Loot Crate - July, 2014 - Villains

Hey, peeps! Mike here, and I'm writing a Loot Crate entry even though it's not August yet! I am, of course, referring to the ridiculously late delivery of my previous Crate. Well, I am happy to inform you that things are back to normal in July as my box arrived a couple of days ago. Wahoo!

You may be looking at the photo above and wondering what on Earth is with the box. I had the exact same thought when it arrived. The thing was so flat that I actually grew concerned that I was going to get ripped off this month. When I opened it, this is what I found:

Is that... Is that a custom box with custom box art? HOLY BLACK SHARPIES, BATMAN! It IS a custom box with custom box art! Whaaaaaat?!?! Okay, okay. Calm down, Mike. You have a blog entry to finish!

For those of you who haven't heard of Loot Crate, it is a monthly subscription box that caters towards "nerds" and "geeks". Each month, subscribers get a themed box of 6 to 8 items. What's interesting is that Loot Crate has different subscription programs. Here's a breakdown:

1 Month Plan - $19.37 USD / $29.95 CAD per month

3 Month Plan - $55.11 USD / $84.00 CAD per 3 months

6 Month Plan - $105.99 USD / $162.00 CAD per 6 months

JULY, 2014 - VILLAINS

I think this month's Loot Crate theme is pretty self explanatory. When I first heard about it, I was really excited since there are so many awesome villains out there. Who will they choose? What kind of villain-ly products will they put in the box? Will there be custom items? Let's find out! Here's a list of what I got:

- Loot Crate Mini Magazine ($2.00 CAD)

- Loot Crate Theme Pin ($0.75 CAD)

- Bowser Magnet ($3.00 CAD)

- Darth Vader Keychain ($6.00 CAD)

- Crossover T-Shirt ($15.00 CAD)

- Necessary Evil DVD ($9.00 CAD)

- DC Comics Posters ($5.00 CAD)

- Deadpool Socks ($12.00 CAD)

- Rocket Raccoon #1 Comic ($4.50 CAD)

Custom Loot Crate Box

First things first, I have to talk about the box. It's incredible! I was blown away by the drawings inside. They're fun and really fit the theme. Someone clearly put a lot of thought into this month's Loot Crate and this kind of effort is incentive enough for me to keep my subscription going.

Loot Crate Mini Magazine

This is the second month since Loot Crate tested out going digital with its mini magazine. I'm very glad they went back to a physical magazine last month since it's so much fun! This time there are articles, activities, product descriptions, and much more. Plus, the cover is super awesome.

Loot Crate Theme Pin

The monthly pin is slowly turning into my least favourite item due to the horrible print job. The photo above had to be edited in Photoshop in order to see the details of the picture, yet Darth Vader's helmet is still almost impossible to see clearly. That is unacceptable.

Bowser Magnet

If the monthly pin could be printed as clearly as this awesome magnet featuring Nintendo's Bowser, I would be one happy Looter. Look at this thing! It's awesome! I already have it proudly displayed on the side of my fridge!

Darth Vader Keychain

I'm digging the Vader keychain. It's made of rubber of a decent quality and has a cool helmet design. I've seen a glossy metal version of this and honestly like this one better because it's lighter and the matte finish really works for it.

Crossover T-Shirt

You already know that I'm fed up with receiving black T-shirts from my subscription boxes, but I will make an exception for this one. The design is absolutely perfect and it works best on a black background. I will definitely be wearing this shirt!

Necessary Evil DVD

I'll admit that I have lost interest in the DC Comics universe as of late, but this documentary about the villains of DC is something I'm definitely going to watch at some point. I mean, I really shouldn't let something like the worst reboot of a comic book universe ever deter me from enjoying this film, right? :p

DC Comics Posters

I apologize for the so-so photo of these letter-sized posters, but they were connected to each other and rolled up. I don't know how I'm going to separate them properly, but I'll find a way. As for whether I'll be displaying them... Well, I think the Joker one is definitely not wall material, but Harley's pretty awesome.

Deadpool Socks

OMGBBQ! DEADPOOL SOCKS!

Rocket Raccoon #1 Comic

Okay. This item's pretty friggin' cool. I was already considering getting the first issue of "Rocket Raccoon" at One Million Comix, but now I don't have to since I have a copy of it with an exclusive Loot Crate cover! This is just so incredibly awesome. It's definitely my second favourite item in this months' box. Can you guess which one is my absolute favourite?

OVERVIEW

This was the best month I've had so far as a member of Loot Crate. Every item, even the poorly-printed pin, was good. There was no junk. The total value of the items definitely exceeded the price of admission. Oh, and DEADPOOL SOCKS! I can't stress enough how important to me it is that a subscription box company put some thought and effort into putting together a box. Loot Crate has been consistently good and that's why I will keep moving forward with them.

Next month, the Loot Crate theme will be Heroes, which has got me all excited to see if the items can match the awesomeness of those from this month. If you're interested in learning more about Loot Crate, please check out their Web Site. If you would like to subscribe, you can get 10% off using the code HEROES.

As a final note, my sister-in-law Felicia has a wicked cool food blog that I highly recommend you check out. Meals at her place are always awesome because she and my brother-in-law make insanely good food. So, go to Food Hackerette. You won't be disappointed! 

Thank you so much for reading this blog entry. See you again soon!

~ Mike

Loot Crate - June, 2014 - Transform

HAPPY CANADA DAY! Mike here, and it's July. Yes, it is July. So, why am I writing this blog post about the June Loot Crate in July? It's because I received my Crate yesterday. I am not happy about that. My buddy Ryan got his box over a week ago. Usually, mine shows up either a day before his or 2 to 3 days after. When I checked the USPS and Canada Post web sites, they both originally said my box was to arrive on the 26th. However, on the 26th, the date was changed to a shocking July 2nd! I was extremely close to writing a letter to Loot Crate when my box finally showed up. I may actually still write them, but at this point, I'm just glad to HAVE a Crate. Anyway, I'm sure you guys have already read some other blogs or Tweets about people's unboxings, so if you do take the time to read through my post, thank you! I appreciate your support very much. :)

For those of you who haven't heard of Loot Crate, it is a monthly subscription box that caters towards "nerds" and "geeks". Each month, subscribers get a themed box of 6 to 8 items. What's interesting is that Loot Crate has different subscription programs. Here's a breakdown:

1 Month Plan - $19.37 USD / $29.95 CAD per month

3 Month Plan - $55.11 USD / $84.00 CAD per 3 months 

6 Month Plan - $105.99 USD / $162.00 CAD per 6 months

JUNE 2014 - TRANSFORM

With Michael Bay's fourth "Transformers" movie opening in June, Loot Crate's decision to make the June theme "Transform" was a no-brainer. Plus, with Nerd Block giving its subscribers a set of Transformers KREO figures back in April, it was only a matter of time when my current favourite subscription box responded with some robot love of their own. Here's a list of what I got:

- Loot Crate Mini Magazine ($2.00 CAD)

- Loot Crate Theme Pin ($0.75 CAD)

- Crossover T-Shirt ($15.00 CAD)

- Transformers Vinyl Figure ($10.99 CAD)

- Transformers Hexbug Nano ($7.99 CAD)

- Transformers Sticker ($0.50 CAD)

- MLG Wrist Sweat Band ($4.99 CAD)

- MLG Sticker Sheet ($0.75 CAD)

- MLG Voucher ($5.00 USD Digital Value)

- Lemon Warheads x 3 ($0.75 CAD)

Loot Crate Mini Magazine

Last month, Loot Crate decided to go digital with their mini magazine. I'm guessing people didn't like that because they switched back to a paper edition this month. Personally, I don't mind either way. If it's digital, it saves space. If it's physical, it adds monetary value and is cool, but over time, I don't know what I'd do with it. Still, it's the content that matters, and this little booklet has that in spades.

Loot Crate Theme Pin

One of the reasons I was really excited to get this month's Crate was because of the really cool design of the 1337 bus Transformer that I knew would be on the pin. Unfortunately, as with last month, the printing factory made the design way too dark. I had to Photoshop my photo of my pin in order for you to see more details, and even then, it's not that clear. That's 2 months now that Loot Crate has disappointed me with their pin quality. I honestly hope this doesn't become a trend.

Crossover T-Shirt

This is perhaps my favourite shirt that I have received in a subscription box thus far. It's not black (LOL) and it's a crossover of two of my favourite nerdy fandoms - "Transformers" and "Back to the Future". Awesome. Absolutely awesome.

Transformers Vinyl Figure

I have seen boxes of these Transformers vinyl figures at local stores and have been tempted on many occasions to buy one. Well, now I don't have to. Ha ha! I got Jazz, who is one of my favourite Autobots, so I'm pretty content. My only complaint about the figure has nothing to do with Loot Crate - It was very hard to get the gun into Jazz's hand. In fact, some of the black paint on the inside part of the hand scraped off onto the gun's handle before I could finally get it to pop into place. Not good! I still love the vinyl, though. It's definitely a great inclusion in this month's Crate.

Transformers Hexbug Nano

I knew of Hexbugs before, but I didn't know there were Transformers ones. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's basically a toy that looks kind of like a cockroach. When you turn it on, the little thing vibrates. This vibration allows it to "walk" on flat surfaces. I took a video to help you understand what I mean.

Transformers Sticker

This is a pretty cool sticker made by the same company that made the Transformers vinyl figure. I would have preferred getting the Autobots one instead, but this Deceptacon one is still awesome.

MLG Wrist Sweat Band

Many years ago, I attended a Major League Gaming event at FanExpo Toronto. It was a lot of fun and I even bought a long-sleeved MLG T-shirt. This wrist band would go nicely with it. Unfortunately, I don't wear my shirt nor really care about MLG anymore. LOL For fans of MLG, however, this is definitely a nice item to have.

MLG Sticker Sheet

I honestly have no idea who these MLG teams are, so this sticker sheet is definitely not for me. As with the wrist band, fans of MLG would probably appreciate this much more.

MLG Voucher

This MLG voucher worth $5.00 in site-specific currency gives people one month of GameBattles Premium Access. I don't know anything about the MLG web site, but I'm going to guess that for people who do visit it, this is probably wicked cool, especially with the "Loot Crate exclusive Badge".

Lemon Warheads

"The way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Loot Crate, thank you for these delicious Warheads Extreme Extreme Sour Lemon candies. YUM! ^_^

OVERVIEW

This was a very good month for Loot Crate. It had great value and great items for fans of Transformers. I'm still peeved that my box arrives one day before July, but if it's a one-time thing, I'll let it slide. We'll see what happens later this month.

Next month, the Loot Crate theme will be Villains, which sounds very exciting to me. If you're interested in learning more about Loot Crate, please check out their Web Site. If you would like to subscribe, you can get 10% off using the code VILLAINS.

Thank you so much for reading this blog entry. See you again soon!

~ Mike