These laser cut and etched models are wonderfully designed. I had the good fortune to speak with not only the designer of the sets, Manh Hoang, but the owner as well, Bill Hones. Read on to see more, learn about the product and what may come.
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This was the main display for the Metal Earth Halo model kits.
The display shows all current four sets available, with the Warthog being showcased.
The sets can be found online and cost between 11-$13 each. They can be found online at Amazon, BigBadToyStore.com, and will likely be available through http://www.metalreplicas.com as well, to name a few of online stores.
Next up is the UNSC Mantis
This set was a beauty to behold in person. Lots of detail and as you can see it comes with it’s own stand.
Metal Earth models are laser cut form a thin sheet of metal. From there, you pop out the pieces, bend where needed and assemble them.
What you get in the end is shiny model that can fit easily on a shelf or at a work desk. I know I’ll be displaying mine in my home office with some of my other prized collectibles.
Next is Master Chief’s helmet
As you can see the helmet has a lot of etching to it, even down to the fine lines on the visor. Pretty impressive, if you ask me.
and finally the Pelican
This one by far was my favorite. Intricate with tons of etching and detail. I look forward to building this!
After I got done taking photos, I introduced myself to one of the folks from the booth. He was Manh Hoang the designer of the models. We talked a bit about how the models were designed, and about my blog. He was kind enough to give me a set of each one of the four models. So I’ll be hard at work taking pics of each along with building them and of course I’ll have reviews for each.
Manh and I also talked about what future sets may be. He said they were looking into making Halo weapon models. At this point, I chimed right in with what I thought would be great weapons to have models of. He was already thinking the AR. I quickly added that the BR is by far the most favorite weapon in all of Halo gaming. Along with this I suggested a couple others. However, I didn’t want him to take just my opinion on these and suggested to him that I could run a poll on the blog to see what weapons people would want Metal Earth to make, from Halo.
So this is YOUR opportunity to help develop a Halo product line, either reply below or e-mail me your top 5 favorite weapons in Halo. They can be UNSC, Covenant or Forerunner. I’ll let that run for a week then forward the poll information to Manh.
While talking with Manh, another gentleman came up and introduced himself as Bill Hones, the owner of Fascinations. Bill is a nice fellow. You could tell both he and Manh were excited to be making Halo models and I was just excited to see them made.
If you’d like to see more of their Metal Earth line of models, check out their site at http://www.fascinations.com. They have a LOT of cool and interesting models to see there.
-Sal
My favorite 5 weapons would be (in order) the DMR, magnum, sniper rifle, plasma pistol, and the BR. What are your top 5 weapons, Sal?
I really have to think about this given all the weapons in Halo. Straight away I can say these ones are favs, though not in any particular order: BR, Needler, Rocket Launcher, Focus Rifle (what can I say, I really like the sound it makes when fired…) and the Spartan Laser. Those are off the top of my head though. I’m going to give this a good sit down before I finalize my top 5.
These look really nicely done! I have a question though. What’s the approximate size? From that price i’m guessing really small.
As for my top 5 favorite weapons, thats a toughie. I love all of the weapons in the halo universe, and it is really hard to narrow them down to 5 faves. So, like Sal, these are not my final picks, as I too would have to REALLY think on that. But here are some of the ones that I really like:
1. Energy Sword. I just love this weapon. Even though it might not translate into metal well….. Curveblade anyone?
2. The ever-so-popular magnum. I just love handguns, so of course this would be in my list! Particular faves are the M6D, and the M6C/SOCOM.
3. Carbine. Something about this gun just speaks to me!
4. Shotgun. There is nothing that I cannot do with my trusty M90 CAWS! Well……….
5. Battlerifle. Its just a classic weapon that first appeared in my favorite halo game!
A runner-up might be the gravity hammer, its fun to use and I think that it would make a great model.
Well thats my not-so official list. It is nightime here and i’m on the verge of going to bed, so i’m a little groggy. Goodnight Sal!
The models are just a few inches across. You have to be careful with assembly and have a steady hand. I will be using a pair of magnifying glasses to be able to see the parts better and closer up.
Five I would like to see are Energy Sword, Rocket Launcher, Needler, Silenced SMG, Sniper Rifle, and Brute Shot.
Thanks very much for your input, Chad. This helps greatly.
These are some really cool models and I can’t wait to see your review on them as that will help me decide if I want to purchase them.
There are so many weapons in the Halo universe that picking only 5 is difficult so my list might not be my top 5 to use in game. Instead will be a combination of my favorites in game along with those that I would buy. I also took into account that I would like to see a good mix of UNSC and Covenant weapons. I have been a Halo fan since Halo CE came out so I hold a special place in my heart for some of the original weapons since that is what helped build the franchise. So here is my list in now particular order.
• Assault Rifle
• Battle Rifle
• Rocket Launcher
• Needler
• Plasma Rifle
I did not include either the Magnum or the Plasma Pistol because they are on the smaller side. If the weapons go over well I would like to see them made into a model later on.
Thanks Dustin for your input for the poll.