Mega Bloks Anniversary Collection Battleground Set #97519

Technical Specifications:
Build Time: ZERO. Unless you count the fins on the Brutes back.
Set Piece Count: 61
Minifigs: X2 Halo 2 UNSC Marines (1 pale skin, 1 brown skin). 2 Brute Minors, Tartarus
Weapons: Rocket Launcher, Assault, SPike Grenade, 2 translucent Red Brute Plasma Rifles, Gravity Hammer (w/ silver and bronze detailing)
Accessories: 2 olive green UNSC backpacks, 2 back mounted ‘fins’ for Brute Minors
Special Features: N/A
Cost: $15

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

This is another of the several gifts my wife got for me for my birthday.

The front box art is of course well done. The window into the package shows all of the figures with exception to one of the Brute Minors.

The back of the box shows the set’s attributes. As well, you get a look at three of the new sets out now. The Shadow (far bottom right) goes quite well with this set as they are both halo 2 specific sets.
The contents of the box.
And the pieces sorted. 
Here you see how the back fin is assembled. Quite simple. This is the only building step there is for this set.
This Brute minor has different coloration when compared to other Brute minors. They definitely stand out as being part of Tartarus’s tribe of Brutes.
Tartarus himself. This is a very cool NAMED mini figure. I would have loved for him to be a bit bigger, since he’s the largest brute we’ve seen in the games. Though for continuity in size of mini figures, I can understand Mega’s choice to keep him the same height as the other Brutes.
The back fin post fits snugly into the hole in the Brute’s back. I also tried using just the fin inserted into the back. While it sits lower on the back, it works ok. The higher seating is more game accurate though.
Yes, there are two marines, however, since they are both the same, save the skin color, I elected to only show one of them this time. The Halo 2 Marine as you see has brighter/light color armor and clothing than the Halo 3 and Halo 4 Marines. They are quite distinguishable in that way from the others.
As you can see above, the Halo 2 marines do not have thigh armor. And finally, here are the Marines hopelessly outmatched. Maybe that rocket launcher will save the day.

Summary: This set takes no time to build. I would have liked the back posts to have been thinner. However, that’s not a detractor for me. Having 2 brute minors and 2 marines makes this a great set for army builders. Tartarus is one of the names characters for this year. I’m SO glad Mega has finally made him. That character was high on my list of wants for named characters.

Overall Rating: I give this set 9.25 out for 10 medals. This set would have been a 10 but for two reasons. The back post is a little thick. That tends to make my eyes look at it, instead of the figures. That’s small though and only accounts for .25 of the .75 I took off for the set. The .5 as some of you probably have guessed is that there is no true ‘Fist of Rukt‘ with this set. Don’t get me wrong, the silver/bronze gravity hammer is cool and very distinct from all other gravity hammers. It’s just not the ‘Fist of Rukt’ though. This would have been a golden opportunity for Mega to have made an iconic weapon of Halo.

I suspect the reason is that it would have been hard to justify the cost to make the molds for what will likely be a one-time use for this weapon.

If you follow that link above, you’ll see what is really looks like. I think that could have been possible with blok pieces instead of a specific mold. That’s my only disappointment in the set and I’ve heard that echoed by other Halo Mega Bloks collectors, so I know I’m not alone in that sentiment.

Again, other than that, this set is very cool. At a cost of $15, this is spot on.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely! It’s an easy way to build up Halo 2 marine squad and Tartarus’s Brute minors. As for those extra Tartarus’s, I’m positive they would be great for trading. Not to mention, you could make a younger version of Tartarus by painting the white hair brown and the skin color darker.

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

If this review gives you an informed decision on whether to purchase the set or not, please consider a small donation (50 cents) maybe. It’s much appreciated and helps ensure that HFFL stays on the internet.

Thank You.
-Sal