Lootaku is a premium monthly subscription based service to fulfill everybody’s geeky addictions. Our box features full figure statues and Asia exclusives that you will not find in any other subscription box. We promise no filler or promotional items, and our values are always based on current cheapest prices on Amazon.
Prices and values on the Lootaku website are given US dollars.
A one month subscription is $44.99 (three and six month subscriptions are cheaper). At current exchange rates this is £33.36.
UK Shipping is $17.66 (£13.09). It’s a little on the pricey side, but this is a premium box and it’s coming a long way.
1-month subscription total: £46.45.
This month’s theme has just two franchises: Dragon Ball and One Piece. The contents are slightly different the usual. It contains, for the first time, three large figures and two small figures; five items total. Usually there are six, but they have included fewer this month due to the inclusion of more large figures.
Anyway, more on that later.
Lootaku has an awesome shipping box. I love the treasure chest design, and I’ve never had any problems with damaged items. This is impressive considering it’s come from a long way away.
Yep, there are some big figure boxes in there!
Anyway, let’s start with something from Dragon Ball.
This Banpresto figure is Dragon Ball Super Soul x Soul Trunks.
As usual it come in several pieces. (The disembodied hand and head are ever-so-slightly creepy.)
Anyway, put them together and you get this.
The stand is clear, which gives the figure a sort-of ‘floating’ effect.
This is a terrific action pose. You could combine it with other figures from the same series to create battle scenes.
Fierce!
Next up, another Dragon Ball Super item.
This is a Mega figure from the Banpresto World Collectible Figure line: the Capsule Corporation Time Machine.
The legs and dome are separate.
As you can see, it’s a vehicle rather than a figure! Makes a nice change.
It’s unusual to find vehicles from the series available as figurines, so this is a fantastic addition to your WCF Dragon Ball collection.
Now we have items from the other series featured in this box, One Piece.
The third large figure, it’s an SCultures Big Colosseum VI Vol. 3 Luffy figure.
Again, it has a stand that suspends the figure in the air.
This figure is designed by Fukuya Yata, a veteran figure sculptor.
Another beautifully detailed large figure.
Finally, we have two smaller items, again from One Piece.
Two Mini Pirate Ships. Single pieces.
Going Merry, the first ship of the Straw Hats Pirates.
and…
Thousand Sunny, the second ship, built after the destruction of the Going Merry.
Here’s the menu card.
It contains some details about the various items, plus values. I never take the values as gospel, simply because this is a box from Hong Kong and often their items are Asia-exclusive or at least extremely difficult to find in the UK. Also I find you can never rely on RRP for anything. That being said, I’ve not yet valued the contents of one of their boxes at less, or even equal to, the price of their subscription.
It’s a smaller card than usual, but then, there are fewer contents this month.
I’ll start straight in, as I always do, at the value according to prices I can find online. If I can’t find prices in GBP I use an online currency converter so they’re correct at time of writing. I can’t always take into account shipping costs of individual items, but I do my best to be fair.
Often I can find things on Amazon, but some of the items in Lootaku boxes are nigh on impossible to source in the UK, so sometimes I have to guesstimate. I also don’t use eBay as reference, as I find prices are not reliable or realistic.
We saw at the top that the monthly subscription is £46.45.
Dragon Ball Time Machine: £24.00 I found this on a site called Japan Craft. However this price does not include shipping.
Trunks figure: £29.00, also at Japan Craft. Again, not including shipping.
Luffy figure: £24.29 at Forbidden Planet, but out of stock at the moment.
One Piece small ships: I found these two for £7.18 on AliExpress. Shipping is free, but delivery time is 20 – 40 days.
Total: £84.47
So this is well over the value of the box itself.
Now then, I can’t quibble with the value. It’s superb, as Lootaku always is. It is a premium box with premium items, and they are beautiful figures.
As I mentioned earlier, this is a slight departure for them, including three large figures. Past boxes have generally included a maximum of two figures of this size.
But there’s something about this box which leaves me feeling a little meh. The quality and value are excellent, but I just can’t get excited about a box which only contains figures.
I totally get that with three large figures the remaining items are going to be smaller. Those large figures are expensive, and again, this would be amazing value even without the little ships. But those little ships just felt like an afterthought. Their quality isn’t great, you can see seams and the point job isn’t perfect. It’s especially noticeable when you compare them to the beautiful detailing of the large figures. I reckon you could get one or two other fun non-model items for around the same value, and it would be enough of a difference.
If figures are the only thing that float your boat then you’ll be over the moon with this box.
I do love the Time Machine model. The bright colours and shape are fantastic, and it’s not a standard character figure.
BUT, I’m a geek, and I like a little variety in my geeky stuff! I like things I can actually use, not just display.
The last few months Lootaku have been including some really awesome non-figure items in their boxes, and I’ve absolutely loved them. Last month, for example, they included the most gorgeous backpack, and July’s Game of Thrones box was epic. I’ve also acquired such items as scarves, coasters (which were both exclusive and gorgeous) and plush figures.
So yes, this box is terrific value, fantastic quality, with super-premium figures.
But next month, please Lootaku, I’d really like to see more of the fantastic creativity and variety you’ve had in recent boxes!
