Nerd Block (Classic) - December, 2014

Heya, peeps! Mike here, and I bet you're looking at this entry and going, "WHAAAAAAT?!" I mean, I did say back in March that I was Nerdvorcing Nerd Block, right? Right. So, what's this madness, you ask? Well, my buddy Ryan just HAD to tell me that the December Nerd Block Classic had an autographed item that I could not pass up since it would make a wonderful Christmas gift for Jess (which is why she isn't allowed to read this entry until after Christmas, ha ha). Yes, I was swayed to give Nerd Block a booty call because of an autograph. Sigh.

A lot has changed since the last time I was a subscriber. The overlords over at Nerd Block HQ apparently thought it was cool to create a bunch of different Blocks, so now there's Nerd Block Classic, Nerd Block Jr. Boy, Nerd Block Jr. Girl, Horror Block, and Arcade Block. It blows my mind that they think this is a good idea. What's next? Sci-Fi Block? Fantasy Block? Nerd Block Baby? Nerd Block Teen? Nerd Block Young Adult? I can kind of understand why they're splitting everything up, but for me, one simple Nerd Block should be enough. Adding a Jr. was okay, but now it's just too much.

Anyway, 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:

- $19.99 USD plus shipping per month

- $30 CAD total per month in Canada

- arrives around mid-month in Canada

DECEMBER, 2014

Like I said above, I came back to Nerd Block because of a stupid autograph. Of course, when I clicked the "Subscribe" button, I was still hoping to be wowed by the other items in the Block. So, what did I get? Here's a list:

- Harry Potter Butterbeer T-Shirt ($15.00 CAD)

- Firefly Peanuts T-Shirt ($15.00 CAD)

- Tetris Notebook ($10.00 CAD)

- Gremlins Gizmo Plushie ($15.00 CAD)

- KRE-O D&D Figure ($2.50 CAD)

- Autographed "Willow" Poster ($10.00 CAD)

Harry Potter Butterbeer T-Shirt

OMG! WHY?! Had this shirt arrived one week earlier, I would have been able to wear it to my friend's Harry Potter birthday party! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Still, I love this shirt. Great design, good colour combo. It's a keeper!

Firefly Peanuts T-Shirt

This month's Nerd Block is special because Shirt Punch gave subscribers 2 shirts instead of one. The second shirt in my Block had the above Firefly design drawn in the classic Peanuts style. It's nice, but not for me. My only complaint is that the shirt was stained, as seen in the second photo above. It's worse because the shirt is white! I'm gifting this item, so I hope my buddy I'm giving it to won't mind washing before wearing.

Tetris Notebook

I like and don't like this Tetris notebook. It's cool and all, but when I first saw it in the box, I wasn't really blown away. When I showed it to Jess, however, she immediately wanted it, so it's hers now.

Gremlins Gizmo Plushie

I loved the Gremlins movies growing up, so getting this plushie was pretty awesome.

KRE-O D&D Figure

I love Lego and Lego-like toys, but for some reason, I've never been able to bring myself to actually buy any of the KRE-O Dungeons & Dragons random figure packs I've seen in stores. It may have something to do with the poor quality of the KRE-O Transformers toys I've bought in the past. Or, maybe they just don't look very good. I mean, check out the figure I got. Lego Castle totally kicks its butt...

Autographed "Willow" Poster

We now come to the reason why I subscribed to Nerd Block this month. That above is a poster card of the movie "Willow" featuring a real deal autograph of Warwick Davis. Nerd Block had stated that the poster could have his autograph or that of Val Kilmer. Jess loves both actors, so I  just couldn't pass up the opportunity to get her this poster. I admit that the size of the poster was smaller than I expected, but I'm still happy with it. I'm sure Jess will be delighted when she finds this under the Christmas tree!

OVERVIEW

I'll be honest - I was completely underwhelmed by Nerd Block. Sure, the combined value of the items was more than worth the price I paid and I'm happy to have an awesome poster for Jess, a cool T-shirt for my pal, and a shirt for myself. However, as a whole, I generally feel "blah" about this Block. Others may have been blown away, but I just didn't get the feeling of joy and excitement that I normally get from unboxing a Loot Crate. So, this December Nerd Block shall forever be known as my One Month Stand.

I'm sorry for cheating on you, Loot Crate.

Nerd Block - February, 2014

Hey, everyone! Mike here, and I am just a tiny bit late this month with my Nerd Block post due to work and multiple viewings of "The Lego Movie". I swear this film is my "Titanic". I'm probably going to end up seeing it a hundred times in theatres. LOL

Okay. Nerd Block. February. The shipment arrived just before the middle of the month as usual, which shows a good amount of consistency in the 6 months that Nerd Block has been around. The only difference this time around, however, is that the box arrived a little beaten up. I'm going to blame that on Canada Post. They have been pretty bad lately with my other shipments as well. *Shakes Fist at Canada Post*

Now, 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

February, 2014

Last month, I was extremely disappointed with my Nerd Block. I felt I didn't get my money's worth, and considering it was the first Nerd Block of 2014, I expected much, much better. Could the Gods over at NB HQ have been waiting for Chinese New Year to unleash the awesome? Well, let's find out. Here's a list of what I received in my Nerd Block with approximate Canadian retail prices in brackets next to each item:

- Metroid / NES T-Shirt ($15.00)

- Smurfs Tag-A-Thon Figure ($4.00)

- Halo HeroClix 3-Pack ($4.00)

- Spider-Man Minimates ($9.00)

- Marvel Mash'ems Figure ($4.00)

- E.T. Miniature Figure ($1.00)

- 80's GelaSkins Stickers ($5.00)

T-Shirt

Right off the bat, I'm going to state that I am absolutely disappointed in Nerd Block for giving people yet another black shirt. That's 4 black shirts in 6 months. I get that this particular shirt looks pretty bad ass in black, but they could have just saved it for another month. Maybe August? You know, after several months of shirts in other colours. Hey, Nerd Block! You do realize there are other colours out there, right? Red? Yellow? Green? There are shades, too, like light grey, white, and dark grey. Actually, I would have liked this month's Metroid shirt in dark grey just as much as in black. So, come on, Nerd Block! Give us some friggin' variety! *Grumpy Cat Glower*

Smurfs Tag-A-Thon Figure

Growing up in the 1980's, I watched the Smurfs. A lot. To this day, I am a fan of that show. However, am I going to play a game featuring miniature Smurfs? Nope. Am I going to collect miniature Smurfs figures? Nope. However, I can see others doing it, especially kids. With that being said, if you haven't heard, Nerd Block now has a new subscription box called "Nerd Block Jr." that starts shipping out next month. I'm hoping that the inclusion of items such as this Smurfs Tag-A-Thon figure in the "adult" Nerd Blocks will cease in March. I think I have enough gifts for my niece to last a couple of years at this point. ;)

Halo HeroClix 3-Pack

Not surprisingly, we have a second item from WizKids, a company that makes games featuring collectible miniature figures. You may have noticed above that the price I put down for the Halo HeroClix 3-Pack is the same as the single Smurfs figure. That's because the Halo series of HeroClix has been around for a while, while the Smurfs game is brand new. So, don't be fooled by the 3 figures in this pack of HeroClix. They are not worth 3 times the Smurf! Still, I'm a fan of Halo and know enough about the rules of HeroClix in general to know that I can probably add the figures from this 3-Pack into some kind of multi-series HeroClix mega battle game. Unfortunately, the Smurf is not a HeroClix, so it can't be blasted away by my new red Master Chief. Why, WizKids, WHYYY?!

Spider-Man Minimates

I am a huge fan of Minimates figures. Their concept is similar to Lego's Minifigures in that they are figures that are all based on a single mould except for the accessories and paint jobs that make them different. Unlike Lego, Minimates have more articulation, more series, and more nerd cred. Yes, I said "nerd cred". LOL Oh, and the holes on the bottom of their feet can fit Lego pegs! Awesome, right? Anyway, I'm happy to see some Minimates in this month's Block, despite the actual included figures being a little lame. This could mean more Minimates in the future, and as long as I don't keep getting crappy ones, I'll be happy. :p

Marvel Mash'ems Figure

This is yet another item that I feel belongs in Nerd Block Jr. It's cheap fun for kids and I'm sure that when my niece gets it, she'll be throwing it around her room in utter glee. Me, I have no interest in this line of toys. There probably are adults out there who would have a great time with it, though, especially ones with kids, but right now, it's not worth the money for me.

E.T. Miniature Figure

Wow, this is the second month Nerd Block has given its subscribers something that can be found at the local dollar store. I had a very hard time understanding the inclusion of last month's Hunger Games miniature, and this month's E.T. figure is making me scratch my head even harder. I mean, come on! I love E.T. and all, but do I seriously want a cheap plastic figure on my shelf? Nope. And, I can't even give this thing to my niece... because she has no clue what E.T. is... (Note to Self: Educate niece on what is awesome.) 

80's GelaSkins Stickers

This is the second time Nerd Block has included a sheet of stickers from GelaSkins. Last time, I questioned the logic since GelaSkins are supposed to be for the decorative protection of mobile devices and the included stickers were just characters' heads, which meant they were only good for decoration and not protection. Well, here we are again with more character heads, and this time they're awesome 80's characters! You will definitely not find them useful for protecting your phone or tablet, but you can certainly stick them on the back of stuff or maybe on your guitar case. They look awesome, much more so than the Ninja Turtles ones from a few months back. This simple sheet of stickers is, surprisingly, my favourite item in this month's Nerd Block. O___O

Overview

The February, 2014 Nerd Block had a lot of stuff, but not much that really made it worth the price for me. There are certainly people out there who would appreciate more of the items than me, but looking at the value of each individual item, it's really disappointing. Coupled with the fact that Nerd Block seems to be obsessed with black shirts (DARKNESS. NO PARENTS. CONTINUED DARKNESS. MORE DARKNESS. GET IT?) and we seem to have a deterioration in the quality and value of items over time. I honestly am considering cancelling my subscription, but for the sake of nerdom and this blog, I'm going to keep going for a couple more months to see if things improve. I honestly hope it does.