It was a long build, but it’s finally done.
After a couple of missteps in the process, I finally finished this. There are now 90 photos I have to edit first, the write up the review and upload the pics. The final build is fantastic!
So PLEASE come back tomorrow to see how this build went, where I messed up, how it got fixed, and a pretty darn cool “leftover pieces” build!
-Sal
Well, I had hoped to have this done yesterday. However, it’s taking a bit longer than expected. I’m at step 50. There are just over 140 steps in the building of this. So I’m a little better than 1/3 of the way there. It’s looking good so far. I have much of the main body done.
I’ll be working on this today and will hopefully have it finished before tonight’s Halo Fan Friday League (HFFL’s community Halo night).
-Sal
So that order from Wal*Mart for Halo Mega Bloks sets…they messed it up. Yep, couldn’t get a 2 item order correct.
We ordered the Mega Bloks Pelican and Red Spade set. What did they bring out? The Pelican and Brute Prowler set. Up folks, look at my e-mail receipt, look at what the box is you brought out? Doesn’t match up….
Thankfully, they did take the prowler off the order and refunded the money back onto my wife’s card. But still…kind of ridiculous that a simple order got messed up.
Ah well, so I won’t have the Red Spade set review as hoped for. But I will have the Pelican set. That will definitely be tomorrow though. I haven’t slept in more than 30 hours and I have a 4+ hour podcast to do tonight. So yeah…building this tomorrow instead.
-Sal
As a fan of Halo Mega Bloks, you folks know I love the sets. I love them even MORE when they can be found for a great price.
While perusing Wal*Mart’s site this morning, I found that the Pelican set was being sold online for $68 and change. Folks, that’s $40 LESS than Toys R Us. While I’m a strong supporter of TRU, $40 less just can’t be beat. Normally this would be $100 at Wal*Mart anyway, so it’s a great deal no matter how you slice it.
Here’s a screenshot for proof (that shows that time stamp in the upper right corner):
Now, you’re mileage may vary, so check the site. Hopefully it’s the same nationwide. (Can’t speak for the rest of the world though…).
My wife got a bonus last week, so I asked her for this, especially since it was a great deal. She obliged in fact saying I could get the Red Spade set (shown in the bottom right corner). She’s a GEM folks! I love her DEARLY.
I chose the ship to store option so I could have this later today. Now, all this said, that price MIGHT be what it is in stores as well, but I can’t confirm this at the moment. So either call up your local store, or go there. But why waste gas or bother them with a call (when you sometimes won’t get the best customer service). Instead, get this online. BTW, it’s also FREE shipping. Not just to the store, but since it’s over $50 free to ship to your home. Sure, it will take a few more days, but again, if you want to save on gas…
Anyway, once I found this price, I KNEW i had to pass it along to you my good readers.
I’ll be a HAPPY builder later today! Look for the reviews for each in the coming days (barring some screw up with Wal*Mart – crosses fingers in hope there isn’t a problem).
-Sal
Glad to finally know what’s in this set. There are some definite gems in there that make the set WORTH the $30 sale price, IMO.
Here are some product shots found on eBay of this set:
In my opinion, this is a great set for several reasons.
• A ton of figures for a great price
• Army builders galore
• Previously released figures in NEW team colors
• Previously released figures sought after
Now about the price, it’s been said that it’s really $50, but on ‘Black Friday’ there will be a sale of it for $30. Even at $50 for the amount of figures and accessories plus bloks, makes this worth it.
With there being several grunts, elites and brutes, not to mention a couple of ODSTs, it’s a great deal for army builders.
The Cyan color Covenant figures have never been done in that color before. In fact Cyan is one of the lesser used colors in Mega Bloks repertoire of Halo minifigs. Yes, they aren’t game accurate for the FPS games, but come on, these are TOYS!
Some figures like the steel colored Spartans are sought after. Others like the Translucent Cyan Brute and Translucent Green CQB are great for guys like me who like translucent figs.
The green spartans are also cool as the represent the original color of the Mjolnir armor. I’m totally diggin’ that Green Recon!!!
One last thing to note is that we’re getting some great tiles with multiplayer emblems on them.
Now I can only HOPE that MEGA will make one with my gaming group’s symbol on it:
For a further breakdown of the figures I’m going to use part of a post from a local Halo Mega Bloks collector, reader of the blog and friend, “W2daERN“:
Re-releases:
Orange Grunt (Series 6)
Orange Spec-ops Grunt (Shade Turret)
Copper ODST (ODST Hawk)
Green CQB (TRU Dream Team)
Green Flame Marine (Various, weapon from dream team)
Green EVA (EVA’s Last Stand)
Silver ODST (ODST Battle Unit)
New Figures:
Orange Elite Commando
Cyan Grunt
Cyan Spec-ops Grunt
Cyan Jump-Pack Brute
Cyan Brute
AC-Blue Jump-Pack Brute
Orange Elite Flight
Orange Combat Elite
Black EOD
Black Scout
Black Security
AC-Green CQB
Green Recon
Again folks, this is a GREAT deal, especially for those of you who collect Mega Bloks.
-Sal
Fellow Halo Mega Bloks collector ‘Vanocean’ found these.
It looks like these drop pods are more of a two-piece mold, so as to be used as part of the packaging. Notice there is no extra paint detail with any of them. Also, the current drop pods wouldn’t be able to be used as packaging given their multi-piece design.
I’m liking these. Looks like you get a fig, weapon, blok and of course the drop pod package. I’m curious if these will be out for the holidays. Would make sense. And besides, if you’re like me, you’ll use the drop pods for a Halo themed Christmas tree. I only with the one that came with the green ODST was bright green as the red one is bright also.
Another cool thing to note is that it looks like the ODSTs have a teeth mark paint app on their helmets. VERY cool!
Not sure on the price, but I’ll venture a guess of $5-6. Normally a blind pack fig is $3 and that comes with a weapon and stand. This having the drop pod, even if a one or two-piece thing would add the couple bucks more.
-Sal
Form time to time I try my hand at custom Halo stuff. Usually this comes in the form of Halo Mega Bloks. Today is no different.
I took it upon myself to see if I could make a Covenant ship from a SMALL set. That set is the Halo Mega Bloks Spectre.
Box Front
Knowing that it would be a tough challenge to build something accurate from so few pieces, I started out on my task.
First things first, I found several good pics for reference, the following being the best of them:
Mind you I already knew that I wouldn’t have the right color, given the set I had chosen, but I wasn’t concerned with that so much.
So here is what I came up with. Yes, I realize some things are a little out of scale, but again this is a one-set challenge. Given the limited parts and shape of them, I’d say it came out pretty good.
Top views from the front and back.
And finally some 3/4 views.
Again, given the small amount of pieces and limited shapes, I’m pretty happy with the outcome. However, I DO wish MEGA Bloks would create some large Covenant ship sets for us. I’d LOVE to see what they would come up with.
So tell me, do you like this custom? (Again be kind, considering the piece count and type)
-Sal
Mega Bloks UNSC Anti-Armor Cobra: Set #97139
Technical Specifications:
Build Time: 20 minutes of sorting, 1 hour 30 minutes to build.
Set Piece Count: 460
Minifigs: Yellow Mark VI Spartan w/Blue Visor, Red Elite, Brute Stalker
Weapons: Brute Mauler, Plasma Rifle, Brute Spike Grenade, Battle Rifle
Accessories: N/A
Price: $42-45 depending on where you buy it from.
Special Features: Rotating cannons, transforming platform (Cobra)
And on with the pics! (Click pics to make BIGGER) (Video Review at end of article)
The packaging is fantastic as always.
The back of the box shows off the set nicely and where it ‘transforms’ to a platform.
The contents of the box. Note there are two books of instructions as well as an addendum sheet.
Here’s the turret assembly that houses the batteries, lights and sounds. Again as with the Night Ops Gauss Hog that I previously reviewed, this comes with a detachable button/wire assembly.
The Shade turret in steps. This is actually turned around as the smaller post should be in the front. You’ll see in the video below that I modified the design a little to make this stand more upright. Other than that, the design of the Shade is very good. I like the MEGA has no problem with flipping pieces and showing the underside of their parts. In this case it definitely helped with accuracy when compared to the in-game model.
The Cobra starts to take shape.
Here is the combination of the cockpit with the upper portion of the Cobra.
The rear axle assembly. You’ll see later how this transforms positions.
The turret is assembled. What I like about this is that the button to activate the sounds and lights is hidden by the rear flap on the turret. Click that down and boom, electronics!
The Cobra completed. When you have the gun barrels on the outside as shown, they light up as yellow. Move them in to the middle and they light up as blue. (See video for that demonstration) But we’re not done yet!
Here’s the sticker sheet. I almost never add stickers to my sets. I always worry that they’ll eventually peel off.
Here are the weapons/grenades included. Starting from top left going clockwise: Brute Mauler, Plasma Rifle, Battle Rifle, Spike Grenade.
Now on to the minifigs!
A yellow Mark VI spartan with a cool Blue visor.
My favorite color is red, so I love the candy apple red of this Elite!
This Brute Stalker is fantastic! Sculpt is exceptional and the paint application is near perfect!
Next I show how the vehicle looks when transformed to a stationary platform:
The only minor complaint here is that you have to remove the back “legs” of the vehicle and reposition them instead of them just rotating into position. Still, that’s minor and the legs hold up well whether in hidden or full view. Note how the rear wheels pivot and rotate into a flat position!
Rotate the turret out of the way to open the cockpit to add your Spartan!
As always there are leftover pieces. Plenty here! So what did I do? I made a mini Cobra, a Covenant Battery pack, and a shoulder mounted Gauss Cannon!
The turret even swivels on my mini-Cobra!
The shoulder mounted Gauss cannon being held by the Spartan. I can’t imagine an ODST or Marine being able to do this!
Summary: The build time is not fast, but not long either and can easily be done in one sitting. The addition of the Brute Stalker minifig (my favorite in this set) is VERY welcomed. Hopefully MEAG puts this figure out again. I’m hoping as a black version. Also as the same or very similar blue version in a future minifig packet series. The Shade turret is VERY good. Sounds and lights really make the Cobra pop with ACTION! For the piece count you get a great vehicle. Even though it’s not a mainstream vehicle from the 1st person shooter games of Halo, I highly recommend getting this set. Halo Wars had some great vehicles and I’m VERY happy that MEGA continues to dive back into that game for some cool new building sets.
Overall Rating: I give this set 10 out for 10 medals. It gets that for the value, minifigs, and electronics.
If you like the vid, please give it a like on Youtube.
Thanks for reading/watching!
-Sal
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.
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
