Topps Attax Doctor Who

Yes you heard correctly. Topps has finally produced a Doctor Who set of collectable cards. It may be in 'Attax' form but it is still The Doctor. Pity Topps couldn't produce some dalek relic or Rose Tyler DNA cards, those might be interesting to collect. The Topps Alien Attax coincides with the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who television show.
If your a fan of The Doctor, you would have already realised that this year is a special year in the Doctor Who calendar. On the 23rd of November 1963  the first Doctor Who episode 'The Unearthly Child' was broadcast, although eclipsed by other historic events, the show pulled in a decent audience.
In 1973, on the tenth anniversary of the show, a series of episodes called 'The Three Doctors' was made.
In 1983, on the twentieth anniversary, a special called 'The Five Doctors' was made.
In 1993, although Doctor Who series had been on temporary leave since 1989, a Children in Need special called 'Dimensions in Time' was broadcast.
Unfortunately in 2003, the Doctor was still off the air, so to speak, but roll on 2013 The Doctor has never been more popular, which means there is a flood of Doctor Who celebratory merchandise available - Royal Mail stamps (which are pretty cool even for a non stamp collector), cups, mugs T-shirts, miniature TARDISes, (is there a plural for TARDIS?), hats, figures, you name it.

The Alien Attax set contains 240 cards to collect which includes 16 rainbow foil cards and 32 mirror foil cards.

The collector pack comes with the collection folder, checklist, battle mat and a 'special' 3D Matt Smith card. 

The rest of the 240 cards are divided into groups of Aliens, Humans, Humanoids, Doctors, Companions, Robots, etc. Thankfully the set includes the very lovely new assistant Clara/Oswin Oswald played by Jenna-Louise Coleman.

There has never been a shortage of Aliens in the Doctors past, whether they were the creepy sort to keep you up in the night such as; Snowman, Weeping Angels or gas-masked children,

 Or just downright weird like the Face of Boe, The Ood or Sulirians

 Although there were some that would barely past the Alien screening process. Really- an alien made from Liquorice Allsorts.

I am pretty close to completing this set, so if you want to fill any empty spaces, just contact me. 



Finally some 2013 Topps Heritage.

But by the looks of things it only just made it. This package arrived squashed and soaked through. We have had some heavy rain (and snow) recently, however this package was not treated with tender loving care you might expect from the UK and/or US postal systems.
The inside of the package actually felt wet and the plastic wrapping damp. The blaster of 2013 Topps Heritage, although a little dented, looked fine. The cards within the blaster - undamaged and bloody brilliant.

I may have mentioned once or twice that 2013 Topps Heritage was hot on my list for set collection. In preparation for this monumental 425 card base set,  I tried to slim the other wants lists down a tad, (in particular completing a few sets), with a modicum of success-thanks largely to COMC.
But in doing so I realised that there a number of inserts that have used stealth to worm their way into my collecting habits, so rather than reducing the complete set wants list, I probably doubled it. Card collecting tends to do that to you.
This blaster was all that I could get my hands on, at the present time. A little demoralising when I saw that a fellow UK collector purchased a box of 2012 Panini National Treasures.
The blaster itself was opened quickly and the move to a complete set has now started in earnest,(or Westgate).

There are eight packs of cards within the blaster. There are nine cards per pack.

Pack 1:

#18 Cliff Lee Phillies

#38 J.D.Martinez Astros

#187 Tyler Clippard Nationals

#238 Joe Nathan Rangers

#246 Josh Hamilton Angels

#297 Jordan Lyles Astros

#314 Shane Victorino Red Sox

#359 Wilton Lopez Rockies

#445 Lucas Harrell Astros

 

Pack 2:

#45 Brandon Phillips Reds

#91 Chris Nelson Rockies

#185 Ian Kennedy D-backs

#241 Geovany Soto Rangers

#354 Sean Marshall Reds

#406 Jaime Garcia Cardinals

#419 Joe Saunders Orioles

#CCR-SC Stralin Castro Cubs

 

 

Pack 3:

#5 Strikeout Leaders

#102 Kirk Gibson Mng D-backs

#196 Chris Carter Athletics

#219 Young Aces

#274 Justin Morneau Twins

#360 Mark Teixeira Yankees

#402 Will Venable Padres

#416 Paul Maholm Braves

#449 Jered Weaver Angels

 

Pack 4:

#24 Anibal Sanchez Tigers

#32 C.J.Wilson Angels

#72 Chase Utley Phillies

#92 Chris Young Athletics Venezuelan

#194 Mike Moustakas Royals

#266 Lucas Duda Mets

#327 Heath Bell D-backs

#362 Ezequiel Carrera Indians

#384 Ryan Doumit Twins

 

Pack 5:

#22 Andrelton Simmons Braves

#197 Mark Buehrle Blue Jays

#222 J.P Arencibia Blue Jays

#239 Joel Hanrahan Red Sox

#386 Jared Burton Twins

#396 Jeff Karstens Pirates

#401 Alex Presley Pirates

#423 Tops in National League

#NF-TB The Beatles  

 

Pack 6:

#103 Gordon Beckham White Sox

#166 Dustin Ackley Mariners

#229 Jed Lowrie Astros

#265 Lorenzo Cain Royals

#353 Chris Heisey Reds

#378 Nyjer Morgan Brewers

#394 Brandon Inge Athletics

#425 Joey Votto Reds

#NAP-YC Yoenis Cespedes Athletics 

Pack 7:

#82 Pablo Sandoval Giants

#94 2013 Rookie Stars

#180 Carl Crawford Dodgers

#182 Felix Doubront Red Sox

#198 Gavin Floyd White Sox

#204 Gregor Blanco Giants

#275 Kevin Youkilis Yankees

#367 Jeremy Guthrie Royals

#MMBH Bryce Harper Nationals



 

Pack 8:

 #40 Carlos Beltran Cardinals

#56 Ross Detwiler Nationals

#78 Mike Napoli Rangers

#106 Mike Leake Reds

#193 Garrett Jones Pirates

#223 James Loney Bay Rays

#393 Pat Neshek Athletics

#410 John Lackey Red Sox

#488 Wilin Rosario Rockies

Another Cubbies relic, the last time I pulled a relic it was Cubs as well.
So the journey to complete the base set has started, fortunately I was able to bite a large chunk of 2013 Heritage off with a recent purchase from e-bayUK. Follow my progress here.