Halo Armor Pack

Missed It By That Much

McFarlane Toys, 2009

I figure we’ve spent enough time in the past, so this week, I wanted to review a fairly recent toy. I saw the Halo toys at my local Target and they really piqued my curiosity. I’m not a big fan of McFarlane toys because, despite how impressive they look, they rarely are more than semi-mobile statues. You can’t really play with them, which to me defeats the purpose of a toy. Still these looked good and they appeared to be quite mobile so I decided to invest in a package and see what was up.

Background

Halo is a first-person shooter video game that’s available on computers and the assorted XBox consoles. The story revolves around an elite soldier called Master Chief trying to stop an alien race from destroying humanity. This is set against the backdrop of a Starship Troopers-esque military campaign (and I mean the book, not the movie) where everybody seems to have a somewhat different form of mechanized armor. The game itself was revered upon its release for the story, the music, and all the various elements coming together to create a really solid and wonderful gaming experience, one that would become the hallmark of the newest generation of gaming.

Appearance – 5 out of 5

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you can’t deny that the boys and girls at McFarlane toys know how to make a good-look product. Their toys have become the standard by which – at the very least appearance-wise – all others are measured and this toy does not disappoint. It is a work of art, beautifully representing four different armor forms (as the armor pack comes with a base figure and several different heads, shoulder guards, and chest plates which can all be switched out). There’s a lot going on visually with these toys and the details are perfectly done. There’s great texture and while the paint job isn’t completely flawless, it is still beautiful. And even where the tiniest bit of paint goes outside the line, it only seems to accentuate the figure’s look and appeal.

Construction – 2 out of 5

And this is where an otherwise fantastic toy begins to fall apart…literally. The action figure is made from some pretty cheap plastic. Not only is the toy very light in the hand but the plastic breaks incredibly easily. After playing with the figure for only about five minutes after opening the box, one of the guns had broken as had a shoulder joint (the reason for the goofy posture of the figure in the picture is because the left arm would fall off in any other orientation). This is especially bad for the heads because they have to be yanked off the neck joint with some none-too-trivial effort and the new head has to be rammed into place, pretty much spelling the death of the toy sooner rather than later.

Movement – 4 out of 5

My chief complaint with McFarlane toys definitely got blown out of the water by this figure. There is an array of joints (closing in on 30) that give this figure an incredibly wide range of posing possibilities. Some of the joints don’t move very intuitively (I’m looking at you, hip joints), but all in all, this is an absolutely incredibly possible figure that can take just about any posture you want.

Extras – 4 out of 5

Being a pack, this figure comes with three additional sets of shoulder armor, chest plate, and helmet/head (representing different armors from the game). It also comes with four guns and a grenade, making this one guy an assault force right out of the pack.

Packaging – 3 out of 5

The packaging excels in some areas and disappoints in others. The lack of any kind of explanation as to the story or who the characters (or, in this case, the different armor types) is really a loss. I’m pretty into video games and military hardware and I’m not too sure I could guess as to what CQB or ODST armors are supposed to be. At the same time, it is nice that the box is open and spacious, giving the customer a clear view of what all comes in the box. On the back is a display of other figures in the line, though it’s not complete by any stretch.

For those familiar with the machinima series Red vs Blue, you’ll probably check out these figures in the hopes of finding some Sarge, Grif, or other characters from the series. Sadly, without some paint and some patience, that won’t be happening. But what is really cool and worth taking note of is that those responsible for these toys knew where their bread was buttered and specifically had a double-pack on the back called the ‘Red vs Blue Team Slayer Pack’. Likewise, that the two figures shown on the back are in red and blue armor is not lost on this nerd.

　

Overall – 3 out of 5

This would be a damn fine – nay, legendary – toy if it was just a little bit more rugged. A lot of shortcomings can be overlooked for a toy this mobile and looks this nice. But given how quickly the accessories and the figure itself started to break, and how fragile aspects of the toy feel (I hate switching out helmets because I know it’s only a matter of very short time before one of them breaks), this toy really disappoints. If you have an action figure that you’re afraid to pick up and play with for fear that it will break in your grip, the entire experience is undermined. I wish for all the world to give this toy a four or even a five, but the toy’s just too damn fragile.