Boxes of Stuff - February 2015

So after doing my first post for boxes of stuff, I decided that I wanted to continue doing them, obviously taking into account the shipping time of each box. I also decided that rather than stick with only Loot Crate and Nerd Block, I decided to add a few more of these boxes and in addition to those two, I will now also be doing My Geek Box and Geek Fuel as well. Each one of these boxes are considered to be among the popular of choices for these sorts of things with a number of them having exclusive and hard to find items that you can't get anywhere else. And they each have a theme every month. So let's open these boxes and see what we got:


Nerd Block - Exclusives

So the theme for February's Nerd Block is Exclusives so naturally everything in the box is exclusive. Random like it has been in the past, but all exclusive. So to tie in with the release of the Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul, we have a Saul Goodman Titans vinyl figure that has poseable arms and a moving head along with a mug which while very different to those Pop! vinyl figures, gives people the chance to be hyped for this new show while also keeping the fandom of Breaking Bad strong. Next we have the Flash who appears on the T-Shirt in the form of a popsicle (or as us British folk call it, an ice lolly) which any Flash fan is bound to enjoy wearing. Nerd Block have also teamed up with a group of cosplayers to bring us a deck of trading cards which are all great and I am to believe that there will be a new deck in every block in the coming months. We also get a drum kit notepad with drum stick pencils which can tailor to those of us who love rock music. Next, we have something that Nerd Block are aiming to get people to be creative about which are Clicctowin which are these little bendable sticks that you can pretty much make any shapes with and there was a contest where the best shape would win prizes, but that contest is now well and truly over, unfortunately. And as well as the cards that talk about the stuff in the box and what Nerd Block are doing in the coming months, the last thing is issue one of the series of Star Wars comics by Marvel (because you know, they are both owned by Disney now), the cover of which is the exclusive thing about it which means that I now have 2 copies of the same comic, just with a different cover for each (the other one being a Loot Crate exclusive from last month). So yeah, everything is well and truly exclusive and its a pretty solid Nerd Block for this month.

My Geek Box - Sidekicks

So now we come to the first of many My Geek Box boxes that I hope to do and these guys are based in the UK and for the most part, the exclusive stuff is limited, but still there in some form. This month is dedicated to the sidekicks that heroes have and the box gives them a chance to shine. So we have a T-Shirt which has what looks like to be a build a sidekick thing going on, on it which I guess describes the idea of building your own sidekick instead of recruiting a real person. Next we have a minion Pop! Vinyl figure which I believe is different in every box, I got Dave and they serve as Gru's sidekicks in the Despicable Me films and will serve other villains in the upcoming Minions film. I also got a Star Trek figure from the reboot trilogy and I got Scotty and unlike many nerds/geeks who tend to keep their figures in their boxes, I opened it up because ultimately, they are here to be played with. Also got a magazine which is actually an interesting read and is full of film and video game reviews and other things too. And finally, we have a Robin poster who as many of you know, is the sidekick to Batman at times where he needs an extra pair of hands. Not much stuff in this box, but hey. Its stays true to the whole sidekick thing and that's great. Also, I could use this as the lazy way of getting Pop! vinyl figures seeing as there seems to be at least one in every box from what I've been told. Still, it stays true to the theme, just wish there was more stuff in it.

Loot Crate - Gamer

So after paying tribute to our childhoods, Loot Crate this month decided to pay tribute to the gamers out there. Not only video gamers like myself, but board gamers and other gamers out there. First up, we've got a deck of cards which is an exclusive deck to Loot Crate and its meant to be this game called Superfight which is like Cards Against Humanity, but very different. Next we have a pair of rock, paper, scissors dices you know in case your hands can't make the shapes with a nice pouch for them. You also get an exclusive ship for an upcoming online game based on Firefly (the ship of which, is featured in the theme video on YouTube). We also have a book called Ready Player One which I've been told is a great read if you're a gamer. There is also a small Pac-Man poster which is really cool as it looks to be showing you the inside of the game cartridge, very retro indeed. There is also a Hex bug which are these little electronic bugs which I think are different in every box. And much like with Nerd Block this month, Loot Crate are also wanting their looters to be creative as we get a vinyl figure which is basically a DIY figure meaning that you can create your own and if you submit them online before a certain time, you could win some prizes (though at the time of writing this, I don't know if its still going). Last thing in this box is like with last year, you can transform it into a game board and you can play Loot Crate's very own board game, the pieces of which, can be popped out of the magazine. So overall, its another pretty solid box that stays true to the theme and provides a lot of things that make us gamers, feel proud to be gamers and that's great.

Geek Fuel - Retro

So Geek Fuel is kind of in league with the others in regards to the themes and what you get, but I wouldn't know for sure if there is anything about it that makes it stand out from the others because well, its the same thing going on, just different items. However, the subscriptions make it so that depending on what subscription you go for, you get a few more mystery items. Personally for financial reasons, I opted to not do those particular ones considering that I get quite a bit with the other boxes already, but yeah. So this month's theme is Retro and it contains stuff that is retro which as Ralph from the film Wreck-It Ralph describes as being old but cool and that's exactly what we get. Like with the other boxes, there is a T-Shirt which this month is a mash-up of Pac-Man and the Adam West Batman characters which is pretty cool seeing as I'm a fan of both (though in the case of Batman, its not really Adam West that I'm into there). There is also the theme badge which like with Loot Crate, you get every month along with a card explaining what each of the items are. Next is a glass which is a DC glass and I believe you get one of 4 of these and it just so happens that I got the Wonder Woman one despite not being a fan of her, but that's OK. We also get Space Invader soap because well we have to blow up those aliens somehow and bathing may do the job there. Fans of the video game series Worms can rejoice as you can get in this box a code for Steam to get the original game for free along with a couple of worm sweets (though they look quite real to me and eating them will most likely feel like those challenges in I'm A Celebrity). And finally, we have a bumper sticker saying "I heart Retro" and a magazine which talks about a number of stuff. As I said, I would get more if I went for a more expensive box, but for what I get here, I'm happy and there is certainly a fun element going on here so that's great.

Its a hard one this month as we have double the amount of boxes this time around and each box having a very different theme all around. But I do find that Geek Fuel's box did have a lot of fun items in it, but arrived much later than the others. Nerd Block has a lot of exclusive stuff this month, but some of it didn't really appeal to me this time around which is unfortunate. My Geek Box is good, but didn't really have a lot of items in it which for a theme like Sidekicks, you'd expect more, but no. Loot Crate certainly made a great effort to making all the items to do with all forms of gaming, but the problem that some people may have with that is they may not have anyone to play those games with and the Hex Bug did feel a bit out of place as well. A bit of a mixed bag, but I have to choose a winner and this month's winner is Geek Fuel. It may have arrived late, but there is a lot to like in the box so it was worth the wait. For the next few months, it will just stay with these 3 boxes until I have enough money to possibly take a look at other boxes, but we'll see.