by Ed Fortune
Summer is here, and that tends to mean lots of Birthdays and special occasions. Events such as Father’s Day are a good excuse to give that special someone in your life a lovely geeky gift, though you don’t need a reason, and you don’t need to be related to someone to send them a lovely surprise. Let’s look at some of the lovely things you can spend your hard-earned cash on.
Though not for everyone, a lot of us like a good drink. Stormtrooper Space Craft Beer is inspired by the iconic armour produced and designed by Andrew Ainsworth, and this beer from a Galaxy Far Far Away is officially licensed by his company, Shepperton Design Studios. They do a nice collection of drinks, from Galactic Pale Ale to Shadow Stout, as well as a variety of Stormtrooper helmet-themed goods. Only available in the UK.
Coffee and D&D go hand in hand; if you’re pulling an all-nighter to finally defeat the Frost Maiden, you’ll probably want a lovely cup of coffee to keep you going. With names like Beholder Brew, Dragon Fire Roast Blend and Displacer Decaf, these are all fun flavours to add to the experience. Available with all the branded accessories you need so you can keep going before you take a long rest to recover your spell slots.
Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest – Arrow Exclusive
Ten discs of 4K Ultra Bruce Lee action? Presented by Arrow Video, who always do superb work? In its own luxury box set with documentaries, as well as a hardback book and many photos, etc. How can you say no? This is a must-have and a very nice present for the Bruce Lee fan in your life. (Which is all of us, yes?)
Wallace & Gromit Techno Trousers
Though aimed at kids, Build Your Own’s range of paper-based craft projects are likely to delight all ages. These ‘just complicated enough’ cardboard and paper kits required patience and a large table, and ended up with something rather fun at the end. In this case, the Techno Trousers from the Wallace and Gromit classic, the Wrong Trousers. Deeply silly, and yes, of course, it comes with its own Feathers McCraw.
Doctor Who: Serpent Crest (Tom Baker Signed Edition)
If you’re a serious collector of all things audio, you already have a collection of very special vinyl, and every big Doctor Who fan loves Tom Baker. Doctor Who: Serpent Crest brings these two things together in a rather lush collection. This full-cast audio adventure by Paul Magrs co-stars Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey and Richard Franklin as Mike Yates. Featuring Tom Baker, David Troughton, Michael Jayston, Simon Shepherd, Terrence Hardiman, Joanna David, Sophie Ward, Andrew Sachs and Nerys Hughes, and original sound design accompanies the familiar Doctor Who theme from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. And some very lovely looking vinyl, sleeve covers and notes.
Probably the most significant table-top miniatures release this year, Star Wars Shatterpoint is a miniature skirmish game that is both fun to paint and play. It’s a larger scale than your typical minis game, and the models are from the Clone Wars era of the franchise, which means we get Ahsoka, Anakin, Darth Maul, Asajj Ventress, some clone troopers, some Mandalorians and a whole bunch of droids and scenery. It’s fast to play and easily available.
Beadle and Grim – Magic: The Gathering Platinum Edition Set
If you really, really like Magic The Gathering, take a look at Beadle and Grim’s luxury Magic the Gathering set, which contains pretty much everything you want to be inspired by Magic’s cyberpunk and sorcery Kamigwa setting. Including a backpack, card sleeves, deck boxes and setting material such as maps, art, plushies and a demon mask necklace.
Scalextric is great fun, and their TV and Movie tie-in cars are nicely detailed. Everything from Mr Bean to Knight Rider can be found in their new range. The Batmobile is especially joy-filled, featuring the classic 60’s rocket car and very goofy-looking Adam West Batman.
Marvel Legends Series Guardians of The Galaxy Volume Three
You’re never too old for action figures, and Hasbro’s Legend series are particularly nice toys. The most recent Guardians of the Galaxy movie has inspired some particularly nice models, which include Adam Warlock and an exceptionally shifty-looking Kraglin. One of these toys makes a lovely gift, and the entire series also gives you enough parts to assemble Cosmo, the best space dog in the world.
The new Robosen Elite Optimus Prime is a highly advanced and innovative robot that can be programmed and will actually transform. Standing 16 inches tall, this toy is modelled after the original generation one toy. With 125 different sound effects, including performances from the voice of Optimus Prime himself, Peter Cullen. Though it’s not the Robo Butler we were promised by the cartoons, it’s still an awesome thing.
