After far too long a break, it's time
for another unboxing. This month I decided to go with a titan of the
subscription box world, Loot Crate. When I first started looking into
boxes, this one got set aside due to having what I viewed as somewhat
lackluster offerings. However; over the summer they're boxes raised
dramatically in quality with plenty of cool exclusive stuff,
especially in the heroes and villains boxes. I even hunted a joker
figure from the villains box down on ebay for my brother. With
nothing else of interest in the September box offerings and the
promise of an exclusive Supernatural item, it seemed like the right
time to give it a go. Did it live up to expectations? Let's find out.
First off, we should note the theme
for this month is Summon, so a general mix of magic/mysticism/the
occult was in order. It's a fairly appropriate theme for this time of
the years as we kick off Halloween festivities without jumping in
completely. Overall, they abide by a theme better than other boxes
I've tried which garners a few points.
As for the service itself; the box is
fairly cheap at only $19.99 shipped with plenty of coupon codes
floating around for anyone who wants to shave off a few bucks. Their
website is nice & functional, very easy to access. Shipping
was....ok. I'm not used to having things sent through Fedex so I
don't know if this is normal, but despite one of their trucks going
around town yesterday, they left my crate with the post office where
it sat for a whole day before being delivered. Just seems very odd to
me. You don't run a ball all the way down the field only to hand it
off to a different team for the touchdown.
Once the box was open and my hand went
searching inside, the first thing I felt was a lump of cloth. It's a
Pikachu knit hat with lil pokeballs attached. I'll admit to not being
a fan of Pokemon, or headwear for that matter, but I don't completely
dislike this. Thing's well made and big enough to fit even my massive
dome. Just a shame that I only wear hats for about 30 minutes of
winter. It's not really an issue though as my sister has snatched
this up as her own.
The second item on hand is a
Hearthstone stress ball. Guess stress balls show up quite often in
boxes but it's a first for me and as a very touch sensitive type it's
definitely a fun item to have. Interesting looking too.
Next came another of the highlight
items. When the theme was announced, the art included Homer Simpson
and they noted there would be a kidrobot item included. I surmised
this could only mean the Homer Buddha and boy was I on target. Very
happy to have this lil guy. From his donut throne to his prayer beads
and pretzel accessories this is just one awesome figure. To top it
off, the regular price for one of these on is almost as much as the
crate itself.
Even though I've been a fan of
Supernatural for years, collectibles related to the show have never
managed to enter the house. Naturally this made the prospect of an
exclusive more than a little interesting. The final product is a
little mixed though. It's a lil replica of Dean's Impala. I'd come
across some of these at the store just a couple nights ago so I
wasn't sure what made this one special. The key difference is this
Loot Crate version has the original Kansas plates from the pilot
episode while the mass market version features the later Ohio plates.
Not exactly what you'd call a big deal and I'm disappointed it's not
something more character focused since this month's art showed
Castiel, not some classic car. It's not an awful item. I'll
definitely hold on to it and place it on the shelf with other
goodies. Just wish they'd had something slightly more unique than a
really nice Hot Wheel.
Lastly we've got the smattering of
tiny bits & pieces. Every Loot Crate comes with a pin, so that's
joined other pins on the lampshade. The solid coin was a promo item
or something from Blizzcon and it's pretty cool. In fact, my coin
flipping nephew pestered me into letting him have it. The coin's also
perfect for scratching off the code on the voucher for exclusive
Hearthstone cards. Never played the game. Not sure if I'll give it a
try and use the code or maybe sell/give to somebody who's already
into it. There's also a flier for some Master Summoner app that uses
augmented reality features to interact with your box once it's been
turned inside out and turned into a summoners book. Yes, even the box
itself is a toy with these guys. Lastly is the magazine which tell
you all about the items, clothing available through the lvl up
programs, a few articles, and stuff for a Summoner Wars card game
(not the plaid hat one). Dunno for sure if it's supposed to work with
the aforementioned app or what. Haven't taken the time to find out.
In the end I'm fairly satisfied with
Loot Crate. This month didn't live up to the expectations set by the
previous three but overall it makes up for shortcomings with a
combination of good price, decent service, some customization (the
lvl up cloths), you get the idea. It's good stuff. I'd rank it above
box of dread and comic bento, maybe even toy box since it has the
advantages of lower price and shiny new items. My sister actually
wants to subscribe for next months time travel theme which works out
great as I've got some other boxes to try. Speaking of which, the
plan for next month is Marvel Collector Corps with their villains
box. After that, November will be all about Killer Crafts Friday the
13th box. If you're an Elm Street fan, they're using that theme in October. I'll wait for Jason.
That's all for now folks. There are
plans for two more blog entries before this month is out. In the meantime
wish me luck cause I'm going to the yearly pumpkin carrying contest.
Few things embody fall quite like an armload of gourds.
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