Over the next few days, I’ll be posting some Halo Mega Bloks customs. Since it’s the Holiday season, a time known for toys, I figure why not show off some impressive customs.

This one actually came to light to me just a couple of days ago. It’s made by a fellow Halo Mega Bloks fan, Dielectric. This is his custom build of a full  bay cryo chambers.

Dielectric: I broke my phone last month, and was holding off until I could get a new Blackberry. I eventually decided to get a smartphone, and give up my qwerty. What does this have to do with anything? An 8MP camera, that’s what. I can now take pictures of my customs that have been collecting dust. 😛

First up: a Cryo Bay. I had several concepts before I went ahead and built it. First, it was an exposed two storey affair, but I lacked the bloks to do a decent job filling in the gaps. Next was a boring straight depth design. I went with a diagonal spread in the end, although I still lacked the bloks to fill in all the gaps in the back.

Built mainly using 12 Cryo Bay sets, along with pieces from Highgrounds, Cauldron Clashes, and an AA Turret.

The concept was to have the bay adjust curves of the ship. The support struts make it feel more like its somewhere in the bowels of the ship, rather than a spacious area.

The precious cargo sleeps until they are needed…

HFFL: I have to say this is an AWESOME custom build. It’s amazing what some people can come up with, especially given having enough extra pieces to work with. Look close at the people in the cryo chambers. They are not Spartans…LOL

Ah, here we are at the final part of the four part review of the Mega Bloks UNSC Mammoth. It’s be so much fun so far. This last part brings it all together!

The next stage in the build is the Mini-Mac turret on the top rear of the Mammoth.






The above pic shows where the turret will attach to the Mammoth.

Next up is the cannon portion of the turret.

Next are the two Rocket Launchers. I’ve shown one in parts and one completed. This is the same Rocket Launcher design that comes with the Rocket Launcher Warthog, other than the color.

That turret really added some bulk to the top of the Mammoth! It’s almost done now. It just needs some mobility…. 

The wheels are the same as the ones with the Anniversary Warthog, except the hubcaps are of the Mammoth design.

Here it is!!! A BEAUTY!!! It’s MASSIVE. Mammoth you might say…

The front view finished. Wow, that command deck looks sweet. The tires add just a little bit of height, but they really do help to complete the model.

This would be the grounds eye view of the Mammoth if you were a minifig. You can see from this perspective how long the inside is. Also note the steps to the right of the pic inside the Mammoth.

The back view. With everything complete the rear of the Mammoth looks powerful! I believe those are heat vents from the Mini-Mac.

The is the shot from the back with both the ramp and the upper flap opened. Just look at how cavernous the inside looks from this perspective! Again you can see the steps, now on the left. And the Command Deck farrrr away.

The pic shows the Mammoth with all three of the roof panels set aside. As I mentioned in one of the previous parts of this review, this set is MUCH more than a vehicle. It’s a WHOLE playset!

Here are the minifigs. From left to right: Commander Lasky, UNSC Marine (w/brown skin), Spartan Operator, Spartan Recruit. I had thought the two Spartans were going to be part of Fireteam Majestic. Unfortunately the armor color is dark grey and the visors are red. So clearly these are not Majestic. Sadface…. Then again, I can understand why MEGA wouldn’t want to do that. Imagine if you HAD to purchase this just to complete Majestic. That might irk some consumers. So I’m cool with it. Though, that Lasky figure is a huge draw too. Hopefully, he’ll be released in a future set.

Here’s the finished set with minifigs in place.

And finally for pics we come to the leftover parts.

As you can see there are PLENTY of part left over. Hmm, so what can I make with those???

Why a Mini-Mammoth of course! (Well, as close as I could get to one with the parts left over.)

Only these three parts remained unused from the leftovers. I’ll probably put them inside the  Mammoth attached for safe keeping.

Whew, so that’s the whole build of the Mega Bloks Mammoth. Okay, so let’s get to some specifics here.

First, I know this isn’t to scale. However, does that bother me? NO WAY! This really is big enough. WHile it would have been awesome to have one to scale, it would have been MUCH bigger and much more costly because of it. To scale with the mini-figs, we would probably have had a $400+ model, rather than the $180 that it is now.
Speaking of price…I think it’s TOTALLY worth it! You get more than 2,000 pieces with this set (not to mention those extras). Factoring in my usual 10 cents per piece, the set should have been over $200. Instead we get a break of about $20. (Yes, this is all in U.S. dollars, sorry overseas folks). When you consider the Forward Unto Dawn (FUD) set from last year, that set had almost 2900 pieces and cost $70 more than this, I think we get the Mammoth for a great price. It’s worth it’s weight in value, in my opinion.
Now as to the inside not being accurate to the game, while I would have loved that, again, it would have meant the model would have to be bigger and again more expensive. I think MEGA found a GREAT way to bring this vehicle to market, even making those scale and accuracy compromises. I really will not fault them at all. This is an AMAZING set.
As to the figs, while I wanted more of them with this set and originally it was shown that way in a prototype shot, I’m fine with what is included.

The set is VERY sturdy. The only very slight issue for me was the back ramp. When I close it, I have popped off two thin plates. They are easy to put back on, so no worry. Just be aware of that, should you get this. Again, not a big deal. The model does have some weight to it, so I wouldn’t recommend it for small children. Use your own judgement there though.
I did have a couple of defective parts. As mentioned in other parts of the review, the Roland Dias wasn’t working, and there was that one defective part on the front roof panel. AS well, you may have noticed that my Mammoth doesn’t have any of the stickers attached. That’s due to the sticker sheet being damaged. I think some moisture must have got onto it somehow as my stickers were curling up off the backing. When I tried to place a couple of the stickers, they wouldn’t stay in place for more than a few seconds before peeling off. The remedy was to call MEGA’s customer service number and ask for replacements. I was greeted by a very nice lady by the name of Pat. She took my order for replacement parts with no issue. I should receive those in a couple of weeks. When I do, I’ll post a short follow up to this review to show the new pieces in place and working, as well as the model itself with all of the stickers in place.

So you’ve likely been asking, “How long did this take to build?” Well, I can say it’s NOT likely a one-sitting affair. Hmm, though if you start early enough in the day, maybe… I took my time with it and marked clear goals for each day I worked on it. Mind you, my sorting process is likely longer than most due to my stacking pieces. However, I believe that actually helps me in the long run of the build as I can count pieces out faster on the fly. So the sorting time is negligible in comparison to the rest of the build. All told, sorting time was 3 hours. Lots of big parts and bags that were filled with only one kind of part made this a VERY easy sorting process and relatively quick, considering the piece count. The building time was just slightly over 6 1/2 hours for me. The building time was split over three different days about 2 hours each, with the last day being the longest of the three at 2 1/2 hours. Again, comparing that to the FUD, that’s pretty quick as it took me 5 hours to sort those pieces and 10 hours to build the FUD.

The dimensions for the set are as follows:
Height: 9.5in / 24.13cm
Length: 19in / 48.26cm
Width: 9in / 22.86cm

I have to say that the Mammoth is absolutely my favorite MEGA BLOKS set to date and will likely hold that title for awhile. Only a very few other ideas for sets might top that. Those being a Scarab or the UNSC Infinity. We’ll just have to wait and see.

So how do I rate this? Well of course this gets a 10 out of 10 medals. Again, for the scaled down version and some structural changes from the in-game model, this is still an absolutely FANTASTIC set! I’m just glad (a family member that I’m not allowed to disclose-not my wife) got it for me for Christmas. I know I wouldn’t have been able to afford this otherwise. If you’re lucky enough to afford one, GET IT! If you need to think about it some more, pour over the 140 or so pics from the 4-part review I’ve done for this and think about it some more. This is SURE to become a valued set of Halo collecting in the future.

If you have ANY questions regarding the set, please feel free to ask. I think I’ve covered just about everything in the review, but I might have missed something.
Also, please let me know what you’ve thought of the 4-part review as a whole. Click reply below. If you haven’t yet registered, please do. Click the link in the menu bar above for directions on how to register.

Thanks for taking the time to read my review of the Mega Bloks UNSC Mammoth.
-Sal

Well here we are at the third of a four part review for the Mega Bloks UNSC Mammoth. It came together nicely in part two with the body being built. Now we move on to the removable roof panels.

First up are a couple of pics showing the build for what will become the back flap of the rear roof. This enables a minifig sized warthog to fit into the rear of the model.
I love all of those little greeblies on the back. BTW, if you didn’t already know, “greeblies” are a term meant for those little extra bits and parts that add depth and character to a piece.

The above pic is of one of the side walls of the rear roof. The other side is the exact same but flipped. So as before, no need to show it as well until later, when it gets attached.

Here is the start of the back hinge that will be attached to the rear roof panel.

Here it is finished.

The next few pics are of the construction of the front wall of the rear roof panel.

Next are all of the walls of the rear roof panel along with the base part of that roof itself.




As you can see by the above pic, we now have the spot where the Mini-Mac is going to be placed.

One of the sides of the rear roof starting construction.


Here are both sides ready to be attached.

Now we’re ready for the rear flap to be attached!

Above shows a close-up of the hinges clamped together. With exception to the very edges, they hide the gap nicely from the roof to the flap.

The above pic shows where the rear roof panel is connected to. It rests nicely upon two hollow square grey pieces that keep it in place. As well the sides of the body keep it snugly fit. This is similar to how the Forward Unto Dawn set was done, with regards to it’s removable panels as well.

Shown in position. There should be NO gaps underneath. If there are, you haven’t quite fit it in properly. Believe me, it fits tight and right.

A look at the rear flap and rear ramp opening into the body of the Mammoth itself.

Here’s a full side view with the rear roof panel in place. Wow, is the Mammoth looking great or what?

The next eight pics show the construction of the mid roof removable panel.





Here is the attachment point for the mid roof panel. Just as with the back, it too fits snugly onto a hollow grey square piece.

And here it is attached. Apologies for the blurriness of the shot. At this point I was excited to get the front roof panel done that I didn’t go back and retake this shot as I should have.

The final roof panel now starts being built!

Not much to start, but it QUICKLY comes together.

Heh, don’t you think this section looks like some kind of “Space Invader”? Oh, I should mention that in my excitement to get this done, I accidentally skipped a couple of steps and had to go back and rebuild things correctly.

Here is a helpful tip when building large models like these: Have a coin or some other small object to place over the numbered step on the directions to remind you of where you are in the build process. ONLY move it to the next step when you are ready to continue to build.

Now at this point in the build of the front roof panel, I think it looks like a snake head. Copperhead??? LOL

Oh yeah! We’re getting to the “meat” of the roof panel’s build by adding in the green translucent part! (You all know I love transparent toys. That goes for parts too!)

Dang…it’s mostly hidden now. LOL. Ah well, the in-game vehicle calls for this as well.

At this point, I did come across a deformed part. The one circled did not fit properly. I did try to gently carve out some of the underside plastic to make it fit. After a bit I stopped. I figured it better to just call MEGA for a replacement part. (More on that in the fourth part of the review.)

And here we are at the last pic for this part of the review.  The Mammoth is almost done! It’s looking VERY buff and built to last! 

I was so excited at being so close to being done with the build that I did complete it then. However, you’ll have to come back tomorrow to see the Mammoth finished. Along with that, I’ll show the minifigs that come with the vehicle.

I hope you are finding this multi-part review helpful and/or entertaining. Please let me know by commenting below. If you haven’t yet registered for HaloFanForLife.com, it’s FREE and easy to do so. Just send me an e-mail at: [email protected] asking to be registered. As well, include what you want your screen name and password to be. I’ll get you set up shortly there after.

-Sal

This is the second of a four part toy review for the Mega Bloks UNSC Mammoth. In this part, you’ll see how the lower and second levels come together.

There’s more than 40 pics in this part of the review, so let’s get started.

This is first couple of steps to build the base of Mammoth. All of the weight of this model is going to be supported by the base so it has to be sturdy and strong.

These next few steps to building the base of the Mammoth show just how many more plates are added to strengthen it.

The base ends up being 4 plates thick. Believe it or not, that’s quite enough to keep the Mammoth propped up.

The first few steps of the lower level (garage) walls go up.

The next few steps. By this point the build has felt similar to the UNSC Elephant’s build at the beginning. But that quickly changes after this.

Here are the ramps and side doors.

And here they are attached. This is looking more like a World War II landing craft at this point, LOL. 

The next few pics will show the stages of build for the side command deck windows.


This last pic of the side command deck window shows it turn around as that is the outside of the window.

The front grill takes shape in the next two pics.
There are a lot of “greeblies” on the grill. I love it!

The next several pics show how the rear second level walls are build. Since both sides are the same (but flipped) I only show one of the walls being built.


Here are both rear walls built, plus the bridge that crosses the middle of the second level. There are small alcoves in the rear walls at the back that can fit a figure or weapons if you so desire.

And here they are attached. The Mammoth is really starting to build up at this point.

These next several pics show the construction of the bridge deck and connecting windows.



This is Roland’s “Dias”. Mine wasn’t working. I even replaced the batteries to make sure. Thankfully, Mega is great for replacing parts. More on that later.



Here are the side windows from earlier.



The grill is about to be attached.



The next pic shows the attachment point for the bridge deck on one side.


Now the Mammoth is REALLY taking shape. Adding the bridge immediately adds a lot of character to the vehicle.

The next several pics show the construction of the mid walls on the second level. Again they are the same for both sides, just flipped. Only exception is the weapons placed in each of these walls.


Both side mid walls. You can switch weapons as you like. That’s not a critical step.
The next steps show how these walls connect with the model.

In the above pic, note just to the left of the sniper wall, there is a rod that connects with two “c” clamps on both the wall AND the side bridge. This helps to secure the bridge in places as the side walls are actually on a hinge so that they can make that angle. Great design here.

The model so far. Wow, is it really coming together or what? It’s HUGE!

These are two side panels that are added to the side bridge walls.

And finally below, there are two small walls that will actually hold one of the roof panels.

At this point, I need a bit of a break from building as I had been building for a few hours already. Tomorrow I’ll show you how the roof panels are assembled and attached. So stayed tuned for HFFL for the continuing toy review of the Mega Bloks UNSC Mammoth!

And please reply below with what you think of the review thus far.
-Sal

Hello friends.

On Tuesday this past week, I was surprised and awed when this set was delivered to me. I wasn’t expecting and and found out that it came from a family member (not my wife this time). I’ve been asked to not divulge whom it is (though a few of you do know).

Anyway, this is first part of a FOUR part review of the Mammoth. Like the Mega Bloks Foward Unto Dawn set, it’s HUGE. So to try and get the review done in one article would being a disservice to the set.

Starting today and for the next three days thereafter, I’ll post up the following part to this review. Specs for the set will be in the fourth part.

So let’s begin with Part 1: Packaging and Sorting. (Click on each pic bigger)

Here’s the box front. Folks, this box is HUGE and has a handle on the top to prove it. With more than 2,000 pieces it really is a “mammoth” set. The front of the box highlights the ramps and doors that open, as well as a Micro Roland that is included in the set.

The back of the box gives us plenty of details. The main focus being the Mammoth itself, showing again some of the ramps as well as the rotating rocket launchers and Mini-Mac canon on top.

The side of the box.The top of the box. As stated, it has a handle to carry it.

Part of the details that describes the vehicle in-game. (Apologies for the fuzzy pic)

Just below that the minifigs are shown. For the first time a UNSC Officer is named and it’s Lasky. As shown there is also a UNSC Marine, this time with brown skin. Two spartans are included. One in Recruit armor, the other in Operator armor. I’ll have more to talk about the minifigs in the fourth part of this review.

The above pic shows nicely how the top sections come off to allow access to the interior of the Mammoth.

The bridge of the Mammoth with Roland in place.

The last of the detail shots shows the weapons included. Absent is the target locator. Though technically that’s not a weapon, but an accessory in this set.

When you first open the box you’re greeted to this awesome graphic that is on the reverse side of the front of the box.

Usually I cut my packaging apart and save just a few pieces of it for reference. In this case though, this box is going to stay whole. Though I’d LOVE to have a poster of this. Hmm, maybe I’ll take another photo of this without the flash and fix it up in photoshop.

Here is what you see in the box. The THICK instruction booklet is within a cardboard section kept apart from the pieces. Very nicely displayed, I must say.

Below that you get two of the following boxes.The inner box front. I really like the line work on this and the UNSC logo is featured prominently. If I recall, this is the same inner box design as the Forward Unto Dawn inner boxes.

The back of the inner box.

One of the sides of the inner box.

Now we finally get to the bloks themselves.

Here are the contents of one of the boxes. PLENTY of large bloks and plates.

The contents of the second box contain the smaller pieces as well as the wheels.

I’m showing this shot to give an example of what just one type of blok looks like in a pile. I like to stack my pieces before hand so as to save room on the table when building. It makes it easy for me to reach the pieces then. Otherwise, I’d be getting up from my seat after every step to put huge sets like this together.

Here are those same bloks stacked. I stack bloks typically in sets of 10. That also makes it easier when a step in the directions calls for a large number. I know immediately that one of my stacks is 10 and can pick them up and count them off with ease. Sure the initial set-up takes longer, but it’s worked for me this long and I like organization.

To further illustrate the organization, as I find pieces, I place a small sticky sliver on it. That helps me keep track of what pieces I’ve already found. In the case of some there are extra pieces that MEGA has included. That’s good to know as well so I’m not thinking at the end if I missed a step or a specific part somewhere during the build. The columns above that have a full sticky mean that I’ve found all the parts in that column. In the case of the extra pieces, I’ve put them aside so they are not mixed in with the other parts.

And the last shot for part one of this review shows all the pieces sorted out. As you can see, I’ve kept the left to mostly the golden tan bloks, then the larger black pieces, then all of the really small pieces. The wheels, minifigs and rocket launcher parts are in the upper right of this photo.

Tommorrow, part two will be the two main levels of the Mammoth.

-Sal