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Back in early 2016, I reviewed a 2015 Upper Deck Dinosaurs hobby box (which I scored an A- which is a good score by my standards). Since that time, I've been diligently working to complete my set - but unfortunately trading partners for this set are extremely hard to come by. As such, when the opportunity arose to grab one of the "lunch box" boxes for a relatively cheap price, I took the plunge without knowing exactly what to expect (of course, the goal was to inch closer to completing my set).
According to the cardboard "wrapper" that is around the lunch box, each box collectible tin contains:
You also get instructed to "look for dinosaur stickers" which are randomly inserted into the packs of cards. There isn't anything else promised in the box.
A look at the back of the wrapper and you can see the checklist for the dinosaur figurines and the dinosaur puzzles.
As a huge dino fan myself, it was easy for me to pick out the figurines and puzzles that I hoped to get. If you are wondering, I would have been happy with pretty much any figurine (except maybe the brontosaurus and parasaurolophus, those two are kind of boring). As for the puzzles, I was definitely hoping for the stegosaurus (with the t-rex and triceratops next on my list).
The fine print at the bottom of the tin wrapper says that "randomly inserted into these specially marked packs are the following: high series SPs and high ereis super SPs (combine to fall 1:2), canvas minis (1:1), 3-D dinosaurs (1:2), Stickers (1:1), mini posters (1 per collectible box), dinosaur figure (1 per collectible box), dinosaur skeleton puzzle (1 per collectible box).
Why do I keep going over what is in the box? Well, because this is what I was greeted with when I finally opened up my box:
That's right - everything that was promised...and then an extra (large) dinosaur figure.
The extra large dinosaur figure came in its own plastic bag - and I don't really have any idea what sort of dinosaur it is supposed to be.
Can you tell? It's sort of a cross between some sort of ankylosaurus and maybe a stegosaurus (without any tail "fins"). The smaller figure arrived "loose," that is, without any plastic wrapping. The style of the smaller figure more closely matches that which the box advertises...but again, I don't actually know what dinosaur the smaller figure is supposed to be.
It certainly doesn't match any of the dinosaurs on the checklist from the box of the pack wrapper! If I had to guess, I would say that this is one of the color variations for Stegosaurus, even though there are no spikes on his tail (aka his thagomizer thanks to the Far Side comic).
Before I get to the contents of the two card packs (the real reason I bought the collectible box in the first place), there are still two other included "goodies." First, the wooden 3-D puzzle.
This one is of the "dragon lizard" which I guess means a brontosaurus-esque creature. I haven't actually assembled the puzzle yet...but I can assure you that it will be WAY EASIER to complete than this one that I did two years ago...
And the last thing before the two packs of cards - the poster!
The poster was surprisingly large - I wasn't expecting such a gigantic display (but I suppose it is fitting for the King of the dinosaurs)! My T-Rex poster is suitably awesome - and I may just have to find a spot in my man cave to put it up on the wall. That's how much I like the poster. I should also try to find a full checklist of the available posters - there might be one or two others that are worth tracking down (though I can't complain at all about my poster, very cool indeed).
That only leaves us with the final two packs of the box - and really the reason that I bought this lunch box in the first place (although truth be told, I was certainly curious about all the dinosaur "extras" promised in the lunch tins).
Each pack only contains 8 cards - one of which is guaranteed to be sticker (which isn't necessarily a bad thing since I still need a bunch of the sticker cards)!
Pack 1:
44. Pterodactyl
46. Dimorphodon
72. Hyperodapedon
77. Torosaurus
92. Sinraptor
110. Ichthyosaurus
Canvas mini: 118. Tylosaurus
Sticker: 20. Kronosaurus
The first pack was almost a complete waste for me - it was saved by the sticker (I needed ol' Kronosaurus for my set). It should be noted that the Ichthyosaurus is a short printed base card (as is the canvas mini of Tylosaurus) so I did alright in the regard (even if I currently have no plans to collect the minis).
Pack 2:
10. Triceratops
14. Brachiosaurus
42. Camptosaurus
52. Lambeosaurus
67. Guanlong
Canvas mini: 112. Shonisaurus
3D Dinosaur: 39. Sarcosuchus
Sticker: 19. Quetzalcoatlus
Once again, I didn't get a single base card that I needed - but I did need the 3D dinosaur which was nice. Even more impressive, the 3D card was part of the Marine subset - the second hardest subset to pull!
Overall, I give the 2015 Upper Deck Dinosaurs (collectible lunch tin) box the following rating:
Set design: A-
Collation: A
Opening thrill: A
Overall: A-
Overall, I only managed to acquire two more cards for my set - one sticker and one 3D Dino. I can't help but to be a bit disappointed by that...especially since I still need a lot of regular old base cards (along with a slew of inserts). In addition, while the collectible tin was undoubtedly a lot of fun to open up, at the end of the day you only get a pair of 8 card packs which is disappointing (especially for the retail price of the lunch tin). I think if Upper Deck had bumped the number of packs up to 4 (and kept everything else the same), this would be an A+ box. Even so, I can't complain too much - and getting a second "bonus" dinosaur figure was a nice surprise (even better if I were 5 years old - two dinosaur figures instead of one)!
I'm still working on this set - so if you happen to have any available for trade let me know. I also have quite a few duplicates (find my trade bait list for the set here).
According to the cardboard "wrapper" that is around the lunch box, each box collectible tin contains:
- 1 Dinosaur figure
- 1 3-D dinosaur puzzle
- 1 poster
- 2 8-card packs of trading cards
You also get instructed to "look for dinosaur stickers" which are randomly inserted into the packs of cards. There isn't anything else promised in the box.
A look at the back of the wrapper and you can see the checklist for the dinosaur figurines and the dinosaur puzzles.
As a huge dino fan myself, it was easy for me to pick out the figurines and puzzles that I hoped to get. If you are wondering, I would have been happy with pretty much any figurine (except maybe the brontosaurus and parasaurolophus, those two are kind of boring). As for the puzzles, I was definitely hoping for the stegosaurus (with the t-rex and triceratops next on my list).
The fine print at the bottom of the tin wrapper says that "randomly inserted into these specially marked packs are the following: high series SPs and high ereis super SPs (combine to fall 1:2), canvas minis (1:1), 3-D dinosaurs (1:2), Stickers (1:1), mini posters (1 per collectible box), dinosaur figure (1 per collectible box), dinosaur skeleton puzzle (1 per collectible box).
Why do I keep going over what is in the box? Well, because this is what I was greeted with when I finally opened up my box:
That's right - everything that was promised...and then an extra (large) dinosaur figure.
The extra large dinosaur figure came in its own plastic bag - and I don't really have any idea what sort of dinosaur it is supposed to be.
Can you tell? It's sort of a cross between some sort of ankylosaurus and maybe a stegosaurus (without any tail "fins"). The smaller figure arrived "loose," that is, without any plastic wrapping. The style of the smaller figure more closely matches that which the box advertises...but again, I don't actually know what dinosaur the smaller figure is supposed to be.
It certainly doesn't match any of the dinosaurs on the checklist from the box of the pack wrapper! If I had to guess, I would say that this is one of the color variations for Stegosaurus, even though there are no spikes on his tail (aka his thagomizer thanks to the Far Side comic).
Before I get to the contents of the two card packs (the real reason I bought the collectible box in the first place), there are still two other included "goodies." First, the wooden 3-D puzzle.
This one is of the "dragon lizard" which I guess means a brontosaurus-esque creature. I haven't actually assembled the puzzle yet...but I can assure you that it will be WAY EASIER to complete than this one that I did two years ago...
And the last thing before the two packs of cards - the poster!
The poster was surprisingly large - I wasn't expecting such a gigantic display (but I suppose it is fitting for the King of the dinosaurs)! My T-Rex poster is suitably awesome - and I may just have to find a spot in my man cave to put it up on the wall. That's how much I like the poster. I should also try to find a full checklist of the available posters - there might be one or two others that are worth tracking down (though I can't complain at all about my poster, very cool indeed).
That only leaves us with the final two packs of the box - and really the reason that I bought this lunch box in the first place (although truth be told, I was certainly curious about all the dinosaur "extras" promised in the lunch tins).
Each pack only contains 8 cards - one of which is guaranteed to be sticker (which isn't necessarily a bad thing since I still need a bunch of the sticker cards)!
Pack 1:
44. Pterodactyl
46. Dimorphodon
72. Hyperodapedon
77. Torosaurus
92. Sinraptor
110. Ichthyosaurus
Canvas mini: 118. Tylosaurus
Sticker: 20. Kronosaurus
The first pack was almost a complete waste for me - it was saved by the sticker (I needed ol' Kronosaurus for my set). It should be noted that the Ichthyosaurus is a short printed base card (as is the canvas mini of Tylosaurus) so I did alright in the regard (even if I currently have no plans to collect the minis).
Pack 2:
10. Triceratops
14. Brachiosaurus
42. Camptosaurus
52. Lambeosaurus
67. Guanlong
Canvas mini: 112. Shonisaurus
3D Dinosaur: 39. Sarcosuchus
Sticker: 19. Quetzalcoatlus
Once again, I didn't get a single base card that I needed - but I did need the 3D dinosaur which was nice. Even more impressive, the 3D card was part of the Marine subset - the second hardest subset to pull!
Overall, I give the 2015 Upper Deck Dinosaurs (collectible lunch tin) box the following rating:
Set design: A-
Collation: A
Opening thrill: A
Overall: A-
Overall, I only managed to acquire two more cards for my set - one sticker and one 3D Dino. I can't help but to be a bit disappointed by that...especially since I still need a lot of regular old base cards (along with a slew of inserts). In addition, while the collectible tin was undoubtedly a lot of fun to open up, at the end of the day you only get a pair of 8 card packs which is disappointing (especially for the retail price of the lunch tin). I think if Upper Deck had bumped the number of packs up to 4 (and kept everything else the same), this would be an A+ box. Even so, I can't complain too much - and getting a second "bonus" dinosaur figure was a nice surprise (even better if I were 5 years old - two dinosaur figures instead of one)!
I'm still working on this set - so if you happen to have any available for trade let me know. I also have quite a few duplicates (find my trade bait list for the set here).
Nice review. I probably would have picked one of these up if it was stocked locally. UD did a fine job on the artwork for this set. Does the lunchbox itself have a dinosaur theme?
ReplyDeleteYour large dinosaur is likely a nodosaurus. I used to be obsessed with dinosaurs as a kid and I still remember a lot of what I once knew.
ReplyDeleteLove these UD dinosaur cards (especially the 3D cards). If I ever found boxes (or even packs) online, at the flea market, or at a card show, I'd grab them and try to build the set myself.
ReplyDelete