Buzz Break: 2015 BenchWarmer National Archive cards

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there’s a box you’d want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

The box: 2015 BenchWarmer National Archive trading cards
Where to buy: BlowoutCards.com when available -- see all BenchWarmer boxes here

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of everything in this box.

Cards per box: 10 ... 12 in this one
Base/Rookies set completion: 
1 of 75
Duplicates: 0

Base cards – Talor Marion (/10)

Insert cards: 4 (see everything from box in the gallery below)
Promo cards (2) – Crystal Hefner (2014 NSCC), Hiromi Oshima (2014 Spring Expo)
Pink parallel (1) – Crystal Hefner (/5)
Rookies (1) – Shelly Martinez (/20)

Autographs/Memorabilia: 7
Purple stamp autographs (4) – Andrea Lowell (2012), Jaime Hammer (2013), Jessica Hall (2013), Hiromi Oshima (2013) (all /25)
Pink stamp autographs (1) – Jaime Hammer (2014)
Orange stamp autographs (1) – Crystal McCahill (2014) (/10)
Blue stamp swatch autographs (1) – Amelia Talon (2014) (1/1)

What's Buzz-worthy: With The National arriving tomorrow, I figured I'd open some kind of item tied to the show -- and I opted for this hits-heavy box from a few years ago over a small number of promo packs that had shots at hits but no guarantees. This one perhaps didn't have a top-tier A-list autograph but the general crop of names was good but probably better among the unsigned cards. Hefner, as you might guess, is the widow (and third wife) of Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner and there are other names here tied to the history there. (In fact more here have ties than those who don't.) Then there's a brief ECW/WWE name in the mix and a 1/1 wardrobe autograph to give the box some one-of-a-kind kick. Is this the best box of Benchwarmer cards I've opened? Probably not but the mix was perhaps better than some releases. This one is comprised of stamped previous National show cards with a new premium-stock (some of the best thick cards I've seen production-wise save for perhaps some chipping issues on foil side likely affected by the non-pack tray presentation/packaging here) and then a tiny crop of rookies. The base set here is huge with some of the other names not seen here including Carmen Electra, Mary Riley, Kara Monaco, April Scott, Gail Kim, Traci Brooks, Torrie Wilson, Kitana Baker and Sara Underwood. (And plenty more from the entertainment realm.) There are a number of autograph sets here and the Archive approach allows for other stuff like ring cards, auto-mem cards, kiss cards, prop cards and more here ... all with varying autograph potential and big names (with so many per box, landing one or two key names can pay for a box if not more). This one wasn't great but I don't think it was bad, either, and that's enough that I'll probably dabble again here at some point as there aren't that many hit-loaded boxes out there like these in this price range. At worst, I'll add some variety to the ol' autograph collection.

Product Grade: A- 
Box Grade: A- (a 1/1 find is always good and it helped an otherwise closer-to-average box)
Fun Grade: B (can be repetitive and still a pretty small box)

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

>> Click here to buy cards on BlowoutCards.com