HFFL’s Spirit of Fire podcast for 4-6-14: A PLETHORA of Halo topics!

Spirit of Fire Podcast LOGO_R-sm

It’s been awhile yet again since we last had a podcast. This show brings a LOT of news and topics discussed. From the Halo 2 Anniversary rumblings and rumors, to lots of Halo swag coming this month, to Halo music deals, swag, other collectibles and MORE!

We’ve got 2 hours and 16 minutes of discussion waiting for you to listen to. Beyond listening to it here or downloaded from the blog, you can also search for us on iTunes under podcasts as “Spirit of Fire”.

      SoF 4-6-14

or download below to listen to at your leisure:

SoF 4-6-14

Please enjoy and let me know what you think of this cast!
-Sal

 

Halo Toy Review: Mega Bloks UNSC Offworld Cyclops

MB grey logo
Mega Bloks UNSC Offworld Cyclops: Set #97214

Technical Specifications:
Build Time: 1 minute sorting time, 3 minutes build time.
Set Piece Count: 51
Minifigs: UNSC Marine (Halo 4 style mold w/non-game paint application)
Weapons: Shotgun (Black)
Accessories: Backpack (Green)
Price: $15-17 depending on where you buy from (In USA market)
Special Features: 12 points of articulation not including the cockpit hatch that raises and lowers also

And on with the pics! (Click pics to make BIGGER)

MB UNSC Offworld Cyclops packageThe packaging for this set is just as good if not better than it’s preceding cyclops. As you can above, the front shows the set very well. It looks built in the package. However, it’s not, so be aware of that when you open it so as not to have pieces fling about.
The back of the package shows the set off very well as well as the previous 4 incarnations of the cyclops. The new painted Halo 4 style Marine is seen on both sides as well.
The text blurb on the back says the following of this particular Cyclops:
“Many UNSC and Covenant vessels were destroyed during the course of the war, their remains left hanging in orbit high above the surfaces of human colonies. In order to recover valuable assists and technology, the UNSC deploys Offworld Cyclops into the harsh conditions of space, giving the operator access to these harrowing debris fields.”
The right side of the above pic shows the card without the bubble. Nice little piece of graphics there.

MB UNSC Offworld Cyclops contentsHere are the contents. Hidden behind the lower insert of the package are the directions and that little bag of parts.

MB UNSC Offworld Cyclops sortedHere are those parts from the bag sorted out.

MB UNSC Offworld Cyclops DirectionsThe directions on the front are in and of themselves a mini-poster. I wish this came flat instead of folded. Ah well, no biggie there.

MB UNSC Offworld Cyclops limb assemblyAbove shows the limbs assembled then attached. This build is extremely easy and fast. You should have it out of the package and complete in 3 minutes or less.

MB UNSC Offworld Cyclops arc welderGiven the description on the back, I’m going to assume this is an arc welder. Since it’s a construction type cyclops and not and war type cyclops, that fits in.

MB UNSC Offworld Cyclops hose positionAbove shows the better way of putting the hose on. It may seem odd that the longer side should go in the back, however…

MB UNSC Offworld Cyclops hose position 2When you see it attached and then how it easily stretches down to fit into the arc welder it makes sense. I tried it the other way to be sure and it doesn’t really work well the other way, with the short side inserted into the back.

MB UNSC Offworld Cyclops weap-accHere is the marine’s gear in the set.

MB UNSC Offworld Cyclops minifigThe marine minifig. It’s not a game accurate paint job. However, given the task of this marine and it’s uniqueness, I’m perfectly fine with it being painted differently from other marines. I can immediately identify it as the Offworld Cyclops’ pilot.

MB UNSC Offworld Cyclops minifig-cockpitYou can easily fit the marine into the cockpit. There is a pin that protrudes from the seat back once you’ve attached that, that inserts into the whole in the back of the minifigure. This keeps it in place. As you can see in the middle above, you can also place the backpack and shotgun inside the cockpit. At right shows you can close it with all of that in there too.

MB UNSC Offworld Cyclops cone storageFor easy storage, I put the cones on the back of the cyclops. It also (kind of) looks like jets that would propel it around the area of space it is working in.

MB UNSC Offworld Cyclops FINAnd finally here is the end action pose! No the arc welder doesn’t glow. I added that touch. As you can see, the cyclops is indeed well articulated.

Summary: This set is VERY quick to build. It’s the same base set as the other cyclops, but with different attachments and paint scheme. At $15, it’s reasonable. I wouldn’t want to pay more than that, so shop around. Target and Wal*Mart would have these for that price, while Toys R Us has it for about $2 more.

Overall Rating: I give this set 10 out for 10 medals. This is by far my favorite of the 5 versions of cyclops that have been released to date. The arc welder is neat, but for me, it’s really the paint scheme.

As a native Pittsburger, I’m partial to these colors since all three of our major sports teams use black and yellow (which we say is gold and not yellow…). In fact, this cyclops looks much like an older uniform worn by the Pittsburgh Steelers from the top up (see below).

Steelers_alternate_uniform

So yeah, there’s that.

I highly recommend this set, especially if you have all of the other 4 cyclops. If you’re from Pittsburgh, then yeah, most definitely get it for the colors!!! LOL

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of the review. If you have this set yourself, please give me your thoughts on it too!

-Sal