Arcade Block September 2015 Review

Arcade Block: September 2015 Review

Link: www.nerdblock.com

I wasn't a fan of the theme for the September Nerd Block, so I decided to try my first ever Arcade Block. I am pretty into my gaming, but I'm also picky about what I play so I can't claim to know all that much - I was expecting there to be references in the box that I wouldn't get. I was pleasantly surprised though - I ended up liking almost everything!

Legend of Zelda, Wind Waker T-Shirt

I really like this t-shirt! It's a very bright blue, which I'm a bit apprehensive of wearing, but the design on it is beautiful and it fits great.

Legend of Zelda Canvas Print

I love this so much! I really liked getting a real piece of art to display and I love the print itself. I just need somewhere to hang it!

Legend of Zelda Chicken Springz

This item really made me smile, it's such a cute chicken and such a great Zelda reference - it brings back N64 memories! I'm not sure I'd put it on my dashboard, but I'm sure I'll find a good place to put it.

Legend of Zelda Shield Keyring

This is a really nice keyring and surprisingly good quality/weighty. This went straight on my house keys :) It's small and subtle, which can be a real advantage if you want to be discreet about your geekiness.

Galak-Z Vinyl Record

This was such a unique item to get in a box like this, I was suitably impressed with their originality! Unfortunately I don't own a record player and don't have too much interest in acquiring one, so this is probably going to have to remain a decorative piece for me.

Stuffed Boo Toy

I believe people got either a Boo or a Goomba in their box and I'm really glad I got a Boo! I really, really like this plush - he's absolutely adorable and is a perfect little representation of the Mario games. This might be my favourite item in the box, but it's hard to say because everything was so good!

Overall:

I was really impressed with my first Arcade Block and I loved the Zelda theme. I don't know if I just got really lucky with the month that I chose to switch, but I'm tempted to carry on this box alongside the classic!

Infinity Crate September 2015 Review

Infinity Crate: September 2015 Review, 'Fantasy'

Link: www.infinitycrates.co.uk

To be honest, I had high hopes for a box that was themed 'Fantasy' and I think the reality didn't quite meet up to my expectations. I was expecting lots of 'swords and dragons' type items, but I didn't feel that really come through in this box.

Straight Inta Mordor T-Shirt

This is actually quite a funny t-shirt, I'm just not sure how I feel about walking around as a 23 year old and wearing a meme. I love Tumblr and I love this meme, but it just seems a little OTT to wear it! Or maybe I'm just a bit old. I will probably wear it around the house, but I'd feel awkward wearing it out.

Harry Potter Funko Pop! Vinyl

Normally I would be very excited about this, but I already own this Pop in 2 variations! I guess I now have a complete collection, but I didn't really need all 3 varieties. That's the biggest downside to getting Pops in this kind of box - there's no way to tell them what you already have.

Star Wars Flask

To me, Star Wars is sci fi - not fantasy! I don't have much use for a flask as it is, but I really hate Star Wars so this is a total 'nope' item for me. 

Gengar Magnet

Love it, love everything about it.

Refreshers Sweets

I loved these so much that I actually went out and bought some more. Freakin delicious.

Superhero Badge

Thumbs up for badges.

Gamer Survival Guide Poster

I like this poster, it's really long and a bit nicer than some of the posters that Infinity Crates have included recently.

Overall:

I can't complain about anything in this box really (except for the Star Wars flask...), it just didn't excite me that much. That might be my fault though, since I did get very hyped for a good fantasy box. 

Loot Crate September 2015 Review

Loot Crate: September 2015 Review, 'Summon'

Link: www.lootcrate.com

I know I said that I wasn't going to get another Loot Crate any time soon - but September's box came with promises of CW's Supernatural, The Simpsons AND Pokemon, so I had to take a look for myself! 

I was really disappointed with the last Loot Crate that I got and I felt that it really didn't live up to the hype that surrounds it. However, this month was a real game changer for me.

Pikachu Hat (with Pokeball toggles)

This is now officially one of the best things I have ever owned. Words can't describe how much I love this hat! It's beyond adorable, feeds my pokemon obsession and it has those amazing pokeball toggles. I would love to wear this all the time, but unfortunately it makes me look about 12:

A bright yellow pokemon hat isn't necessarily the best way to say to the world, 'hey, I'm a responsible adult!'. It is freakin cute though.

Model '67 Chevy Impala

Everyone needs a model of Baby! This was perfect for me as Supernatural has been one of my favourite shows for a long time now. This was a really nice way to pay homage to the show, especially since the car is such a huge part of the whole aesthetic. It's certainly survived longer than most of the characters.

Hearthstone Stress Ball

I'll confess that I haven't played the game, so I don't know much about what this represents. It's really nice as a stress ball though and looks really cool and fantastical. 

Homer Simpson Buddha Figurine

Like an idiot, I forgot to take a picture of the actual figurine! It's a cool gold, rubbery figure though and pretty big. I really like the look of it - I'm a fan of The Simpsons but a lot of the related merchandise can look very tacky and mass produced, so it's nice to have something different that relates to the show.

This seems to be a gift card of some sort. It doesn't seem like the kind of thing I'll use, but it seems like a nice little extra that bumps up the value of the box.

The booklet they included had these mad cards in. I'm not too sure what they are yet as I haven't had much time to sit and investigate. It's nice that they seem to have included quite a few little extras this month that make the box more interesting.

The Loot Crate badge that they include every month.

I love that Loot Crate makes the insides of their boxes so different and creative every month - it adds a little something that other subscription box services don't really provide. I've seen people do some really amazing artsy things with these boxes on social media, so it's nice that the extra effort with the presentation is appreciated.

Overall:

I loved this box! It completely changed my opinion of Loot Crate if I'm being honest. I especially loved the hat, but everything else in there was also really interesting and useful - it was a complete turn around from the last box I had that I really didn't like.

As this month was such a success, I am also going to be doing a review of the October Loot Crate!

Popinabox September 2015 Review

Popinabox: September 2015 Review

Link: www.popinabox.co.uk


So, for September I ordered my largest Popinabox yet - 4 Pops - and received them in two batches. The first Pop I received was by itself in a small box:

This Pop was really well packaged and arrived in great condition. It also was a Pop that fitted very well with one I received the month before.

Dana Scully Funko Pop! Vinyl

This was a good choice for me - I love the X Files and I like that I now have a Scully and an Alien to show off. I'm not too bothered about collecting the Cigarette Smoking Man, but it would be nice to have a Mulder to go with these guys.

A closer look:

Unfortunately, the next 3 Pops that they sent me arrived in terrible condition. It wasn't even damage that happened in transit - the Pops had been forced into the box in such a way that the boxes simply caved under the pressure. Whoever packed the boxes clearly gave no thought to the physics of cramming delicate items into an obviously too small space.

I contacted Popinabox and it took them more than a week to get back to me (not a great effort in my opinion). They did offer to replace the Pops, but I was pretty fed up by that point (and I am exceptionally lazy) and I couldn't be arsed to deal with all the posting chaos that was involved.

Lafayette Reynolds Funko Pop! Vinyl

Lafayette took the worst of the damage unfortunately - his box has just disintegrated at this point. I am a True Blood fan though, so the Pop itself was a nice surprise. 

Bill Compton Funko Pop! Vinyl

Again, pleased with the Pop itself but a bit disappointed with the damage. Bill's box was the most intact though, so this one was salvageable. 

Alcide Herveaux Funko Pop! Vinyl

I think there might have been a bit of a theme to my box this month, what do you guys think? If it wasn't for the horrible packaging job, I would have been super happy with this haul.

Overall:

This is the first time that Popinabox has let me down and it made me a bit wary. I'm definitely bringing my subscription back down to a cheaper one, if not pausing it completely for a while. They just seem to have become a little more careless since they expanded to being an international service and I expected a bit better from them.

Noob Cube September 2015 Review

Noob Cube: September 2015 Review 'Nature's Finest'

Link: www.noobcube.co.uk

Apologies for the late post on this one, my Noob Cube arrived last week but I haven't had chance to do a review until now!

The theme for this one was 'Nature's Finest', which was a pretty vague one to be honest - I had no idea what to expect really. This month they gave people a choice as to whether they received a Pop! Vinyl or a Reaction figure, so I already knew that I would be getting a Pop with this one.

Noob Cube provide a little card with each box that tells you about the next upcoming theme and provides some info on cool things that are happening in the nerdy world at the minute.

Earthworm Jim T-Shirt

Unfortunately, I am not a fan of this t-shirt and it kind of killed this month's box for me. I had never heard of Earthworm Jim and I had to do a lot of googling to even figure out what the picture was of. I suppose it might be cool for older subscribers who remember it (from what I understand, he is a character from an old video game) but I think that they probably alienated a lot of younger subscribers with this one. 

Groot Funko Pop! Vinyl

Groot is an awesome Pop and one that I wanted for my collection, so I was pretty pleased to see this in my box. I did find that knowing what kind of vinyl we were going to get did take the mystery out of it a bit though, so there was no element of surprise there with this item.

Close up pic:

He's now chilling on my shelf with my Rocket Raccoon and Starlord Pops. I'm happy that Noob Cube went with Groot - he does fit the theme pretty well.

Poison Ivy Gotham Girls Keyring

I really like this keyring; it's a really nice filler item and I'm pretty sure that I'll get some use out of it. She fits the theme pretty nicely as well.

Spiderman Candy Sticks

Yum!

Spiderman Wristband

I'm fairly sure I already have a wristband that is almost identical to this, so I'm not impressed really. These rubber bands are always just a bit useless to anyone older than 12 and the design doesn't really look that good if I'm being honest. I don't like getting these.

Theme Badge

Everyone knows how much I love badges! Straight on the badge pile.

Overall:

I don't know why but I was left feeling a bit underwhelmed by this month's efforts. The box felt a little empty compared to previous months. I liked the Pop! vinyl, but that was basically all that I liked from the box, so it wasn't really worth it for me in the end. I think the fact that I didn't like the t-shirt contributed to the disappointment, but I'm not sure it was the wisest choice in design.

I haven't been entirely put off Noob Cube - I'm not impressed this month but I will be getting the October box (theme: 7 deadly sins) and seeing if they can turn things around.

Noob Cube Spoilers - August, September and October

Noob Cube: Spoilers for August, September and October 2015

Link: www.noobcube.co.uk

Noob Cube has announced the themes for each of their boxes, all the way up to October! I opted not to go for the July 'Bad Robot' box (which should be shipping any day now), but the upcoming themes sound very exciting indeed - right now I can see myself signing up for all 3 of the released themes!

August

The theme for August is 'Ghosts 'N Stuff'. I signed up for this box as soon as it became available. I can't wait to see what they do with this theme - there are so many great possibilities for spooky and supernatural type items.

September

The theme for September is 'Nature's Finest'. I'm intrigued by this one, partly because I can't really figure out what direction they would go with this box. 'Nature' is such a broad topic and could be open to interpretation here, so I definitely think that this is the most mysterious sounding of the boxes.

October

The theme for October is '7 Deadly Sins'. This is probably the most exciting, as Noob Cube have announced that they will be giving us one item for each sin. I'm hoping that they get really creative with this one! They have suggested that one of the items is a t-shirt and that they -may- allow customers to vote to have more of a say in what the t-shirt design is (this has only been suggested on Facebook though and is in no way confirmed).

I love that they've released a few themes at once like this - hopefully it will encourage a few more subscriptions for these guys. I really like all three themes and I hope you guys do too :)