) - pulled Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert
Pieceworks (1:box) - pulled PW-6 Mr. Eko

I as pulled a redemption for the propworks card so I pulled more inserts than I should have for another 50% and 110% total for an A.

Aesthetics - B
Base set - A
I don’t like the base set as much as I liked the Season 2 base set, but it’s still a great design. There were a few cards that were dark and/or blurry, but for the most part the images are clear, and really gives a sense of Season 3. The base set is divided into 7 subsets. There are two cards for each episode except the finale got three cards each, 12 character cards, 9 “The Others” cards, 6 Mysteries Cards, 5 Interwoven Lives, 3 Forever Lost, and 4 Tangled cards. There is also a “Call For Help” card and a checklist. Here are scans of some of the base:

Inserts - B
The inserts are just decent, but still not a fan of puzzle inserts. I do like the die-cut inserts and the
Through the Looking Glass insert is solid. The redemption card looks great even though I can’t redeem it. I may still be able to move it to someone looking for it for their master set.. Here are scans of the inserts:

Piecworks - B

You can read my thoughts on the pieceworks design in my season 2 break. The cards in season 3 have the same design:

Autograph - B

You can read my thoughts on the autograph design in my season 2 break. The cards in season 3 have the same design:

Value - A

The John Hannah appears to sell for around $10, the Dorian Gregory around $7.50, and the Amber Benson around $15 for a total of $32.50 so the box needs to bring $20.14.

Base sets - $10 total
Inserts - $5 total
Pieceworks - $8
Autograph - $10

Total - $33>$20.14 for an A. This also doesn't include the redemption which I think I can get something for it (Hurley sand prop redemption card recently sold for $24.99)

Fun Factor - A
Similar to the Season 2 box break except for Season 3 so it gets the same grade.

Overall - A
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - B (4)
Value - B (4)
Fun Factor - A (5)

Total - 18/4 = 4.5 for an A

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2009 Artbox Harry Potter Memorable Moments Series 2 ($40)

24 packs/8 cards a pack

What's in a box?
72 card base set
Puzzle Foil Cards (9 cards) - 1:4.8 packs
Autographs (10 cards) - 1:48 packs
Costume Cards (12 cards) - 1:30 packs
Prop Cards (12 cards) - 1:80 packs
Box Topper (5 cards) - 1:box

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 1 (missing 1 card for a 2nd set) with 105 extra 50%

Inserts - 50%

Puzzle Foil Cards (5:box) - pulled PZ2, PZ4, PZ5, PZ7, and PZ9
Autographs (0.5:box) - none
Costume Cards (0.833:box) - pulled C1 Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley’s bathrobe
Prop Cards (0.45:box) - pulled P3 Devil’s Snare and Fluffy’s Fur
Box Topper (1:box) - pulled BT2

Pulled 8 inserts A box contains around 7.783 per box so I pulled more than I should have for another 50% and 100% total for an A.

Aesthetics - B
Base set - B
I like the concept of the base set, and the design is great, but a lot of the images chosen are hard to see in black and white, and many are blurry too. I would love to see a third release covering the entire series. Here are scans of some of the better base cards:

Inserts - A
The only inserts are the box topper and a puzzle set although in this case the puzzle in on the base of the cards, and the front has some of the popular Harry Potter characters. I really like the inserts from this product. Here are scans of the inserts I pulled:

Costume Card - B

The costume card has a similar design as the base set. The image on the card is a little blurry, but it does show the character in the costume the piece is from, and indicates which movie it’s from. Here’s a scan of the one I pulled:

Prop Card - B

Again similar to the base. The imiages on this card are very clear though, and it’s great to get something a little different in terms of props, and it’s a great pairing on using two of the creatures guarding the Sorcerer’s Stone in the first Harry Potter movie:

Value - A

Base set - $5 total
Inserts - $3 total
Costume card - $15
Prop card - $30

Total - $53>$40 for an A.

Fun Factor - A
I don’t know that this is one of the more popular Harry Potter products, but to me it’s one of the best Harry Potter boxes I’ve broken. It was a really good overview of the first 5 movies, and while it lacked in the insert department it was still a fun break.

Overall - A
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - B (4)
Value - A (4)
Fun Factor - A (5)

Total - 19/4 = 4.75 for an A

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2011 Rittenhouse Marvel Dangerous Divas ($54.67)

24 packs/5 cards a pack

What's in a box?
72 card base set
Women of Marvel insert (12 cards) - 1:8 packs
Sultry Seductresses (9 cards) - 1:12 packs
Embrace Foil Cards (12 cards) - 1:24 packs
Parallel base cards (72 cards) - 1:3 packs
Sketch Cards - 1:24 packs

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 1 with 33 extra 50%

Inserts - 50%

Women of Marvel insert (3:box - pulled W1, W4, and W5
Sultry Seductresses (2:box) - pulled S1 and S6
Embrace Foil Cards (1:box) - pulled E18
Parallel base cards (72 cards) - pulled 21, 26, 30, 48, 54, 57, 62, and 68
Sketch Cards - pulled Spider-Woman by Lee Kohse

Pulled everything I should have for another 50% for 100% total for an A.

Aesthetics - B
Base set - A
The base set is pretty solid. Really love the design and the images on the cards. I did something different with the base set because the back of the cards for eight nine card puzzles so I scanned the base, and the fronts have the same images as the parallel set which I’ll provide scans of later (unfortunately the parallel set is pretty bad). Here are scans of the backs of all 72 cards:

Inserts - B
Love the Women of Marvel and Sultry Seductresses inserts as well as the embrace insert, but the parallel base insert is horrible. To me the point of a parallel base would be to be better than the base set, but the parallel base here is bad. The images are dark and blurry, and the chrome look on these cards is really bad. The other inserts are awesome though so that makes up for the parallel base:

Here are the parallel base. They don’t’ scan very well either:

Sketch card - B

I like the design, but unfortunately it appears that Kohse put less than 100% effort into the sketch. He did 100 sketches for this set. It’s definitely some of his lower quality work.

Value - F

Base set - $5
Inserts - $5 total
Sketch card - $15

Total - $25 < 50% of box cost for an F

Fun Factor - B
This gets a pretty good grade here because of the base set and the inserts (minus the parallels). The sketch was pretty disappointing, and value wise it’s one of the worst breaks I’ve done so far.

Overall - A
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - B (4)
Value - F (1)
Fun Factor - B (4)

Total - 14/4 = 3.5 for an C

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.