My Geek Box July 2015 Review

My Geek Box: July 2015 Review, 'Nemesis'

Link: www.mygeekbox.co.uk

Yesterday, I received my My Geek Box for July, which is themed 'Nemesis'. I haven't been to excited about this box because the theme wasn't overly appealing to me, but I think that they have done a good job with this one.

The box was in great condition this month and well packaged with a bright blue plastic bag covering the outside. The bag was great for me because I do prefer subtlety when I get these boxes and the bag did that without compromising the design of the box.

Everything was really well packed and looked like an intriguing collection of items! The box was also seriously heavy this month, due to one item in particular.

Resident Evil 'Umbrella Corp' T-Shirt

I love this t-shirt! I reckon this will please any Resident Evil fan - the blood slashes and splatters are great and the Umbrella Corp logo is really subtle. It's a great t-shirt, I think I will wear this a lot.

Transformers 'Autobot' Mug

This was the largest item in the box, but by no means the heaviest! This is a really great mug and and I'm relieved that it got to me in one piece. I love collecting quirky mugs, but they are so rarely delivered in good condition. The one downside for me is that it isn't dishwasher safe, but otherwise I am very happy with this.

I wanted to give you guys a better look at it - it is a very strange shape. The front side is completely flat while the rest of it is curved. I can see myself spilling tea everywhere due to the shape but I don't think that will stop me using it!

'Davros' Doctor Who Collectible

This was the super heavy item weighing the box down! It is crazily heavy for its size - I'm not entirely sure what it's made out of to be honest. I'm a big fan of Doctor Who, so this is a nice piece to have for my shelf. I think it would be a bit of a let down for anyone who isn't into the tv show but I think it was a nice fit for the theme.

Breaking Bad 'Los Pollos Hermanos' Notebook

I'm a big fan of Breaking Bad and notebooks so this should have been a win for me - unfortunately, season 4 was my least favourite and the 'Los Pollos Hermanos' storyline was incredibly boring. It's a really nice notebook though, very well made, and has the Breaking Bad logo on the corner of each page. I think this will be donated to my mum, who is a big fan of the show.

Terminator 'Skynet' Card Holder

I was really pleased to see this in my box, mainly because I've needed a card holder for absolutely ages. The design is great though and probably something that only a Terminator fan would instantly recognise. It's a good little filler item to include for this theme, particularly with the new film coming out soon.

The Hobbit 'Azog' Coaster

Who doesn't love the Hobbit? Again - a great filler item. Both filler items this month have been weirdly useful, which I very much appreciate. This coaster was being used almost straight away on my desk.

Overall:

I was pleasantly surprised by My Geek Box's efforts this month. I was worried that the theme would lend itself to a boring supervillain-fest, so it was nice to see that they did things a bit differently. Once again, they didn't include an info card so I was really relieved that I knew what everything was. They could definitely improve this box with an info card. In terms of the value, I think that it was pretty good this month, but that might be because all of the items will be of use to me.

I definitely liked the July box -what did you guys think?

August's theme for My Geek Box is 'Toons', so I'm assuming that we can expect to see a lot of animation related items in the next box.

Popinabox Funko Pop SDCC Exclusives

Popinabox: Funko Pop SDCC Exclusives

Link: www.popinabox.co.uk

Popinabox are now allowing people to preorder San Diego Comic Con exclusive Funko Pops from this year's SDCC!

There are some amazing Pops on offer this year, covering a bunch of different great shows and films - Supernatural, Breaking Bad, Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Who (just to name a few!)

I'm in love with Funko Pops of any variety, but the SDCC variants are always very special. I'm treating myself to the 'French Mistake Castiel' and the 'Eleventh Doctor SDCC Exclusive' this year. I can't wait 'til they start sending them out!

N.B. I know that this isn't strictly subscription box related, but hopefully it's of some use to the Funko Pop fans among you :)

Popinabox July 2015 Review (Part 1)

Popinabox: July 2015 Review (Part 1)

Link: www.popinabox.co.uk

I came home from work today to find this box waiting for me. I was fairly sure it was from Popinabox, but unfortunately they don't put any identifying information in/on their boxes so it can be hard to confirm if you receive a lot of deliveries.

I was also surprised to see such a small box - my subscription is for 2 Pops, and this was definitely only the size of 1 Pop. I've seen on their Facebook and Twitter pages that a lot of other people have received fewer Pops than they subscribed for, and I have definitely been charged for 2, so hopefully I will receive my other Pop in a few days!

This Pop was amazing though! I am very, very happy. Popinabox really indulged my love of Supernatural by sending me this guy:

'Dean Winchester' from Supernatural (Underground Toys Exclusive)

He is both metallic AND blood splattered - I couldn't have asked for more! I only have one other limited edition Pop in my collection (Grey Wind from GOT), so it's great to be sent a ltd. edition from a fandom that I really love.

I do already own the 'standard' Dean Pop, but in this instance I am more than happy to have the two of them in my collection - especially as I will probably keep the ltd. edition in his box. Here is a pic of the two of them together for comparison:

So, I don't know what my 2nd Pop is yet - or what is going on with that - but so far I am thrilled with this month's efforts. Make sure to check back for Part 2 if/when the next Pop arrives!

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 :)

NerdBlock July 2015 Spoilers

Nerd Block: July 2015 Spoilers, 'Humanity's Last Hope'

Link: www.nerdblock.com

The theme for the July 2015 Nerd Block is 'Humanity's Last Hope'. I was considering not purchasing this box because the theme didn't really grab me at first, but the spoilers released so far have been very promising.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Both the Classic and the Horror Block will include a Buffy the Vampire Slayer item this month. The item is apparently the same in each, but with a variation of the item in the Horror Block (I believe). To me that would suggest either a comic or a figure of some kind, but that is purely speculation at this stage. I am really happy to see a Buffy item being included in the box - it was one of my absolute favourite shows growing up.

Ghostbusters

The Classic Block this month will contain an Exclusive Ghostbusters item. There's no suggestion of what the item might be, but I'm excited to find out. Ghostbusters is always a good choice for a box like this - there aren't many who don't really love that film.

Both 'spoiler' items sound perfect for me so I am now a lot more excited for this month than I was previously. I can't wait to see what else they include in this box. What do you guys think?

EDIT:

Mad Max

Nerd Block have announced that there will be a 'Mad Max' themed item in this month's box. I have never seen Mad Max, but hopefully this is exciting news for a lot of people!

Fan Mail June 2015 Review

Fan Mail: June 2015 Review, 'Fantasy'

Link: www.myfanmail.com

My Fan Mail box arrived yesterday, which was a lovely way to end June :) I've been seriously excited about finding out what these guys have to offer.

The box was full to the brim and looked very, very promising! The first thing that fell into my lap was this:

A 'Legends & Lore' Info Sheet

This lists a load of upcoming tv and film releases, book releases, video game releases and cons in the next month. I thought this was a really nice touch. The things that they list are diverse, so it should be of some use to most people.

'Toothless' T-Shirt - Created by Fan Mail

I'm a big fan of 'How to Train Your Dragon', so this put a big smile on my face. Even though black t-shirts aren't my favourite, I absolutely love the design on this. My only bugbear is that the sizing is awful. I thought that a box aimed specifically at women would actually put out clothing that felt feminine and flattering, while still looking geeky and fabulous. Apparently that remains to be a pipe dream. I ordered a 'small' but the t-shirt is huge and completely shapeless - although I guess it is possible that maybe they thought I meant 'small' as in 'a small rhinoceros'.

Something tells me that I am not the only one with this complaint, as Fan Mail have sent around an email in the past couple of days announcing that they now do a greater variety of t-shirt sizes and styles.

'Philosopher's Stone' Soap (Note: I refuse to call it the Sorcerer's Stone. Just...no)

Again, love Harry Potter and loved the idea of this. It's really cute and makes a great geeky item while being functional and smelling incredible. Seriously, it smells really good! It's so nice that I almost don't want to use it. It's really authentic looking. I may have to just use it for display.

'Legend of Zelda' Necklace

This was a really nice addition to the box - who doesn't love Legend of Zelda? The string is maybe a little shorter than I would normally like, but it still looks really cute on. I really like that we got some jewellery - that's something that I've always missed in unisex boxes.

'The Hobbit' Thranduil Brooch

I'll be honest, I had no idea what this was until I looked it up. I'm a fan of the Hobbit, but apparently not that much of a fan! It seems like a relatively obscure reference. It is beautiful though, I really like it as a brooch. 

Harry Potter Nail Decals

These are awesome! I've never tried nail decals before, but now I have a reason to. I really like these, they're very subtly geeky.

Game of Thrones 'Purple Wedding' Invitation

I absolutely love this, because I am Game of Thrones mad. I guess there's not that much you can do with it, but I think it makes a really nice wall piece for anyone who is a fan of the books or the show. It's not flimsy either, so it's definitely nice enough quality to display.

'Once Upon a Time' and 'The Hobbit' Badges

Yaaaayyyyy...more badges.

Info Card

The info card for this box was really good - with a full pic and description of each item. I love it when boxes have these in.

Overall:

I honestly thought this was a great first box. They kept firmly to the theme and represented a handful of wonderful fantasy fandoms with great quirky items - and it definitely had a more feminine feel to it than other boxes. As soon as the t-shirts are sorted out then I think this box will be a total winner for the discerning nerdy girl. 

The biggest problem for us Brits is the price. Do I think it has a good value for the American prices that they charge? Absolutely. Do I think that it has good value once you've paid for international shipping? Sorry, but no. I think that more than £30 a month for a sub box, even a really good one, is way too much.

I may still buy one of these boxes from time to time because I think that they have some really good stuff to offer and I love their overall mission. Unfortunately, it will have to wait until I'm feeling a bit richer.