Halo Toy Review: Mega Bloks Red UNSC Spade

MB grey logo
Mega Bloks Red UNSC Spade: Set #97158

Technical Specifications:
Build Time: 10 minutes sorting time, 30 minutes build time. You time may be less. Mine includes taking the pictures and setting up the set for action poses at the end.
Set Piece Count: 212
Minifigs: Sand color Spartan Mark V [B], Sand color Spartan ; 2 Jackals; 2 Spec Ops (Black) Grunts (Halo Reach style)
Weapons: Assault Rifle, Grenade Launcher, Pistol, Beam Rifle (Halo Reach style), Plasma Rifle, Needler, Plasma Pistol, 2 sticky grenades (translucent blue)
Accessories: 2 Jackal Shields (translucent blue)
Price: $35 in-store, $32 online plus shipping Wal Mart Exclusive!
Special Features: Wheels roll, allowing vehicle to roll along a surface

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

MB Red Spade Box
The box as always is neatly designed. The front shows the set in a fantasy view, while it also has a “window” through which to see the mini figures. The back once again shows the sets and figures with some explanations of the spade and figures. MB Red Spade minifig tray
Here’s the front window close up. You can see all of the figs and weapons through the window. The Jackals shields are inside the box, however.MB Red Spade contents
Here is what you get inside of the box.MB Red Spade parts list
I checked my parts inventory list against the parts as I sorted them out. All were present and accounted for. As usual, there were extras that Mega Bloks tend to include.MB Red Spade sorted
Above shows the pieces sorted out. If you have the orange spade, this will be extremely familiar to you as they are the same parts, just in different colors.MB Red Spade chassis-suspension
We begin with the build of the chassis and the “motor”. Not an actual motor, just pieces that fit into place where there would be a motor.MB Red Spade engine-cab
The front fenders and bed of the spade are built up.MB Red Spade wheels
Above we see the spade almost done. I’m showing the wheels specifically in the view to show how they are properly added to the vehicle. If you look on the box, you can see the way the treads go. It’s a minor thing, but I like consistency. At this point the vehicle is done. So don’t forget to remove those powder blue parts underneath, that were used for stability while building the spade.
MB Red Spade ortho
Orthogonal views of the spade.MB Red Spade mirror
Above, I wanted to point out that when not in use, you may want to consider pointing the side view mirrors inward. Those pieces are tiny and might possibly be lost if they snag on something. Pointing them inward makes that less likely.MB Red Spade weapons-accessories
Here we have a nice selection of weapons. The Spartans get an Assault Rifle, Grenade Launcher, a pistol and a frag grenade. The Covenant get a “Reach” styled beam rifle, plasma rifle, needler, plasma pistol and two sticky grenades. I like that those are translucent blue. That means they are armed and ready to blow up something! Also note the two Jackal shields.MB Red Spade ortho minifigs
Be sure and click on the picture above to make a whole lot bigger. You’ll be able to see much more of the detail to these figures. We have had these all available before, however, the Spartans and Grunts have not been available in those colors. MB Red Spade leftovers-mini build
In the pic above you see the pieces left over. As per usual, I try to make something of them. If I can, I try to make as close of a mini model of the set. I think you can see the spade in the mini build. No wheels or roof, but still…LOLMB Red Spade battle
Oh no! The Spartans are ambushed! Will they survive the Covenant Assault???MB Red Spade friendsOh wait, the Covies just needed a ride to Toshi Station to pick up some power converters. Happy Trails!

Summary: This set is a VERY quick build. Having already had the orange spade, there were no surprises for me. Red happens to be my favorite color, so I was happy to see this one made. The inclusion of TWO Jackals is VERY much appreciated as they’ve been rather under-represented in Mega Bloks sets, until recently. I’m always happy to have more grunts and with those being “Spec Ops” black armored grunts, even better! The Spartans have a nice sand color to them. I bet they’ll look great next to all of my other “Desert” troops! This set does not come with stickers. I’m actually okay with that. It looks factory fresh and not field tested like the orange one does.

Overall Rating: I give this set 9.5 out for 10 medals. This is a nice color variant of the spade. While I would have enjoyed a blue version that is game accurate, red is fine by me. No complaints with the set. I might have had the Spartans in a different color and I’d have liked to have had painted weapons. But those are minor. For me, the big draw was the two Jackals.

The price for this set might seem steep. However, if you factor in that it includes SIX mini figures, then the price is much more reasonable. Using the single blind pack figures as a model for price, those being on average $3 each, the figures alone in this set make up $18 of the $35. That means the Spade is $17. Now if you also factor in the typical 10 Cents per piece formula (this is what I always use), and the set having more than 200 pieces, you’re definitely getting your monies worth.

This is a Wal*Mart exclusive. I couldn’t find any local to me and had tried once before to buy it on Wal*Mart’s website. They sent me the wrong set. That discouraged me from ordering online again. ‘Lo and behold though, this weekend being Easter…Yeah I know…I’m a big kid… my wife got this for me at a Wal*Mart that we stopped at over the weekend.

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