☆ Pang Man’s Geek Fuel Subscription Box Review (Jan 2017) ☆ @TheGeekFuel

For those who are unfamiliar with Subscription Boxes, essentially the concept is that you pay a monthly fee (usually around £20) and in return every month you get delivered to your doorstep, a large mystery box full of geek/gaming related goodies inside. These may include things such as figurines, games, clothing, posters, key chains, and mugs.

The appeal for me is that it’s a bit like bringing back the nostalgia of opening a present at Xmas or on your birthday. You get the excitement of not knowing what’s inside. It might be amazing or it might be crap. Half the fun is finding out!

This subscription box includes at least one t-shirt per month, and if I’m being honest, this is one of the reasons for me to subscribe. You see, I hate clothes shopping and I tend to only buy clothes in bulk once a year.

Needless to say, the same sets of clothes are thus recycled in photographs taken throughout the year, so this way I am guaranteed to at least improve my wardrobe variety!

Another reason to subscribe is because the values of the items that you receive are supposed to be worth more than the cost of the subscription.

The first subscription box I will be reviewing is called "Geek Fuel"

www.geekfuel.com

@TheGeekFuel

It costs about £24 a month (the slightly higher cost is due to international shipping from the US to the UK).

Subscriptions can be on a 1-month re-occurring basis or on a longer term if you prefer.

The longer term options (3 months, 6 months and 1 year) mean you pay less for each box, but you pay slightly less per month.

So what will I be judging the box on?

Well, usually the box consists of 5+ items and maybe 1 filler item. I would consider a box to be good if I am happy with most of the non-filler items.

Now bear in mind that fandom is subjective so what I might think is good (say something Mario related) might be considered to be rubbish by someone else, and vice versa.

If an item is exclusive (i.e. not available anywhere else) and of good quality then that will increase my rating.

So let’s get started!

Presentation:

The packaging is red and distinctive, a bit like a large red shoe box. I like the branding and quickly open it up

Everything is packed neatly, and although Geek Fuel does not do themes, Carrie Fisher is featured prominently, which is appropriate given her sad recent passing.

A description card summarises the contents inside.

Star Wars T-Shirt:

The first item in the box is this Star Wars T-shirt. I like the design (orange contrasts well against the black) and K-2SO was one of my favourite characters from Rogue One. (Rogue One was a good film, but if I am being honest I think I preferred The Force Awakens a bit more overall).

There is also an AT-ACT walker within the silhouette.

It is also an item that is exclusive to Geek Fuel so that increases the appeal for me as well. I ordered a Medium size t-shirt (you can choose your size when ordering).

Fit and quality are decent (not super comfortable but comfortable enough!). I will definitely wear this so I am happy with this item.

Rating: 3.5/5

Green Arrow Collectible figurine:

The next item we have is the Green Arrow model from Q-Fig (who produce a series of figurines similar to Funko Pops).

It comes with a speech bubble whiteboard where you can write a personalised message (should you desire).

I think the quality is good, and I have watched the Arrow TV show, so I think this is a solid item overall.

I randomly got the Green Arrow Q-Fig, but The Flash, Mr. Freeze, and Harley Quinn Q-figs were other possibilities I could have received.  

Rating: 3/5

Zelda themed Rupee Soaps:

Now, this is a strange one. Usually, I would hate the idea of getting soap as a mystery box item. It’s not something I would associate as being suitable for a Gaming subscription box, however for some reason this works.

The packaging is designed to look like a treasure chest and inside is the soap shaped treasure Rupees.

For fans of Zelda, or on fact any dungeon RPG game, this is a pretty cool item and it is exclusive to Geek Fuel as well.

They smell good, are solid to hold and have a good weight to them.

One design improvement that would have improved the look is if Geek Fuel had continued the treasure chest design on the inside covers as well. At the moment the inside flaps are plain white, so the overall opened treasure chest visual isn’t quite there.

This is a minor criticism, however, and this overall was my favourite item in this month’s box.

Rating: 3.5/5

He-Man themed Enamel Pin:

I loved He-Man as a kid (I reckon I still have the Lion-O sword in my parents' loft) so this is right up my alley.

I usually am not a big fan of pins, but this exclusive design is very eye-catching and perfectly in line with the He-Man nostalgic look.

I will keep it in its original packaging as I think this looks pretty good to display.

Some lucky subscribers would have got the rare Skele-Fuel pin, but I’m pretty happy with the 'He-bot' one.

Rating: 3.5/5

Ninja Pizza Girl Steam Game:

Each month a code is given for a Steam game. This is a pizza delivery side-scroller that looks pretty cool.

Rating:

Don’t think I will I have a chance to play this (too many games on my list to play).

The code is available in the photo for the 1st reader to use it!

Carrie Fisher Badge:

This is a filler item, of Carrie Fisher’s silhouette. To me, it is ok, not bad but not great either.

Rating: N/A (Filler item so no rating)

Magazine:

Each month a small magazine is included with a few articles. It is a fairly entertaining read, with a nice article on Carrie Fisher.

There was also an interesting piece on things you can buy if you are rich, such as your own Cinema Batcave! A few more photos of the Batcave would have been nice, as I am quite interested to see some more close ups of the finer details, but that is a minor quibble.

Rating: 3/5

Overall Rating:

Overall this was a good start to my subscription. I liked the main items (of which 3 were exclusive to Geek Fuel), and there was nothing that I thought was of low quality/appeal.

I will definitely continue my Geek Fuel subscription for the time being and see if the quality is maintained) in the coming months.

Rating: 3.5/5

Pang Man

(Want me to review a subscription box or other gaming/geek related merchandise?

If so give me a shout on twitter @Pangman2017 or email me on Pangman2017@gmail.com!)

"Stay Frosty"