Halo Toy Review: Mattel Halo 12 inch Cortana

Technical Specifications:
Articulation:
• Ball Joint Neck
• Ball Joint Shoulders
• Hinge/Swivel Joint Elbows
• Swivel Joint Hands
• Ball Joint Hips
• Hinge Joint Knees
Accessories: N/A
Cost: $8-10 (US)
Availability: Mass Retail I got mine from Wal Mart for $8.44 US before tax.

And on with the pics! (Click pics to make BIGGER)
Each of Mattel’s 12 inch Halo figure is in a tall slender box with the top half of the figure showing through a window. Several of the other figures are shown on the back of the box.

In the box you get Cortana only, no accessories.
Here’s a close-up of Cortana’s Torso/Head. I think she’s the best detailed figure of Mattel’s 12 inch Halo line.

Look at the face. VERY realistic! Mattel did a great job here.

Here is Cortana in orthogonal views. Of all the 12 inch Mattel halo figures, I feel Cortana is the one that is closest in proportion. She doesn’t looked abnormally stretched tall as the other figures do.

The articulation of the 12 inch Mattel figures in comparison to the 6 inch figures is less. However, the 12 inch figures cost less than half of the 6 inch ones. Therefore, less articulation is acceptable, in my opinion.

Evaluation
Sculpt: Excellent! By far, Cortana is the best of all of Mattel’s Halo 12 inch figs. She needn’t worry about huge armor which allows for this figure to be thin and not look out of proportion. 10 of 10 medals!
Articulation: While somewhat limited, there’s enough to get the figure into some cool poses. Articulated ankles would have really helped with all of the other Mattel 12 inch figures. 8 out of 10 medals
Paint Application: Cortana has a lot of application of blue, be that the light or dark blue. It makes for this figure having the most detail of any other Mattel Halo 12 inch figure. 9.5 of 10 medals
Accessories: As Cortana comes with no accessories, I won’t have a rating for this category.So instead of the usual 50 medals, for this review, I’m dropping that to 40 medals.
Playability: This is marked 4 years and older. Given the large size of the figure and accessory, I agree with that. Cortana looks good on display, whether in or out of the box. 9 of 10 medals
Overall: 36.5 of a total 40 medals. Affordability here is KEY.

Do I recommend this product? MOST DEFINITELY! For one, Cortana toys are hard to come by. She’s not often made into merchandise. When she is, she usually doesn’t linger on store shelves. This one is no exception to that. I’m hoping to find another one to keep in the box. Yes, I know, that’s a rare thing for me. But this figure is just that GOOD! 

Strangely enough, years ago, I predicted a Cortana Barbie doll. We didn’t get exactly that, though I think this one will do quite well!

Below is my April Fool’s joke of a Cortana Barbie. I had my wife paint one up to look like her.

If you have any questions about this figure 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]

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-Sal

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About Sal

I’ve got tons of experience with Halo gaming and collecting. I feel I have something to offer to the greater Halo fan community. Posts along the way will be about tips and tricks in the games as well as collecting and many more Halo related things. I’ll also repost interesting articles from the official site, Halowaypoint.com, or from fellow Halo fan sites. As I continue this blog, I hope to help gamers who want advice on the games, as well as any collectors with regards to where to find collectibles as well as deals, coupons and so on. You can also follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/#!/HaloFanForLife or Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/halofanforlife11. Welcome to my blog and I hope you’ll come back again and again. -Sal