Bustin' Wax - New Product Box Breaks

Press Pass Basketball 2008

Tuff Stuff — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:08:05 GMT

We've recently had our rookie fix in football cards, so we decided to crack open some rookies from the hardwood:

Press Pass Basketball 2008

4 cards/pack
30 packs/box ($100)

This book is all rookies in their college uniforms. Press Pass has most of the big-time prospects and they feature them in many different subsets and with autograph and patch cards.

Each box touted five autographed cards and one game-used jersey card. We pulled two jersey cards and the predicted five autos:

- Brook Lopez Game Day Gear patch (numbered to 50)
- Anthony Randolph Game Day Gear patch (numbered to 99)
- Jerryd Bayless auto (numbered to 250)
- Eric Gordon auto (numbered to 127)
- Sonny Weems auto (numbered to 50)
- JJ Hickson auto (numbered to 199)
- J.R. Giddens auto (numbered to 199)

And now for the ever-exciting video box break:

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SP Rookie Threads Football

Tuff Stuff — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:20:25 GMT

Nothing like a few NFL rookies to crack open with the morning coffee. At least, that was the treat when we cracked open"

Upper Deck SP Rookie Threads Football

5 cards/pack
6 packs/box ($235)

Each box contains two autographed rookie letterman cards and among that set, we pulled Paul Smith (numbered to 50) and Tashard Choice (numbered to 42).

But there was tons more of the good stuff in this box, which we'll highlight below. Among the treasure were autographs and some nice rookie patch cards.

1 Multi Marks triple auto: John David Booty, Dennis Dixon and Erik Ainge (numbered to 35)
1 SP Authentic auto: Early Doucett III (numbered to 244)
1 Signature Draft Choice auto: Rashard Mendenhall (numbered to 50 - just his initials, however)
2 Rookie Threads, patch cards: Mario Manningham ("RT", numbered to 250) and Kevin Smith ("SP", numbered to 25)
2 Rookie Numbers patch cards: Jake Long ("77", numbered to 75) and Earl Bennett ("85", numbered to 135)
1 Trio Threads patch card: Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Rashard Mendenhall (numbered to 45)
1 Rookie Super Swatch card: Harry Douglas (numbered to 175)
2 Flashback Fabrics patch cards: Eli Manning (numbered to 60) and Brady Quinn (numbered to 20)

Over all, not a bad product to bust open, that's for sure. Plenty of hits. Check out the video to get an up-close look at these cards.

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Topps Treasury Basketball

Tuff Stuff — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:28:52 GMT

There's something regal about opening a product with the word "treasury" in it. It just feels like you have the chance to open something really cool.

Well, we opened Topps Treasury Basketball, and while we didn't find anything really cool, there were a few cards worth noting.

2008 Topps Treasury Basketball

5 cards/pack
18 pack/box ($75)

The big draw of this product is the Rip Card. To rip or not to rip, that is the question. And when Topps announced that there could be actual money in the Rip Card (up to a $1,000, no less), that gives you something to think about.

Our Rip Card was Rudy Gay, numbered to 99. Not bad, but we couldn't resist. So what was inside - money or a mini card? Well, it was a mini card of Deron Williams, numbered to 278. No autograph, no money. Bad decision on our part.

And here are some other parallel highlights:

Robin Lopez auto (numbered to 50)
O.J. Mayo (numbered to 2,008)
Eric Gordon (numbered to 2,008)
Samuel Dalembert (numbered to 999)
Tayshaun Prince (numbered to 999)
Danny Granger (numbered to 999)
Carlos Boozer (numbered to 199)

Check below to see a video of the break:

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2008 UD Ballpark Collection

Tuff Stuff — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:34:26 GMT

Sometimes it's just fun to rip open a box of baseball product you know will be loaded with patch cards and autographs. And that's exactly what we did with Upper Deck Ballpark Collection.

This box offered three memorabilia cards or one auto and two memorabilia cards in every five-card pack.

Because we could run down the entire box as a listing below, but we have them all on video anyway, we'll just highlight four of the top cards here.

- Roy Halladay autograph and patch card

- Brandon Boggs rookie card autograph

- Six Swatch memorabilia card
   - Frank Thomas (Sox)
   - Manny Ramirez (Red Sox)
   - Vladimir Guerrero
   - Carloes Lee (Brewers)
   - Mike Schmidt
   - Albert Pujols

- Eight Swatch memorabilia card
   - David Ortiz
   - Casey Kotchman (Angels)
   - Jason Giambi (Yanks)
   - Frank Thomas (Sox)
   - Richie Sexson (Mariners)
   - Aubrey Huff (Rays)
   - Jim Thome (Phillies)
   - Justin Morneau

For the dual and quad patch cards, check out the video:

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2008 Leaf Certified Materials Football

Tuff Stuff — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:45:48 GMT

At the end of September, Donruss released Leaf Certified Materials Football - and we were look enough to open a box.

2008 Leaf Certified Materials Football

5 cards/pack
10 packs/box ($80)

The packaging promoted four autograph or memorabilia cards, and that's exactly what we got. There is some nice photography here and plenty of rookies to keep the fans happy. Here are some of the top cards we pulled, and the video will cover the rest.

1 red parallel: DeSean Jackson (numbered to 250
1 gold "rookie" parallel: Brad Cottam (numbered to 25)
1 Certified Potential rookie: Mario Manningham (numbered to 1,000)
1 New Generation Rookie: Martellus Bennett (numbered to 1,500)
1 New Generation Rookie Auto: Terrell Thomas (numbered to 999 with a horrible signature)
1 Freshman Fabric patch: Steve Slaton (numbered to 599)
1 Certified Potential patch: Steve Slaton (numbered to 250)
1 Fabric of the Game triple patch: Alan Page (numbered to 50)

And here's the exciting video of the box break:

2008-09 Upper Deck Legends Masterpieces Hockey

Tuff Stuff — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:38:36 GMT

We hit the ice with the next box break:

Upper Deck 2008-09 Legends Masterpieces Hockey

4 cards/pack
18 packs/box ($85)

Each box contains four memorabilia or signature cards, along with one 5x7 blow-up card.

These are beautiful cards - literally art on a trading card. Throw in some history with Lord Stanley and others, and it's a well-rounded hockey product.

Here are some o the highlights, followed by video of the break.

2 Canvas Clippings patch cards: Ray Bourque and Gilbert Perreault
2 Brushstrokes autographs (with black borders): Ron Sutter and Dino Ciccarelli
2 Black Borders: Lester B. Pearson and Brian Leetch
1 Green Border: Bill Barilko (numbered to 99)
1 5x7: Patrick Roy (blue border)

And here's the video:

2008 Upper Deck Football

Tuff Stuff — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:31:56 GMT

It's all about rookies when it comes to 2008 Upper Deck Football.

20 cards/pack
16 packs/box ($65)

With rookie cards in every pack, this is a great set to get your hands on the soon-to-be NFL stars. there's also three jersey cards and one autograph card in every box, on average, and that exactly what we found:

Limas Sweed Signature Shots
Sidney Rice UD Game Jersey patch
Matt Forte UD Rookie Jersey patch
Jay Cutler Team Colors patch

We also nabbed some nice Upper Deck Masterpieces cards (Lombardi and Unitas), while admiring the great photography captured on the cards.

Here's the video showcasing what we found:

2008-09 Topps Basketball

Tuff Stuff — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:10:52 GMT

This one will be short and sweet, as the video does most of the talking. We busted open:

2008-09 Topps Basketball

10 cards/pack
36 pack/box ($50)

This is a pretty basic set, perfect for set builders, without a lot of flash. Kids can actually afford this one.

Our predicted one autograph and one relic card were:
- Ryan Anderson Rookie Photo Shot Auto
- Greg Oden patch card

We also nabbed four gold parallels, numbers to 2,008 of Hakeem Olajuwon, Kenyon Martin, Robin Lopezand Ben Gordon.

And here's the video:

2008 Upper Deck Icons Football

Tuff Stuff — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:01:56 GMT

We're at it again, this time cracking open a box of 2008 Upper Deck Icons Football. The product offers the following:

6 cards/pack
10 packs. box ($95)

UD touts that there is two jersey cards and one autographs in every box, plus tons of limited-edition cards. We found even more than that:

2 NFL Icons Immortal Lettermen patch cards – Jim Brown "N" (numbered to 97) and Fran Tarkenton "I" (numbered to 68).
1 Rookie Brilliance Auto – Early Doucett III (numbered to 199)
1 Rookie Brilliance patch – Chad Henne (numbered to 199)
1 Class of 2008 patch – Andre Caldwell (numbered to 199)

To see what else we pulled, check out the video:

2008 Bowman Sterling Football

Tuff Stuff — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:25:17 GMT

We just finished up a massive box break party in the office, covering hockey, football and basketball, so we'll have plenty of break sprinkled onto Bustin' Wax in the days ahead.

We'll start with Bowman Sterling Football:

6 packs/box ($225)
5 cards/pack

This was the honey pot of the group, with patch cards, autographs and patch/autos in every pack, including the coveted rookies. The video break below shows off the goods, but here are some of the highlights:

12 patch cards, ranging in edition from 199 to 569. Rookies included:

Mario Manningham (399)
Jamaal Charles (309)
James Hardy (309)
Kevin Smith (569)
Jake Long (569)
Brian Brohm( 199)

8 rookie autographs:

Marcus Smith (199)
Jacob Hester
Matt Forte (1,050)
Ryan Torian
Early Doucet (250)
Limas Sweed (with patch)
James Hardy (with patch)
Fred Davis redemption

And here's a look at the video:

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Topps Chrome Football

Tuff Stuff — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:03:48 GMT

2008 Topps Chrome Football

4 cards/pack
24 packs/box ($70)

There isn't a lot of pop in this product (at least compared to some of the higher end stuff opened recently, but the box promises a rookie auto! Here is what we found in this installment of Bustin' Wax:

1 rookie autograph: Marcus Griffin
1 copper refractor: Braylon Edwards (numbered to 425)
1 gold refractor: Frank Gore (in case, numbered to 199)
1 Ring of Honor: Eli Manning
3 Class of 2008: Darrell Green, Art Monk and Andre Tippett
4 military tributes: Roger Staubach, Norm Van Brocklin, Rocky Bleier and Lou Groza
4 NFL Dynasties: Emmitt Smith (2), Troy Aikman and Ty Law

And for the rest of the box break:

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2007-08 SPx Basketball

Tuff Stuff — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 21:46:27 GMT

We've got a little something different in this installment of Bustin' Wax. Steve Bloedow, Tuff Stuff's pricing analyst, had his 2-year-old son help him open a box of 2007-08 SPx Basketball. But before you cry in disbelief, none of the cards were hurt, and it's kind of fun to watch.

2007-08 SPx Basketball

10 packs/box ($125)
3 cards/pack

This is a loaded product, but you know that going in. The key is whether you get an 1-of-1 cards or some really nice signatures. What did we get? Find out below and then check out the video of the kid - it's petty cute.

2 Super Scripts: D.J. Strawberry and Leandro Barbosa
1 Freshman Trip trio swatch: Daequan Cook, Javaris Crittenton and Morris Almond
6 Winning Materials jersey number swatches: Chris Wilcox, Luol Deng, Michael Redd, Kobe Bryant, Josh Howard and Antawn Jamison
4 Freshman Orientation swatch cards: Glen Davis, Gabe Pruitt, Daequan Cook and Jared Dudley
2 Freshman Tandem dual swatch cards: Al Thornton/Jararis Crittenton and Kevin Durant/Jeff Green
2 Winning Material teammates dual swatch cards: Richard Hamilton/Chauncey Billups and Gilbert Arenas/Antawn Jamison
1 gold Winning Material teammates dual swatch card: Baron Davis/Al Harrington (numbered to 50; great patches!)
2 "SPX" auto rookie swatches: Stephane Lasme and Wilson Chandler (both numbered to 825)

And now to see what a 2-year-old does when opening cards:

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2008 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia Football

Tuff Stuff — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 21:25:35 GMT

In another football release, we've got a bunch of goodies from Donruss Playoff – and tons memorabilia and autographed cards. the product for your viewing pleasure today is :

2008 Playoff Absolute Memorabilia Football

4 packs/box ($125)
4 cards/pack

We opened a pair of these boxes, and received the "average" hits of four memorabilia or autograph cards per box. And some of these hits were pretty darn sweet. Let's break it down.

4 Gold Rookie parallels: Arman Shields, Simeaon Castille (2), and Anthony Alridge (each numbered to 799)
3 Silver Spectrum parallels: Laurence Maroney, Alex Smith and Tony Scheffler (numbered to 100)
1 College Materials Spectrum auto: Aqib Talib (numbered to 5, with a great colorful patch)
1 NFL Icons "NFL" swatch: Billy Sims (numbered to 50)
2 Rookie Premiere Materials: Donnie Avery "NFL" swatch with jersey and football from the event (numbered to 199), Mario Manningham huge jersey swatch and football (numbered to 100)
1 Star Gazing dual jersey swatch: Brian Brohm (numbered to 25)
1 War Room auto/jersey patch: Felix Jones (numbered to 25)
1 Team Trios triple swatch: Tony Romo, Terrell Owens and Jason Witten (numbered to 100)
1 Tools of the Trade double jersey patch/auto: Tim Brown (numbered to 25)

We had sort of dual box openings going on with this one, and we got some great stuff in both. It was a fun product to open.

And now to the video!

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2008 Upper Deck SPx Football

Tuff Stuff — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:37:02 GMT

Sorry for the too-long of a delay in getting some box breaks out. However, we did a bunch lately, and we'll post them all here.

We celebrated the football season and got a bunch out of the way, including:

2008 Upper Deck SPx Football

3 cards/pack
10 packs/box ($150)

The is one of the those big reward boxes, where you get autograph or memorabilia card per pack (on average). We opened a box of these bad boys and received the allotted "hits" from the box.

Here is what we found:

2 Rookie Signatures: Ali Highsmith (numbered to 199) and Fred Davis (numbered to 99)
1 green rookie parallel: Justin King (numbered to 499)
2 blue rookie parallels: Jacob Hester and Will Franklin (both numbered to 999)
3 Winning Materials memorabilia swatch cards: Tony Romo "SPX" (numbered to 50), Joe Flacco "NFL" (numbered to 50) and John David Booty "NFL" (numbered to 50)
1 Winning Combos memorabilia card: Devin Hester and Brian Urlacher (numbered to 99)
2 Auto Rookie Jersey cards: James Hardy (numbered to 599) and John David Booty (numbered to 599)
2 Winning Materials auto/patch cards: Matt Schaub (numbered to 10) and Larry Johnson (numbered to 10)

All in all, that was fun to open. Here is the video to show what we opened in real time:

2008 Goudey Baseball

Tuff Stuff — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:49:54 GMT

It's been too long since busting some packs on this blog. So let's dive right in with the Upper Deck Goudey Baseball. For a checklist of shortprints, check out the Tuff Stuff Forum.

2008 Upper Deck Goudey Baseball

8 cards/pack
18 packs/box ($80)

The box promised one autograph and one memorabilia card per box (on average). That's what we opened, with the autograph being John Maine of the Mets, and the memorabilia card being from a Miguel Tejada jersey. the card has Tejada in an Orioles uniform, but it does make note of his move to the Astros.

Among the Sport Royalties found in the box were a Larry Bird (numbered to 88, mini), Terry Bradshaw, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Cale Sanderson and Bruce Jenner.

The Hit Parade of Champions insert included Ken Griffey Jr. and Bill Russell.

For the rest of what we found, check out the video:

Topps Allen & Ginter

Tuff Stuff — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:30:11 GMT

It's here - the latest Allen & Ginter offering from Topps. Joinging the box break of this fine product is SCD editor T.S. O'Connell, a big fan of the vintage-style cards. Let's get down and dirty:

Today's Feature: Topps Allen & Ginter

8 cards/pack
24 packs/box ($75)

There's a lot going on with this set, from autograph and relic cards to N43 box toppers and more insert cards that you can imagine - Minis, World Leaders, Dick Perez Originals, etc.

We busted open a box with plenty of good material, at least in the variety of content. There's too much to break down by insert/specialty, so we'll just showcase the relic cards, black borders and let the video do the rest of the explaining,

Relic cards

Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini (boxing glove)
Troy Tuluwitzki (jersey)
Michael Young (jersey)
Prince Fielder (bat)

Black Border Minis

Jeff Francis
Hanley Ramirez
Michael Young

And now to the video:

Donruss Americana II

Tuff Stuff — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:44:30 GMT

Donruss has rolled out some more celebrity goodness with Donruss Americana II. Having the pleasure of opening this box is Chris Nerat of the blog Gavel Chat on www.sportscollectorsdigest.com.

Today's Feature: Donruss Americana II

4 cards/pack ($40 pack)
4 packs/box

There are supposed to be four autographed or memorabilia cards per box on average, with some big names such as John Wayne, Marlon Brando, Adam West, etc. We didn't get anybody that huge, but here is what we did find:

2 autos: Robert Wagner (numbered to 75) and Eric Estrada (numbered to 80)
1 auto/relic: Ring Kings Andrei "The Pitbull" Arlovski (numbered to 352)
1 Hollywood Legends relic: Burt Lancaster (numbered to 500)
1 Proof: Peggy Fleming (numbered to 250)
1 Cinema Stars: Arielle Kebbel (numbered to 500)
1 Hollywood Legends base: Donna Reed (numbered to 500)

The rest were base cards, with examples including Jonathan Winters,Joyce DeWitt and Fred Willard.

This is an intriguing set with endless possibilities. The autos we got were all right, and the classic shots of older stars is always nice. Here is the video:

Topps 2008 Football

Tuff Stuff — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:24:43 GMT

It's fresh off the truck and into Bustin' Wax - Topps 2008 Football. This set is great for set collectors, and it has some special inserts such as a Brett Favre collection (had enough of that saga yet?).

Topps 2008 Football

* 10 cards/pack
* 36 packs/box ($60)

We got a couple of relic cards and nothing else was really earth-shattering. Check out the video to see more:

Donruss Classics 2008 Football

Tuff Stuff — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:13:41 GMT

Welcome to another football day at Bustin' Wax. Joining me on screen is Steven Bloedow, football price guide analyst for Tuff Stuff's Sports Collectors Monthly. We've got another product hot off the press, so let's roll.

Today's Feature: Donruss Classic 2008 Football

18 packs/ box ($90)
5 cards/pack

What are we looking for? Autos, game-used memorabilia cards - at least three in this box. This product also has some neat subsets, of which Donruss provides plenty to keep things interesting. Let's break it down.

1 Significant Signatures: Rookie Felix Jones (numbered to 125)
2 Sunday's Best: Patch and auto of Reggie Bush (numbered to 5) and Donald Driver (numbered to 250)
2 Membership: Marshawn Lynch (numbered to 1,000) and Dwayne Bowe (numbered to 250)
2 Saturday Stars: Matt Ryan (numbered to 1,000) and Brian Brohm (numbered to 250)
1 Classics Legend: Hank Stram (numbered to 999)
1 Monday Night Heroes: Derrick Mason (numbered to 1,000)
3 Timeless Tributes: Kellen Nelson rookie parallel (numbered to 250), Jordy Nelson rookie parallel (numbered to 250) and Fred Taylor parallel (numbered to 250)
2 Classic Singles: Jim Brown (numbered to 250) and Roger Staubach (numbered to 1,000)
1 Classic Triples: Merlin Olsen, Joe Greene and Jack Youngblood (numbered to 1,000)
2 School Colors: Kenny Phillips and Robert Killebrew (both numbered to 1,000)
2 Old School Colors: Lee Evans (numbered to 1,000) and Thurman Thomas patch (numbered to 100)

A nice pull of the Reggie Bush card (though it was pretty beat up coming out of the pack), and the Jones sig. would make anyone happy. There are a lot of little additions that keep this line busy and interesting, and we found a good variety. To get a glimpse of these cards, check out the video below:

Tristar TNA Impact

Tuff Stuff — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:25:42 GMT

Bustin' Wax is breaking new ground in this edition, opening some wrasslin' cards. Joining me is Chris Nerat, writer for Sports Collectors Digest and author of the Gavel Chat blog on the SCD site. Check out his vintage wrestling article in the July 25 edition of SCD.

Today's Feature: Tristar TNA Impact

18 packs/box ($55)
8 cards/pack

We didn't really know what to expect in this box except for the four "guaranteed" hits - two autos (i numbered to 60 or less) , a event-used memorabilia card and 1 parallel (numbered to 50 or less).

Our hits included a:

Christy Hemme event-used card (numbered to 250)
ODB auto and Don West auto (no number run given)
Booker T parallel (numbered to 50)

These cards are interesting to say the least. Some of the characters are a little weird, and the tatoo cards are different, but wrestling fans will love. Roll the the tape: