The Yak Shack Forum

I'm really looking forward to this set, even though it's a Topps product.  It's supposed to be released in October. :)

- 90 base cards
- 10 foils
- sticker autos (entire main cast)
- memorabilia/relic cards (Claire Bennet’s cheerleader sweater, Matt Parkman’s police shirt, Hiro Nakamura’s jacket, and Isaac Mendez’s painting shirt)
- sketches (approximately 3000 by 30 artists)


(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/Heroes/heroessellsheet.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/Heroes/heroessellsheet2.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/Heroes/HRO-DISPLAYBOX-HOBBY.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/Heroes/heroes.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/Heroes/RELICCARD_F_1.jpg) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/Heroes/HEROES_AUTO.jpg)

I can't help feeling Topps are giving all of us that hate sticker autos "The Finger" on a massive scale seeing as they were raffling signed-directly-on-the-card cards at the San Diego con  >:(  Their reason for this was to stop fraud as the signature would be on holograms. I've ordered a case, but mainly for the sketches.

Why would that stop fraud?

It wouldn't. My guess is that it's easier to park a sheet of 50 stickers or more in front of a person rather than a pile of cards. This way, the company can use them whenever they like and not be limited to one particular set. There would be no way they would have worked their socks off to get access to Harrison Ford and then just ask for 10 autos for the Star Wars 30th set IMO.

BTW, love the update sheet. Where did it come from?

The sheet was sent by Topps to some dealers.  I grabbed it from a dealer website. :)

I do have high hopes for this set and I think Topps too as they have taken the unprecented step of releasing some details of the set more than 1 month before its release.

I already ordered 2 cases and hopefully, able to pull some nice autos!!!  ;D

I'll chime in as I do not mind stickers. I don't love them, but I don't hate them either.

They do add a very large level of security. I could design an autograph card on my computer simply by scanning in a Topps on card autograph card and alter that card however I wanted. I could print it out on thick card stock, and sign it myself. I have seen this done before. I have seen NUMEROUS fakes hit Ebay especially from Star Wars Evolution (the original set) and from Lord of the Rings (I have seen Treebeard and Grima Wormtongue autos that were really signed by the actors at conventions and look absolutely perfect...I have seen a Grima up close and there is no way the average collector could tell the difference.) With the sticker, the entire sticker has a background hologram of the Topps logo, the ink is IMPOSSIBLE to erase off of it, and if you were to peel a sticker off a card, it no longer has any "stick" left to it...during an argument on another board I decided to peel off a sticker autograph from a very low end signer from the SW30th set and found that once it was peeled off, it would no longer stick to anything at all, I also tried erasing the signature to no avail, it is impossible to mess with these stickers and it is 100x harder to not only alter a card on a computer (which is moderatley easy) but you would also need to find some place to print up these topps logo hologram stickers for you as well.

Another reason they send out stickers: you can send an actor/sports figure a sticker months, heck, years before a set is produced. All of the actors who are signing for this more than likely received their stickers to sign before the first Promo was even printed up. Topps does this as a companywide policy. They aren't trying to pick on collectors. In the sports card industry, there has been a very big revolt against redemptions in the past year. Companies are loosing lots of business, and a couple class action law suits have popped up because they issue a redemption, you send it in/redeem online, and then that signer does not sign. This does not seem like a big idea to us Non Sports collectors, but being a sport card collector myself, it is a big deal. When we are talking sports sets compared to non sports...we might get 700 cases of Harry Potter, and a normal Topps sports set might be around 7,000 cases, heck, the normal Topps sports cards releases are prob closer to 50,000 cases...this stuff is super mass produced. That is a lot more collectors that get really angry when they do not get the card that they got a redemption for. So Upper Deck and Topps have BOTH gone to a sticker only policy with 95% of their products. If a company sends somebody stickers a couple months before productions begins and they can't get them back to them before the deadline, then they just do not include them. If they have to wait until the cards themselves are produced, and THEN send them to them to sign, most won't be back in time to include in the product, and then they might not be sent back at all and the only thing Topps can do is say sorry and offer up something of close value. We really take the redemptions for granted because we have never had a redemption not honored. How would you feel if Robbie Coltrain finally said ok, I will sign, you got a redemption for him, and then he said to heck with it, i'm not signing...I know a lot of people would be DEVASTATED. The only time I can EVER remember a redemption not being honored was with the Sleepy Hollow Inkworks set (Depp and Ricci both backed out). The reason Artbox products seem to have more and more and more redemptions is because they wait until the cards are printed up before sending out and the actors sometimes cannot get them back. One final, and very disputed reason would be that they held keep the cards undamaged. If Topps sent Heroes cards to all the actors to sign, that is two extra trips, and the handleing by the actors that a card could be damaged while in transit. Come on, we are all pretty anal about dinged corners and chipping, I know I hate it to death and I have most definetly upgraded a costume card or two because of a dinged corner. It is a small argument, but let me bring up the Coltrain cenario again (only because I know he is someone who a lot of people want to sign) say he signs 50 cards and then they get damged during transit and he says no I won't sign any more, I don't care if they got messed up, and now Artbox could not honor the redemption except with damaged cards. Again I think a lot of us would be pretty let down.


Sorry for the long read (im sure there are a ton of typos and sentences that do not make sense), I just don't think sticker autos are the end of the world. We are still getting the autograph, it just isn't as intimate as knowing the actor handled the card, and while that does stink, just remember that you could not have that actor signing anything at all...sticker or card.

You bring up some serious points there, Bryan. I didnt really think of that before, like you said, not getting a redemption fulfilled isnt something that most of us non-sport collectors (perhaps all of us) have ever experienced. I agree with pretty much everything you said; you even mentioned the downside of recieving signed stickers, not cards, and the lessened sense of intamacy that accompanies them. Its really nice to have the cards signed, it looks better and it feels more personal, not just some cardboard photo with a stuck on signature. Im not planning on collecting the Heroes set, but the Topps sticker policy will probably leak into the Pirates set that I am anxiously awaiting, and because of that policy, Im probably going to recieve the dreaded stickered autos, but, again, like you said, I should be happy that Im getting the autograoh at all, in good condition, with an almost absolute guarentee, and no redemptions or potentially damaged cards. Thanks for taking the time to write how you feel, serisouly, it brought up some good points.

Along the same lines as Bryan was mentioning I can give you 3 examples of signed cards never making it back to the company to be included in sets.

1.  A baseball card that Alex Rodriguez had signed ended up in a dealers hands (I know the dealer) and never made it back to the manufacturer for insert into the product.  I think this was before redemption cards so the auto card was just never included or they printed up another batch and had him sign them.  Either way there were about 500 auto'd cards in someones hands that were supposed to be in a release.

2.  A hockey card set had some pretty cool dual auto cards of one old timer and a new star player.  Well they were all to be hard signed and the player had brought them on a plane to finish signing and left the box with the auto'd cards on the plane.  Oops.

3.  A representative of Upper Deck had taken cards for an upcoming release to get signed by players personally.  Somewhere along the way there was a falling out (with UD) and the rep basically said "screw you" to Upper Deck and sold 50 triple auto'd cards of 3 very popular basketball players to a friend of mine who is very connected in the sport card hobby.  He was putting one up for auction at a time then waiting a couple of weeks before listing the next to avoid obvious detection by the manufacturer.  I know for a fact there was a redemption card inserted in packs for this triple auto.  I don't think they ever were able to fill any of them.

I also personally had a sports card redemption that when I pulled it was a Gold version #75 worth about $300-$450.  By the time Upper Deck returned the card to me it wasn't the Gold version it was # of 500 instead of # 75.  Not to mention it was over 1 year later and the players popularity went down the tubes (making it about a $10-$20 card).  And to "compensate" me for not getting the gold version they sent me another card worth about $1.  UD's "policy" is to provide you with a card or cards of equal value if they can't provide you with the card you redeemed.  Needless to say I got a huge screw job.  Also had a double auto redemption that they never filled they sent me a single auto and a jersey card.  Not really equal value on that one either.

So I guess stickers are another alternative that might not be so bad.

Also another thing sticker auto's allow is if someone dies they can still have autos for future sets.

I think this is something that should really be considered for inclusion in the online price guide. We are going to be buying into this a lot more than I first expected, and at the prices the boxes will work out at in the UK it's going to be a great seller here and across the pond. One tip for anyone wanting these cards: Don't buy from cards ink! I just got there pricing information and they are WAY over priced. Another UK supplyer has just popped up with these for pre-order at a very reasonable price and you will probably find boxes selling for the £30-£35 mark as apposed to the £40-£45 price they would have been otherwise. We are going to start taking orders next week at the lower prices and we will be splitting cases as well. (I want some of these sketch cards!)

because of the prices being offered I would expect these to sell out fast. If you guys decide to put it in the price guide I will haply submit a ton of ebay results! The cards look great.

I have to say that the price is much better for these cards if you buy them in the right places here in the UK. I will be having some of them and am hoping for some nice cards. I am not sure I will be selling boxes or cases as I will be wanting to open them myself but it would be nice to know more about signers and sketches

So I broke down and bought a case. Are Topps costume cards numbered? ]
:o= Number ones, number ones. :o=

Nope, Topps doesn't number their costume cards.

Thats a shame. How do you know how many of a certain card is produced? Do you just have to trust the number they give you?

Hi Jon

Topps will produce a odds guide so we can gauge the rarity of these cards unfortunately topps dont reveal the exact box count or case count so all in all we will only be able to estimate the quantities. Still fun though.

Rich

Ouch, Im liking Topps less and less.

There's a banner for the Heroes trading cards on ICV2's website that has me wondering .... is it a typo, or are they already taking re-orders?

The ad says "Advance Re-order now before it's too late!"

My guess would be that pre-orders were behind what they had hoped, probably because the lack of information at the time of the deadline.

So, they are hoping that people add to their pre-order now that we have seen some sketches, know the 4 costumes, and they've told us about 2 of the signers.

Could also mean they are behind on production, which would be a good guess since they aren't announcing all the signers yet.  And that could mean additional time for pre-orders.

Best guess is they are fishing for more pre-orders, I don't think it was a typo.

Ed

Hmm, in other words, if anticipated level of new orders cannot be reached, Topps could potentially stuff all the premiums into this set and this should make all those who ordered very very happy!!

While that would be cool cardz_house...that would more than likely mean no more Heroes sets.

Wow Topps website has been updated and the full Sketch artist list is up and TIM SALE  :o is a confirmed artist I have just upped my order even though my chances of pulling one of his sketches is miniscule  :o= with the expected auto list and not to mention the other excellent artists already on board I cant wait for this set.   ;D

Can whoever emailed me requesting information on UK suppliers do one of two things, email me again or send me a PM here, because I have lost your mail in a server hicup. I was going to respond but then it was gone! 

Cheers,
Jason

Is it ok to drop a few sketches in this thread? Just let me know if it isn't... ;)...these are a few of my approved sketches for this set...Hope you like them!

(http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb226/jedipencil/to_post_7.jpg)

(http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb226/jedipencil/heroes_36_41_color.jpg)

(http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb226/jedipencil/to_post_1.jpg)

(http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb226/jedipencil/to_post_2.jpg)

I just found out today that Topps has delayed shipping Heroes (original ship date was 10/15) for at least a month and several large distributors told me it has been delayed to December.  Apparently Topps was not able to get all of the autos back in time for pack insertion and they do not want to issue redemption cards either.

Part of the reason for the delay is also the sketch cards whereby too many were being rejected and they have to get new ones done.

In any case, the new revised date is around dec 7 - 12.

A while back, Topps announced that all of the main cast would sign.  Unfortunately, that probably won't happen.  Many of the actors refused to sign because they didn't think they were offered enough money.  Topps paid big bucks for the license, so NBC/Universal had to get involved.  There are six autos so far:  James Kyson Lee (Ando), Santiago Cabrera (Isaac), Noah Gray-Cabey (Micah), Milo Ventimiglia (Peter), Masi Oka (Hiro), and Zachary Quinto (Syler).  We should see more, but it will take time to finish negotiations with each actor, and get the stickers signed, returned, and inserted in packs.

The estimate is a mid-December release, but the date has not been confirmed.

Topps has been rejecting sketches?  :o  I'm actually shocked.  Anyone remember the lousy 3-4 line sketches that came out of some of the LOTR boxes?
Great cards, Ingrid.  Especially nuclear Peter.

Topps didn't reject the sketches, NBC/Universal did.  It was pretty surprising, since the artists involved are quite good.

The set is now delayed until January. :-\  However, Topps announced four additional autos. :)  Here's the new list:

Naoh Gray-Cabey - Micah
Santiago Cabrera - Isaac
Jack Coleman - Noah Bennet
Greg Grunberg - Matt Parkman
James Kyson Lee - Ando
Masi Oka - Hiro Nakamura
Adrian Pasadar - Nathan Petrelli
Zachary Quinto - Sylar
Sendhil Ramamurthy - Mohinder Suresh
Milo Ventimiglia - Peter Petrelli

Awesome - Hiro is so my favourite character - but don't tell me anything - I'm only just catching up on all this after Boggy forced me to buy the DVDs after we last met - I'm about 1/2 way through season 1 :D

awesome!  Thanks for sharing the sketches.  I just finished watching season 1 and I'm hooked.  Have to wait til January now?  sigh!

I hope they give my my Claire auto :o=

I am happily addicted to Heroes! Unfortunately I haven't got the Season 1 DVD yet :P

did she sign?? I haven't heard anything but I have not kept up either.

As of today, Topps hasn't announced autos of any of the women on the show.  There is talk about allocation of product, though. :-\

At the Philly Non Sports show a couple different people were told at the Topps booth that they are activly pursueing both Claire and Nikki to sign for the set, and that they just have not gotten the autos back yet...so there is prob a pretty good chance that Hayden will be signing.

Yeah, I heard about the allocation as well, I hope my 5 cases I perordered before a single signer was known are still confirmed  :-\

That's good news about the cast "eventually" signing, thanks for the update Bryanjs14 & kbmum.

What's this allocation talk all about???

Allocation means that the manufacturer has more case orders than the number of cases they're going to produce.  Topps will deliver to distributors only a percentage of the cases that they ordered.  It could mean that if a dealer ordered 10 cases, they might get only seven or nine.

Hi Cindy, thanks for the explanation.

Bowman

It's been a while since I've posted anything on these boards, so I thought I'd share some of my Heroes cards with you, for those that haven't seen them yet.

(http://www.cynthiacummensart.com/images/Topps_Heroes/hero_scans2.jpg)

To view my 6 returned cards, click here:
*****My 6****** (http://www.cynthiacummensart.com/images/Topps_Heroes/my6.jpg)

Thanks!
Cynthia

Phenomenal - thank you so much for sharing

I echo Roz's sentiment.  Very nice!

sorry Ihaven't been on the board in a while, guys. I've been busy to the point of being overwhelmed. But I wanted to stop in quickly, and then I saw this topic, so...

(http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/6775/sohnheroescolorlg4.jpg)

very nice! thanks for posting the sketches.

Waiting for this set is starting to kill me ::)

Is there any news?

The last I heard, the release date was January 23, which is also the release date for LOTR Masterpieces 2.  It doesn't seem likely that Topps will ship both on the same date, so we'll have to see if one or both get delayed.

At this point, several eBay dealers that I've purchased from have offered me a full refund (likely due to the allocation squeeze and the delay in product release).  I guess that it's the nature of Topps et al to postpone release dates for one reason or another.

Well honestly, it is not Topps fault this set was postponed THIS late. The problem is that there have been quite a few rejections directly from NBC on the sketch cards, and Topps is scrambling to find new artists and upping current artists card #'s to compinsate for this. They are honoring and sticking to their 1 auto, mem, or sketch per box and to do that, they had to give artists extra time to finish more sketches.

With all the jiggery pokery with the Heroes and OOTPU release dates, I wouldn't be surprised if Topps and Artbox are the same company  ::)

I recall some discussions about the sketches.  I guess it would be nice if people were on the same page.  I (naively) think that it shouldn't be so complicated/convoluted but know that it can be (sigh).  Now I also heard today that the latest Harry Potter set has been delayed (again) as well (double sigh)  ???

Is this set out yet?  I asked my supplier for a box, but unfortunately, he is already sold out. Now I need to get my hands on one :P

Its already out and the autos are fetching big bucks, especially Claire's. Check out ebay.

I also received shipping confirmation by my dealer for my 2 cases, hope will arrive by this weekend.

Thanks! Is there still only one insert per box?  I am debating if the ones on eBay would be worth it to me to buy or not.

Yep, one Costume, Autograph or Sketch per box

On average the 8 box case seems to have:
1-2 Autographs
2-3 Sketches
4-5 Costumes

So it's pretty much a 50/50 shot at getting something other than a costume in a box.

Ed

Yes, judging from the breakdowns in other forums, the premiums are inserted at 1 per box. So in a case, you can expect 1-2 autos, 2-3 sketches and 4-5 costume cards

I just received my first few cases but probably won't open til the week-end.  The autos and certain sketch cards are indeed fetching big money on eBay (especially Claire but Peter & Hiro are getting good prices too).  The odds for getting an auto are horrible.

There are also 8 foil cards per box.

Well, that all depends on whether you want to spend around $55 (with shipping) for a box that will give you a chance at an auto or sketch, but will likely net you a costume.  I just did a quick look on eBay.  This is what you can get with BINs for $58.29 including shipping within the US:

base set $6.50
foil set $6.99
Matt Parkman jacket $7.95
Isaac Mendez shirt $10.95
Hiro Nakamura jacket $12.95
Hiro Nakamura plaid shirt $12.95

Or, you could forgo some of those costumes and get a Claire Bennet cheerleading costume for $28.49 (again, including shipping).

you've basicly got a 50% chance of getting an auto or sketch.

I opened 5 cases and only 1 case had 5 costumes, the rest had 4.

There are some sketches that are truly nice, but quite a few of them are so-so, IMHO. :-\  I've seen some on eBay that would have made me furious if they had been the only pull from the one box I had planned to order.  I'm really glad I decided to buy a few of the costume cards and not the box.

I promise you, if you pulled a Parkman costume you would be more ticked than a crappy sketch lol.

Yeah, that's true.  I've never been overly impressed with releases from Topps, even though the pre-order box prices tend to be less than the same from nonsport manufacturers.

anybody know what the autograph breakdown numbers are for this product?  I think Cindy mentioned that there are ~3,000 total auto cards.  I'm assuming some of the cast signed more than other did.  Thanks.

there are no autograph numbers really. so far though, it seems like it could be POSSIBLE that Claire, Peter, and Hiro might be short printed some but not by a lot. I think the majority of the cast all signed right around the same number of stickers.

Thanks Bryanjs.  You're probably right and I suspect as much too.  I pulled a Hayden Panettiere auto last night  ;D ;D ;D and have noticed lots of them up on eBay (fetching big bucks).

Some people believe that the Claire auto is scarcest, but I haven't seen that confirmed except by some statements in auctions. But it's clear that it's very, very sought after. Hey, sfmuggle! I'll swap you even for my Sendhil Ramamurthy! There's one more letter in his name, so the signature should be worth more, right? 8)

The advertised Santiago Cabrera auto didn't make it.

With all the time they had waiting to package up the cards, and the fact that the buzz has kept growing, I thought it's possible that Topps might think about a "second wave." Has anybody heard about requests to artists to draw more sketches?

I've heard nothing about a second wave.

However Topps told NSU that there would be a Heroes: Volume 2 set coming in May.  So I imagine they'll just gear up to do a whole new set instead of a second wave.

Who knows how many stickers they might have left over... ::)

Ed

Allender has the best humor (and a nice collection too).  I haven't heard anything about a second wave or Volume deux, but hope they do come out with something.  Too bad about Cabrera's auto.  Maybe he'll be included in a second wave.

Okay, then I'll try to swap Sendhil Ramamurthy for two or three Masi Oka cards.

I know with one guy who specializes in trading cards of people with very long surnames. I think of him at times like this.  ;D

Two problems I see with a "second wave" or an update set is that we've moved so far into future (following Hiro?) where Season 1 starts to get stale, and that they also had such heavy coverage of the main players with this selection of autos. But I've never seen Topps fail to notice when they could have sold a lot more cases than they printed. Maybe they will just watch to see how well the sketches are received and make a big push for Season 2?

I love this series (caught up finally - shame about the Strike of course rather dividing up the series, but I do support the writers on this one).

I also love the card set... I don't have a single box but really fancy one. Like you Cindy I'm concerned about Topps & sketch cards :rofl: but I think the  auto & costume set itself is really nice....

ARGH! I'm off to eBay to look for some boxes/costumes/autos...

<EDIT>

I've put a link to Heroes auctions on ebay in the News section at the top of the forum - we've got to keep this place going ;)

So if you are buying somethings on ebay it would be great if you could click the link to ebay through the forum headings/affiliate links to contribute to Shack hosting etc.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-1751-2978-71/1?AID=5463217&PID=1738318&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Fsofocus%3Dbs%26sbrftog%3D1%26catref%3DC6%26from%3DR10%26satitle%3Dheroes%2B%2528series%252C%2Bseason%2529%2B%2528One%252C%2B1%2529%26sacat%3D868%2526catref%253DC6%26floc%3D1%26sargn%3D-1%2526saslc%253D2%26sabfmts%3D1%26ftrt%3D1%26ftrv%3D1%26saprclo%3D%26saprchi%3D%26fsop%3D1%2526fsoo%253D1%26coaction%3Dcompare%26copagenum%3D1%26coentrypage%3Dsearch%26fgtp%3D

Thanks one and all!

Thanks for posting that Roz!
I've also caught up watching this series too, (and I'm hooked  ;D )
I've decided to get only costume and autos for this set,
so that link will be used often!!  ;D >:D

Look who I saw on Saturday!  They were both REALLY nice and I'm glad I got to talk with them for a bit.
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y213/grecopa/forum/IMG_0822.jpg)
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y213/grecopa/forum/IMG_0826.jpg)

COOL KELLY!!! 8)
Is that poster he's signing for you?

If you ever know that Milo is going to be at a Con, let me know, -K-? ;D

Hey Roz - I feel kind of stupid for asking (not going to learn otherwise) but how would one add the link to eBay through the forum heading or affiliate link?  Thanks in advance.

The instructions for affiliate links are in the first post here:

http://www.theyakshack.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=5306.0

Cindy comes through again.  Super!  Many thanks.

Does anyone know if aftermarket color is allowed on the Heroes set?  Has anyone busted a case?  I would love to see a breakdown of a case.  Thanks |:#

hey what's aftermarket color as it relates to cards?  They're 8 box cases (w/ 1 insert per box) and I've opened 2 cases so far with 4 more are expected soon  :o=

Case 1:
Claire Bennet auto  ;D ;D ;D
Hiro Nakamura shirt costume
Hiro Nakamura jacket costume
Hiro Nakamura sketch
Mr. Thompson sketch
Isaac Mendez shirt insert
Matt Parkman uniform costume insert x2

Case 2:
Sylar auto
Hiro Nakamura shirt costume
Hiro Nakamura jacket costume
Peter Petrelli sketch
Claire Bennet sketch
Isaac Mendez shirt insert
Matt Parkman uniform costume insert x2

Aftermarket color is when the artists colors or touches up the sketch after it is inserted into packs.  Lord of the Rings evolution allowed for AM sketches, but Topps put a no AM policy on it for Masterpieces.  I believe HP Family has some aftermarket sketches on her webpage and there are some posted on the YS.

Can you post scans/pics of your sketches?  I have been debating about getting a few boxes for the sketches, but 2 per case...?

Thanks for the explanation Beckham.  Here are the highlights so far - enjoy all!

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080128105850491.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080125114133476.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080128105936500.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080128105953342.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080128105702034.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080128110130106.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080125113823833.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080125113716410.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080128105756178.jpg)

OOOOH!! Nice McHaley!!!!  :o


Dave, this is Topps! So there are no aftermarkets allowed for any of their
sets now!  :(

So Topps policy is no AM's now?  I thought it was a New Line issue.  That sucks.  I guess that makes the crappy Evo sketch cards I have worth something ::)

I think that they (technically) can't forbid it legally. So instead, as I undertand it, they just say any artist who does aftermarket coloring won't be invited back for any future set.

I don't know a single artist that has crossed over that line.  :(

An artist would be foolish to cross that line.  Topps does more sketch cards than any other manufacturer and many of the artists have big followings.  It would be shortsighted to do AM work and then never be able to do another Topps set.  What I've noticed, though, is that it seems people want AM only on the Topps LOTR sketches.  I can't recall seeing extra work done on other sketches, like CSI from Strictly Ink or Star Trek from Rittenhouse.

You did really well with your pulls, sfmuggle!  You have two great autos and the sketches are good.  You pulled a nice Isaac shirt, too. :)  I've won a couple of costumes for the set so far.  Eventually, I'd like to get a complete costume set and a sketch or two.

Thanks HP.  Good to know about Topps and their AM policy.

Thanks Cindy for compliment.  Didn't realize that Topps was the big boy on the block w/ regard to sketches.  Makes sense that an artist wouldn't want to step over the line to risk banishment.

I thought SW: ROTS, SW: Heritage, & LOTR Evolution cards could still have aftermarket work done, but anything since then (including LOTR Masterpieces I & II, Heroes, Indy, Star Wars 30th) could not have aftermarkets.

Your right. Evo was the last set that AM's were allowed. Anything before that is OK to have them colored.
Sorry, my brain was only thinking current sets.  :-[ :P

Faster than a speeding bullet that one ;)

I echo your sentiment in that I also really like this set (in general).  However, I have one problem with the set thus far and it has to do with one particular insert.  I opened 3 cases last night and, in 5-6 of the boxes, I got the exact identical costume insert, namely Matt Parkman's police uniform  >:()  Along with the 3 that got from my previous 2 cases, I feel like I almost have enough to piece his entire uniform back together  ;)

well i have opened my cases and in 40 boxes (5 cases) I was very disappointed

6 autos (3 the same)
11 sketches (2 the same)

costumes
10 parkman
5 hiro's jacket
2 hiro's shirt
4 issacs shirt
4 claires chearleading outfit

I got 2 sketches in 1 pack
and a costume and a auto in 1 box
hence the total of 42 inserts


these were the only good sketches and i think some are exceptional
I won't show or say what i think of the rest

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v424/chrischidgey/heroessketches.jpg)

so far i think it is

Gutierrez     pun        kong

cooney      goodmanson     staggs

what do people think am i right

you still got some nice pulls Gimli although you got more Parkman uniforms than I did (I think I ended up with 8 or 9).  I think you're right with regard to the artists - though I'm not all too familiar with Goodmanson.  super nice sketch of Niki Sanders  :)

Chris,

Did you get your cases from Cards Inc.

Has anyone got any cases from Cards Inc?

Dave.

I haven't got my case from CI but I really didn't expect it yet.  Last week, I received the one I ordered from the US.

here are a few highlights from 3 cases opened last night.

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080129113101660.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080129113143362.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080129113211843.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080129113315478.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080129113344799.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080129113501546.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080129114017272.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080129113613349.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080129113651074.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080129113730189.jpg)

(http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/sfmuggle/20080129113810854.jpg)

I didn't buy my cases from cards Inc

I am not that disappointed with my sketches but i don't think this product was as good as it could have been way too many costumes per case. would have preferred sketches or autos to be more plentiful

I like the Nathan and Isaac sketches. :)  Can anyone tell me who the artists are?

I was happy to snag this costume a week ago.  The swatch was much better than what I could see from the seller's scan.  I like costume cards that have some color. :)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/HeroesIsaaccostumelarge.jpg)

Michael Duron sketched Nathan Petrelli and Kevin Doyle sketched Isaac Mendez.  Nice swatch.

I finally got around to scanning what I have for costumes in this set!
First...Isaac's...(the first one has a hole in it  :D )

(http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b25/motocrossmom/HeroesIsaac.jpg)

And Hiro's...

(http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b25/motocrossmom/HeroesHiro.jpg)

And Claire's...

(http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b25/motocrossmom/HeroesClaire.jpg)

I only have one auto so far (the best one IMO  ;D)...

(http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b25/motocrossmom/HeroesPeter.jpg)

I have to say a HUGE THANK YOU   to someone out there that has helped me possess some of these cards and make them a part of my collection!!  ;D  ;D ;)  ;) ;) ;) (:D#

Great cards, Jackie! :D  I love the patch cards. :)  Does the white Claire costume have a blood stain?

Thanks Cindy!  :D
Yeah...a small speck of blood on that swatch!  8)

I finally scanned my cards. :)  I don't have any of the expensive ones, but I like what I have.

Hiro jacket with crease

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/HeroesHiroJacket.jpg)

Hiro jacket variant (trim from collar, shoulders and cuffs)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/HeroesHiroJacketVar.jpg)

Hiro shirt

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/HeroesHiroshirt2.jpg)

Hiro shirt

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/HeroesHiroshirt1.jpg)

Craig Rousseau sketch of Isaac

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/HeroesIsaacSketch.jpg)

Retail set lenticular 4 of 10

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/HeroesLenticular4-10.jpg)

I picked up a couple of retail packs at Target yesterday and was really happy to pull the lenticular card.  There are two images and the scan picked up both of them.  The first image is Nathan pointing with his right hand and the second image is Sylar doing the exact same thing.

OOOH! Cindy! I like your top two Hiro cards!!! 8)
I still need that second one...really difficult to
find these days!!  :P

A lot of sellers haven't noticed that there are two versions of the Hiro jacket, or at least they aren't noting it in the auctions.  I was lucky to find an auction like that -- no one bid against me, so I won it for 99 cents. :D

99 CENTS!!! Wow!! That was a great win!!!! Congrats!!!

I'm beginning to hear about a new Heroes set (possibly Season 2).  Anyone else have more info?  Thanks.

Heroes Volume 2 has an expected street date of July 2.  Here are two sell sheets.  The first is the more recent of the two.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/Heroes/H2_Promo_31.jpg)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v451/kbmum/Heroes/H2_Promo_2.jpg)

There's a little more info on the website: http://www.topps.com/ent/brands/Heros-Vol2/Heros-Vol2.html

I think it's hysterical (or, perhaps sad) that Topps thinks a hot box has TWO inserts! ::)  There will be at least one double auto and one double costume.

Thanks for the info Cindy.  Yeah I thought the comment about hot boxes was funny too (had to actually read the ad twice).  The double auto sounds very nice.

Unfortunately, that was a typical case break. :(  If you contact Topps, I think they will send you two inserts to make up for the missing cards.  How did you do with the rest of the boxes?