REVIEW:2017 Topps High Tek (BONUS AUTO!)

Not along ago, a prospect focused Bowman High Tek was released and now it's time to get the veterans and rookies from 2017 their due in Topps High Tek.

Topps High Tek brings all of the foil patterned fun and packs it into a 40 card box. So let's take a dive in for this Topps latest product.

 

In every box of 2017 Topps High Tek baseball, you will find 40 cards. Two of those 40 will be signed on-card and there will be 4 others that are blackout parallels. Boxes run over $120 currently. 

Here is the complicated part of the product. The base set has many levels of rarity and patterns for its 112 cards. In this one box alone, I found 12 different patterns.

Your best luck to spot the differences like I did is to use this guide on Cardboard Connection to help you check out the differences. You can find that HERE.

As for the look, I really dig the design on these with rainbow acetate and foil patterns. But, the best part is the added photo sideways pic. It just adds to the overall appeal.

 

The man! I have two of many but it's a great start. Some of the coolest looking juniors I have added this year.

 

Here are the backs of the cards. I don't normally point out card backs, though I do appreciate them, but had to show you how great these look as well.

 

The base set also has 5 Sp photo variations that are called Clubhouse Image Variations. These are numbered to 50. There are autographs of those as well.

 

Now time to talk parallels. If you liked the base, the parallels are an amped up version of the base.

Tidal Diffractor /250:

 

Green Rainbow /99

 

Blackout parallels which are 4 per box and look even sweeter than the base. These stand way out when you pull them out of the box.

 

Here are the backs as you would expect they are blacked out.

 

Other finds for parallels include, Blue Rainbow /75, Orange Magma Diffractor /25, Red Orbit Diffractor /10, and Gold Galactic Diffractor 1/1.

Now time for the autographs that added a bit of a surprise.

My first autograph is of David Price. It's a Blackout parallel /50

 

My second Autograph is of rookie Christian Arroyo

 

Then a couple of base cards later and I found this sweet bonus! This was only my second ever redemption card find from Topps unlike Panini where I have had 20+.

 

 

Other parallels for the autographs include, Green Rainbow /75, Blue Rainbow /50, Orange Magma Diffractor /25, Red Orbit Diffractor /10, and Gold Galactic Diffractor 1/1.

 

Other hits not found include, Jubilation, Jubilation Autographs, Rookie Tek ,Rookie Tek Autographs, TwiliTEK , TwiliTEK Autographs and Tek Buyback Autographs.

 

OVERALL, even with the tough-to-tell-the-difference patterns, this was probably one of my more fun breaks this year. I enjoyed looking at every card spotting the fun patterns and the players. I really like the players chosen for the set as it's a great mix of old and new.

I do think a lot of collectors will be turned off by so many variations and then parallels in this product as that's always a concern with collectors I have seen on forums and Twitter.

Please make sure to take a minute out to thank Topps for providing this box for me to review as they help provide prizes for me to giveaway in a new promotion coming up soon for the holidays! Follow Topps on all social media sites and visit their SITE, as well 

REVIEW:2016 Panini Prime Cuts Baseball

After seeing the Panini preview gallery for this product and being one that hadn't ever opened it, my hands were shaking as I opened the box full of card wishes that I could hopefully find inside.

Sadly, those card wishes fastly diminished as I looked at card after card not seeing what I thought I could find.

What are my thoughts on the product, well, READ ON!

In every hobby box of 2016 Panini Prime Cuts baseball is 1 pack. That one pack is made up of 5 cards that are all hits. Boxes run $230.

There are no plain base to find in this product as it is packed full of hits that are considered the base. So it's a very large one including 3 on-card autograph subsets, 5 material card subsets and 4 other autographed card subsets.

I will first show you my pulls then summarize the overall finds in the product.

My first card was this Carlos Gonzalez. The product had a strong Donruss Classics feel throughout. A higher-end version of that classic hit.

My second card, Yadier Molina Timelines.

My third hit, Icons of Eddie Mathews.

My next find, a rookie autograph of Dae-Ho Lee. I really like his signature.

And finally my last pull, a Biography auto memorabilia card of David Price.

2016 Prime Cuts Baseball offers a diverse checklist featuring the greatest legends, top stars and rookies.

PRIME CUTS ROOKIE AUTOGRAPHS I, PRIME SIGNATURES BRONZE that offers a mix of current and retired superstars paired with an on-card autograph, PRIME CUTS ROOKIE AUTOGRAPHS III HOLO GOLD that have a triple swatch on-card autographs of 2016 rookies, BASE II HOLO RED, ICONS JERSEYS that have 5 different versions such as Jerseys, Bats, Numbers Combos, Numbers Trios and Numbers Quads. BASE VII AUTOGRAPHS HOLO PLATINUM, BIOGRAPHY BLUE that highlights a moment from each player's career paired with a swatch, ROOKIE AUTOGRAPHS JUMBO MATERIALS BOOKLETS HOLO PLATINUM pairs 2016 rookies with an autograph and jumbo swatch. You can find prime swatches too! TIMELINE TRIOS GREEN that have 5 different versions such as Timeline, Combos, Trios, Quads and Stats.

Overall, this product is loaded, my box just simply wasn't. With the cost of the box vs what I got in return, it's definitely not hard to see I was at a loss here. The cards look great as usual with Panini baseball products but the usual value that comes in their baseball products was simply lacking here.

I have seen some good boxes, some amazing boxes and some meh boxes. There is a lot of greats to find in these boxes with names of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Roberto Clemente and Ty Cobb included but you simply can't expect those in every box. Once again, anything high end is a gamble. If you like to gamble, I guess say roll the dice. If you don't, buy into a box break cause it's all hits.

STAY TUNED FOR A FUTURE CONTEST to win this and possibly others!!

By the way, make sure you thank Panini America for this review box and for the future giveaway. Check out their site for products like this one and others. Also give an extra thanks to Tracy Hackler and give him a Twitter follow too!

Review: 2013 Bowman Platinum Blaster

The glimmer and the shine of Bowman Platinum always grabs my attention and other collector's attentions as well. I like retail version of the product for 1, can't afford hobby right now and 2, it usually gives you your money back plus more and 3, you can sometimes hit an auto or auto/patch in a blaster box. It's not too often you can get a decent hit in a blaster product and this product is one where they odds are favorable.

The product is also rookie based with both prospects, rookie cards and inserts of them. Which is key an any product with the word Bowman.

I feel this blaster did just that.

Box Break Down:

• 8 Packs Per Box, 4 Cards Per Pack
• $20 PER BLASTER BOX

Base Card

Base Rookie Card

Even though these aren't base cards, I call them that anyways

BASE CARDS: This is a product that to me doesn't need the action photography like others that I crave it from. The glimmer and shine of the base cards does enough to catch my attention. The rainbow appeal is very nice and a base set I would spend time putting together.

I really like the border on these unlike the types of border used in other Topps products. This one is very minimal. I wished Topps would use this type of border for their other products with the action photography. That would drastically change my opinion on some of their MLB line.

Base Set Breakdown:

100 Cards in the base set
100 Card Prospect "base set"

Gold 1:5

Ruby 1:20

Prospect refractors 1:4

Top Prospects 1:5

Die-Cut Cutting Edge 1:10

Best Bowman Players Of All Time 1:20

INSERTS:The parallels are a thing of beauty just like the base cards as is rest of the inserts. And as you can tell by the odds for each one, we did pretty well with our blaster pulling both a 1:20 Ruby parallel and a Best Bowman Players Of All Time 1:20 insert in only a 8 pack box. Die Cuts are a nice touch as well.

AUTOGRAPHS: NONE (Though pulling some from retail is never out of the question)

JERSEY/PATCH CARDS: NONE

OVERALL THOUGHTS: For $20, you will get your money back. You will also get joy in busting the product. I have seen many people hit autos in blaster boxes. Some were big hits. This and Topps Chrome are the only two retail products in blaster form that will provide a big Bam and will provide your moneys worth. As always, I will recommend this product and hope you get Puig from your box. That was our aim but we don't mind seeing Machado either. A nice rookie PC piece.

And with this product being rookie loaded, it's also a buy for future value as well.

RATINGS:  Bloggers Note: Our ratings are based specifically on the blaster, box or packs we opened and do not express what the overall product could bring. Ratings based on a 1-5. 1 Being the lowest and 5 being the highest.
                Packaging: 4
                Base Design: 5
                Insert Design: 5
                Memorablila/Autographs: N/A
                Blaster, Hobby Box, or Pack Value: 5