Mega Bloks UNSC Weapons Pack: Set #97165

Technical Specifications:
Build Time: 2 minutes
Set Piece Count: 24
Minifig: Tan Mark VI (Halo 4 style)
Weapons: DMR, Saw, Railgun
Accessories: Trip mine, Weapon pod
Price: $6-7 depending on where you buy it from.

And on with the pics!

The box front. Again, another with the new clean white graphics. As with the other weapons pack, this has a nice window to view the figure and weapons.

The back of the box showing the weapons off. Once again, note the other sets that can also be combined to make a larger set.

Here is what you get in the box. IIRC, this is the first set to have a painted SAW. Strangely, the weapon pod is not painted.

The completed set. Yes, I left the cover off the pod so you could see the weapon inside.

Summary: Of the three new weapons packs, this has the least new to offer. That said, it’s a good little set for building up UNSC weapons and the Tan Spartan makes for a good leader of your desert color UNSC troops.

Overall Rating: I give this set 8 out for 10 medals. It would have scored higher if there would have been more to the crate portion of the set. In comparison to the Forerunner and Covenant set, this one is lacking, for the same money. Toss in maybe a fern blok and a rock blok and that would have helped make up for the lack of pieces. It’s still a good set, just not as good as the other two.

-Sal

Mega Bloks Forerunner Weapons Pack: Set #97166

Technical Specifications:
Build Time: 2 minutes
Set Piece Count: 20
Minifig: Watcher
Weapons: Scattershot, Suppresor
Accessories: Hardlight Shield w/stand.
Special Features: Watcher has 7 points of articulation
Price: $6-7 depending on where you buy it from.

And on with the pics!

This set comes in the new clean white packaging. The added window accentuates the minifig and weapons nicely.

The back of the box shows not only the contents inside, but shots of the other two weapons sets as well. There is an option to rebuild all three into a larger set if you so choose. The directions for this set have the set directions on one side, and 1/3 of the directions for the larger combined build on the other side.

Here we see the contents. As always, I’m a HUGE fan of translucent toys. This set comes with several pieces to that end, that make this set that much more fun. While the Watcher minifig is very well done, for me, the draw to this set is the Hardlight Shield. Mega Bloks did a fantastic job of getting the shape down right, with that slight curvature, and yet being able to add in connecting elements such as the side handles and the middle stud to attach to a stand. KUDOS Mega Bloks, this piece is fantastic! This is the first Mega Bloks set to give us a Suppressor.

The weapons crate has that Forerunner feel to it, even for being small. The greys and translucent orange pieces just make this simple weapons crate ‘POP.’

Finally the Watcher with the Hardlight shield and stand. The only ever so minor issue I have is that the tall clear pole was slightly curved with my set and it doesn’t quite attach to the base perfectly. It kept popping off at the slightest touch. Again though, this is very minor to me as it only takes a second to fix.

Summary: A very nice set with a first time weapon in the Suppressor. It’s a quick build and comes with the highly articulated Watcher.

Overall Rating: I give this set 8 out for 10 medals. The reason it didn’t score higher is that I do not feel the Watcher is a full minifigure. While I wouldn’t expect a Knight with this set, a crawler would have been an excellent addition to the watcher. Given that standard Mega Bloks Halo minifigs have typically 12 points of articulation and are bigger than the Watcher, which has seven points of articulation, adding in a Crawler, which has 5 points of articulation would have made up the difference nicely.  That being said, the Hardlight shield helps to make up for this somewhat.

-Sal

Mega Bloks UNSC Arctic Cyclops

Technical Specifications:
Build Time: 3 minutes
Set Piece Count: 63
Minifig: White (Arctic) Marine w/full goggle face and facemask
Weapons: Battle Rifle
Accessories: Backpack
Special Features: Cyclops has 13 points of articulation, including opening cockpit
Price: $15-17 depending on where you buy it from.

And on with the pics!

The packaging has changed from the previous Cyclops to this one. Whereas the previous had a dark color theme, this Cyclops is in the new Fall 2013 white packaging. It makes this look clean. Even better since it’s the Arctic Cyclops!

Sorry about the flash here. As with the other Cyclops, if you carefully cut away the plastic from the cardback, you are treated to a nice rendering.

Here is what you get in the set. Note the Battle Rifle and White backpack for the Marine.

The finished Cyclops from different views

The gem of this set is it’s gun arm. It is different than the Jungle and Desert Cyclops in that it has a flamethrower instead of a gun. Along with this is it’s attached hose and backpack. This little change really helps to give the Arctic Cyclops that much more character from the previous Jungle and Desert Cyclops. The added flame makes it stand out and apart from those two!

Finally, the front view with the cockpit hatch closed.

Summary: As with the Jungle and Desert Cyclops, this is a fast build and easy to display. Good articulation. This is the cleanest looking of the cyclops due to it’s white color. The flamethrower arm adds to this cyclops design more than the other’s gun arm. Only the price again is my sticking point with the set. The toy itself is GREAT! As I mentioned in my previous two cyclops reviews another minifig would have helped me deal with the higher cost. A UNSC tech would have been an excellent addition here. No further guns or weapons necessary.

Overall Rating: I give this set 9 out for 10 medals. Only the price keeps this from being a 10. Of the three I’ve now reviewed (Jungle, Desert, Arctic), the Arctic one is the best IMO. Worth it more for that simple yet effective change to the gun arm and adding a flame.

Thanks to a Halo collecting page for the tip on Toys R Us having a ‘Buy One, Get One Half Off’ sale, I was able to get this set, and three weapons packs. Ultimately, that saved me $6.50, the cost of one of the weapons packs themselves.

-Sal

I found this video while perusing the net. It’s of a (presumably) young fan who got his hands on a 24-pack of minifigures. The video is long at 17+ minutes. However, there are parts of real genuine excitement to the video that make it worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4UZlWS9QXI

He got all but the Grey Security Spartan and three of the Super rare translucent minifigs. Not to bad at all.

This series is really good for army building. With 3 different grunts, a pair of marines, a couple of elites, a marine flood and an ODST, it has something to offer all those army builders out there. The Spartans in this series are great choices. I agree with the kid that Mega should make more black Spartans.

Now if I can somehow manage to get my hands on these…
-Sal

I’ve had several fans request I make an alternate of the Halo Mega Bloks 5th Anniversary poster, without the backgrounds at all. Strangely enough, even my wife said, it would be a good idea… (So thank her folks, LOL)

Here it is without the background as requested:

Download the LARGE version of this here: No Background Halo Mega Bloks 5th Anniversary Poster

I’m going to have several more Halo Mega Bloks posters. Those will be “themed.” What those themes are though, you’ll just have to come back and see…So stay tuned for those and as always, they will be FREE.

For more on Halo Mega Bloks, you can check out HFFL’s Halo Mega Bloks section here.

As always for everything Halo, keep checking back to HaloFanForLife.com.

-Sal

Okay, just finished this one. This is what I had in mind originally, but I wanted to get something done quicker, so I did the other one first.

As I stated before, tis is a way for me to thank Mega Brands/Mega Bloks for their fantastic stewardship of their Halo license. I’m honored to call them my friends!

Right Click to download MUCH bigger version. (It may take awhile as it’s 48MB.) And please let people know where you got it from!

Here’s an alternate poster with the Mega Bloks logo in the background.

-Sal

While I’m not certain of the exact date, I know the 5th anniversary of Mega Bloks having the Halo license is upon us. Especially so, given the video I posted previous to this article from Mega Bloks.

I took the opportunity earlier today to download all current figures (all 274 of them) they have on their newly redesigned site, with the idea of putting them all together in one massive collage.

Below is the end result of that. (Click to make BIGGER) And feel free to download!

I want to thank Mega Brands, parent company of Mega Bloks for 5 great years so far. In specific, Andrew Sparkes, whom I’ve been fortunate to have made a friend of, as well as Tanya Furci-Argento. There are others at Mega Brands as well that I’ve had the pleasure to meet. And most recently, Tim, the Social Media fellow for Halo Mega Bloks.

You’ve got a GREAT crew there Mega and I applaud all of your hard work to the license as well as your dedication to the fans of it. Rarely have I seen a toy manufacturer genuinely CARE, not only about it’s product, but also the fans for whom the product is made.

Happy Fifth Anniversary of having the license! And I’m sure I speak for many when I say, we look forward to MANY more years to come!

To see the newly redesigned site, go HERE!

And for more Mega Bloks, news, previews and toy reviews, please check out my Halo Mega Bloks section of HFFL HERE!

-Sal

Mega Bloks has just relaunched it’s Halo website and WOW it’s amazing.

Here are FOUR NEW wallpapers they’ve just released on the site: (Click to make bigger and feel free to download from here)

Beyond these, there is SO much more to see on their newly redesigned site.
Go check it out!

-Sal