Kinda wanted to see how bad this product is and why it failed. And, it was cheap...
Yeah I figured it out. Terrible Gimmicked Short Prints. Not Hench Approved.
Showing posts with label 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2010. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Blaster Breaking Frenzy!!!
What do you do when you have an itching for wax and $50 in Wal-Mart gift cards burning a hole in your pocket? Walk 40 minutes in the snow to the nearest Wal-Mart and buy 2 blasters of cards, obviously!
Topps Chrome:
BDP&P:
I seriously don't get how I couldn't pull a single Red Sox card out of either of these boxes...
Topps Chrome:
BDP&P:
I seriously don't get how I couldn't pull a single Red Sox card out of either of these boxes...
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Henchmeister's Best and Worst of 2010
It's about time for a fresh start in 2011. It's also time to look back at 2010 and reflect on what an awesome or bizarre year it was. In 2010, Topps got their exclusive chokehold over the baseball card market back. Did they do good things with it? Ehhhhhh.....I'd question that. Panini obtained a license for making hockey cards and hockey stickers. Upper Deck went to hell without a baseball or a football license. And there were many other interesting moments during the course of the year. So, now I present to you: Henchmeister's Best and Worst of 2010.
Best Overall Baseball Set: Upper Deck Baseball
WHA???????!!!!!!! THE COMPANY THAT DIDN'T HAVE A BASEBALL LICENSE GETS SET OF THE YEAR?! WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?????!!!!! That's correct folks. UD had to give this set a good jolt because of the lack of license. And despite the lack of one, I think they put out a really good product. They had to put effort into making it, and came up with some good ideas for inserts, plus the excellent photography. The "double-take" variations are a waste, but that didn't hinder it much, UD Baseball was a real winner. Oh fine, you want an actual licensed set?
Best Licensed Baseball Set: Topps Heritage
There. Happy now? I just got back into the hobby this year and Heritage was a very nice find. The whole complete concept of the product is well thought out and (people will disagree with this) but I like the '61 design.
Worst Overall Baseball Set: Opening Day
Is it that difficult to make a good low end product? Same design as base Topps, really small checklist. The only redeeming part of this product? Mascot cards. Everything else: Garbage.
Worst Product I Haven't Busted Yet: Bowman Platinum
Strasmania was gonna carry this product. Then he blew out his arm. Then we realized when this hit retail shelves that the QC for it completely sucks. And I still can't understand the checklist. I will have a blaster to bust when I return to college.
Best Design: Bowman (any of them except Platinum)
For some reason, I just like it. Not exactly sure why. I just do.
Worst Design: Topps 206
Don't mind the set itself. It's just the design is boring as hell. Plus it doesn't look like 206. I guess you have to change something when you release the same tobacco era set 2 years in a row.
Worst QC Problem From Topps: Collation
We can complain about the chrome bow, miscuts, and surface defects. But, collation is the first thing in my mind that needs to be improved upon. My first box of Updates was riddled with doubles and quintuple of Jason Bay. People have been continually getting shorted out of promised hits in boxes. Worry about the other stuff later, and just figure out how to properly collate a box or a case.
Worst Gimmick: Pie In the Face
Waste of cardboard
Hobby Rookie of the Year: That Strasburg Guy
Seriously, who did you think was going to take that title?
Best Box Break of the Year: 2002 Topps Series 1
Loved that set when I was younger. And I got to tear into a hobby box of that stuff before I graduated from high school. Pulled most of the base set and a Mickey Lolich autograph. Take notes from this set Topps.
Worst Box Break of the Year: 1st box of Updates
Lots of doubles and a Yankee for the hit. Not the best break...
Here's to hoping that 2011 can continue to improve upon 2010, or be a hell of a lot better for that matter!
Best Overall Baseball Set: Upper Deck Baseball
WHA???????!!!!!!! THE COMPANY THAT DIDN'T HAVE A BASEBALL LICENSE GETS SET OF THE YEAR?! WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?????!!!!! That's correct folks. UD had to give this set a good jolt because of the lack of license. And despite the lack of one, I think they put out a really good product. They had to put effort into making it, and came up with some good ideas for inserts, plus the excellent photography. The "double-take" variations are a waste, but that didn't hinder it much, UD Baseball was a real winner. Oh fine, you want an actual licensed set?
Best Licensed Baseball Set: Topps Heritage
There. Happy now? I just got back into the hobby this year and Heritage was a very nice find. The whole complete concept of the product is well thought out and (people will disagree with this) but I like the '61 design.
Worst Overall Baseball Set: Opening Day
Is it that difficult to make a good low end product? Same design as base Topps, really small checklist. The only redeeming part of this product? Mascot cards. Everything else: Garbage.
Worst Product I Haven't Busted Yet: Bowman Platinum
Strasmania was gonna carry this product. Then he blew out his arm. Then we realized when this hit retail shelves that the QC for it completely sucks. And I still can't understand the checklist. I will have a blaster to bust when I return to college.
Best Design: Bowman (any of them except Platinum)
For some reason, I just like it. Not exactly sure why. I just do.
Worst Design: Topps 206
Don't mind the set itself. It's just the design is boring as hell. Plus it doesn't look like 206. I guess you have to change something when you release the same tobacco era set 2 years in a row.
Worst QC Problem From Topps: Collation
We can complain about the chrome bow, miscuts, and surface defects. But, collation is the first thing in my mind that needs to be improved upon. My first box of Updates was riddled with doubles and quintuple of Jason Bay. People have been continually getting shorted out of promised hits in boxes. Worry about the other stuff later, and just figure out how to properly collate a box or a case.
Worst Gimmick: Pie In the Face
Waste of cardboard
Hobby Rookie of the Year: That Strasburg Guy
Seriously, who did you think was going to take that title?
Best Box Break of the Year: 2002 Topps Series 1
Loved that set when I was younger. And I got to tear into a hobby box of that stuff before I graduated from high school. Pulled most of the base set and a Mickey Lolich autograph. Take notes from this set Topps.
Worst Box Break of the Year: 1st box of Updates
Lots of doubles and a Yankee for the hit. Not the best break...
Here's to hoping that 2011 can continue to improve upon 2010, or be a hell of a lot better for that matter!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Box Break: 2010 Bowman Chrome
I guess this didn't posted until Saturday when I promised Wednesday...
My recognition of refractors was so bad that I made an update video.
The pulls:
Base Veterans - 24 out of 220 (10.9%)
Prospects - 34 out of 110 (30.9%)
5 Refractors (1:4, Davis, Either, Upton, Peedy, Santana RC)
Inserts:
5 USA Baseball (1:4ish?)
1 Refractor #/500 (Henry Owens)
Topps 100 #/999 Austin Romine
Hits:
Pedro Baez Prospect Auto
Francisco Lindor USA Baseball Auto (1:207)
Review:
Good news-Better box break than some that I've seen out there. The design looks good with the chrome, in my mind. The prices on this stuff are falling extremely fast (I can't complain about this).
Bad news-Same old quality control issues with Topps it seems. A multitude of scratches can be found on the cards. The cards bow severely right out of the pack. There is a lack of color to be pulled because of overproduction (hooray Stras-hype!). LACK OF RED SOX PROSPECTS!
To Sum up:
Usually, this stuff sells for 65 bucks a box. For that price, I wouldn't touch it. Quality control problems and lack of value would steer me away (72 cards for 65 bucks ain't worth it). But, for the price, it isn't that bad. Plus, the break made it more worth the money.
2010 Bowman Chrome (at the current price below 50 bucks): Hench Approved
Break: Also Hench Approved
My recognition of refractors was so bad that I made an update video.
The pulls:
Base Veterans - 24 out of 220 (10.9%)
Prospects - 34 out of 110 (30.9%)
5 Refractors (1:4, Davis, Either, Upton, Peedy, Santana RC)
Inserts:
5 USA Baseball (1:4ish?)
1 Refractor #/500 (Henry Owens)
Topps 100 #/999 Austin Romine
Hits:
Pedro Baez Prospect Auto
Francisco Lindor USA Baseball Auto (1:207)
Review:
Good news-Better box break than some that I've seen out there. The design looks good with the chrome, in my mind. The prices on this stuff are falling extremely fast (I can't complain about this).
Bad news-Same old quality control issues with Topps it seems. A multitude of scratches can be found on the cards. The cards bow severely right out of the pack. There is a lack of color to be pulled because of overproduction (hooray Stras-hype!). LACK OF RED SOX PROSPECTS!
To Sum up:
Usually, this stuff sells for 65 bucks a box. For that price, I wouldn't touch it. Quality control problems and lack of value would steer me away (72 cards for 65 bucks ain't worth it). But, for the price, it isn't that bad. Plus, the break made it more worth the money.
2010 Bowman Chrome (at the current price below 50 bucks): Hench Approved
Break: Also Hench Approved
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Box Break: 2010 Topps Update
This box break started off about as well as it could go, and then slowly went downhill.
The pulls:
Base Set
184 out of 330 (55.7%)
66 Doubles
7 Triples
1 Quintuple (Jason Bay)
8 Gold Cards #'d to 2010
1 Stephen Strasburg Rookie (Card 661)
Inserts:
36 Topps Attax Code Cards
13 Cards Yo Momma Threw Out (2 doubles)
8 Turkey Reds
9 Stupid Vintage Legends (1 double)
5 Tales of the Game
2 Legendary Lineage
4 Peak Performance
10 MCG Code Cards
Hits:
Box Loader Rookie Chrome Refractor - Stephen Strasburg
Big Mojo Hit!!!!!1!!!1 - Robinson Cano All Star Game Jersey *groan*
Stephen Strasburg Cards Pulled - 7
Review:
You can't say Topps Updates is a terrible product. You can get an excellent selection of rookie cards in the set, some of whom will pan out and be worth a decent amount of money. Yes, this was the Stephen Strasburg hot box, right out of the gate even with the boxloader. The checklist for the boxloaders is pretty good, and there are decent odds you'll find something good. The regular checklist is the usual for Updates: rookies, traded players, and All Stars, nothing new or different here. The inserts are mostly all the same from Series 1 and 2, also nothing new here. For what you can and do get, it is what it is.
All that being said, the originality of Updates, quite frankly, sucks. I was kind of hoping for something different and original for an insert out of Updates, like with the propaganda posters in last year's set. Instead, it was just more Tales of the Game cards (I'm so happy with that). I'm not great with original ideas, and clearly neither is Topps, but some type of insert needed to be interesting. And can we all agree that the Vintage Legends need to go away? I think so. On another note, the "stamping" of the serial numbers on the gold cards looks even cheaper and worse than it did before in Series 1 and 2. It's still printed on, but the font looks even cheaper than before and looks sloppy, for lack of a better word.
Finally, and Topps you better be reading and fixing this, your quality control sucks. I'm going to be blunt with that. This is your flagship brand, make it a quality product, not this $48 worth of fail I just opened. Ok, so I pulled 7 Stephen Strasburg cards of various types and got my Ryan Kalish Rookie, so it wasn't all fail. But I for one want something more than Stephen Strasburg's galore in a box. I pulled 66 doubles, 7 triples, and 1 quintuple out of this box. 66 DOUBLES FOR GOD'S SAKE! This is just purely inexcusable; I got short-changed 20% of the base set. And, yes I did like Jason Bay during his time in Boston, but I do not want 5 of his cards in one box, and neither does anyone else. And, it wasn't just the base set, I pulled doubles of a few inserts. And it doesn't stop there, I got short changed out of a pack and instead of pulling 10 cards, I pulled 7.
Topps, do you actually give a crap that your quality control sucks this much? Diamond cutting T-206 cards, not following through on the promised hits, poor (and that's an understatement) coalition, not putting the right amount of cards in a pack, does that not mean anything? Are you realizing that people are getting fed up and pissed off about this? Have you just rolled over and given up? Is it just me, or did Upper Deck, who doesn't even have a baseball license, make the best product this year in terms of quality? Does that mean that you really deserve that exclusive license? I'm starting to question that. So, Topps, do what's best for you and start cleaning up your act and giving a crap about your product and the work that goes into making it, and that includes not putting 66 doubles in a box.
In any matter, this is Topps Updates. While this box was a fail, that does not that every box is a fail. I would still say this product is Hench Approved; it should be somewhat unusual to find 66 doubles in a box. This box, on the other hand, is Not Hench Approved, Stras-Jo, Ryan Kalish, and all.
Another thing, the hit was Yankee, Robinson Cano All Star Game Jersey Card, there-by making this box break much worse. As you know, it is for trade, preferably for a Red Sox relic or auto.
The pulls:
Base Set
184 out of 330 (55.7%)
66 Doubles
7 Triples
1 Quintuple (Jason Bay)
8 Gold Cards #'d to 2010
1 Stephen Strasburg Rookie (Card 661)
Inserts:
36 Topps Attax Code Cards
13 Cards Yo Momma Threw Out (2 doubles)
8 Turkey Reds
9 Stupid Vintage Legends (1 double)
5 Tales of the Game
2 Legendary Lineage
4 Peak Performance
10 MCG Code Cards
Hits:
Box Loader Rookie Chrome Refractor - Stephen Strasburg
Big Mojo Hit!!!!!1!!!1 - Robinson Cano All Star Game Jersey *groan*
Stephen Strasburg Cards Pulled - 7
Review:
You can't say Topps Updates is a terrible product. You can get an excellent selection of rookie cards in the set, some of whom will pan out and be worth a decent amount of money. Yes, this was the Stephen Strasburg hot box, right out of the gate even with the boxloader. The checklist for the boxloaders is pretty good, and there are decent odds you'll find something good. The regular checklist is the usual for Updates: rookies, traded players, and All Stars, nothing new or different here. The inserts are mostly all the same from Series 1 and 2, also nothing new here. For what you can and do get, it is what it is.
All that being said, the originality of Updates, quite frankly, sucks. I was kind of hoping for something different and original for an insert out of Updates, like with the propaganda posters in last year's set. Instead, it was just more Tales of the Game cards (I'm so happy with that). I'm not great with original ideas, and clearly neither is Topps, but some type of insert needed to be interesting. And can we all agree that the Vintage Legends need to go away? I think so. On another note, the "stamping" of the serial numbers on the gold cards looks even cheaper and worse than it did before in Series 1 and 2. It's still printed on, but the font looks even cheaper than before and looks sloppy, for lack of a better word.
Finally, and Topps you better be reading and fixing this, your quality control sucks. I'm going to be blunt with that. This is your flagship brand, make it a quality product, not this $48 worth of fail I just opened. Ok, so I pulled 7 Stephen Strasburg cards of various types and got my Ryan Kalish Rookie, so it wasn't all fail. But I for one want something more than Stephen Strasburg's galore in a box. I pulled 66 doubles, 7 triples, and 1 quintuple out of this box. 66 DOUBLES FOR GOD'S SAKE! This is just purely inexcusable; I got short-changed 20% of the base set. And, yes I did like Jason Bay during his time in Boston, but I do not want 5 of his cards in one box, and neither does anyone else. And, it wasn't just the base set, I pulled doubles of a few inserts. And it doesn't stop there, I got short changed out of a pack and instead of pulling 10 cards, I pulled 7.
Topps, do you actually give a crap that your quality control sucks this much? Diamond cutting T-206 cards, not following through on the promised hits, poor (and that's an understatement) coalition, not putting the right amount of cards in a pack, does that not mean anything? Are you realizing that people are getting fed up and pissed off about this? Have you just rolled over and given up? Is it just me, or did Upper Deck, who doesn't even have a baseball license, make the best product this year in terms of quality? Does that mean that you really deserve that exclusive license? I'm starting to question that. So, Topps, do what's best for you and start cleaning up your act and giving a crap about your product and the work that goes into making it, and that includes not putting 66 doubles in a box.
In any matter, this is Topps Updates. While this box was a fail, that does not that every box is a fail. I would still say this product is Hench Approved; it should be somewhat unusual to find 66 doubles in a box. This box, on the other hand, is Not Hench Approved, Stras-Jo, Ryan Kalish, and all.
Another thing, the hit was Yankee, Robinson Cano All Star Game Jersey Card, there-by making this box break much worse. As you know, it is for trade, preferably for a Red Sox relic or auto.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
This NEEDED To Happen
You all know about how Upper Deck lost it's license, made a baseball product, got sued, can't make baseball products anymore, blah blah blah. Well, Beardy has taken the liberty to make us, that being the virtual cardblogosphere, a 2010 Upper Deck Masterpieces Set. And, since he is taking offers for submissions to the set, I thought this guy needed a little love in the set.
RYAN F***KING KALISH!!!!
Go here to view the rest of the checklist. Trust me, I would be if not first, second in line to buy packs of this set. That's how awesome it is.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Blaster Break - 2010 Topps Series 2
I loves me some college!
I'm sorry, but there is: a. No purpose for the 2 packs of black-bordered cards, and b. No purpose for the stupid one-per-blaster manufactured patch card. NOTE TO TOPPS: I'd rather have 2 more packs of base cards than two packs of black-bordered bullshit.
I'm sorry, but there is: a. No purpose for the 2 packs of black-bordered cards, and b. No purpose for the stupid one-per-blaster manufactured patch card. NOTE TO TOPPS: I'd rather have 2 more packs of base cards than two packs of black-bordered bullshit.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Well Finally! - 2010 Heritage Video Pack Break
Wow, it took long enough to do. Now, to figure out how to embed this damn thing. I'm still figuring out the lay of the video stuff.
And, it worked. Yee-hah!
The pulls:
Buncha Base Cards
2 Short Prints
1 Dice Game Variation (Grady Sizemore; I didn't notice it until after the video when I was sorting the cards, so I apologize for the obliviousness.)
3 Chrome Parallels #'d to 1961 (Prince Fielder, Ian Kinsler, Neftali Feliz)
2 Ruth Chase Inserts (1 and 5)
1 Baseball Flashback (Luis Aparicio)
1 News Flashback (Berlin Wall)
More worth it than a box of last years Bowman? Maybe. I did pull 3 chrome cards (1 in 5 packs, for those who don't know) and a dice-game variation (1 in 3 box hit). But was it like ripping a wax box? No. Was it worth it, in general? I'd say so.
And, it worked. Yee-hah!
The pulls:
Buncha Base Cards
2 Short Prints
1 Dice Game Variation (Grady Sizemore; I didn't notice it until after the video when I was sorting the cards, so I apologize for the obliviousness.)
3 Chrome Parallels #'d to 1961 (Prince Fielder, Ian Kinsler, Neftali Feliz)
2 Ruth Chase Inserts (1 and 5)
1 Baseball Flashback (Luis Aparicio)
1 News Flashback (Berlin Wall)
More worth it than a box of last years Bowman? Maybe. I did pull 3 chrome cards (1 in 5 packs, for those who don't know) and a dice-game variation (1 in 3 box hit). But was it like ripping a wax box? No. Was it worth it, in general? I'd say so.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
NRHS 2010, Here We Come!
Time for D&H Lightning Stripes, ALCo's, and ridiculous amounts of railfanning. Yes, it's NRHS Convention time! Only my first ever trip for one of these conventions, but it should bring lots of good stuff. And, it's in Scranton. So, it will add some The Office theme to it. I'll be there from Monday to Friday, then I'm heading down to Lancaster, then out west to Columbus. Yup, orientation time. But, tomorrow is when the fun begins!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Series 2 Pack Break
I bought the Blaster Box equivalent of packs yesterday at Kenmore Collectibles for 16 bucks (good place, by the way; check 'em out). A blaster box costs about 20 bucks. Would you say the manufactured patch card is worth the 4 extra bucks? Yeah, didn't think so. I was going to do an on location pack break, but the rain is holding me in since, well, photos on a day like today are shit. So, I proceeded to rip them here.
Whats I gots:
55 Base Cards (I know, yawn)
1 Gold Parallel #'d to 2010 (Evan Longoria)
4 Legendary Lineage Cards (I don't know how that happened, you're guaranteed 2 in 8 packs and I got 4)
1 Card Yo Momma Threw Out (Al Kaline '54, also guaranteed 2 or 3 and I somehow got 1)
1 Original Back (Duke Snider '57)
2 History of the World Series ('26 Babe Ruth, '61 Yogi Berra)
1 Peak Performance (Aaron Hill)
1 Turkey Red (Adam Dunn)
2 Vintage Legends (Babe Ruth, Ozzie Smith)
2 Team 2020 (Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, Dodger-JO)
2 MCG Redemption Cards
8 Topps Attax Cards
Not bad for 16 bucks worth of wax (actually 20, since I bought a pack of '09 Heritage High Numbers and '08 Updates and Highlights). I'm still trying to figure out how I pulled 4 Legendary Lineage Cards, but I guess it makes up for the stuff I got technically screwed out of. I like the product, but I feel as a lot of people feel, WAY TOO MANY INSERTS. As I've said before, I don't like inserts very much. Some of them I don't mind, like the Cards Yo Momma Threw Out and Team 2020 (really loving those cards). But, the Vintage Legends can go away. I didn't really mind the Ozzie Smith of 1989 in the 1969 style because it didn't look that out of place. However, 1919 Babe Ruth on the 1999 template is completely out of place. I don't mind cards if they look halfway decent, but seriously, 1919 Babe Ruth on a card made 80 years later? Where's Charles Barkley when you need him? And, can we please go back to ToppsTown Cards instead of ToppsAttaxTown Cards? I know Topps trying to market the shit out of this product, but I don't want cards from a game that sounds like it takes you about 5 minutes to play. All in all though, it's still a pretty good product.
Whats I gots:
55 Base Cards (I know, yawn)
1 Gold Parallel #'d to 2010 (Evan Longoria)
4 Legendary Lineage Cards (I don't know how that happened, you're guaranteed 2 in 8 packs and I got 4)
1 Card Yo Momma Threw Out (Al Kaline '54, also guaranteed 2 or 3 and I somehow got 1)
1 Original Back (Duke Snider '57)
2 History of the World Series ('26 Babe Ruth, '61 Yogi Berra)
1 Peak Performance (Aaron Hill)
1 Turkey Red (Adam Dunn)
2 Vintage Legends (Babe Ruth, Ozzie Smith)
2 Team 2020 (Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, Dodger-JO)
2 MCG Redemption Cards
8 Topps Attax Cards
Not bad for 16 bucks worth of wax (actually 20, since I bought a pack of '09 Heritage High Numbers and '08 Updates and Highlights). I'm still trying to figure out how I pulled 4 Legendary Lineage Cards, but I guess it makes up for the stuff I got technically screwed out of. I like the product, but I feel as a lot of people feel, WAY TOO MANY INSERTS. As I've said before, I don't like inserts very much. Some of them I don't mind, like the Cards Yo Momma Threw Out and Team 2020 (really loving those cards). But, the Vintage Legends can go away. I didn't really mind the Ozzie Smith of 1989 in the 1969 style because it didn't look that out of place. However, 1919 Babe Ruth on the 1999 template is completely out of place. I don't mind cards if they look halfway decent, but seriously, 1919 Babe Ruth on a card made 80 years later? Where's Charles Barkley when you need him? And, can we please go back to ToppsTown Cards instead of ToppsAttaxTown Cards? I know Topps trying to market the shit out of this product, but I don't want cards from a game that sounds like it takes you about 5 minutes to play. All in all though, it's still a pretty good product.
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