Buzz 12 in 12: Busting a 1979 Topps Star Trek wax pack (Hour 6)

Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today’s your day then as we launch 12 in 12 — a series of a dozen breaks of past wax boxes and wax packs in a dozen hours. We’ll post one every hour on the hour all day long today … this is Hour 6.

The pack: 1979 Topps Star Trek The Motion Picture wax pack
The cost now: $1.50
The cost then: 20 cents

What’s inside this pack? Keep reading …

Cards per pack: 11 (10 cards and one sticker — see all in gallery below)
Base set completion:  10 of 88 (11 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Inserts: 1
Stickers (1) — Ensign Pavel Chekov

Autographs/Memorabilia: No chance

What’s Buzz-worthy: This isn’t the earliest Star Trek card set out there, but it’s one that focuses on the first film of the long-running sci-fi franchise while using the long-running Topps model for non-sports cards — a small base set, a small selection of stickers (crew members, aliens and ships) and a small selection of cards with info on the backs while the rest are puzzle pieces. This pack wasn’t bad but it does show the issues of the era — rough cuts, rough centering (and some slight diamond cuts) and some odd visuals (those aliens … eek!) here and there. Generally speaking, it still works. There were a few key cards in this pack — the James T. Kirk card and one of the main cast — and some others that definitely make this collector to want to rip some more. There could be fun with potential grading here, too, but that’s not a natural reason to dig in. Because it’s Trek, complete sets aren’t as dirt cheap as other non-sports releases of the era, but they’re still quite affordable for their age. Non-sports have come a long way since this time — but it’s always fun to check out sets for notable franchises. Sometimes they don’t age as badly as their films do. Don’t believe me? Watch the trailer below before checking out the card gallery …