Boxes of Stuff - March 2015

Well its that time again folks. Time to look at some boxes of stuff. This time My Geek Box celebrates its 1 year anniversary, Simon Pegg invades Nerd Block, Loot Crate goes all secret on us and winter is coming in Geek Fuel. Now as this current month is April, I am going to be looking as the Marvel Collectors Corps box as Marvel are now getting into the action, as well as all the other boxes too so look forward to that. But for now, let's unbox March's boxes:

My Geek Box - Anniversaries and Landmarks

So celebrating their one year anniversary, My Geek Box has gone all anniversary on us and well let's see what we have. So celebrating the landmark that is Doctor Who (and the fact that it has been 10 years since the show returned to our screens) we have a birthday card full of activity stuff which is nice and a book which I believe is different in every box that's to do with the classic Doctor Who series which will be a good read no doubt (I got Dr. Who and the Mutants). Next is the landmark that is Marvel which are well received here in the UK and we've got a Wolverine Munny figure (something of which Loot Crate had last month, just without Wolverine on it) which you can customise yourself with the provided stickers or use whatever pens that you have available, and we also got a Marvel figure which again is different in every box (I got Spider-Man) so that's nice. Then a couple of sweets which are a Spongebob Squarepants Crabby Patty (which I guess is to tie in with the new film that has now reached UK shores) and this other one which is like one of this sticky bars and its a different flavour in every box (I got some apple flavour). And finally, the T-Shirt is a Ghostbusters one which I guess is to celebrate the news about the Ghostbusters shared universe that Sony have planned. So all in all, its an OK box. I wouldn't say that all the items are exclusive as most of them you can get on the high street anyway, but it did celebrate My Geek Box's one year anniversary and its also clear that they know that Doctor Who, Marvel, Spongebob Squarepants and Ghostbusters are quite a big deal here and in most areas of the world so that's good.

Nerd Block Classic - Simon Says

So despite the name of the theme, there are only 2 items that actually have Simon Pegg on them, but there is a reason for it. So this year, Nerd Block are working with various celebrities on their Nerd Block Classic boxes, the majority of which are a nerd at heart and the first of these is Simon Pegg, known for starring in and writing Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End (which make up the Three Flavour Cornetto Trilogy all of which are some of my all time favourite films) alongside his fellow friends Nick Frost and Edgar Wright as well as appearing as Scotty in the 2 J.J. Abrams Star Trek films and in the Sci-Fi film Paul (alongside Frost who helped him write the film too). So our 2 Simon Pegg items are a Shaun of the Dead T-Shirt which looks really nice and Pegg's autobiography Nerd Do Well which will be a good read for some of us. We also have 2 Guardians of the Galaxy items because Pegg is a fan of them which are a nesting doll of all the characters starting from Groot and ending with the exclusive baby Groot. There is also a mini Munny figure (which is different in every box) which like the Wolverine one has some stickers and some creativity to go with it and I think Pegg wanted his fans to be creative so that's what we fans are going to do. And the last item because Pegg is a comedian as well as a nerd and presumably a fan of Batman, is a couple of practical jokes from Mr. Freeze and Harley Quinn. So a pretty good box that sums up everything we know about Simon Pegg and some stuff that we may not know about him so all in all a great box.

Loot Crate - Covert

Now doing this picture, I realised that there were a few items that I missed, but don't worry I will take them into account as well. So Loot Crate decided to dedicate the box to everything we know about spies and espionage so let's see what we've got. So the James Bond item is the T-Shirt which tells everyone that Bond likes things shaken not stirred and obviously someone got it wrong here, but still a good T-Shirt. The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. exclusive prop is a lynard with a S.H.I.E.L.D. pass card so whenever you go to conventions with an area for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents only, you'll be given access as long as you have it with you so that's nice. We also have a comic book which is to do with this new show called Orphan Black which I haven't seen, but I may choose to now that I have a book about it. We have some note pads which are called field notes, you know in case you're on a mission and need to write things down. Then we've got a watch that only reveals the time with the touch of a button so that's very secretive and well into the who covert theme here. Then we have a game called Mad Libs which is where you fill in the spaces with a random word to make up a story (and the fun in that is endless). Then of course is the Loot Crate monthly magazine which talks about the items and all things to do with the theme of the box. There is also a wristband made from military materials with the signature Loot Crate orange and black and it can apparently save your life (comes with a little flyer to explain what it can be used for so that's nice) so that's good. A membership card is here too as is a download code for another comic book called Ninjak which is about this MI6 super spy and master assassin which will surely be a great read. And following its tradition from previous boxes, you can turn your Loot Crate into a laptop which has a QR code that you can use to play a hacking game where the clues are hidden in the box's items. So all I can say is that despite the box not having that much of a transformation than in previous boxes, I like it. Its all to do with theme and i like it all lot. It has set the bar pretty high for this month, but we have one more box to look at so let's see if Geek Fuel can top it.

Geek Fuel - War

As you may have noticed, this one I had to do a landscape photo of mainly because of the poster that is included. So for March, Geek Fuel is going all out war on us with things like Star Wars, Game of Thrones and a few video games too. So as I said, there is a poster which from a distance is one of those old planes that were used during World War I and II, but up close, you'll see that a stormtrooper is flying it, presumably in this box to get us hyped for Star Wars 7 which comes out later this year. Like last month, there is a code for a game that you can get for free from Steam which is Warmachine Tatics which I believed was made through a Kickstarter campaign and is based on a real life turn based game and we also get some stickers too (a much nicer thing to have than those edible worms from last month which I was put off from eating for a while and when I eventually ate them, it had a funny taste to them) and it is of $40 value so totally worth it. Next we have a Gears of War energy drink, I've never really been a fan of the series, but it will be nice to try that drink. Like with Loot Crate, we have a badge which has the famous Star Trek hand gesture which I guess is to comemorate the recently departed Leonard Nimoy, and the monthly magazine that talks about recent geeky news and the stuff inside the box. The Game of Thrones items are Dragon Glass which is some kind of substance that is used in the GOT universe (from what I've read up because as I said, I've only got as far as season 2) and a comic from the comic book series based on the GOT universe which I've been told is different for every box (I got number 13). And finally, there's the t-shirt which has 6 thrones with a video game theme to them, some are easy to work out where they are from, but others not so much. So I think Geek Fuel did well this month to keep with the theme of war. I thought all the items are great (but you do get more if you choose a better plan to what I have) and as I said, they keep with the theme, but I will say that many of you may get confused with what the name of the theme is as it doesn't say it anywhere in the box. But it does say it on the website so that's fine with me.

So a very different box for each subscription service. Nerd Block and My Geek Box suffer with having very similar Munny items for their March boxes which in a way copies what Loot Crate gave us in their February box, but both make up for it by having some Marvel items which are nice. I also like the book that Nerd Block had while the one in My Geek Box I think could be better (has a old book smell to it). As for Loot Crate and Geek Fuel, both did well in keeping with their themes, but I think if I had a better plan for Geek Fuel, I would be able to give it a bit more praise, but for what I get, I'm happy. I'm satisfied with what each box gave me, but I think if I had to choose, Loot Crate wins with it giving us plenty of things to do with spies and espionage and they also gave us items that real life secret agents use which I think is great. Very into the theme big time and I like it.