Buzz Break: Topps Journey to Star Wars The Force Awakens

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 Topps Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens (hobby)
Where to buy: Will take some hunting ... BlowoutCards.com for newer boxes

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 192
Base set completion: 
95 of 110 (86 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Insert cards: 95 (a sampling of everything in gallery below)
Green (Jabba Slime) (24) – See gallery
Black (Starfield) (12) – See gallery
Silver (Death Star) (6) – Luke's New Friend, Rey Desert Scavenger, Rise of Darth Vader, Imperial AT-AT, A Helping Hand, The Rebel Base
Pink (Lightsaber Neon) (4) – Old Ben's Revelation, The Clone Wars Begin, The Garbage Compactor, A Sorrowful Good-bye
Purple (Lightsaber) (2) – Chewie We're Home, The Pursuit Gets Dangerous
Foil (Hoth Frosted Ice) (1) – Escaping On Foot (/150)
Power Of The First Order (5) – The First Order, Kylo Ren, Kylo Ren's Shuttle, Stormtrooper, Flametrooper
Heroes Of The Resistance (6) – The Resistance, Chewbacca (2), BB-8, C-3PO, Poe Dameron
Behind The Scenes (5) – Anthony's Golden Counterpart, Model Mayhem, Nien Springs To Life, The Score of John Williams, Creature Collection
Cloth Stickers (3) – Rey, Kylo Ren, Chewbacca
Retro Style Stickers (12) – Princess Leia, Yoda, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Stormtrooper, Boba Fett, R2-D2, Captain Plasma, Kylo Ren, Stormtrooper, Chewbacca, Kylo Ren
Concept Art (6) – Throne Room Duel, Bring Forth Boba Fett, Luke Skywalker's Recovery, A Quite Familiar X-Wing, Rise of Darth Vader, Explosive Podrace
Character Silhouette Holofoil (10) – Rey, Chewbacca, Captain Phasma, Finn, Flametrooper, Stormtrooper (2), Poe Dameron (2), Kylo Ren
Commemorative patches (1) – Poe Dameron

Autographs/Memorabilia: 1
Sketch cards (1) – Jedi Master Aayla Secura sketch by Karen Hallion (1/1)

What's Buzz-worthy: This one was ripped heavily back when it arrived just before the Star Wars franchise rebooted for its newest trilogy under Disney and The Buzz was just a toddler here so to speak (no, not Buzz, just the platform). I thought I had ripped a box of this one here but, nope, this release arrived in the months before Buzz was a thing -- though I ripped boatloads of this one on the retail front. Why didn't I do hobby? It was a combo of cost vs. typical return -- though this one's rare inclusions have aged well, especially on the autograph front -- and I was just casually dabbling here with my core interests elsewhere. What is this one? To avoid cardboard spoilers, this one revisited all of the past films and then touched upon the trailer for The Force Awakens (only 110 million views since then on the official account) all in the famed 1977 Topps design -- it's like a Heritage set but with some new touches added in, but with modern materials and printing and since the set is all-encompassing for that time it's focused on just the best moments for the most part. The main set is blue-bordered just like the original card form back when Buzz really was a toddler, while the array of parallels are intense in their colors and I landed a lot of good moments on color here ... and I think that collector-minded array and the depth of what you land here made this one a winner just as much as its price and its longshot potential at big autographs that include Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Tiger, David Prowse, Mark Hamill, Peter Mayhew and plenty of lesser names. (Ink is every other box per the odds.) The throwback touches here are mostly wins and then the newer stuff has that familiar feel -- and some have perhaps been worn out some in all the sets since, to be honest -- but were fresh at the time. I lucked out here and found this hobby box last year at the price of what some blasters have for asking prices these days ... I instantly bit after I picked up my jaw. I'm not sure this one is worth ripping at a premium price -- even for hobby boxes -- but they figure to deliver the best results in both volume and potential for the big stuff but since the one was ripped heavily finding hobby boxes at a reasonable price won't be easy. This is the kind of simple set with relatively clean production that I'd totally grade a lot of the simple moments here -- especially on parallels -- as they are just iconic cards. I'd rip more if I could find them for sure.

Product Grade: A
Box Grade: A- (some good moments on rarer parallels ... plus sketch cards are one in 44 packs)
Fun Grade: A-

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