Mega Bloks Brute Battle Unit: Set #97082

Technical Specifications:
Build Time: 1 minute
Set Piece Count: 42
Minifigs: Gold Hunter, Gold Grunt. ODST w/grey stripe, Active Camo ODST
Weapons: Spartan Laser, Active Camo SOCOM Magnum, Needler (wine color)
Accessories: Hunter upper arm shield, Hunter Lower arm shield, UNSC backpack
Price: $12-15 (Price may vary by store)
Special Features: 4×4 Tile has Halo logo printed on it

And on with the pics! (Click pics to make BIGGER) (Video Review at end of article)

Fantastic display of figures in the package. No mistaking what’s in there.

Here  is what you get in the package. Note the Hunter’s spikes are in a small plastic bag hidden in the package. So dont’ mis that if you open your set. I wish the Spartan Laser has some extra paint detail, but that’s a minor thing. Same with the needler. Again oh so minor.

The grunt has a nice mustard gold color to his armor. I do wish MEGA would make the skin color the lighter more game accurate color, but as I’m a Pittsburgh Sports fan, this is a Black and Gold grunt, which is A-OKAY with me!!!

The painted ODST in this set is AWESOME! You could say this is either the Rookie or Sgt. Buck from Halo 3 ODST (the game).

AH YEAH! Translucent figures are ALWAYS a hit with me!

Though not game accurate in color, this is sure to be a prized possession by kids and some collectors alike. Hunters are already in short supply in the Halo Mega Bloks line, so it’s great that they made another one. I consider all gold variants the leaders of their respective races. So this is my Hunter Leader. 

The gang all say HI!

Summary: No real build to this other than the stand if you choose to do that. This set is ready to play with, out of the package. This is great for those among you who are army builders. More ODSTs are always welcome in my book, especially the painted one in this set. Grunts are fun to have in an army too!.

Overall Rating: I give this set 9.5 out for 10 medals. If the set had an active camo back pack and the grunt/hunter were game accurate colors, this would have been a 10 out of 10.

If you like the vid, please give it a like on Youtube.

Thanks for reading/watching!

-Sal

Mega Bloks Brute Battle Unit: Set #97085

Technical Specifications:
Build Time: 1 minutes
Set Piece Count: 37
Minifigs: Green Security Spartan, Marine Sergeant, Dark Grey Brute Chieftan, Active Camo Brute Stalker
Weapons: Assault Rifle, Grenade Launcher, Gravity Hammer, Active Camo Brute Mauler
Accessories: N/A
Price: $12-15 (Price may vary by store)
Special Features: 4×4 Tile has Halo logo printed on it

And on with the pics! (Click pics to make BIGGER) (Video Review at end of article)

As always the packaging is great. MEGA did a nice job of showing the Active Camo Brute against a black background within the package.

All the pieces sorted. I never use these bloks and plates as figure stands. Instead I use them for dioramas. 

Yes, more Marine Sergeants! Hopefully this will come as an African American version as well so we can finally get Sgt. Johnson from the games.

Though I’m not particularly a fan of the Security armor, I know many fans are. The toy figure looks great, so no knocks there.

This is only the second time we’ve seen this come out in an official set. The other being the Brute Chopper. This version is all dark grey. I’d have liked a little more paint detail here. Still, it’s a great figure. The headdress is semi-flexible so it won’t be easy to break.

Woot, woot! An active camo figure! You all know I just LOVE translucent toys. This is the Brute Stalker. The detail in this sculpt is exceptional! Hard to tell from the pics as this is active camo. Just trust me, it’s awesome!.

Summary: No real build to this other than the stand if you choose to do that. This set is ready to play with, out of the package. This has a nice selection of UNSC and Brute forces.

Overall Rating: I give this set 9 out for 10 medals. I’m not a fan of the Security Spartan. Not the sculpt mind you, just the armor in the game in general. As well, maybe a little more paint on the Brute Chieftan and this would have at least a 9.5. Still a great set and I recommend getting it.

If you like the vid, please give it a like on Youtube.

Thanks for reading/watching!

-Sal

Mega Bloks Convention Exclusive Spartan minifig

Technical Specifications:
Build Time: 10 seconds…
Set Piece Count: 8
Minifigs: Spartan Mark VI, Covert Ops color
Weapons: SAW
Accessories: minifigure stand
Price: Free! (At SDCC), varies otherwise
Special Features: N/A

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

The figure packet front and back. Nice clean white packet design. Shows off the REAP-X sets on the back.
A surprise here as I hadn’t seen it posted otherwise. You get a $5 off coupon when you spend at least $20 on Halo Mega Bloks! SWEET! I will definitely make use of this!
Expires November 30, 2013. That side also shows off more of the Fall lineup of sets, while the other side shows the assembly of the figure.
The minifig has Covert Ops paint application. I like that color choice as it’s one of my top favorite colors in the Halo minifigs line. This is the first to have a neon green visor. 

Summary: Not much more to say in summary as it is just one minifig. Nicely done though!

Overall Rating: I give this set 10 out for 10 medals. It gets that rating because Mega Brands gave this away for FREE. It’s a popular sculpt in the Mark VI and it’s the first with that neon green visor. A win all the way around!

This minifig as of this writing has only been available for free from Mega Brand’s booth at San Diego Comicon. You may find it on eBay, however it’s assumed this will also be available at New York Comicon for free as well. I was lucky enough that MEGA sent me 45 of these to giveaway at my LAN event (Sept 14, 2013). With more than enough, the rest are planned to be given away as prizes for trivia questions on the blog.

This figure was produced plentifully. 5,000 were given away at SDCC and likely that many again at NYCC. So if you’re looking to get this figure and miss out on my trivia questions to get it free and can’t make it to NYCC, don’t fret. I suspect this figure will come down in price shortly. Though don’t wait too long to get it or it may become scarce.

-Sal

It’s finally almost here. After asking, begging pleading for this vehicle, we now have confirmation of it’s existence. Albeit not from MEGA, but rather from Toys R Us Canada. A fellow collector “Valo” on the “bloks forums” (link in the blogroll to the right on the homepage) found this info.

While not quite in scale it’s still a behemoth!

Here are the specs according to Toys R Us Canada:
•Buildable UNSC siegework vehicle measuring over 19″ long (49cm) by 9″ high (22cm).
•Removable hull and multiple interior compartments
•Multiple lowering ramps for troop and vehicle deployment
•Vehicle bay designed to store and transport a fully loaded UNSC Night Ops Gausshog (sold separately)!
•Figures included: Spartan Recruit, Spartan Operator, Marine, all-new Commander Lasky and mini light-up Roland!

The M510 Mammoth siegework has no equal in size, firepower, or tactical faculty within the UNSC’s mobile planetside support contingent, making it one of the most powerful ground assets ever designed by humans. At roughly 70 meters in length and carrying numerous mounted support weapons and materiel caches, the M510’s most significant attribute is its topside MAC, designed to target and eliminate hostile vessels, weapons, and even fortifications residing in terrestrial or even suborbital positions. Idea for kids ages 8 and up!

Source Link from TRU.

I have to say, that this is awesome looking. Strange that Canada’s price is $165, while it’s been listed as $179 for the US. Meh, either way, for more than 2000 pieces, it’s a deal.

Not to mention we get a NAMED character in the form of Commander Lasky. Only Master Chief and Cortana have thus been named outright before. But he’s not the only named character. We also will get a mini light up ROLAND! YES!!!

I should add that the Spartan Recruit is “NOT” Thorne, and the Spartan Operator is “NOT” Hoya. Add to that, that you can get “NOT” Grant from the new Pelican and we’re 3/5 of the way there to completing Fireteam Majestic. Strangely, there is also a Spartan Operator in the Pelican set. So one hopes the Operator listing for the Mammoth is a mistake and it’s actually either “NOT” Madsen or “NOT” DeMarco.

I like that the hull is removable so you can get to the innards of the vehicle. Great move there MEGA! Stores a Warthog (sold separately). Very cool!

The set is sold out on TRU Canada’s site. No word if it actually was in stock or if this is a pre-listing to get it ready for the web. We should expect to hear official news from MEGA VERY soon on this. Especially now that the cat’s be not just let out of the bag, but out of the house!

-Sal

MEGA has now come out with it’s second version of the Spade from Halo Reach. The original was done in the dark orange in-game color. The new version is done in a curiously no-in-game red color (which I do not yet have). I’ve been asking MEGA for sometime to make this in both the green and/or blue in-game colors.

Since I have 3 of this set, I decided to take matters into my own hands and make a green custom. The build is of course the same. The only thing I did was to paint the orange parts green.

Here it is! (Click pics to make bigger)

I very happy with the outcome when compared to the in-game version. The color is very close. Additionally, this color scheme is reminiscent of the Halo Reach Marine battle uniform!

What do you think? Do you like the green version? For those of you who collect Halo MEGA Bloks, would you like to see them make the green and blue in-game versions? Make your opinion known, they may just be reading…

-Sal