Nerd Block Jr. - March, 2014

Mike here. A couple of months ago, Nerd Block started advertising that they were coming up with a new subscription box geared towards kids called "Nerd Block Jr.". As more information became available, it was revealed that there would be two different boxes based on gender. The marketing for the boxes was honestly somewhat disheartening. The box for boys was going to be blue and the brands it was supposed to have included Nintendo, Marvel Comics, Star Wars, DC Comics, and more. The box for girls was going to be pink and the brands it was supposed to have included Hello Kitty, My Little Pony, Monster High, Furby, and more. I can somewhat understand Hello Kitty and My Little Pony being in the girl box, but even those have fans of the opposite gender. The other brands, in my opinion, are not very gender specific. My niece, for example, loves Star Wars. My friend's daughter knows a heck of a lot more about Nintendo than my 5-year-old boy cousin, AND she has a favourite Avenger. Oh, and what about Bronies? Wasn't there just a story in the news last week about a boy who brings a My Little Pony lunch box to school? And, I'm not talking about a high schooler. No, I'm talking about a 9-year-old.

Not all was negative, though. You've seen me continually criticize Nerd Block for the decrease in quality of its included products, especially when it came to including toys one could find in a dollar store. With Nerd Block Jr. and larger adult Nerd Blocks planned to hit at the same time, it seemed like Ned Block was looking to move some of the cheaper products to the Jr. boxes and then provide better stuff in the adult one. Now that it's March, you've heard what I have to say about Nerd Block Adult. Here, we'll see if the Boy and Girl boxes are worth the price of admission.

In case you didn't know, Nerd Block Jr. is a monthly subscription box and each month, people receive all sorts of products from "nerdy" franchises. Here is some information:

- choice of Boy or Girl box
- $13.99 USD plus shipping per month per box

- $20 USD / $22 CAD total per month per box in Canada

- arrives around mid-month in Canada

MARCH, 2014

NERD BLOCK JR. for GIRLS

Photo by Ryan F.

Alrighty, here we go! I will start off by admitting that I did not subscribe to either of the Jr. Nerd Blocks. Instead, I got my information from friends. Let's start with the Girl box. Here's a list of what was received in my buddy Ryan's daughter's box with approximate Canadian retail prices in brackets next to each item:

- My Little Pony Tin-Tastic Tin ($8.00)

- My Little Pony Slap Band ($2.00)

- Mega Bloks Moshi Monsters Build-A-Monster ($8.00 / $5.00 on Sale)

- Mega Bloks Hello Kitty Blind Bag Figure ($2.50)

- Disney's Brave Bear Plush ($15.00 / $7.50 on Sale)

My Little Pony Tin-Tastic Tin

I remember seeing these tins at HMV late last year. You could buy them or get one for free when you purchased a certain amount of stuff. Now, they're available at my local comic shop. You get a silly-looking tin, pencils, a sheet of stickers, and 2 rubber pony figures. Not bad for 8 bucks and a fun thing to get for Nerd Block Jr. subscribers who are into My Little Pony. Plus, this tin is definitely something that I feel fits a kids box.

Photo from Amazon.com

My Little Pony Slap Band

Adding to the pony fun is a slap band which reminds me of the snap bracelets kids had back in the 1990's. There is a big difference, though. Back in the old days, snap bracelets were covered in cheap fabric that frayed and eventually fell off. These new millennium slap bands are covered in sturdy rubber. Three cheers for progress!

You only get one band.
Photo from Amazon.com

Mega Bloks Moshi Monsters Build-A-Monster

I have no idea what on Earth this is. I mean, I love Mega Bloks and have given their perpetually-on-sale Moshi Monsters a quick glance each time I am in the building blocks section of Toys R Us, but I don't know anything else. Enter Google. Oh, look. They're monsters that are a combination of cute and angry. You build them. Ryan's daughter got the one that's some kind of mischievous flame rabbit. Cool.

Photo from Amazon.com

Mega Bloks Hello Kitty Blind Bag Figure

I don't know who thought making blind bags for blocky Hello Kitty figures was a good idea, but I will admit that I bought one of these a long time ago. Like, 2 years ago. I swear it was for manly comedic purposes. Really. Stop laughing...

Photo from Amazon.com

Disney's Brave Bear Plush

The most expensive item in the box is a bear plush from Disney's "Brave". Uh, Nerd Block, you're a little late here. I think "Frozen" is the movie de jour. I smell "Bargain Bin Toy" all over this bear, although I still think it's pretty cool. Regular retail price is indeed $15.00, but wait for one of the Disney Store's plush sales and you can get it for half price or less.

Photo from Amazon.com

NERD BLOCK JR. for BOYS

Now, let's take a look at the boy version of the Jr. boxes. Ryan's friend was the one who got this for his son and my thanks goes to him for permission to post his photo. Here's a list of what was in the box with approximate Canadian retail prices in brackets next to each item:

- Star Wars Battle Droid Figure ($8.50 / $5.00 on Sale)

- Star Wars Slap Band ($2.00)

- Mega Bloks Hot Wheels Racer ($8.00 / $5.00 on Sale)

- Mega Bloks Marvel Blind Bag Figure ($2.50)

- Mario Kart Racer ($2.00)

- Skylanders Key Chain ($4.00 to $6.00)

Star Wars Battle Droid Figure

The most expensive item in the Boy Nerd Block Jr. is kind of crappy. Of all the Episode 1 characters they could have included, Nerd Block went with a Battle Droid? It's bad enough that this particular series of figures that has Darth Maul on the back board is roughly 3 years old and almost always on sale for around $5.00 at Wal-Mart. Getting a Battle Droid adds insult to injury. But, hey, at least it wasn't Jar Jar Binks, right?

Photo from Amazon.com

Star Wars Slap Band

I love Ewan McGregor and his interpretation of Obi-Wan Kenobi. I also think that the new rubber slap bands are a neat advancement in snap bracelet technology. But, seriously, what's with the Prequels love? We all know the Original Trilogy is where it's at! Down with Episodes I to III slap bands! :p

Photo from eBay.ca

Mega Bloks Hot Wheels Racer

This toy is pretty cool. You build a Hot Wheels car and then use a rip cord to make it zoom across your room. Problem. This is yet another product that keeps getting the SALE sticker on it. Right now, Mega Bloks has some decent, lower-priced sets for Skylanders, Call of Duty, Halo, Smurfs, and Power Rangers out that would be a much better fit than bargain bin Hot Wheels racers. Besides, if Mega Bloks is trying to promote their products, they've failed by letting Nerd Block include an almost-discontinued series. I mean, what if I got this car and liked it enough to want to get another one, only to discover that they're no longer available in stores? Would I suddenly buy a set from another Mega Bloks series? Nope.

Photo from Amazon.com

Mega Bloks Marvel Blind Bag Figure

Yet another Mega Bloks product. I guess we know which company had the most overstock to get rid of. But, wait. This blind bag has a Marvel Comics figure! It's Series 3, too! That's the latest series of these figures, right? Sure, it certainly is. However, did you know that they came out 2 years ago AND have been discontinued?

Photo from Amazon.com

Mario Kart Racer

Hey, look! It's a cool Mario Kart racer! This must be awesome and expensive, right? It's Nintendo after all. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, but I see these toys sold at Dollarama all the time for $2.00. Canadian. That's, what, 5 cents in the US? Kidding, kidding. It's around $1.75 in the US.

Photo from Amazon.com

Skylanders Keychain

I unfortunately don't have a photo of this last item. However, I've looked into all Skylanders key chain products out there and the price is generally between $4.00 and $6.00. From what I've seen, the various key chains are all of decent quality and have some cool designs. Considering the popularity of Skylanders right now, I think this was a good product to include.

OVERVIEW

I'm honestly quite shocked by the variance in quality of included products in the Jr. Nerd Blocks. I feel that the Girls box was much better than the Boys box. It's not really a dollar value issue since you may find cheaper products that are better than more expensive ones. Instead, I just find that you can do much more with the stuff in the Girls box overall. Of course, this doesn't mean I'm happy overall. No, I am completely disappointed with Nerd Block Jr. as a whole. Almost everything included is unsold product that the respective companies are trying to just get rid of. This shows me that the problems plaguing Nerd Block aren't exclusive to the adult boxes. This is a company-wide issue that needs to be addressed. I already cancelled my adult Nerd Block and I sure as heck will not subscribe to Nerd Block Jr. It's really a shame since this subscription box company had so much potential.

~ Mike

Nerd Block - November, 2013

All right! We are finally caught up! Today, I will be talking about the most recent Nerd Block. In case you didn't know, Nerd Block is a monthly subscription box and each month, people receive all sorts of products from "nerdy" franchises. Here is some information:

NERD BLOCK

- $19.99 USD plus shipping per month

- $30 CAD total per month in Canada

- arrives around mid-month in Canada

November, 2013

After a great start and a decent second month, I eagerly awaited the arrival of the third Nerd Block. What I expected was the usual shirt, blind box figures, and small doodads. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to get no blind boxes at all and some decent stuff. Here's a list with approximate retail prices in brackets next to each item:

- Adventure Time T-Shirt ($15)

- Nightmare Before Christmas Oogie Boogie Pop! Plush ($12)

- Iron Man 3 Boxos Papercraft Set ($17)

- Super Mario Star Stress Ball ($3)

- DC Comics Originals Little Mates Batman Key Chain ($7)

- Zombie Splat ($2)

I've mentioned before that I'm just a casual fan of Adventure Time, but I really like the T-shirt this month. It's not a particularly clever design or something that will catch the eye of every passing person. But, it's dynamic and the shirt isn't black. Whew! The fit, as before, is great. As a reference, I normally wear Men's Large T-shirts since I'm a 44R. This month's shirt fit me perfectly. Also, the quality is still good like before. I'm glad since I would hate to see the people at Nerd Block start cheaping out on its subscribers.

The Nightmare Before Christmas Pop! plush is my favourite item in the box. I have to say, however, that this was one month too late. I feel that Oogie Boogie would have been perfect for the October Nerd Block since it was Halloween month. But, hey, Christmas is coming, so I'll give the Nerd Block people a pass on this one. The Pop! plush is one of the items this month that varies. My friend Ryan received a plush of Jack Skellington in his Santa Claus outfit. I admit that I'm extremely envious of him for that, but I love Oogie Boogie, so I won't go and try to steal Ryan's plushie. Or, will I?

A couple of years ago, Jess introduced me to the world of papercraft. We bought some card stock, downloaded some very nerdy papercraft patterns, printed them, and then made enough paper creations to fill an entire shelf. We also made papercraft gifts for friends that year. Unfortunately, we never kept up with the hobby since we got extremely busy at work, which is why we were quite happy to receive the Iron Man 3 papercraft set in this month's Nerd Block. It doesn't require printing or cutting. We just have to put the pieces together. Plus, there are so many different items in the set. Jess and I never made scenery or accessories for our papercraft figures since it was very time consuming. We would only make a single accessory if needed, and that's it. The inclusion of so much... stuff!... in the Iron Man set is very much appreciated.

Despite by recent disappointment in the writing coming out of DC Comics, I am still an eternal fan of the Dark Knight (even with the upcoming Batfleck). So, when I found the Batman key chain, I could not help letting out a girlish squeal that I immediately blamed on Jess. (Sorry, honey!) This is the other item this month for which Nerd Block subscribers can receive different versions. I've only seen a Joker key chain on Instagram so far, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were others. I'm very happy to have gotten Batman, and in "old school" colours to boot! If you have received someone other than Batman or Joker, please let me know in the Comments section. I'd love to see what others have gotten and how common each character is. Thanks!

The Super Mario Star stress ball seems like a cheap item to include, but I personally like it. I've never actually bought a stress ball before, but I have a bunch of free ones. This star is honestly now my favourite stress ball. I guess it wouldn't be as loved by those who are not a fan of the Super Mario series, so to be objective about this item, I'll say that it is definitely a bit on the cheap side. The star is well made, though, and from a famous video game series. So, for a smaller item, it's pretty good.

The final item is Zombie Splat, which is basically a very cheap slingshot toy. Honestly, I am a bit disappointed with this item. I understand it's fun for kids. Heck, Jess and I are going to give it to our niece as a stocking stuffer this Christmas and we are certain she will have a blast. But, it's really, really cheap and the zombies are not really zombies. They're designed more like rag dolls. Personally, I think Toysmith is trying to take advantage of the recent popularity of zombies in pop culture, and it's shame. They could have designed "zombies" that actually look like zombies, but they now have a product that looks more like one of those misnamed knockoffs you find in Chinatown. It's a stupid move by this toy maker and I am surprised Nerd Block actually included it. I would have taken another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rubber pad over this.

Overall, the Novermber, 2013 Nerd Block is the best box to date. Not only did I like most of the items, but I feel that I got more bang for my 30 bucks this time around. I don't expect Nerd Block to keep giving me more and more worthwhile items, but I do sincerely hope they at least maintain this month's level of quality going forward. Now, it's time for me to log off and build some paper Iron Men with Jess!

Stay tuned for Disney Marvel Vinylmations and Jess' first entry!