Loot Crate Goes to Space

It seems like every geek inspired subscription box that has come out in the past month or so has had a space theme. Did they all get together and say “Hey, let’s see who can space out the other guy?” Is there a conspiracy among the big space corporations? Is it…what? Oh, yeah, that’s right. Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released and started shattering every box office record known to man.

All joking aside, it was a good time for the many, many subscription boxes to cash in on the Star Wars craze. It showed too. Even boxes, like the Marvel Collector Corps box, that didn’t have anything to do with Star Wars managed to grab some of Star War’s coattails. Loot Crate’s most recent box may not have spanned the cosmos, but it sure packed a punch.

The box starts off with a sturdy Halo 5 ammo box to keep all of your goodies secure. I don’t know what an ammo crate and Halo have in common. Correct me if I’m wrong, but do laser pistols even take rounds? If laser pistols don’t take rounds, and even if they do, it’s a pretty neat tin. The clasp used to secure the box seems sturdy enough and won’t snap off if you have to keep grabbing ammo for your laser rifle.  I may not have laser ammunition to put inside this tin, but I have a lot dice, zombie minis, and other small tidbits that will fit perfectly inside.

If you’ve read my other “toy” reviews then you know I’m a big fan of the Funko Pop. Funko has made deals with, it seems, every major studio and video game company to create Pops based on their popular characters. You like X-Files, Pop makes it. You like Marvel characters, Pops makes them. Is Pitch Perfect your favorite movie of all time? Pop has you covered on that one too. Some are better than others, but they’re all distinctly Pops.

I know some people think the Pop is the 21st Century Beanie Baby, but the Pop has a lot more going for it than the Beanie Baby. We can identify more with Spider-Man and Superman because we know their stories. Beanie Babies had to create an identity from scratch. Once the luster wore off people stopped caring about the Babies. The Pop craze may slow down, but we’ll always know the characters and stories behind the pops. The Pop in December’s Loot Crate box is a great example.

It’s an LC exclusive of Han Solo in snow gear. More importantly, this is the Han Solo from The Force Awakens.  After seeing a lot of trailers, teasers, and finally the movie, we know this isn’t the the scruffy nerf herder of Star Wars: A New Hope. One line under each eye, thick eyebrows, and a little gray around the hair are the only details needed to convey this Han Solo is a little older and a little wiser. The smaller details of the clothes and a good blaster at his side (Technically, he’s pointing it) round out an awesome piece.

Ugly sweaters were all the craze this year. Trending right behind those sweaters were crazy, colorful socks. No longer are we slaves to boring, solid color socks. Throw those stale black, thigh highs out and grab a pair of BB-8 socks. I know you’re thinking no one is going to see the socks once you put on your pants. You’d be wrong though. These socks are bright. Cross your legs or if a pant leg raises a little high, people will see the orange and then want to see more. Show your co-workers how these two socks make one BB-8. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about socks since…ever.

Speaking of ugly sweaters, LC managed to fit one of those in the box too. Okay, technically, it’s not a sweater. Technically, it’s a t-shirt with an ugly sweater design. It’s still a space theme and it’s still a cool, ugly design of space shuttles and Mars rovers. The nice thing about the shirt is the size is accurate. T-shirts in other crates I’ve reviewed have been a size smaller than what’s on the label. So, it was nice to get a large t-shirt that is actually a large.

The smallest piece of the box is the Galaxy Quest patch. If you haven’t seen Galaxy Quest (It’s a classic you should see now!) the patch may not mean a lot. To die-hard Quest fans it’s like having a piece of Galaxy Quest without spending a whole lot of money for movie memorabilia.

Loot Crate reached for the stars with this box and made it. I’m already looking forward to what will be in next month’s crate.