Category Archives: Halo Collecting

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Halo Reach series 6 McFarlane figures and sets.

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There is one thing we fans of Halo have been certain of for the last couple of years, every 3-4 months there is a new wave of figures from McFarlane. I say this as a good thing. Here are the latest pics of this wave of figures and sets (descriptive text copied from spawn.com):


Jun (unhelmeted)
The Noble Team Spartans of Halo: Reach, unlike Master Chief, are seen both with their helmets and without. This new, alternate version of Noble Three brings back Jun with his unhelmeted appearance. Figure includes his signature Sniper Rifle and a Frag Grenade.


Kat (unhelmeted)

The Noble Team Spartans of Halo: Reach, unlike Master Chief, are seen both with their helmets and without. This new, alternate version of Noble Two brings back Kat with her unhelmeted appearance. Figure includes her signature Magnum and a Frag Grenade.


Brute Major
The fearsome Jiralhanae, better known as Brutes, dominate the battlefield with their raw strength and savagery. Only those warriors who have proven themselves in battle may earn the right to wear the distinctive gold armor of the Major class. Figure comes with Spike Rifle and Plasma Grenade.


Elite Zealot
The Covenant dispatch Elite advance teams to hunt down artifacts of value to their religion. Such teams are small, nimble, and almost always Zealot-class. Our latest Elite figure features the unique armor and maroon color of the Sangheili Zealot. Figure comes with Concussion Rifle and Plasma Grenade.


Sabre Pilot
When the planet Reach was threatened by a Covenant supercarrier, Noble Team initiated the daring Operation: UPPER CUT to take it down. Noble Six and Jorge took the lead, but they couldn’t have succeeded without the assistance of the brave Sabre pilots of Echo Team. Our Sabre Pilot figure features the simple blue flightsuit and enclosed helmet of the UNSC Air Force — essential for the cramped cockpit conditions and proximity to the vacuum of space. Figure comes with DMR.
NOTE: the pilot is a rerelease of the Pillar of Autumn marine with a color deco change and LESS armor. Here is the original release:

Spartan HazOp (male) (rust/rust)
Some operations are considered hazardous even for a fully armored Spartan. These ops call for the specialized HazOp armor set. This Spartan features the Hazardous Operations helmet and shoulders, orange “rust” paint, and includes a Focus Rifle and a Plasma Grenade. Exclusive to Toys “R” Us.


Spartan Recon (male) (team red/team red)
Developed in ONI’s Beta-5 Division Ordnance Testing Facility, the Recon armor was intended to offer stealth capabilities with little or no loss of endurance. This figure comes with matching Recon helmet, shoulders, and chestplate; is painted in bright “team one” red; and includes the intimidating Rocket Launcher weapon and a Frag Grenade. Exclusive to Wal*Mart, Target, and Gamestop. First ever Silver visor Spartan along with the JFO Spartan from this wave.


Spartan JFO (male) (white/white)
The Joint Fires Observer helmet is reserved for Spartans of Lieutenant Colonel rank and above. Figure comes with matching JFO helmet and shoulders, white armor, a Plasma Grenade, and an all-new weapon: the devastating Target Locator. Exclusive to Walgreens. First ever Silver visor Spartan along with the Recon Spartan from this wave.


Team Objectives
Our first-ever Halo Accessory Pack brings the action of Halo: Reach multiplayer to your figure collection! Stage an epic match of Capture the Flag between your Red Team Spartans and Blue Team Spartans with detailed replicas of the highly coveted team flags — or pit your players against one another in a heated round of Assault with the Capture Plate and Assault Bombs. Want to throw an Elite or two into the mix? We’ve even included the Covenant version of the Assault Bomb, first introduced in the new map, Breakpoint. The Team Objectives Set includes a team red Spartan Mark V with Gravity Hammer, a Red Flag with detachable base, Blue Flag with detachable base, Neutral (Gray) Flag with detachable base, 5 Headhunter skulls, UNSC Assault Bomb, Covenant Assault Bomb, and a Capture Plate.


Invasion
The multiplayer action continues with an expanded pack of figures based on the high-stakes, Spartan vs. Elite mode known as Invasion. On the Boneyard map, the Sangheili invaders team up to infiltrate a UNSC shipbreaking yard and steal a Data Core full of military secrets. The humans get their chance to infiltrate the enemy on the Spire map, which features a team of Spartans infiltrating a heavily guarded Covenant tower. Our Invasion 3-pack includes a red team Spartan Grenadier custom with Grenade Launcher (first ever blue visor spartan), a blue team Elite General with Plasma Repeater, and both a UNSC Data Core and Covenant Data Core for each soldier to defend or capture.

 

Mega Bloks Review: UNSC Spade Vs. Skirmisher

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UNSC Spade vs. Skirmisher: Set number 96981

Build Time: 5 minutes sorting, 15 minutes build. Total 20 minutes.

Set Piece count: 204
Minifigs, Weapons and Accessories: Reach style Marine, Skirmisher, “Grenadier” Spartan, right “JFO” arm, left “CQC” arm, Base “Grenadier” helmet, Base “Mark V” torso, Assault Rifle, Needle Rifle, Heavy Machine Gun, Marine Backpack, Grenadier Backpack, long ammo crate
Special Features: 4-wheel independent suspension
Dimensions:
Price/Value: $19.99 US

The set has 204 pieces, all but the minifigs, weapons, and accessories are dedicated to the Spade model. The set was a quick build, though there was one instruction error near the beginning. Step 4 puts 2 2×2 brown plates in the wrong position. Instead of in the middle as the step describes, they should be one pip closer to the front as subsequent steps show.
From there on the directions are right. The only problem with some is that the brown and dark grey colors are so close in hue and the directions are so small that it might be hard to distinguish which part you need, so “read” carefully when building.

Click on images to see a larger version.

I showed a pic of the box earlier. Here it is now again for reference.

Here is the back, note the cool armory sets coming soon and the complementary Air Assault Spartan vs. Shade turret.

Here is what you get when you open the box:

Next the minifigs, weapons and accessories:

I’m not fond of the blue-green color on the marine, however it is close to the in-game model (which again I’m not fond of the color). This is not a knock on Mega Bloks, rather the choice of color by Bungie. Apologies that the extra Spartan armor isn’t clear in the photo. To note this spartan is by far the BEST spartan Mega Bloks has produced for the Halo line. Not only is the sculpting top notch, the paint application is extensive and brilliant. The addition of a metallic olive green makes this minifig shine, literally.
The only minor issue I have is with the skirmisher’s plumage. It should be black with slight silver/grey highlights, not silver/grey with black highlights. It’s an easy fix to custom. It likely won’t detract for kids.
The marine’s sculpt is fantastic. While I dread the color, I do look forward to getting more of this style marine. Hopefully we’ll get him in different non-game colors. I’d like to see a green/brown version and a sandy/brown version.

Here are the pieces sorted in what I always call the “brick yard.”

Steps 1-10 nets you this:

Steps 11-14 build the base of the bed of the Spade.

Steps 15-21 piece together the engine area, front and mid frame.

 

Steps 22-25 complete the rest of the frame and add on the front bumpers and tow cable assembly

Steps 26-28 add the wheels and antennae. Here is a shot of the completed set with minifigs.

I elected not to put the damage stickers on my set, preferring a clean version of the Spade. The hubcaps on the tires are a fantastic sculpt. Oh, of note, the inner grey wheel hubs were a bit of a pain to insert into the rubber wheels. Kids should get their parents to do this for them.

Here are the parts left over:

As always I try to make some little minirig or something out of the left over pieces (makes them easier NOT to lose as well:

All in all this is a fantastic set. Great new minifigs with excellent sculpting and paint application. The Spade seems to be just a tad oversized, however I’m fine with that. The build time was fast and other than the one misstep in the instructions, it was not complicated.

I enjoyed new color bloks. Orange, Brown, and light Blue!

The Spade is somewhat of an obscure vehicle from Halo Reach and I was a little surprised that we got it. It was definitely one though that I wanted Mega Bloks to make and they did not disappoint. Now if we can get the blue and green versions as well!

For the typical retail price of $19.99, this set holds it’s value. With three and a half minifigs and a full sized vehicle it’s hard to refute the price given that minifig sets of 4 are normally $12 nowadays. So for just and extra $8 you get the vehicle too.

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 medals.

 

Mega Bloks Halo series 4 blind packs vid and info!

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Fellow collector and friend of HaloFanForLife Kevid Hurd found series 4 (all except Cortana which was cherry-picked out of the box).

The codes for these are as follows:

Artic UNSC Pilot a15111mm
Green UNSC Marine a16111mm
Yellow UNSC ODST a17111mm
Blue Covenant Elite a18111mm
Cooper Covenant Brute a21111mm
Crimson Elite Pilot a22111mm
Purple UNSC EVA Spartan a23111mm
Cortana ?????????

He presents the following video:

 

 

McFarlane Series 2 Anniversary, 2-pack, and 3-pack picture!

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Here is a brand new pic of the upcoming Series 2 Anniversary, 2-pack, and 3-pack sets.

I personally am VERY happy with the anniversary figures, in particular Captain Keyes. I am all for Campaign unique figures. It will be great finally having Guilty Spark and Sentinels. The Generator set is interesting, and I’ll get it more for the JFO figure, but will still have a place for the generator. The Spirit of Fire Red team set is excellent. Looking forward to getting them and all the rest shown in this picture.

 

Mega Bloks Prototype set?

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Here is a shot of a set that is likely a prototype. The revenant will be coming out with the Skirmisher Vs. Revenant set in 2012. Though I’d LOVE to see this set (pictured) come out as well. I like the gun tower and the set itself mimics the previously released Warthog vs Covenant AA set.

Mega Bloks Spade Vs. Skirmisher set!

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Here is a pic of the back of the box of the soon to be released Spade Vs. Skirmisher set. I talked with Andrew Sparkes, VP of Boys Brands at Mega Bloks last night. He had just built the set that day and said it was an extremely fun build.  Note the Jorge figure. Finally a straight up Noble team member. There is no denying that’s Jorge. The Skirmisher looks great. The only thing I don’t like about it so far is that it’s plumage on it’s head should be black as that’s how it is in game. I’m totally digging the needle rifle it carries though.  The Spade itself looks awesome and I’m hoping to see it again in it’s green and blue colors.

of note as well on the box are the other sets. There is a white EOD set, with possibly white Mark V pieces, an Elite Ascetic set, EVA/Marine set with extra Scout and CQB armor. And of course the Shade set mentioned previously here.

I’m excited for this set and all the other sets shown. Mega Bloks has really done an excellent job of making fun sets and sets we ask for.

Kudos to Mr. Sparkes and his whole team at Mega Bloks for making the line fun and worthy to collect!

Update, now a pic of the FRONT of the box!

Mega Bloks Revenant 2012 set, minifigs and a glimpse of part of other new sets.

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New pictures have surfaced of the 2012 Halo Mega Bloks Revenant set. Note the new Elite Ultra, and Plasma Rifle. Also note the Health Shield due to release in the Spade VS. Skirmisher set. Look inside of the shield and you’ll see a core that is actually for the normal (Halo 3) bubble shield. Check out the Carter-esque minifig. He’ll be part of the upcoming Armory line.

 

Simply amazing. This shows that 2012 will get off to a great start for Halo Mega Bloks.

Mega Bloks Halo “Test Shot” weapons!

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I recently acquired these “test shot” weapons from the Mega Bloks Halo line. Test shot refers testing the molds for pieces. Note the very different color choices for the weapons in the pictures. I was extremely happy to receive these given their rarity, especially the fuel rod gun since it’s only just been released to market.

 

The needler is brown if you can’t tell and the Spartan Laser is a dark grey. The all black flamethrower is also very cool!

Mega Bloks Covenant Drop Pods spotted!

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Check out these two new cool drop pods from Mega Bloks!

The image is in reference to a post on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150581221039392&set=o.276961586008&type=1&ref=nf

Note the extremely cool and new Fuel Rod Gun with detachable fuel cells. Also, the battle damage paint on the Zealot elite pod is fantastic. I personally can’t wait to get these for my collection. Price will vary by store, however should range between $10-13.

Thanks to “Mr. Sci-Fi” on HaloCollectors.com for pointing this out.

 

 

New McFarlane Reach Toys. Series 6!

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The soon to be released series 6 looks fantastic!

I’ve bought all of the unhelmeted Noble members so far. So, it’s a no brainer for me to buy Jun and Kat.

The Sabre pilot looks good and will go great with the other UNSC troops.

The Elite Zealot looks sleek in it’s crimson armor. Menacing.

I’m really looking forward to the Brute Major. McFarlane really has done justice to these brute figures from Reach. Lots of detail and paint.

All in all a good to great wave of figures. Though I’m still hoping for more unique campaign figures…

New McFarlane Reach Toys. Invasion/Objective set.

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Here we have a pic (small as it is), of the upcoming packs for Invasion and Team Objective. Prices will vary by store, however should be in the range of $30-33 each.

What’s great about the Invasion set is that you get EACH of the power cores, plus notice the very cool BLUE visor on the Spartan! (That may change though)

The Team Objective set comes with it’s on set of goodness. All three flags, blue, red, and neutral, a flag capture plate, both the UNSC and Covenant bombs, and 5 skulls for headhunter. Personally I’d rather this set NOT come with a spartan so the price would come down. I suspect though that McFarlane is making that a selling point and also justifies the higher cost.

Now if only the Elite General were made in it’s red color!

Mega Bloks Elephant on sale at Target for $64.99! (Normally $99.99)

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Folks, if you’ve been thinking about buying this set and haven’t yet, NOW is the time. You’d be hard pressed to find a better deal on the Elephant. It’s a behemoth of a set and comes packed with goodness.

Here it is in front of the box.

Here is a closer view.

As you can see this set comes with several minifigs. The most notable being the Black Recon Spartan. There are two square crates, a power core and of course the awesome all black mongoose as great accessories to the set.

You can read my full review of this great set here: Halo Mega Bloks Review: Elephant

I highly recommend buy it and at the Target sale price, well what are you waiting for? Go and get one now!