Tag Archives: McFarlane Toys

#0777: Combat Elite

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

COMBAT ELITE

HALO 3 (MCFARLANE)

EliteMags1

When I think Halo, my mind tends to immediately jump to the Spartans, who are the protagonists of <most> of the games in the series. The main character, Master Chief, is one of them, and the default settings for players in multiplayer games always have the player as a Spartan. They tend to get pushed to the forefront. With the exception of the three ODST reviews, all of my Halo reviews so far have looked at the Spartans. But, what good are a bunch of armored heroes without a foe to face off against? My personal favorites of those foes are the Covenant Elite, who make for the best direct parallel to the Spartans. So, let’s have a look at one of them, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

EliteMags2This particular Combat Elite was released as part of a Team Slayer two-pack in McFarlane Toys’ Halo 3 line. He was originally packed with a Blue Mk VI Spartan. The figure stands about 5 inches tall and has 25 points of articulation. In the games, the Elite are noticeably larger than the already massive Spartans, but that’s not quite the case with this particular figure, at least when compared to the Spartans I have from Reach, 4, and 5. To be fair to McFarlane, the scale is noticeably smaller on the Spartans from 3, so this figure would probably look a lot more menacing with them. As is, he’s not terrible, truth be told; he’s about the same height as the average newer Spartan, and he’s a bit bulkier, so it works. Just don’t put him next to, say, Jorge. He looks even better with the ODSTs! As far as sculpt goes, he’s got the same basic sculpt as all the Halo 3 Combat Elites. It’s perhaps not as fantastic as some of the more recent stuff, but it’s still no slouch. The armored parts are very clean, sharp, and mechanically detailed, and the underlying areas are covered with tons of fantastic texturing. I’d say he looks like he stepped right out of the game, but I think he might even be better than the game in terms of detail. I will say the wrists look really skinny, especially in comparison to the rest of him, but that’s my only real complaint. Paint is kind of important on a lot of these figures, since it’s the one thing that sets them apart. This Elite’s color scheme is a nice red/purple combo, which looks really sharp. And it’s not just solid red, solid purple either. No, there’s a lot of great variation in the color coded areas, which adds a nice level of depth to the figure. Plus, he’s got some great wash work to help accentuate the sculpt, which does its job well. I also love the glossy finish on the armored parts; it gives him some nice pop. The Elite’s one accessory is a standard plasma rifle, which is admirably sculpted, and sits well in his hands.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Combat Elite was the last piece of my Halo buying spree from this past summer. I actually got him at the same time as the recently reviewed Rookie figure. After getting that many Spartans and ODSTs, I figured I needed at least one of the Elite. So, I was looking at the various options, and this guy caught my eye. I like the color scheme, because it makes him look kinda like Magneto, so that’s kind of become his name, for me at least. I’m glad I picked this guy up, because he’s a lot of fun!

EliteMags3

#0773: The Rookie

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

THE ROOKIE

HALO 3 (MCFARLANE TOYS)

RookieODST1

One of the more distinct things about Halo 3’s spin-off, Halo 3: ODST, was the diverse team of ODSTs that make up most of the game’s cast. Because of this, it can be easy to overlook the main player character from the game, simply named The Rookie. Of course, it could also be due to him being totally voiceless (aside from some heavy breathing). That might have had an effect. He was hardly overlooked in terms of toys, though, and he got three separate figures just from McFarlane alone. Today, I’ll be taking a look at the first of those.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

RookieODST2The Rookie was released as part of Series 6 of McFarlane’s Halo 3 line. He’s the second ODST soldier to see release in the line, but the first of the actual ODST characters to show up. The figure stands roughly 4 ½ inches tall and has 26 points of articulation. Unsurprisingly, this figure has more than a few parts in common with ODST Mickey. The base body on the two is pretty much identical, which is fine by me. The sculpt is still very well detailed, and the armor looks to be a pretty spot on recreation of the game armor. There are a few notable differences between the two figures, though. Where Mickey had asymmetrical shoulder pads, the Rookie has two that match. Nothing really special there, just the same shoulder pad used on both sides. He’s also got a more traditional pack on his back in place of the more tech-y thing Mickey was sporting. His right shin does not have the extra rounds seen on Mickey, but he does have a few extra pouches taped there. He’s also got another pair of pouches attached to his left thigh (seriously, what’s with all the pouches? Was Rob Liefeld involved?) and a spare grenade on the left of his belt. The Rookie is generally more balanced and symmetrical than Mickey. The most jarring change between the two figures, at least for me, is the head. The Rookie’s head isn’t simply Mickey’s with the camera removed, it’s a totally different sculpt. It’s a lot thinner, almost like it was squashed or something, and just generally doesn’t look as good. It’s passable, but could be better. The paint on the Rookie is kind of an issue, but not from a quality standpoint. The quality is fine; everything is pretty clean and the metallics look pretty awesome. However, there are a few inaccuracies with the colors chosen. Overall, he feels a little on the green side for the Rookie, who was a more subdued color in the game. In addition, he lacks the Rookie’s white helmet stripe, and the color of the chest plate is a bit too dark. The Rookie was packed with his signature suppressed SMG, as well as a piece of the build-an-insigna thing that McFaralne did.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Rookie was one of the last purchases in my grand Halo action figure splurge over the summer. He was bought from the same eBay seller from whom I got a lot of my other figures, for a surprisingly reasonable price given the aftermarket value on this figure. He’s not quite as strong a figure as Mickey, but I’m still happy to have him, and he looks pretty sweet with the rest of my Halo stuff!

RookieODST3

#0749: Jetpack ODST

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

JETPACK ODST

HALO: REACH

ODSTJet1

In addition to making it pretty clear that I’ve gotten quite into the Halo series, I’ve also mentioned once or twice before how the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, aka the ODSTs, are one of my favorite parts of the series. Since Halo 2, these guys have shown up with a fair bit of regularity, including in the pretty awesome Halo: Reach campaign, where they assist Noble Team for a few levels, which seems to have been enough to warrant one of them getting an action figure in the accompanying toy line. I’ll be looking at that figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ODSTJet3The Jetpack ODST was released in Series 3 of McFarlane Toys’ Halo: Reach line. His design is based on the working design (though not quite the final design) of the “Bullfrog” ODSTs from Reach, which is really just a merging of the original ODST design with that of the more basic USNC Trooper. The figure stands 4 ¾ inches tall (a little bigger than the other ODSTs) and has 24 points of articulation. He’s missing a few articulation points present on just about every other Halo figure; most notably, he has no bicep movement, which severely hinders his ability to hold stuff. Given that there’s a strap on his bicep that could have easily hidden a cut joint, I can’t imagine why McFarlane opted to leave this joint out. There actually aren’t a whole lot of new parts to this figure. His base body is repurposed from the Reach USNC Medic, with the shoulder pads from the USNC Radio Operator, the head from ODST Mickey, and the basic Reach jetpack. He’s got a few extra pouches glued on in a few spots, and an extra collar piece, which appears to be new. Regardless of whether their new or not, all of the parts used here are pretty nicely sculpted. The details and texturing are superbly handled, and help make this guy look like a real person. The collar piece renders the neck movement almost inert, but it’s easily removed, should you so choose. The hip joints are a bit awkward looking, and there’s the previously mentioned issue with ODSTJet2the arm movement, but the overall look of the figure is pretty cool. Like all of the other Reach figures, the Jetpack ODST’s hands aren’t molded to properly hold a weapon, but they do alright. The paintwork on the Jetpack ODST is overall pretty great, but there’s one major issue: the visor. In Reach, the ODST’s visor gave off a faint glow, which somewhat illuminated the surrounding areas of the helmet. On this figure, McFarlane just painted the visor and all its surrounding areas a straight metallic blue. You can still clearly make out the outline of the visor on the sculpt, but the paint just goes straight over it, which just ends up looking really sloppy. Aside from that, the paint is actually really nicely handled. There are lots of nice smaller details and insignias on the armor, and plenty of washes and dry brushing to help bring out the sculpts details. In addition to the titular jetpack piece (which is removable), the ODST includes a basic Magnum handgun.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After picking up Mickey and thoroughly the figure, I decided to take advantage of his seller’s rather substantial selection of well-priced loose Halo figures, which included this guy here. I will admit to being a little letdown by this guy when he first arrived, mostly due to the movement issues and him just not being quite as good a figure as Mickey, but he’s grown on me over time. He’s not my favorite Halo figure, but he’s really not bad.

ODSTJet4

#0742: Spartan Athlon

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

SPARTAN ATHLON

HALO 5

Athlon1

Hey, look! Another Halo review! So, in my review of the recent Spartan Fred figure, I lambasted 343 Industries’ decision to not include any local multi-player in Halo 5. I won’t get into the specifics again, but I still think it kind of sucks, especially now that the game is actually out. But, as I said, the game has been released, so the decision’s highly unlikely to be reversed at this point, barring some sort of patch later on. Anyway, opinion of the actual game aside, I still like a lot of the new designs coming from the game. One of the new basic armors in the game is the Athlon armor, which I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Athlon2The Spartan Athlon is part of the first series of McFarlane Toys’ Halo 5 figures. Unlike all of the other regular release figures in the series, the Athlon is not a specific, named character, but is instead just a generic Spartan. The figure is just over 5 inches tall and has 32 points of articulation. Unfortunately, the figure still gets saddled with the down-graded hip joints that first appeared on the Halo 4 figures, however, they do seem to offer a much better range of motion than other figures with the same joint design. It could be worse. In contrast to the bulky, tank-like Centurion armor sported by Spartan Fred, the Athlon has a much sleeker, more streamlined look. Clearly, this is an armor build more for speed and agility, which is befitting of an armor named “Athlon.” Really, it almost looks like a futuristic sports player, more so than a soldier. The sculpt is a lot smoother and cleaner than other Spartans from this series, which works well with the design, but there are a few nice spots of texture work, especially on the underlying bodysuit and the hexagonal assembly of the visor. The shoulder pads sit a little low for my liking, but aside from that, the figure looks pretty great. The joints of the figure don’t stick out the way Fred’s did, which is definitely a plus, and the overall proportions of the Athlon are very realistically handled and well-balanced. As a basic armor set, the Athlon has no specific color-scheme in the game, so the colors and other details have been randomly assigned. Rumor has it that this particular color set was chosen by MC Toys’ head honcho Todd McFarlane himself. At first glance, I really wasn’t a fan of the yellow and black; I thought he looked a bit like a bumblebee.  However, in hand, it actually works pretty well. The bright, bold colors and numbers on his helmet and shoulders kind of add to the sports theme set by the rest of the armor, which makes the whole thing work out a bit better. The paint is generally applied nicely, and I like the slight metallic sheen of the whole figure. The Athlon is packed with a basic Magnum, as well as the standard issue assault rifle, painted up in a slightly tweaked color-scheme. He can hold both alright (though he still really could use some trigger fingers) and both can be plugged into his thigh or back for stowage.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I found this figure at the same time as Fred. Fred was definitely the one I was more looking forward to of the two, but I thought the Athlon looked cool enough to warrant purchasing. This is a pretty fun figure, and it’s definitely a slightly more stand-out armor set.

#0721: Spartan Fred

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

SPARTAN FRED

HALO 5 (MCFARLANE)

SpartFred1

Well, Halo 5 is nearing release, but, despite my newfound fandom of the series, I won’t be picking the game up. In their infinite wisdom, 343 Industries have chosen to remove not only local co-op, but all local multiplayer as well. Now, I’m really just a casual gamer, but I feel like that kind of takes away a lot of the game’s charm, since local multiplayer has been a pretty distinctive feature of the prior six games in the series. But, I’m not exactly going to get them to change their minds by complaining about it here. On a more positive note, whether I play the game or not, I quite like some of the game’s new designs. The game centers around two teams of four Spartans each; one led by newcomer Locke and the other led by series mainstay Master Chief. Today, I’ll be looking at one of Chief’s teammates, Spartan Fred.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

SpartFred2Fred is part of the first series of Halo 5: Guardians figures from McFarlane Toys. Fred is actually a preexisting character from the Halo mythos, having shown up in a few comics and animated shorts. Nevertheless, Fred has a new look for Halo 5, and that’s the look we’ve gotten here. The figure stands a little over 5 inches tall and has 32 points of articulation. The hip joints continue the slightly downgraded, ball-jointed style introduced with the Halo 4 figures. It’s not ideal, but it could be worse. I did notice that the Halo 5 figures had slightly looser sockets, so the legs pop off from time to time. Fred has a new sculpt (though he does share it with the slightly differently colored Spartan Centurion, available exclusively at Target) depicting him in the newly-developed Centurion armor. The Centurion armor is designed not unlike a tank; it’s big, bulky, and rather angular. It certainly looks like it could take a beating and keep on going. It’s definitely in a similar vein to Spartan Jorge’s design, if perhaps a little more svelte. Generally, the sculpt does a very nice job of translating the design. It’s got some great detail work and texturing, and has a lot of depth. The proportions are alright overall, but the arms end up being a little longer then they should. They almost look like the joints haven’t been pushed all the way in or something. It’s easily hidden by bending the arms at the elbows a bit, so it’s not a huge deal or anything, but even then, those joints are still there…waiting. Fred’s paintwork is pretty good overall. His armor is a nice greyish-teal color, with a wash over it to help bring out the sculpt’s details. He’s also got some gold detailing here and there. Some of the edges are a little sloppy here and there, but overall, everything’s pretty clean. After cutting the accessories to just one per Spartan in the Halo 4 line, McFarlane brings things back up to two, giving Fred a DMR and a Magnum. Both guns are nicely sculpted, but due to the grip of the hands, Fred has a little trouble holding them. Both guns include detachable pegs, for stowage on his thigh or back, which is useful, though his back armor does get in the way of properly attaching the DMR.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Tim and I stumbled (almost literally. They were randomly sashed in the building block section) upon half of the first series of Halo 5 figures at my local TRU. Tim grabbed Kelly and I got the Athlon armor and good ol Fred here. Fred’s definitely a cool design, and definitely up there as one of my favorite Halo figures.

#0713: Air Assault Spartan

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

AIR ASSAULT SPARTAN

HALO: REACH (MCFARLANE)

NobleArmor1

Hey look! More Halo! A certain writer seems to have gone on a bit of a buying spree…

So, one of the coolest things about Halo: Reach was just how much say the player had in what Noble 6 looked like. You could customize your character to have any combination of several dozen armor sets, and your character would appear that way in the main game, even during cutscenes. Because of that, 6 looked different for every player. Cool in-game, but how do you translate that to merchandising. Well, most merchandise had the basic Mark V armor in a basic dark grey (a look dubbed Blandy McBlanderpants by Tim), which isn’t the most exciting thing. McFarlane Toys decided to offer the best of both worlds, with both the basic Mark V Noble 6 in the main line (seen here), as well as a series of deluxe figures with multiple armor sets, allowing the collector to build their own Spartan, just like in the game! I’ll be looking at one of those sets today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

NobleArmor2The Air Assault Spartan was released alongside the fourth series of McFarlane’s Halo: Reach line. It’s titled “Air Assault” due to that being the armor set it’s wearing in the package, but it also features pieces to the ODST, EVA, and CQC armors. No points for guessing which armor set I bought this for. The figure stands about 5 inches tall and has 34 points of articulation. The AA Spartan uses the same articulation scheme as Spartan Jorge. This is definitely the best set-up McFarlane’s used on the Halo figures. God only knows why they abandoned it, but the figure definitely benefits from having it. Sculpturally, the figure uses the basic Mark V Spartan body used by most of the line, which features an assortment of ports and such to allow for various armor pieces to be attached. The figure looks a little goofy without the chest piece, but it’s not meant to be viewed that way. The underlying body is pretty nicely proportioned and has a fair bit of texture and detail work, which is pulled right from the game models. The one real drawback of the sculpt is the hands; they’re just a simple grip, with no trigger finger separation or anything, which means they’re a real pain to use for holding, say, a gun. Which is a bit frustrating for a figure from a franchise where the main characters are pretty much always carrying guns. So, that’s the basic body, what about the armor? Well, the basic armor set is the Air Assault armor. This is the sleekest of the armors available here, which makes sense, given the name, and it’s probably my second favorite of those included. Next, there’s the ODST armor, which is my personal favorite. It’s modelled after the armor worn by the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (like Mickey), but, amazingly enough, none of these parts are re-used from prior ODST figures. The helmet is more angular than past versions, especially on the visor. I do with the head was just a little bit bigger, but it’s not terrible as is. Next is the EVA armor, one of the more consistently available Halo armors. The helmet is definitely this armor’s strongest trait. The shoulders are weird, and don’t sit as well as I might like on the figure. The last full armor set is the CQC (Not to be confused with the CQB armor from the same game). I’m not much of a fan of the helmet on this one, but the torso with the pouches is definitely cool, and very well sculpted to boot. The figure also included an extra helmet, the MP helmet, which is easily my least favorite in the set. Of course, I don’t like the design in the game, so it’s at the very least accurate. The paintwork on the figure and various armor parts is top notch. The figure was available in both Blue and Steel color schemes. I went with Steel. It has a nice brushed effect to it, which makes it look nice and weathered, and all the armor sets have great work on the insignias and such. Apart from the armor sets, the figure includes no accessories, but McFarlane was kind enough to offer a weapons pack around the same time.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, after being sufficiently pulled into Mcfarlane’s Halo stuff, I figured I might as well have fun with it. This set had a few of the parts I used on my in-game Noble 6, so I went ahead and ordered it from Amazon. It’s certainly a fun set, and it even allowed me to salvage the “junk” Carter and 6 I got with my Jorge figure, effectively giving me three new figures in one purchase!

NobleArmor3

#0705: Spartan Jorge

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

SPARTAN JORGE

HALO: REACH(MCFARLANE)

Jorge1

You know what goes well with Halo? More Halo. So, how ‘bout some more of that? Of all the Halo games, I think Halo: Reach may be my favorite play-through experience. I really liked the customizability, and I liked Noble Team (well, most of Noble Team, anyway). The coolest member of the team was definitely Jorge, the team’s heavy weapons guy. So, let’s have a look at one of his figures, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Jorge2Spartan Jorge was released as part of the first series of McFarlane Toys’ Halo: Reach line of figures. The figure stands a whopping 6 inches tall and has 34 points of articulation. Like Mickey, his size is a bit divergent from Spartan Thorne, though in the opposite direction. It is once again accurate to the source material, as Jorge’s listed height is 8 feet on the dot, so he’s a pretty tall dude. His joint layout is more in line with Thorne than Mickey, but the hip joints are still different. It’s for the better, as Jorge’s hips allow for a much better range and a stronger set of joints than Thorne’s. Jorge got his own unique sculpt (which would later be re-used for an unmasked Jorge.) It’s a great translation of the game design. The armor has a nice amount of texturing and weathering, which adds a nice touch of realism to the figure. He’s also got a suitable amount of bulk to him, which is definitely true to the character. If there’s one drawback, it’s his backpack; it’s a separate piece, and it doesn’t stay in place very well, which is super annoying. However, it’s nothing a spot of glue can’t fix. Jorge’s paint is a good match for the sculpt, with plenty of variety to the colors and nice bit of weathering, which brings out the sculpted details nicely. He’s even got some very nicely handled insignias on his torso, which are a great touch. Jorge’s one accessory is his signature mini-gun, which is exquisitely detailed, even if it is a little difficult for him to hold.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After picking up Mickey and Thorne, I knew my next purchase would have to be Jorge, my favorite member of Noble Team by far. I was fortunate enough to come across an eBay auction with him, Carter and Noble Six. The other two were missing most of their parts, but Jorge was totally complete, which I was very happy about. Jorge is a very nicely handled figure, with only a few minor issues that don’t hold him back.

Jorge3

#0704: Mickey

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

MICKEY

HALO: ANNIVERSARY (MCFARLANE)

Mickey

Over the course of the last several months, I’ve gotten pretty well sucked into the Halo games. I really have come to enjoy them. One of my favorite parts of the games are the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, or ODSTs, who sometimes assist the game’s Spartan lead, Master Chief. The ODSTs actually had their own game, Halo 3: ODST (that I am still currently playing my way through. I get distracted…), which gave us a whole team of named ODSTs, each with a unique design. As an added bonus, three members of the team were voiced by Firefly alums Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, and Alan Tudyk. Alan Tudyk, known for playing the plucky, upbeat, sometimes panicky pilot on Firefly, played ODST Michael “Mickey” Crespo, the team’s plucky, upbeat, sometimes panicky pilot (well, he flies a few of the ships, anyway).

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mickey2Mickey was released in the second series of McFarlane’s Halo: Anniversary line, which was released to coincide with the special 10th anniversary re-release of Halo: CE. The figure stands 4 ½ inches tall and has 26 points of articulation. He’s a good half an inch smaller than Spartan Thorne, but that’s actually accurate to their respective heights. The articulation scheme is also a bit different than Thorne’s. Some of it, such as the wrists and shoulders, is a bit more primitive, but other parts, such as the hip articulation, are actually a far better design. It’s an interesting assortment of joints. Structurally, Mickey has a lot of pieces in common with the Halo 3 line’s version of the Rookie, which is sensible, given they’re both ODSTs and all. The sculpt is really nicely done, with a ton of detail work and some very intricate work on the armored pieces. He’s also the spitting image of his in-game counterpart, which is always a good thing. I really love all of the patchwork details of the armor, especially the little add-ons like the ammo strapped to his calf. The little details really make this guy work. The paint accents the sculpt marvelously, Mickey5showing off all the various bits of armor quite well. The best part of it is once again the little details, in this case the small things printed on his armor, such as the emblems and writing on his chest. They even got the piece of tape on his helmet with his name handwritten on it. That’s really cool! Mickey was packed with his rocket launcher, which is his primary weapon from the game. It’s just as nicely detailed as the rest of him, and even has instructions on use written on the side. It does have one small piece broken off, but that’s not the worst thing. He also included a piece of the “Build-A-Logo” thing, but mine didn’t have that.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After really liking Spartan Thorne, I decided to dive headfirst into McFarlane’s Halo line. Since I like the ODST design so much, I figured one of them would be a good starting point. Of course, most of them are on the pricier side now. Fortunately, I was able to find Mickey, courtesy of a seller on eBay who had a large selection of Halo figures loose. Thorne may have been cool, but Mickey’s even cooler, and definitely gets my vote for personal favorite!

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#0682: Old Fred

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

OLD FRED

YELLOW SUBMARINE (MCFARLANE)

OldFred1

Yellow Submarine is a very strange film. Very, very strange. But, as a fan of both the Beatles and animated films, it’s a movie I enjoy quite a bit (it helps that I was 7 the first time I saw it). While the film obviously stars the Beatles as its main protagonists, for most of the film, they’re paired up with lovable goofball Old Fred, a native from Pepperland, the undersea land that the Beatles are recruited to save from the Blue Meanies. I told you the film was weird. Back in ’99, McFarlane Toys of all companies grabbed the Yellow Submarine license, and put out a small assortment of figures from the movie, including Old Fred.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

OldFred2Old Fred was technically part of the first series of Yellow Submarine figures from McFarlane, but he was a rather late addition. The initial shipments of the series featured Ringo and the Blue Meanie, John and the Boob, George and the Submarine, and Paul and the Glove. When fans complained about the lack of Old Fred, McFarlane responded by replacing the Glove with him in subsequent shipments. Why he wasn’t just released separately is beyond me, but oh well, here he is. The figure stands 8 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation. His sculpt was new to him, and it does a good job of capturing the admittedly inconsistent design of the character from the film. He’s mostly constructed out of connected abstract shapes, but that’s about right. The details of the face are absolutely spot on, and the uniform is basic, but accurate. He’s sculpted in a mostly normal standing pose, but for some reason, his right arm is bent at the elbow and extended outward at the shoulder, which looks sort of odd. Like, I’m not sure how the arm is meant to be positioned, because it looks equally weird in all of the poses.  I just don’t recall him having this pose at any point of the movie. Paint is a bit iffy on this figure. The basic colors are fine and all, but the application is really sloppy, especially on the yellows. The buttons don’t even always get fully covered. It’s not ideal. As he’s sort of an accessory himself, Old Fred includes no accessories of his own. Which is fine I guess.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Yellow Submarine Paul McCartney was actually my very first Yellow Submarine figure. However, that one was an earlier release, so he didn’t come with Fred. I got Fred about two months ago when my brother found a Fred and Paul set at a nearby antique store. Not a whole lot to say on this figure to be honest. He’s about on par with the rest of the set, so yay consistency, and I’m happy to have one to go with my Beatles.

#0679: Spartan Thorne

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

SPARTAN THORNE

HALO 4 (MCFARLANE)

Thorne1

Well, guys, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think I’ve gotten hooked on video games. Well, a video game, anyway.  I know, the video games were supposed to be the guest reviewers’ thing. I’m cutting into their area. So, the game (or game series, rather) in question is Halo. Given that both Tim and Super Awesome Girlfriend are pretty big fans of the franchise, it was really only a matter of time. Of course, another factor for me getting into the games is so that I can have an excuse to buy all the cool toys from the game, like today’s focus, Spartan Gabriel Thorne.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Thorne2Spartan Thorne was released in the third series of McFarlane Toys’ Halo 4 line. Thorne is one of the main Spartans featured in the story portion of Spartan Ops. His armor is a re-skin of the Recruit armor, which is the armor set every player starts out with in Halo 4‘s multiplayer portion. McFarlane’s Halo stuff is kind of in a scale all its own; Thorne is about 5 inches in height, which puts him at about the same height as all the other Spartans in the Halo 4 line, and he has 32 points of articulation. His articulation is very similar in design to McFarlane’s Walking Dead line, though it’s a series or two behind in some of the joint styles. In particular, he’s still got the rather restricting ball jointed hips, which really can’t do much but a basic standing pose.  Also, the shoulders and elbows are somewhat restricted, but this is more to do with the character design than it does the articulation scheme.  Although the character himself may just be a re-skin of an existing game model, Thorne’s figure is actually a unique sculpt.  Overall, it’s an impressive piece of work.  The Recruit armor has been very nicely translated to plastic form, and the figure has lots of nice detail work, especially on the more heavily armored portions. One thing that is a bit of a let down is the sculpt on the hands. Neither of them has a trigger finger, the fingers are just one solid piece.  For a figure based on a game where 99% of the characters are carrying some sort of gun at all times, that seems like a silly decision.  As it stands, it means he holds every weapon awkwardly at best, which is not cool.  The paintwork on Thorne is pretty nicely handled.  There’s a bit of slop here and there, but nothing too noticeable, and the armor has some tremendously well-handled weathering to it.  He looks appropriately battle-hardened.  Thorne was supposed to be packed with a basic Halo 4 assault rifle, but the piece was missing from my Thorne’s packaging.  Given that Halo‘s really big on the whole two weapons at a time thing, it’s a bit of a letdown that Thorne didn’t include anything else, and it’s just made worse by my figure not having the one piece he was meant to have.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I wasn’t going to get into Halo toys.  I really wasn’t.  Then Tim and I found a clearanced Commander Palmer figure at Target.  Tim ended up getting her, and I caught this guy on the back of the box.  He wasn’t anywhere to be found at that Target, but I kept my eye out and eventually found him at a slightly out of the way Toys R Us.  Of course, he was missing his gun and they only had the one, but, fortunately, Tim offered to loan me one of his spare Magnums, so Thorne wouldn’t have to go unarmed.  Thorne has a few minor issues, but he’s a pretty great figure overall.  Of course, he also opened up the floodgates on getting more Halo stuff…