"Battlestar Galactica: Colonial Warriors" Trading Card Series JENKINTOWN, PA - Rittenhouse Archives is pleased to announce its Battlestar Galactica: Colonial Warriors Trading Cards, the follow-up series to its 2003 sell-out "The Complete Battlestar Galactica" trading card set. Both sets are based on the cult-hit TV program "Battlestar Galactica" which aired in 1978-1979 on ABC. This all-new series will contain at least 1 hand-signed autograph card and 1 costume card in each box. Battlestar Galactica: Colonial Warriors Trading Cards will be available in December 2005. More details are available at www.scifihobby.com .

Included in each box is a costume card featuring show-worn material from almost all of the major characters including Apollo, Starbuck, Adama, Boomer, Serina and Tigh. As an added bonus, collectors can look for randomly inserted autographed versions of these cards signed by Richard Hatch (Apollo), Dirk Benedict (Starbuck), Terry Carter (Tigh) and Herbert Jefferson, Jr. (Boomer)

Randomly inserted into boxes of the Battlestar Galactica: Colonial Warriors Trading Cards will be several exciting bonus sets, including 1978 Expansion cards, Casting Call cards and ArtiFEXä cards. 1978 Expasion cards is a 54-card set expanding on the original 132-card set for Battlestar Galactica released in 1978. This all-new expansion set utilizes the same card design and is printed on "retro" paper stock to match the texture and fee of the original set. Casting Call will highlight the actors and their roles that left an impression that has lasted for generations. Artist Chris Scalf has lent his talent to this set and provided us with original artwork showcased in the ArtiFEXä cards.

Each box of Battlestar Galactica: Colonial Warriors Trading Cards will contain 40 packs with a suggested retail price of $2.10 per pack and $84.00 per box. Each pack will contain 5 base cards. The 72-card base set will spotlight the men and women of the colonial fleet including Apollo, Starbuck, Sheba, Boomer, Athena and others. Fans and collectors will also be able to store their collections in a custom designed collector's album, which will retail for $39.99 and contain an exclusive costume card of Lt. Athena and an exclusive promo card.

A "Hands On" Review

The Colonial Warriors Trading Cards are the newest batch of Battlestar Galactica goodies from our friends at Rittenhouse Archives. These cards are different in that instead of capturing certain scenes from the show, they focus in on the different costumes worn on the show. The main type of card showcases an upper body shot of a certain actor in a particular outfit and two smaller scene shots of that same actor. While the cards mainly focus on the original series there are a number of “1980” actors included as well. As before the quality of the cards are top notch. These slick cards are sure to make any Galactica fan proud.

For me the main attraction was the “RETRO” cards. These cards are made up to look like a continuation of the TOPPS cards from the 70’s. They are even printed on the same kind of card stock, complete with a puzzle on the back. The only bad thing about these cards is that we only found 4 in our box set. Clearly these were the cards we were hoping to see each time a package was opened.

The autograph cards are back along with something called the costume card. The costume card is a thicker than normal card featuring an actual piece of a costume from the show. It’s a neat and affordable way for the average fan to get a hold of some Battlestar history. In a box you will find 1 of these along with 1 autograph card.

Fans of Apollo and Starbuck will be happy, as there are many variations of these two characters. In fact, I’d say you have a good chance of seeing one or both in every pack you open. (Well maybe not that often, but there are a lot of them) As opposed to Adama, which we failed to score even one card of.

Overall this is another nice set and we recommend this set to the fans of the original show. You should be aware there are different options for collectors and buyers should check out the Rittenhouse web page for details. It’s best to get the right set from the get-go rather than buy one package at a time..

Update: I’ve now had the pleasure of seeing all the “Retro/Topps” styled cards and I can safely say they blew me away. I was surprised how many there are! They go from 133 to 186! A few of the card backs have trivia on them, but most are parts of a puzzle which you can lay out if you have a complete set.

If you are a collector of the original “Battlestar Galactica” cards, then you just can not be without this add on set. These cards span the series that was the original Galactica’s only season - and they do so in style. We can only hope that this idea will carry over into new retro cards….. can the “classic stickers” be far behind? We hope not!

Written by Mike McAdams

About Rittenhouse Archives, Ltd

Rittenhouse Archives, Ltd. is a leading producer of science fiction and fantasy based trading cards and related collectables. Its licenses include Star Trek, James Bond, Xena: Warrior Princess, Stargate SG-1, Farscape, Twilight Zone, Six Million Dollar Man, Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen, Planet of the Apes, The Outer Limits and Conan. Visit www.scifihobby.com for more information.