Technical Specs:
Size:
Height: This will vary between 4-4.5 inches depending on the stance you choose. It appears that the stance with the Railgun pointed in the air is the tallest, adding another half inch or more to the total height.
Width: The base is 2.5 inches wide. However, the overall statue will be slightly wider, again, depending on stance chosen. It appears the stance with the sword drawn is the widest, adding another quarter inch or more to the total width.
Cost: $29.99 U.S. dollar
Okay on with the pics! (As always, click to make bigger)
This is the box it came it. The black band can easily be slipped off and back on again.
This is how the statue comes packed inside. Foam layers with an instruction sheet included on top, then the plastic is shrink wrapped around this to make it more secure.
Here is the unpacking slip. I highly recommend you follow this to the letter folks.
This shows you how the layers separate. If you want to put the statue back in to box with the styrofoam, I suggest numbering the styrofoam pieces as you take them off, so you know how they go back together again. Each styrofoam piece is laser cut to fit the statue snugly between them. That’s very good packing on the part of Sandboxr!
Here’s the model itself. This Spartan measures 4.5 inches tall by 2.5 inches wide. If you’re wondering which armor/helmet I chose, the armor is Legionnaire armor, while the helmet is the Defender helmet with the “Castle” skin. I used darkest red as the primary color and the darkest yellow as the secondary color. And yes, I was trying to go for an “Iron Man” look with this…
As you can see, the Halo 5 Guardians banner is prominently display at the front of the base.
Here are four shots of the model from approximate front, sides and back views.
You can see why the height may vary. In this case, this is the tallest stance you can choose from.
You have the option to include text within the block as shown. I imagine most will use their gamertag, as I have here.
Now let’s look at closer up shots!
As you can see, the model has a bit of a shine to it. This is actually part of the binding chemical used to help fuse the model together. So the shine is a cool by-product of the chemical.
If you look close enough, you can see the layers here. The material used is a form of polystone. While plastic could have been used, I was told by the owner himself that the current available plastic doesn’t have enough of the vibrancy of color that they wanted to use, so they went with polystone instead.
The texture you may be noticing is from the polystone. Plastic may have been smoother, but again, wouldn’t have the vibrant colors. It was a decision that Sandboxr had to really consider.
There is a little bit of muddiness to the smaller model. Also, the helmet color scheme isn’t quite right. The “arrows” on the top of the helmet should be fully yellow. Of course, your mileage may vary with your own 3D Spartan. I just wanted to point it out with mine.
The texture is a bit more noticeable with the smaller model than the medium or large versions. This is part because of the smaller model, yet the same material being used. It’s not like you can scale down the grittiness.
Overall evaluation: The amount of detail overall is great. The shine to the model does not detract from it. The texture is the only slight detractor here. I would have liked a smoother model. But again, since Sandboxr is using polystone in 3-D printing, this is the best that can be achieved with this material at this point in the technology.
Value: At $29.99 this may seem a little pricey with the model being only 4-4.5 inches tall. As I mentioned in the other similar Sandboxr reviews, there is no other company out there producing individual Spartans. You can choose from ANY of the armor and helmets you have unlocked as well as ANY of the primary and secondary colors, not to mention visor color as well. As a one-off in this case, you are likely to have the ONLY version of this spartan to ever be made. Let that sink in… It is one-of-a-kind. So for that, as well as the great detail and color, I think this is a good value.
Rating: I give this 8.5 out of 10 stars. The reason for the 8.5 is for the texture, slight muddiness of color and in the case of my Spartan, the color scheme on the helmet not being completely correct.
On that note folks, Sandboxr does have a policy for ‘defective’ products. In this case, misprinting of color. Should I choose, I could ask for a new model. As I got these for free from them however, I am electing not to take them up on that offer.
If you have any questions about this model that I didn’t cover in the review, please do not hesitate to ask me. Either reply below or e-mail me at [email protected]
Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of the review.
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-Sal