Chuck's Box Breaking Thread

[chuckbartowski]

One of my goals was to bust 100 different non sports boxes this year. I may make the 100 different boxes but I don't know if I'll get them all reviewed. This is the first one I did this year.

2007 Rittenhouse Spider-Man 3 Movie - paid $53.99 dlvd (Box number 5448/7000)

Here's a scan of the box

Nice picture of Spidey doing his thing.

Here's a scan of a pack

Nice contrast between regular Spidey and Venom effected Spidey

A little annoyed that the packs don't have stated odds on them, but from Allender's checklist site I got the following:

Spider-Man Red/Blue Cards - 1:40 (6 cards)
Spider-Man (Black Costume) - 1:40 (6 cards)
The Sandman - 1:40 (5 cards)
The Goblin - 1:40 (5 cards)
Venom - 1:40 (5 cards)
Autographs - 1:20 (20 cards)

The base set is 70 cards with (1) checklist, and 8 Behind the Scenes cards (no odds for the Behind the Scenes cards).

Content - A
What did I pull?

Base sets - 2 complete w/ 2 complete Behind the Scenes sets (5 dup BTH, and 39 extra base cards) - score 50% pus 10% for the extra base set for a total of 60%

Inserts
Spider-Man Red/Blue Cards - 1:40 (6 cards) - pulled A6
Spider-Man (Black Costume) - 1:40 (6 cards) - pulled B4
The Sandman - 1:40 (5 cards) - pulled S2
The Goblin - 1:40 (5 cards) - pulled G5
Venom - 1:40 (5 cards) - pulled V4
Autographs - 1:20 (20 cards) - pulled Dylan Baker as Dr. Curt Connors and Jack Betts as Henry Balken

Pulled everything I was supposed to in terms of inserts for another 50%

Total score - 110% (A)

Aesthetics - B

The base set - Pretty typical base set showing images from the movie. There were actually a couple of images I didn't recognize so I may have to watch it to figure out where they happen. The images do appear to occur in the sequence that they appear in the movie (except card 1 which shows Spidey, and Venom affected Spidey). My favorite card is probably card 66 which depicts Mary Jane Watson in Venom's web.

Honorable mention goes to card number 68 which shows red and blue Spidey in front of the American flag (one of the images I don't remember from the movie). I would say that the base set gets a B. It's nice looking, but I wish they would have had character cards in the base set.

Inserts - B
The inserts are pretty great. Pretty much character cards that I wish were in the base set. There are a couple different effects used on the inserts. The two Spidey inserts are finished like the base cards for the most part.

The Sandman insert does have a special finish on it. They gave it texture so that it would feel sort of like sand. I do like the effort put into this insert. I wonder if the rest are the same.

The Goblin insert doesn't have any special finishes, but does have a cool refractor look to it in the light. More of a techie look which fits with the character.

The Venom insert also has a special finish. The webs have been extruded up to give depth to the touch.

Overall I was annoyed that the inserts are a mix of horizontally and vertically arranged. Wished they would have kept everything horizontally like the base set or change everything to vertically arranged.

Autos - C
The vertically arranged card is good, but they are kind of bland looking. Also neither signature is particularly sharp. Maybe a little laziness on the signer's part.

Overall Aesthetics Score - B

Value - F

Base Sets - $5 each - $10 total
Inserts - $2 each (there haven't really been many of these sold even at this price, but I'll be kind) - $10 total
Autos - $8 total ($5 on the Dylan Baker, and $3 on the Jack Betts)

Total -$28

% of box cost - 28/53.99 = 52% for an F

Fun Factor - C
Obviously since I didn't pull a big name auto, the box was kind of blah. I did like the inserts, and I like the Dylan Baker auto but more for his role in Simply Irresistible than his role in Spider-Man 2 or 3.

Overall - C
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - B(4)
Value - F (1)
Fun Content - C (3)

13/4 = 3.25 - C+

Hope you enjoyed this review of 2007 Rittenhouse Spider-Man 3 Movie Box Break.

 

[200lbhockeyplayer]

Non-sport rips are always more fun to me. Not all have high return potential, but it's typically a cheaper beating.

 

[chuckbartowski]

Non-sport rips are always more fun to me. Not all have high return potential, but it's typically a cheaper beating.

I agree...I only had a few boxes where I didn't get 50% return. Here is another

2003 Inkworks Alias Season 2 (paid $52.95)

Here's a scan of the box. Nice image of JG, and it has the same shiny look of the set. 24 packs w/ 8 cards per pack.

I didn't scan a pack because the image on it is the same as on the box, but here is the box topper

The inserts for this product are as follows:
Box Topper - 1:box
Undercover puzzle - 1:11 (9 cards)
Seeking Sydney - 1:17 (6 cards)
Autographs - 1:24 (12 cards)
Pieceworks - 1:24 (10 cards w/ several of them having multiple variants)

The base set is 81 cards w/ 45 episode cards and multiple subsets which I like even though many of the subsets are images from episodes as well they have a theme to them. I really don't care for base sets that just show images of the episodes. Seems a little lazy when a company does that.

Content - A
What did I pull?
2 complete base sets and 24 extras - 50% plus an extra 10% for the extra base set
Undercover puzzle - 1:11 (9 cards) - pulled U7 and U8 (2.18 cards per box on average)
Seeking Sydney - 1:17(6 cards) - pulled SS6 (1.41 cards per box on average)
Autographs - 1:24 (12 cards) - pulled A18 - Terry O'Quinn as Asst. Director Kendall
Pieceworks - 1:24 (10 cards) - pulled PW4 Geisha outfit worn by Jennifer Garner as Sydney
Box Topper - 1:box - pulled BL1 Jack
On average a box should contain around 6.59 inserts. I pulled 6 inserts so 6/6.59*50% = 45.5%. Add that to the base set total of 60% and the total score for content is 105.5% so an A for content.

Aesthetics - A
Base set - A
I love the base set. I love the shiny chrome finish, and the subsets especially the profile cards. The other subsets are great too. We have the insidious Mr. Sark which is three cards that give specific information about Sark on the back including quotes about and by Sark. Then there's Marshall's Tech Emporium which are all Marshall related. The 9-card subset gives a quick description on the front, and a more detailed analysis of Marshall on the back. The Fall of SD-6 is about Sloan's plan to take down SD-6, and the rest of The Alliance. The base sets don't really scan well because of their shininess so I didn't scan any of them
Inserts - B
Basically only 3 insert cards. The Undercover Puzzle cards, Seeking Sydney cards, and the Box Toppers. I don't really care for puzzle card inserts because you generally don't get the whole puzzle, and the individual cards are pretty much just shiny. The pieces I got appear to be Sydney's hip on one (lower middle), and then one that has a small picture of Sydney in a wetsuit or something like that (appears to be lower left piece). I do really like the Seeking Sydney insert as it has an image of JG on the left with some sort of nifty sparkly special effect. I did scane this card, but it doesn't do it justice.

Autographs - B
The autographs are horizontally arranged like 99% of Inkworks sets. While I prefer vertically arranged autos I do like the design of this set, and the information they give on the reverse. I pulled Terry O'Quinn as Assit. Director Kendall or John Locke from LOST who he is best known as playing. Was really happy with the pull.

Pieceworks - C
I really don't care for the pieceworks design Inkworks used on any of the Alias sets. They are kind bland. I think it's probably because of the lack of color. I was happy with the pull though.

While there is one C, two Bs, and one A, the base set more than makes up for any short comings of the inserts so the total score for Aesthetics is an A.

Value - A
Base sets - $5 each base set (I don't know that I could actually get $5 each, but I'm pretty much going to assign that much to most base sets) - $10
Inserts - $2 each for a total of $8
Auto - $25 (one sold for $25 and another for $32, but then one didn't sell for $25 BIN)
Pieceworks - $8
Total - $51
51/52.95 = 96% cost of box

Even if I were to assign less values to the base sets and inserts it's likely I could make at least 90% of the price of the box back if I sold everything.

Fun Factor - A
Yeah, I'm pretty biased when it comes to Alias because it's one of my favorite TV Shows all time. I also really love the base set in this release (on all of them really). Add in the fact that I pulled a good auto (probably the second best auto in the set), and a good pieceworks (any of the JG pieceworks are good) plus the great subsets in the base set equals a good time in my book.

Overall - A
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - A (5)
Value - A (5)
Fun Factor - A (5)
20/4 - 5 so an A

Hope you enjoyed the break.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

So happy to see you around Brother!

LOVE that Locke Auto!

 

[chuckbartowski]

So happy to see you around Brother!

LOVE that Locke Auto!

Thanks...I have a bunch of these to post up. Here is the third one

2010 Breygent Ghost Whisperer Seasons 3 and 4 (paid $40.45) box 1170/3000
Here is a scan of the box

The packs look like a truncated version of the box.
Stated odds:
Puzzle cards - 1:12 (9 cards)
Trivia Cards - 1:12 (9 cards)
Quotes cards - 1:12 (9 cards)
Costume cards - 1:12 (29 cards)
Autograph cards - 1:48 (8 cards)
Prop Cards - 1:72 (6 cards)
The base set is 72 cards all of which appear to show images from episodes.
Content - A
What did I pull?
Base set - 1 w/ 63 extras - 50%
Inserts
Puzzle cards - 1:12 (9 cards) - pulled CP6 and CP7 (2 cards per box on average)
Trivia Cards - 1:12 (9 cards) - pulled T2 and T3 (2 cards per box on average)
Quotes cards - 1:12 (9 cards) - pulled Q8 and Q9 (2 cards per box on average)
Costume cards - 1:12 (29 cards) - pulled C11 Hillary Duff as Morgan Jeffries, C16 Christoph Sanders Ned Banks, and C17 Hillary Duff as Morgan Jeffries (seriously thick card)
Autograph cards - 1:48 (8 cards) - none (0.5 cards per box on average)
Prop Cards - 1:72 (6 cards) - none (0.33 cards per box on average)
On average a box should contain 8.83 inserts and I pulled 9 inserts so it gets an additional 50%. The total for content is 100% so it gets an A.
Aesthetics - D
Base Set - D
The base set is sort of a disaster. It seems like more than 50% of them are extremely dark. Add to that the horizontal arrangment, and the front of the cards are pretty poorly done. I do like the back of the cards a little though. Vertically arranged, and the images at the top are generally better than what is shown on the front. Here are some examples of the front. These cards are just bad.

Inserts - D
There are three different insert sets excluding the autos, costume, and prop cards. A puzzle card set, a triva set, and a quotes set which are all inserted two per box. As with my previous reviews, I really dislike puzzle insert sets because they never had the whole puzzle in a box, and in this box it was really bad. Card CP6 looks like brown background with possible a piece of an arm on the left side, and CP7 appears to be all background with the lettters GHOS and a part of the T as well as Season 3 on it.
I do like the shiney borders of the trivia and quotes insert sets, but as with the base set the images within the boarders are dark. Here is a scan of one of each of them:

Costume Cards - C
I do like the unusual butterfly cut out for the costume piece, but the card design is bland, and the images of the characters appear dark and/or blurry. I'm not sure if this is common with Breygent products as I haven't opened much, but this set over all seems pretty bad in terms of the design. Here are scans of the costume cards.

Value - A
While I don't personally like the design of any of the cards in this set, value wise I appeared to do pretty good.
Base set - $5
Inserts - $1 each for $6
Costume cards - $12.50 for each of the Duffs and $5 for the Sanders - $30
Total - $41
It I could lose almost $5 on the base and inserts and still be at about 90% cost of box so it gets an A for value.
Fun Factor - C
Given that I dislike the base and insert sets I can say that I didn't really enjoy opening this box. I did like that I pulled two Duff costume cards, but for the most part it was pretty blah. I was also annoyed by the fact that it was obvious which packs had the costume cards in them as they were significantly thicker that the regular packs (especially the pack with the first Duff posted above). I will also admit that I have not seen one episode of this show so that could be part of why I didn't enjoy it that much.
Overall - B-
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - D (2)
Value - A (5)
Fun Factor - C (3)
15/4 = 3.75 - B-
Hope you enjoyed the review.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2008 Topps Indiana Jones Heritage (paid $25.62)
Here's a scan of the box

Simple design which seems to makes sense since Indiana Jones takes place in the mid 1900s.
Here's a scan of a pack

Again...nice simple design showing Indiana Jones.
What's in the box:
Box Topper - 1:box
Autograph Cards - 1:42 packs
Sketch Cards - 1:54 packs
Parallel set - 1:18 packs
Content - A
What did I pull?
Base sets - 1 with 28 extras - 50%
Inserts - 44.8%
Box Topper - 1:box - pulled P1
Autograph Cards - 1:42 packs (0.571 cards per box) - none
Sketch Cards - 1:54 packs (0.444 cards per box) - pulled Randy Martinez (250). Not sure of character.
Parallel set - 1:18 packs (1.333 per box) - pulled card #63, numbered 135/500
Each box should contain 3.348 inserts per box and I pulled three so it gets 44.8% for inserts. I'm a little hesistant on that score because there are so few inserts...basically the only regular type insert is the parallel set. The total for content is 94.8%.
Aesthetics - B
Base set - B
I think the design of the base set matches the feel of the movies. Heritage will generally be a good way to go for movies set in the mid 1900s. The base set is split into four sections, one of each movie and then a poster art set to close it out. The Raider's of the Lost Ark cards have a greem boarder, The Temple of Doom Red, and The Last Crusade orange. I've attached a scan of the first card in each section as well as the first poster art card.

Parallel set - B
I don't think there is a difference on the front of the parallel set, but the backs are numbered and are white instead of brown on the regular set. Here is a scan of the one parallel card I pulled.

Sketch card - B
Simple and kind of retro. Again the design seems to fit well for the time period that the movies are set in. Here is a scan of the sketch. I'm not sure who the character is. The sketch is by Randy Martinez who did 250 sketches for this set. I'm just glad it's not the monkey that looks like a 3 year old drew it.

Value - D
Base set - $5
Box Topper- $1
Parallel card - $1
Sketch - $10
Total - $17
For value it gets a score of $17/25.62 = 66% or a D
Fun Factor - C
I was disappointed by the lack of inserts, but I knew that going in. The base set while a very basic design fits with the movies well. Topps did a decent job choosing the images to use for each movie, and I really do like the poster art cards. I was also really happy not to have pulled one of those monkey sketches that were just horrible.
Overall - C+
Content - A(5)
Aesthetics - B(4)
Value - D (2)
Fun Factor - C(3)
Total - 14/4 - 3.5 - C+
Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[moxacaine]

nice stuff!! love the O'Quinn auto

 

[chuckbartowski]

2009 Justice League of America Archives Box 1528/6000 (paid $45.62)

24 packs/5 cards a pack

Here's a scan of the box

I didn't scan a pack but it shows profiles of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman with Justice League of America Archives on it.

What's in a box?

72 card base set
Super Friends Rainbow Cards - 1:8 packs (18 cards)
Other Earths Foil Enhanced Cards - 1:12 packs (6 cards)
Founding Members Foil Cards -1:24 packes (7 cards)
Sketch cards - 1:24

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 1 with 41 extras - 50%

Inserts - 50%
Super Friends Rainbow Cards - 1:8 packs (18 cards) - pulled SF3, SF12, and SF13
Other Earths Foil Enhanced Cards - 1:12 packs (6 cards) - pulled OE2, and OE4
Founding Members Foil Cards -1:24 packes (7 cards) - Pulled FM1
Sketch cards - 1:24 - pulled a Superman by Dezi Sienty (250)

Pulled everything I was supposed to so it gets another 50% for 100% total so a A.

Aesthetics - C
Base set - C
Well the base set is in keeping with the comics series it appears, but unfortunately my exposure to the JLA is limited to the TV show Smallville, and my exposure to DC in general has been to the more current movies (although I've seen all the Superman movies with Reeves as well), Smallville, and Birds of Prey so I'm not a big fan of these cards. Where Ghost Whisperer was too dark these cards over do it on the color. I can't help but feel like Rittenhouse expected me to be on PCP or LSD when I opened this box. It's especially true of the Super Friends insert which you'll see in a moment. Hell...Wonder Women even looks like she's trippin' on card number 1 of the set. See the scan:

Inserts - C
The Super Friends are extremely annoying, and you get three of them a box. Seriously someone pass me a bong:

I do like the other two insert sets in the product. The first appears to show the JLA member's earth three alter egos, and it's called the Other Earths set. Here is a scan of the Owlman:

The final insert set is a seven card set of the founding members. I pulled the Superman. Really cool looking card with a refractor finish.

Sketch Card - C
It's hard to grade aesthetics on sketch cards because generally they are mostly blank with a border and the name of the set. That's pretty much the same here. I hate to call any sketch card poor because nearly any sketch card I've seen is done better than anything I could produce (even the monkey sketch I referenced in the Indiana Jones Heritage break). This sketch does seem to be pretty lazy though, but I don't really blame the artist much given what they are paid for their work. I still hate seeing artists put less than 100% into their work.

Value - F
Set - $5
Sketch - $15
Inserts - $5

Total $25

The grade on value is $25/$45.62 = 55% which unfortunately is an F.

Fun Factor - C
As stated above it seems like Rittenhouse was expecting the end user to be trippin' when they opened this box. I also believe kids would probably have some fun as well. For me it was just so-so. If I do try another box of this maybe I do 5 shots of tequila before hand, and that could make it a blast. Of course that could just be the tequila.

Overall - C
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - C (3)
Value - F (1)
Fun Factor - C (3)

Total - 12/4 = 3 for a C

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2008 Artbox The Wold of Harry Potter 3D - 2nd Edition (paid $35.62)

24 packs/7 cards a pack

Here's a scan of the box

I didn't scan a pack but it pretty much shows the same image that is on the box. Here is the box topper though:

What's in a box?

72 card base set
Box Topper - 1:box
Foil Puzzle cards - 1:4.8 packs (9 cards)
Autographs - 1:48 packs (11 cards)
Costume Cards -1:80 packs (6 cards)
Prop cards - 1:40 packs (13 cards

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 2 with 11 extras - 60%

Inserts - 47.3%
Box Topper - 1:box - pulled BT3
Foil Puzzle cards - 1:4.8 packs (5:box on average) - pulled Pz1, Pz3, Pz4, Pz6, and Pz8
Autographs - 1:48 packs (0.5:box on average) - none
Costume Cards -1:80 packs (0.3:box on average) - none
Prop cards - 1:40 packs (0.6:box on average) - pulled P1

I should pull 7.4 inserts per box on average and I pulled 7 for a score of 7/7.4*50% = 47.3%. The total for content is over 100% so it gets an A

Aesthetics - C
Base set - C
I'm not a fan of lenticular card. This whole set including the puzzle insert was made using this technology. I do like the images chosen for the most part, and I like the division of the cards into different groups although I would have preferred the different sections being grouped together instead of apart (i.e. I would have preferred to see all the Magical Creatures numbered consecutively...same with the other sections). These cards scan horribly as well, and are hard on the eyes. Here are a couple of base cards from the different sections:

Hogwarts

Magical Creatures

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Charms & Spells

The World of Harry Potter

There is also a Quidditch section, but I didn't scan any of the base from that section.

Inserts - D
The only pack insert set other than Prop, Autos, and Costumes is the puzzle set. Since I'm not a fan of lenticular cards, and I'm not a fan of puzzle inserts I really can't give this anything higher than a D. Here is a scan of one of he puzzle pieces:

Prop Card - C
Even the prop cards have the same lenticular technology so again I'm not a fan of the design. I do like that the image on the card shows the prop in the movie and I like that the prop card is not your standard document or something similar. I kind of hate that they destroyed a whole prop piece to make the card though.

Value - A
Set - $5 each - $10
Prop - $30
Inserts - $3
Box Topper - $3

Total $46

There is almost a 100% chance that I would make at least 90% of the cost of the box back so it gets an A

Fun Factor - B
Even though I don't care for the design I'm still a big fan of the books and the movies so I still enjoyed opening this box. I think they would have been much better off just making a World of Harry Potter set and left the 3D off of it. Maybe one day we'll get a Complete Harry Potter set from Artbox.

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

Total - 17/4 = 4.25 for a B+

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2011 Rittenhouse Marvel Universe box 3249/8000 (paid $56.00)

24 packs/5 cards a pack

Here's a scan of the box

I didn't scan a pack but it pretty much shows the same image that is on the box.

What's in a box?
90 card base set (broken up into ten 9-card puzzles yuck)
Parallel set - 1:3 packs (90 cards)
Artist Draft - 1:8 packs (9 cards)
Marvel Originals -1:12 packs (9 cards)
Ultimate Heroes - 1:24 packs (9 cards)
Sketch cards - 1:24 packs

Content - A
What did I pull?
Base sets - 1 with 16 extras - 50%
Inserts - 50%
Parallel set - 1:3 packs (8:box on average) - pulled 8...they aren't numbered and I don't want to go through and match them up
Artist Draft - 1:8 packs (3:box on average) - pulled AD1, AD4 and AD8
Marvel Originals -1:12 packs (2:box on average) - pulled MO1 and MO3
Ultimate Heroes - 1:24 packs (1:box on average) - pulled UH4
Sketch cards - 1:24 packs (1:box on average) - pulled Thing by David Lee
I pulled everything I should so it gets another 50% for a total of 100% so an A.

Aesthetics - B
Base set - B
So not only are the cards arranged horizontally, but the set is arranged as ten 9-card puzzles. I hate that. The positive is that since they are base you'll likely get all 10 puzzles in one box which I did, and they do look pretty sweet together. The negative is that they are arranged horizontally so it would be hard to display even in 9-card pages (they will all have to be looked at in landscape, and the gaps would make the display look odd. Here is the Age of Apocalypse base set 9-card puzzle:

Inserts - A
There are 4 inserts excluding the sketch card. The first is a parallel to the base set. The parallel is just a clear plastic version of the base card witout the information on the reverse side. It is annoying that they are not numbered. I didn't scan a parallel.
The rarest insert is the Ultimate Heroes insert. These cards shows a character in their Ultimate Marvel costume. I pulled Cyclops. Really nice looking card:

Next up is the Marvel Originals. Not sure what the intent of this set is, but it's a great looking set with original artwork by Felipe Massafera. I pulled two of these:

Lastly there is an Artist Draft set which shows the inks of comic covers on the front, and the full color of the comic cover on the back.I pulled three of these:

Sketch Card - B
Like the design of the sketch, and the sketch appears to be a good effort. Don't really care for the character though. Still a pretty solid card.

Value - F
Set - $5
Sketch - $10
Inserts - $10
Total $25
Unfortunately I didn't pull a big time artist or character so value wise the box was a dud. Would be lucky to get 50% of the value of box back if I sold everything. $25/$56 = 45%.

Fun Factor - B
You know it was much better than the Justice League of America box. While I don't like horizontally arranged cards as much as vertically, and I don't like puzzles I have to admit they look pretty sweep put together. You could also make a game of it if you have kids to put the puzzles together from the front. Plus the set has decent inserts, and I think the sketch card was solid despite not being high value.

Overall - B
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - B (4)
Value - F (1)
Fun Factor - B (4)
Total - 14/4 = 3.5 for a B-

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[Tomlinson21RB]

Great thread, thanks for posting. I enjoy seeing what comes out of these products even though I've never opened any.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2004 Inkworks Alias Season 3 ($24.90)
24 packs/8 cards a pack

Here's a scan of the box

I didn't scan a pack but it pretty much shows the same image that is on the box. Here are the three toppers. One of them is a Season 4 promo (for the TV show, not the Inkworks set), and another is for a series of books.

Season 4 Promo

Book Promo

Regular box topper

What's in a box?
81 card base set
The Lost Years Puzzle - 1:11 packs (9 cards)
Wicked Games - 1:17 packs (6 cards)
Autographs -1:24 packs (12 cards)
Pieceworks - 1:24 packs (9 cards)
Box Topper - 1:box
Box Topper Promos - 2:box

Content - A
What did I pull?
Base sets - 2 with 23 extras - 60%
Inserts - 50%
The Lost Years Puzzle - 1:11 packs (2.18:box on average) - pulled L3, L4, and L5
Wicked Games - 1:17 packs (1.41:box on average) - pulled WG1
Autographs -1:24 packs (1:box on average) - pulled Mark Bramhall as Andrian Lazarey
Pieceworks - 1:24 packs (1:box on average) - pulle PW2 Slacks worn by Michael Vartan as Michael Vaughn
Box Topper - 1:box - pulled BL3
Box Topper Promos - 2:box - both were included.
On average a box should have 8.59 inserts. I pulled 9 so it gets another 50% for 110% total so an A.

Aesthetics - A
Base set - A
As with the season 2 set, I really love the look of the season 3 set. Three of the subsets in the base set are the same as season 2; CIA Profiles, The Insidious Mr. Sark, and Marshall's Tech Emporium, but they added a 4th subset called Family Matters. Each of these subsets are great, and as with the season 2 set I love the CIA Profiles. These cards don't scan well, but I scanned a few anyway:
Card #1

Here is one of the CIA Profile cards:

Inserts - C
As with the season 2 set there is a puzzle insert set, and then another set called Wicked Games.Neither of these insert sets are particularly good, and neither scan very well at all. I do think the complete puzzle set looks great (there is an image of the completed puzzle on the back of the cards). It's the art image done by Julie Bell (there is also a Julie Bell autograph card inserted as a case topper of this image of Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow).

Autograph - B
As with the season 2 autos, the only thing I don't really like is the horizontal arrangement. Other than that I love the design:

Pieceworks - B
I'm not sure why, but I like this pieceworks design slightly better than the season 2 one. I think it's the little bit of purple added to the card.

Value - B
Set - $5 each - $10
Inserts - $2
Auto - $5
Pieceworks - $5
Total $22

Didn't do too bad on this one. 22/24.9 = 88% for a B. I could drop another $2 and still end up with 80% so it gets a B.

Fun Factor - A
Again...I loved Alias, and still watch it through every year. Even minor characters like Lazarey played important parts in the show. While not as fun as the Alias Season 2 box it was still a blast to open.

Overall - B
Content - A (5)
Aesthetics - A (5)
Value - B (4)
Fun Factor - A (5)
Total - 19/4 = 4.75 for an A

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2003 Topps Lord of the Rings: Return of the King ($49.95)

36 packs/7 cards a pack

Here's a picture of the box

I didn't scan a pack but there appears to be two different versions, one with Aragorn and the other with Frodo on it. There is a box topper which is a chrome foil insert. They look great, and here's a scan of this card:

What's in a box?

90 card base set
Prismatic Foil Cards - 1:6 (10 cards)
Autographs -1:36 packs (13 cards in Wave 1)
Box Topper - 1:box

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 2 with 65 extras - 60%

Inserts - 50%

Prismatic Foil Cards - 1:6 (6: box on average) - pulled 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10
Autographs -1:36 packs (13 cards in Wave 1)
Box Topper - 1:box

I pulled everything I should so it gets another 50% for 110% total so an A.

Aesthetics - A
Base set - A
The base set is B-E-A-U-tiful. So many great cards. It starts off with 18 character cards, and then has a good size set of movie images, and finishes off with a bunch of behind the scene cards. The cards are well designed, and the images are vibrant and clear. It really makes me want to watch the movie again.

Here are a couple of the character cards:

Here are a couple of the movie cards:

And here is one of the behind the scene cards:

It really is one of the best looking sets I've seen. I'll have to track down boxes of the other movies to break.

Prismatic Foil Cards - A
This is a great looking insert. The scans don't do them justice as the cards really pop. They have a refractor type finish. The only problem is that there are only 10 of them. Here are a few of those:

Autograph - A
A great design for this set. I still prefer vertical autographs over horizontal ones, but this is still a great looking cards, and it doesn't hurt that I pulled Liv Tyler. I'm not a big Topps fan, but mainly because of what they've done to baseball cards over the last couple of years where they've basically had no competition, but they really hit a homerun on this set.

Value - A
Set - $5 each - $10
Inserts - $2
Auto - $60

Total $72

I could make the price of the box back with just the Liv Tyler auto so this get an A for value.

Fun Factor - A
While I liked these movies I kind of agree with Kevin Smith's summary of them in Clerks 2, but if nothing else the movie is beautifully shot and the base set makes me want to watch them again. I may have to do that this weekend. Great job by Topps on this one.

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.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

LIV!!!!!!!!!

 

[chuckbartowski]

2010 Breygent Dexter Season 3 ($48.95) box #937/3000

24 packs/6 cards a pack

What's in a box?

72 card base set
Puzzle Cards - 1:12 (9 cards)
Dexter's Victims - 1:12 (9 cards)
Dexter Quotes- 1:12 (10 cards)
Autographs -1:48 packs (12 cards)
Costume cards - 1:12 (29 cards)
Prop Cards - 1:60 (11 cards)
Sketch Cards - 1:288 (8 artists)

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 1 with 63 extras - 50%

Inserts - 50%

Puzzle Cards - 1:12 (2:box on average) - pulled D3-CP8 and D3-CP9
Dexter's Victims - 1:12 (2:box on average) - pulled D3-V3 and D3-V4
Dexter Quotes- 1:12 (2:box on average) - pulled D3-Q1 and D3-Q10
Autographs -1:48 packs (0.5:box on average) - pulled James Remar as Harry Morgan
Costume cards - 1:12 (2:box on average) - pulled D3-C26 and D3-C25
Prop Cards - 1:60 (0.4:box on average) - none
Sketch Cards - 1:288 (0.083:box on average) - none

A box should contain 8.983 inserts per box on average.I pulled 9 inserts so it gets

another 50% for a total of 100% so it gets an A.

Aesthetics - C
Base set - C
The base set on this is much better than the Ghost Whisperer set. It's still horizontally arranged, and some of the cards are extremely dark and/or blurry. I can't help but wonder it the printers Breygent use are of a lesser quality than the other card companies. I also stopped watching Dexter after season 2 so none of the cards are really pop out to me. I do think the card design is well suited for this show. Here are a couple of the base cards:

Inserts - B
There are three insert sets in this product excluding the autos, costumes and prop cards. The first is a puzzle set. As with all the other products I busted with puzzle insert sets I don't like this one either. I do like the shininess. I didn't scan either piece, but I'll tell you I pulled some hips and legs, and that's it.

The second set is a Victims set, but unfortunately the cards don't appear to show any victims. Not really sure what the point is. It doesn't even appear as if the reverse really talks about Dexter's victims. They are at least decent looking:

The last insert set is a Dexter Quotes set. It's probably my favorite of the inserts, and on the back of the cards there are quotes from the show:

As with the base design, the design of the inserts really fits well with the show.

Costume Cards - B
The design of the costume cards is pretty nice, and I really like the dual nature of the cards. It's nice to get costumes of two different characters on the same card, and as with the other cards in the set, the design really fits the show.

Autograph - B
Again. A great design for this show. Lots of red like with the base set and the insert sets. Didn't pull a great auto, but the design is still solid. Don't care for the horizontally arrangement, but I've said that on all of the sets like this.

Value - C
Set - $5
Inserts - $2
Auto - $15
Costumes - C26 $6, C25 $10

Total $38/48.95 = 77% for a C

Fun Factor - C
No real big hit, and another base set with images that just don't see to be up to par, and it's just a meh product to open. It would probably help some if I had seen season 3 of the show, but the set didn't really make me want to watch it so based on that it can't get higher than a C.

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

Total - 14/4 = 3.5 for an B-

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2009 SI Sports Illustrated Swimsuit ($74.99)

16 packs/6 cards a pack

Here's a picture of the box

You may be wondering why there is a $75 price on this box of cards (around $20 more than any other box I've purchased). The main reason is probably Danica Patrick has two bikini swatches in the set both of which sell for more than the box price. Add to that Maria Sharapova and Maria Kirilenko both also have bikini swatches. Other big names with bikini swatches include Bar Refaeli, Heidi Klum, and Marisa Miller. I didn't pull any of these, but it was still fun break.

What's in a box?
80 card base set
Danica Patrick Insert Set - 1:4 (10 cards)
Body Paint Cards - 1:4 (10 cards)
Material Cards- 1:8 (20 cards)
Printing Plates - 1:58 (400 cards)
Material Printing Plate Cards - 1:288 (80 cards)

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 1 with 6 extras - 50%

Inserts - 48.4%

Danica Patrick Insert Set - 1:4 (4: box on average) - pulled D3, D4, D5, and D6
Body Paint Cards - 1:4 (4:box on average) - pulled B5, B6, B7, and B8
Material Cards- 1:8 (2:box on average) - pulled Zoe Duchesne and Tracy Burns
Printing Plates - 1:58 (0.28:box on average) - none
Material Printing Plate Cards - 1:288 (0.06:box on average) - none

A box should contain 10.34 inserts per box on average.I pulled 10 inserts so it gets another 48.4% for a total of 98.4% so it gets an A.

Aesthetics - A
Base set - A
It's hard for a guy to be unbiased on a set of women swimsuit models, but still...the cards are vertically arranged - good, and hot women notwithstanding, the photography on the cards is outstanding. I love that the pictures are shot on location, and not in some studio.Here are scans of the six extra base I pulled.

Easily my favorite card although how they got the strings placed exactly right is beyond me.

Inserts - A
The two main inserts other than the bikini swatches are a Danica Patrick insert (the race car driver) set, and a Body Paint set which they've done on the other sets. Again it's extremely hard for a guy to be unbiased here because of all the hotness of the women, but as with the base set the insert sets are arranaged vertically and have gorgeous photography. Here are scans of the Danica Patrick cards I pulled. There were shot in studio, but they still look great, and she is definitely a beautiful woman:

And these are the four Body Paint cards I pulled. I hope these are okay to post. If not mods please feel free to remove or let me know to remove them.

Bikini Swatch Cards - A
And as with the previous cards my opinion is far from unbiased, but I still think the models notwithstanding that the photography is outstanding, and the cards are very well designed.

The first swatch is pretty thick,and must be part of the band or something.If it were a sports card I'd probably call it patch.

And this is the second one:

Value - B
Set - The base set is hard to judge. There have been several whole sets to sell for under $5, but it appears that individual cards set for $2 to $3 each. It's really strange. I'll go with $10 though.Serious though check out the completed listings in trading cards when you search for 2009Sports Illustrated.
Danica Patrick inserts - $6 each for $24
Body Paint inserts - $1 each for $4
Bikini Swatches - $15 for the Zoe Duchesne and $12.50 for the Tracy Brooks for $27.50

Total $65.50/74.99 = 87% for a B

Fun Factor - A
Obviously it's hard not to find opening this product fun. The cards are beautiful and so are the models. The insert sets are fun, and you don't get totally clobbered in the wallet even when you pull some of the lesser material cards. I was hoping for a Sharapova since I collect her, but even though I didn't pull her I still had a blast with the box. I will say it was the funnest box I've opened so far.

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

Total - 19/4 = 4.75 for an A

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

wawaweewa!!!

 

[chuckbartowski]

2008 Rittenhouse Marvel Fantastic Four Archives box number 6542/8000 ($45.73)

24 packs/5 cards a pack

I have to admit right up front that my only exposure to the Fantastic Four is the two movies so I am very biased against most of the cards in the set despite the fact that I'm sure they do the comics justice.

What's in a box?
72 card base set
Nemesis Cards - 1:8 (9 cards)
Ready for Action Cards - 1:12 (18 cards?)
Legendary Heroes- 1:24 (9 cards)
Sketch Cards 1:24 (58 artists)

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 1 with 41 extras - 50%

Inserts - 50%

Nemesis Cards - 1:8 (3:box) pulled N4, N5, and N8
Ready for Action Cards - 1:12 (2:box) pulled A5 and A16
Legendary Heroes- 1:24 (1:box) pulled LH7
Sketch Cards 1:24 (1:box) pulled Human Torch by Edde Wagner (292)

I pulled everything I should have so it gets another 50% for a total of 100% so it gets an A.

Aesthetics - B
Base set - C
This set has an issue similar to the issue that I had with the Justice League base set only not to the degree of dislike. I will say that the last 20 or so base cards are outstanding. The rest are just meh. This box also had the bad distinction of having some of the worst cut cards I have ever seen in a set. I'm talking 95%-5% centering. Not sure if this was done on purpose to give it a vintage feel, but there were a ton of poorly cut cards. Here are some of the cards I liked most of which are in the last 20 of the base set:

I also really don't care for the baby blue border. Yuck. Also all the base cards are horizontally arranged which I also dislike.

Inserts - A
Now the inserts are a different story. Talk about some B-E-A-U-tiful cards. I like each of the insert sets starting with the Nemesis set. Each of the Nemesis cards depicts a famous Fantastic Four baddie. I was glad to pulle Galactus who was the baddie in the second Fantastic Four movie. Here are the three Nemesis inserts I pulled:

The second insert set is called Ready for action. Based on Jeff's site these appear to be comic book covers. I pulled A5 which is apparently from Marvel Knights 4 #20:

and A16 which is apparently from Fantastic Four #535:

I love the look of and the art on both of those cards. They also have a refractor type finish which I always appreciate.

The final insert set is a Legendary Heroes set. I pulled LH7 which is Power Man. Again this is a nice looking card that also has a refractor quality to it. The art on the cards is also awesome:

Sketch Card - A
I'm a fan of Edde Wagner despite the fact that his cards don't usually sell for a lot. The design of the card itself is pretty simple, but it's one of the better looking designs Rittenhouse has done on their sketch cards. This is a pretty simple head shot sketch of the Human Torch, but it's well done, and it looks like Wagner put good effort into it which I always appreciate.

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

Total $30/45.73 = 66% for a D

Fun Factor - B
Despite disliking most of the base set the inserts are awesome, and I like the sketch I pulled. I will say that I'm sure if you are a fan of the comic you will probably love the base set. Like with Justice League I think they remained true to the comics, but since I've never read even one issue I can't say that for 100%.

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

Total - 15/4 = 3.75 for a B-

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[chuckbartowski]

2008 Rittenhouse Stargate: Atlantis Seasons Three & Four box number 1254/4000 ($55.50)

24 packs/5 cards a pack

I have never seen an episode of Stargate: Alantis and only a handfull of Stargate SG-1. I mainly bought the box because I know Jewel Staite was on the show and has an auto in the product. I didn't pull a Staite, but I was still really happy with my break.

What's in a box?
81 card base set
Quotable Inserts - 1:6 (18 cards)
Pegasus Galaxy Starships - 1:12 (9 cards)
Atlantis Team- 1:24 (9 cards)
Costume Cards - 1:12 (17 cards)
Autographs - 1:12 (18 cards)

Content - A

What did I pull?

Base sets - 1 with 24 extras - 50%

Inserts - 50%

Quotable Inserts - 1:6 (4:box) pulled Q41, Q42, Q52, and Q58
Pegasus Galaxy Starships - 1:12 (9 cards) pulled PG2 and PG5
Atlantis Team- 1:24 (9 cards) pulled T8
Costume Cards - 1:12 (17 cards) pulled Ronan Dex and DR. Elizabeth Weir
Autographs - 1:12 (18 cards) pulled Laura Harris as Nola and Jodelle Ferland as Harmony

I pulled everything I should have so it gets another 50% for a total of 100% so it gets an A.

Aesthetics - B
Base set - C
The base set has a similar issue as I have with the Breygent releases. It appears that the images chosen were just poor choices for cards. It appears that many of the cards are blurry, and some are dark. They do have a techie yet ancient look which would fit with the original Stargate movie, but they are also horizontally arranged. Here is a scan of some of the

base:

As with any show that I haven't seen before they base set may be better if I knew the context of the image.

Inserts - A
They did do a great job with the inserts. I really like the autograph, costume and Atlantis Team designs. The other two insert sets are just okay. The most common insert is the Quotable Insert cards. Here are the four I pulled:

Always like pulling anything of Robert Picardo

They are little blah to me design wise.

The second insert set shows some kind of ships from the show. The first one is dark and blurry. The second looks like a ship from Battlestar Galactica

The Atlantis Team insert cards are also an extremely well designed card. They are also the only vertically arranged cards in the set. I pulled the Amanda Tapping one. Here is a scan:

Costume Cards - A
These cards have an awesome design. Probably the best designed costume card I've seen. Love the costume being set within the Stargate. I am a little annoyed that they don't have the actor's/actress' name on the card though. Was happy with the Mamoa but more because he was in Game of Thrones. Here are the two I pulled:

Autographs - A
The autograph cards have a similar design to the costume cards with the autos set within the Stargate. It's a very nice looking autograph design for a horizontally arranged autograph. While I didn't pull a Staite I was happy with both of my autograph pulls. I'm a pretty big horror movie fan so I recognize Laura Harris as the Alien Queen on The Faculty and Jodelle

Ferland as Sharon/Alessa on the movie version of Silent Hill. To be honest, after looking at the autograph checklist for this set it appears to be one of the stronger sets out there. Here are the two autos:

Value - C
Set - $5
Inserts - $10
Autos - $17.50
Costume cards - $10

Total $42.50/55.50 = 77% for a C

Fun Factor - B
Since I don't know anything about the show my fun factor rating is mainly because of the autographs I pulled. Sure they don't sell for much, but I'll be keeping both of the cards for my pc. I also love the Atlantis Team insert set design as well as the design of the autograph and costume cards. Good stuff overall.

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

Total - 16/4 = 4 for a B

Hope you enjoyed the break and review.

 

[JackLondon]

Fun thread, Chuck!