{"id":26374,"date":"2016-04-23T11:52:33","date_gmt":"2016-04-23T16:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/halofanforlife.com\/?p=26374"},"modified":"2016-04-23T11:52:33","modified_gmt":"2016-04-23T16:52:33","slug":"halo-toy-review-mega-bloks-covenant-watchtower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/halofanforlife.com\/?p=26374","title":{"rendered":"Halo Toy Review: Mega Bloks Covenant Watchtower"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MB\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mega Bloks Covenant Watchtower<\/strong><\/p>\n

Technical Specifications:<\/strong>
\nBuild Time:<\/strong>\u00a03 minute to sort, 30\u00a0minutes to build (Your time will vary. I take photos along the way which make my build times a little longer)
\nSet Piece Count:<\/strong>\u00a0239
\nMinifigures:\u00a0<\/strong>UNSC Spartan Soldier (Speckeld White); Covenant Elite Commander (Brown)
\nWeapons:\u00a0<\/strong>Hydra, Fuel Rod Gun; Buildable Covenant Plasma Turret
\nAccessories:\u00a0<\/strong>Covenant Drop\u00a0Shield
\nSpecial Features:<\/strong>\u00a0N\/A
\nCost:<\/strong>\u00a0$20-25 depending on where you buy it from<\/p>\n

And on with the pics!\u00a0<\/strong>(Click pics to make\u00a0BIGGER<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

Forgive the sticker on the front of this as this set was an internet order. It’s not normally there.
\n\"MB
\nLet’s first talk about something I feel is a tad misleading. The gravity lift in the center of the tower. On the front it’s well lit up and appears to be making the set hover. On the back we see what there really is. Instead of a cool tube (as in previous towers), we get 4 rather puny and potentially unstable trans-blue rods. This was one of the things that turned me off with this set. I really would have rather had the blue tubes from the past. I suppose this was done however to make this a completely new design.
\nAlso note that on the front of the box, the drop shield looks like it’s crackling with energy. On the back…dull. The previous drop shields used to have that crackling energy printed on them. I’d have liked to have seen this here too.
\nI want to stress that you must be extra careful when placing figures on the top portion of the tower, if you have it all built. While mine hasn’t broken, I think with too much play, there is a potential for this. I suggest removing the top part from the rods, place your figure(s), then put it back in place.
\n\"MB
\nThis is what you get in the box. As always, I’m happy with the newish Indigo color that Mega has chosen to represent the Covenant.\"MB
\nThe pieces sorted out. Lots of curved pieces, yea! Okay, let’s get into the build.\"MB
\nAbove you start buy building a sort of box with side pegs. Gone are the cylindrical pieces from past towers. That’s both good and bad. I’ll explain this in just a second.
\nSo as we continue with the build, you can see how the ramps and other parts have been added. I think this was a STELLAR design choice for the bottom portion of the tower. Only exception so far are those blue rods as mentioned about earlier.\"MB
\nNext we start to build the upper portion of the tower. Here I found the design to not be as optimal. First we are missing the hole in the middle. That’s integral to Covie towers. Next, it’s not quite cylindrical. With a few inserted pieces between the curved corners, it’s close but not a perfect circle. That’s not the design choice I would have gone with, however it does add a little bit more space to put figures on.\"MB
\nWe get two weapons with this. A new Fuel Rod Gun design, minus the green rods. Dang it… Also we get a Hydra, one of the new weapons from Halo 5. Cool.\"MB
\nAbove is the speckled White Spartan Soldier. I REALLY like this choice. Mostly due to the speckling. It makes the figure seem like it’s seen battle. Kudos there!\"MB
\nThis is a Covenant Commander Elite. A new armor design for Halo 5. This was the first time we got this figure, though it’s been released in another set as well. I’m not a big fan of brown on Covie armor. The armor itself is great though! So a little mixed here.\"MB
\nGah…my files for the complete finished set were corrupted, so this is the only one I have of it at present. (I’ll try to get a replacement pic in, but the set is packed away for now.)
\nAs you can see we do get a buildable plasma turret. Always a nice addition.<\/p>\n

Summary:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>There is\u00a0very little build time. A potential design flaw might see this set break, so be careful. New weapons and Elite armor.<\/p>\n

Overall Rating:<\/strong>\u00a0I give this set 8.5 out for 10 medals.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Why did I give it a 8.5 out of 10?<\/strong><\/span>
\n\u2022\u00a0It’s not game accurate, so if that matters to you (it does to me for the most part), then you won’t be particularly happy with this set. Half a point off here.
\n\u2022 No hole in the upper tower part makes this feel like the set is lacking. Half a point off here.
\n\u2022 The choice to go with blue rods instead of a much more durable and stable blue tube was a mistake, IMO. Half a point off here.<\/p>\n

Value:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>The two figures account for about $7 of the set (U.S.). This leaves you with between $13-18 for the tower, turret and drop shield. That remaining at $13 is reasonable. Any higher and not so much. So try to get this one at the $20 (U.S.) price point if you can.<\/p>\n

Do I recommend it?<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>I’m mixed on this. The Spartan is great. The color of the Eltie, no, but the armor yes. The bottom design of the tower is by far better than previous towers, while the\u00a0upper portion is a departure, in the wrong way, I feel. Normally I give a Yes or No response here. As I’m mixed on elements of this\u00a0set, I’ll just have to leave it up to you to decide for yourself. Though, please do consider my points about the set if you plan on purchasing it.<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

If you have any questions about this set that I didn’t cover in the review, please do not hesitate to ask me. Either reply below or e-mail me at sal@halofanforlife.com<\/p>\n

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of the review. If you get\u00a0this set yourself, please let\u00a0me know your thoughts on it too!<\/span><\/p>\n

If this review gives you an informed decision on whether to purchase the set or not, please consider a small donation (50 cents) maybe. It’s much appreciated and helps ensure that HFFL stays active on the internet. Thank You.<\/span><\/p>\n

-Sal<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0 Mega Bloks Covenant Watchtower Technical Specifications: Build Time:\u00a03 minute to sort, 30\u00a0minutes to build (Your time will vary. I take photos along the way which make my build times a little longer) Set Piece Count:\u00a0239 Minifigures:\u00a0UNSC Spartan Soldier (Speckeld … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bloks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/halofanforlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/halofanforlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/halofanforlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halofanforlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halofanforlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26374"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/halofanforlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26386,"href":"https:\/\/halofanforlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26374\/revisions\/26386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/halofanforlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halofanforlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/halofanforlife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}