This review is the third of the four currently at retail as of this posting. It’s Spartan Gabriel Thorne.

Okay, without further ado, let’s get to the review.

Technical Specifications:
Build Time: 45 minutes building, Your time will vary as I was taking pictures along the way for this review.
Set Piece Count: 110
Weapons: One Assault Rifle, One Magnum
Accessories: Figure Stand
Special Features: Fully articulated at the following:
• Ball Joint Head,
• Ball Joint Shoulders
• Double hinge jointed Elbows
• Ball Jointed Wrists
• Ball Jointed Waist
• Ball Jointed Hips
• Double Hinge Jointed Knees
• Ball Jointed Ankles
As well, the model includes a set of fisted hands, a set of ‘trigger’ hands, plus a third left hand that is open. This can be used to help hold and assault rifle.

Cost: $20 at retail

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

As always, I start of a review with pics of the package art. Of the three level 2 kits, I think I like this one the most.  Mainly for the pose chosen for Thorne.

You get two bags of sprues, the larger containing the instructions.

Here are all the sprue sections. The blue used for the armor is a nice deep blue. I think BanDai did an excellent job with picking that color.

The manual comes folded several times over.

If you fold out one side of it, you have this nifty mini poster of Thorne.

Below left shows the different body sections, while on the right, the corresponding sprue pieces in each section. Again, this was well thought out and makes it very easy for the model builder to follow.

Here is the instruction sheet completely unfolded. It’s quite large. As you can see again, each body section is color coded and matches the sections from the above pic.

There is a small sticker sheet included. These stickers are very tiny, so I want to stress patience with these, especially if you want to align them perfectly. I used a set of magnifying glasses for this.

Now we cone to the building of the model itself.

There are six pieces that make up the helmet. Like the Master Chief model, this one too has a small piece. Unlike the Chief model though, this small piece (at bottom center) fits on the outside and is easy to get into place.

Add the two stickers to it and the helmet is complete.

Next we come to the torso section. As with the other models, the grey pieces have much the smilier structure and build to them.

Here are the components that are built and then come together to form the neck, inner chest, shoulder sockets, and abdomen.

Add the armor to this, plus the stickers and you’re done with this section. 

The pieces for the arms and some of the hands are shown below.

Here we are at the hip and leg pieces.

As with the previous reviews, I like to show how the limbs are sectioned off and how they go together. You can see below that the whole leg is in four distinct sections: Thigh, Knee, Calf, Foot.

The main assemblies of the model are ready to be fitted together. Note that the shoulder and hip stickers have been added before final assembly.

Orthogonal views of Spartan Thorne

This graphic shows that the weapons are both two part molds. Inset boxes show the trigger hands and the weapons clips.

The straight pin clips is attached to the right rear shoulder ‘fin’ while the magnum’s clip is attached to the left thigh. 

And now for some fun action poses!

With double jointed knees, ball joint ankles and hips, these models easily have the dexterity to pose in a kneeling position. 

This is kind of a classic trooper type pose. Thorne is pensively moving forward awaiting incoming fire.

Dual wielding!

With the help of the stand, you can create even more dynamic poses. Here we can suppose that a grenade has landed close to Thorne and he’s starting to leap out of the way and for cover!

And finally, I wanted to show all three of the level 2 models together.

Now, before you read on, I want to make a couple notes about the above pic. No, the models are not different in height. I used a little trickery here, both in the posing of the figures a well as the direction from which the photo was taken.  Allow me to explain.

Putting Master Chief in the front already gives him a slight height advantage. However, to further augment this, at the hip joints you can lower the legs a little further. This gave Chief the extra height needed to look taller. See how I hid that by posing his arms over his waist, so you couldn’t tell?
Thorne and Palmer look close in height, but Thorne is just a smidgen taller. How is that? Simple, I slightly bent Palmer’s knees, making her appear a tiny bit shorter.
Lastly, I took this photograph at a mid thigh looking very slightly up view. This again adds to and gives the appearance that Chief is taller. With Thorne and Palmer being just behind him, this added perspective of the shot helped convey that nicely.

Summary: The set is a quick build. Roughly 30 minutes to 45 for this as well (compared to the Master Chief model).

The model is for ages 8 and up. I agree with that, so long as the young ones are patient. I do suggest adult supervision. Besides, it’s fun to build with your kids. A great bonding experience!

With a fantastic amount of articulation, the model can be posed in many positions, as evidence by the pics above.

Overall Rating: I give this set 9.5 out for 10 medals. This set has great value for the price.

So why did I give this a 9.5 instead of a 10?
• The stickers. As you all know, I’m not fond of them. Inevitably over time, they always peel off. I’d rather pieces be printed with the markings. I know that makes the models more expensive.

Do I recommend it?  100% YES! Since I had already built the Master Chief  and Commander Palmer models, building Thorne was much quicker. It’s a fantastic representation of Thorne in plastic model form. If you’re buying this for a child, I again recommend you build it with them.

Other Halo Sprukit reviews:
Halo Toy Review: Bandai Sprukits Master Chief – https://halofanforlife.com/?p=20399
Halo Toy Review: Bandai Sprukits Commander Palmer – https://halofanforlife.com/?p=20466

If you have any questions about this set that I didn’t cover in the review, please do not hesitate to ask me. Either reply below or e-mail me at [email protected]

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 active on the internet. Thank You.

-Sal