SO now we come to the end of my now 6-part review of this awesome set. I really encourage everyone out there who wants a piece of Halo history to get this set. Yes, it’s $250 and YES, it’s SO worth it.

So here we go with the final round of pics:

Besides the Master Chief minifig, we also get a Blue Storm Elite (only previously available as red in the Halo 4 Warthog set), a UNSC officer – FIRST time available (the arms and legs are the same as the technician), and of course the technician which was only available previously in the Countdown (or Sabre) set. The BR shown is included as well and is meant for Master Chief. The blok with the number on it is there for the batch/lot number in case of a recall.

I really like these extra minifigs. I would love to have a few extras of the elite. It goes without saying that having a small army of technicians would be awesome and a few extra officers would be great too. Unless they are released in future sets though, I’ll have to be satisfied with the ones I do have.

Here is the wing UNSC sticker. Now on the box it’s shown close to this position, while in the directions is very close to the front of the wings (in the pic that would be to the left of the wing). I happen to like it near middle as that’s closer to what it was on the original ship from Halo 3. However you choose to place this is your decision, so don’t let anyone detract you form your desired placement.

Here we see some stickers near the mid section of the ship.  MEGA was kind enough to cut the sticker on the left so that when the ship is put together it fits with the other portion of the sticker from the front half.

Some of the stickers at the front section of the ship. They add a nice touch to the ship without being obtrusive or overpowering to the rest of the model.

So now we come to the part where we see how the ship is fit together from it’s two main halves.

First you lift off the two roof panels by the midsection from both halves. As well, you’ll need to remove the hoses or they’ll get in the way of the ship being assembled.

Here you can see where it appears that several pieces will slot into the other half of the ship. Notably the smooth tiles near the middle of the pic actually do slot into holes that are part of the construction of the front section. As well there are two pegs that click into other holes to help keep the ship together. A very well done and thought out design by MEGA.

Here’s another view closer up of those holes and pegs that come together.

Here’s where the ship comes together. You can also see the sticker that was neatly cut by MEGA and how it comes together as well.

Note in the pic above the 1X8 plates that have been added. These too help in the connection of the halves. Surprisingly that’s all that is need. Those two, plus the pegs previously seen. Of course I wouldn’t go trying to pry them apart or carelessly carrying the ship around. But for the purposes of display those are all you need to keep the ship together.

Fit the roof panels back on. By the way, I suggest taking them all off then start with the front one and work you way toward the back. It can be a tight fit with those middle two, especially with stickers applied at the front of the back half.

In the previous three pics I left the roof hatches deliberately open so you can see just how dark it is in there even with the hatches open.

Now for the finished result! (Be sure to click the pic for the larger version!)

Isn’t she a beaut! I have to say I am SO impressed with this build. MEGA really knocked it out of the park here. So many added pieces to the sides give it great character. The main structure of the model is VERY sturdy. The minifigs are welcomed extras as are the MANY gun accessories. This is one impressive building block model.

Here are some stats I got during the build:
Build time: 5 hours sorting pieces ; 10 hours building. Not too bad for a model of this piece count.
Size: over three feet long, including the front antennae.
Weapons and accessories: 14 guns 1 radio back pack.
4 Minifigs

If you want any other stats on the model, just shoot me a reply below or e-mail me at sal@halofanforlife.com.

As always, MEGA allows for extra pieces in their models. This set was no different. In fact the allowed for so many extra pieces that I was able to build something I think was cool…

Above are the leftover pieces I had.

So I went ahead and built a mini Forward Unto Dawn with them!

And finally below the mini model with the full sized one!

So that’s it. The Forward Unto Dawn from Halo 4. It’s a masterful piece and any Halo fan should be proud to own it.

It’s exclusive to Toys R Us for $250. Now before I go, I need to give a shout out to Toys R Us. When I first pre-ordered this back in July, I pre-ordered at the “Buy One Get One Half Off” price. I made sure to note that I wasn’t going to be charged on the credit card for the transaction until this shipped. However, I was charged which ended up making me default on other transaction for a total of $210 in fees. While the initial charge form TRU was put back into the account, the damage had been done from those fees. This is partly documented on the blog during that time.

What was good was that I was put in contact with one of their corporate customer service persons. He fixed this by calling up a local store that had it in stock. From there I just need to go pick it up. So in essence I got this for $40+tax less than retail. Also, he is to send me a gift card for $125 (half the amount for the second ship I would have got). I’m still waiting on the gift card and will let you all know when I get that. In fact you folks will benefit from it as I plan to buy Halo stuff with that gift card for prizes for contests on the blog.

Suffice to say that I’m glad the TRU made good on their end so far and hope they complete what we agreed upon as it will benefit the blog members too.

Back to the set for a final thought. This is the FIRST in MEGA Bloks “Signature” series. We can only hope that they release at least one new Halo signature series ship a year. I’m hoping for the UNSC Infinity next. Then possibly a Covenant ship. The price is up there, but again, for what you get, it is SO worth it. I’m COMPLETELY satisfied with the set!

THANKS MEGA!
-Sal