Fallout

Bethesda has always been rather reticent to license out its properties for merchandising, and to an extent I can appreciate wanting to maintain that kind of control. As a person who constantly wants to display his fandom to the detriment of every shelf and open space in a home, it's been frustrating. For whatever reason, the release of Fallout 4 brought about a change in policy for Bethesda. It wasn't long after the release of Fallout 4 that we soon saw Bethesda properties finally getting their moment in the collectible sun. If ever there was a video game that was deserving of its own action figure line, it's Fallout. The series has been around for decades, and the current incarnation under Bethesda is both widely acclaimed and a fan-favorite. Like many other Fallout fans, I picked up the Funko Pops and looked over the company's action figure offerings. They were solid efforts, but in my eyes, not quite enough for my own investment in this game franchise. For the hundreds and hundreds of hours I'd spent in the wastes, I craved something more substantial. Fortunately for me, so did ThreeZero.

Until Fallout 4 came around, collectibles based on the franchise were few and far between. There were hoodies and bobbleheads, but if you wanted a vault dweller or Brotherhood of Steel action figure, your options were basically non-existent until this latest sequel arrived. Unlike previous entries, Fallout 4 brought with it a number of apparel and collectible options. Though some made it to market early enough to capture the hype and momentum of Fallout 4's release, ThreeZero's Fallout 4 Power Armor figure is going to be a little late to the party. Not that it matters all that much, because as any Fallout fan can attest, there ain't no party like a Fallout party cause a Fallout party never stops. The T-45 Power Armor is just the first of a planned line of power suits from ThreeZero, but it being the lead-in makes sense given how prominent the "standard" suit is in the game. Previous Fallout titles all just had you get the armor and slap it on, but with Fallout 4 came the Power Armor frame. Without one, you couldn't assemble your own suit, but with one, you could customize each and every aspect to suit your particular needs. Instead of just giving us the suit all articulated, ThreeZero's gone one further and replicated the frame as well, giving you just as many options for customization as you have in the game. In theory.

In an alternate timeline where nuclear energy paved the way to all kinds of technological advancements (including robotic servants), the Fallout series plays off of the often unsaid fears that were prevalent throughout American culture during the Cold War, when humanity was seemingly calm about the potential of a nuclear catastrophe, just as long as everybody was able to get their slice of the American Dream. In order to celebrate the launch of Fallout 4, we're scrounged up the best fan art of the franchise we could find. Just don't be surprised if you're left glowing green by the end of it.

This week, the fan-made web series Fallout: Nuka Break debuted on YouTube, and trust me on this one: It's awesome. Set in the post-apocalyptic Atomic Age world of Bethesda Softworks' Fallout video games, Nuka Break follows the adventures of three survivors in the California wastelands as they eke out a living, get shot at with alarming regularity and search for a tasty (and hopefully not irradiat