Lately, I’ve been finding and buying custom Halo block kits. Why you may ask? Well, unfortunately, it seems Mattel is no longer making Halo, or (and hopefully this is the case), they are on a break until the next main game comes out.

Regardless, my desire to build Halo sets has never wavered. So I went searching. And… I found MANY out there. One site that I go to for directions is rebrickable.com. There are LOADS of Halo custom sets there. They do not have the bricks themselves, that you have to buy through bricklink.com.

So, there I found this Anchor 9 set. However, I also found it online at AliExpress.com. They have the bricks and will send you the instructions via a QR code in an email, after you’ve received the set. The set was VERY affordable given the number of pieces in it. There are 626 pieces in all, including the model, the base, and the mini UNSC frigate. I paid just under $40 for this set. Normally as set with over 600 pieces would be between $65-70.

Fair warning, if you buy from AliExpress, expect a long time in shipping. Sometimes they are quick, other times, not so. This was one of those not so quick times. I ended up waiting almost 2 months for the set to finally arrive. I think in part, it depends on who they ship the items with. As the buyer, you do not have that choice. But then, it’s like that most everywhere anyway. And AE didn’t have an express order for this.

Anyway, enough of me talking, let’s take a look at the model. No progression pics this time folks, apologies.

This is a wonderful set! Given the scale size (consider a mini), it’s pretty consistent with the in-game Halo Reach model. As you can see, there is a black base to put the space station on. To the left in the pic above, is the UNSC Savannah.

Now, I will say, the directions to this are a little wonky. I found I had to rebuild parts a couple of times. As well, there were a couple of times where the build was temporarily flimsy due to not much piece connection. Those were the most frustrating parts of the build. However, by the end of it, everything came together and locks in nicely.

Here are my usual orthogonal views of the whole model:

The frigate is MUCH bigger than the official Mega one that came with the blind bags some time ago. This one is awesome save for one thing. I’m not fond of the big dark blue piece in the middle and may swap that out later.

The one in-game does NOT have that blue strip.

Other than that, again, given scale size, the frigate is accurate enough.

The build took me slightly under 6 hours to build. Mostly because I was building it late at night and was tired but wanted to get it done.

Here’s another 3/4 view from a different angle, showing the frigate better.

And yes, I spruced up the graphic with a Reach background and custom text.

As you can see, I now have to put disclaimers in my pics as people have been stealing them and using them for themselves, and especially on social media and YouTube.
Folks, it’s NOT nice to steal, let alone not even ask or give credit. So I’m done with sharing these without watermarks and the disclaimer. It’s not something I wanted to do, but had to, especially after a person within the Halo Mega community wanted to “scrub” my site of pics for their own use, YT channel and financial enrichment. Most of you know who it is, without me saying…

Anyway, I hope you like this model. Again, you can find it either on AE or Rebrickable. Just search for them. I can’t link to the seller because they no longer have it in stock, but others do on AE.

If you get this, shoot me an email with pics of your model. I always like to see other people enjoying these things! sal@halofanforlife.com

Also, soon I’ll be posting two other custom Halo block sets. One from Halo Infinite that is mining scale and one from Halo 2 that is micro scale but on the same size as Anchor 9.

Final note, before anyone gives me grief about “Brand Loyalty”. Folks, I didn’t leave Mega, they left us. Had they still been making sets, I’d still be buying them and reviewing them.

If they do so in the future, I of course will be getting them. For now though, these custom kits scratch that itch. It’s money Mattel/Mega could be getting instead. But without the merch to buy, well…