Let me start off by saying I’m not a model builder. I’m not a Halo player. I don’t buy any figures under 6 inches. But I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t like this kit from start to finish.
That’s not to say I didn’t get a little frustrated during the build. Thinking back over the whole process, though, I did have fun. My one and only model was a Star Wars Slave 1 twenty years ago and then I went straight into customizing action figures, so I don’t have a lot of reference on how easy or complicated this was compared to other model kits out there. It wasn’t that hard, especially not having to glue or paint anything. On top of all that, I know who Master Chief is, but I’ve never played a Halo game. But when Bandai contacted us about throwing together a review (I still have Arkham Origins Batman to build) I jumped on it just to see what was up with it. I’m glad I did.
The kit simply comes in a box with the kit itself in plastic bags inside. From seeing other models in stores, I think this is standard fare. Taking it all out of the bags and the initial look was a bit intimidating to someone with no experience with this sort of thing.
But once I dove into it everything fell into place. Sure, there were stumbles and random confusion, but it was easy to get past and truck on through. The build took about an hour. I chronicled it in video form. Don’t worry, I edited out most of the monotony.
If you do watch the video, I talk about how weird the hips look towards the end when I’m going over my initial thoughts about the figure itself. The very first comment was to inform me that I hadn’t snapped the hips all the way into place. As soon as I did that everything was copacetic. The pictures below are after I fixed the hips.
During the build, I couldn’t help thinking that the finished figure would be fragile. This is not the case. After everything is put together it’s a solid figure. Very lightweight, yeah, but capable of more posing and play than I could have imagined.
The sculpt here is excellent. Lots of details and textures. It’s weird but I almost appreciate it more because I got to see each and every piece as a separate entity while building it. Little things stand out when not being lost in the figure as a whole.
Articulation is pretty great too. If I had to nitpick, it’s to wish for double elbows. But everything else is up to par. The ankles have great rocker action and twist because it’s on a true ball joint and the shoulders butterfly forward for some awesome shooting poses. The shoulders are also true ball joints. He can two hand his pistol directly in front!
There is no paint, and no painting is required. Each piece is cast in the correct color. So no rub, no messy lines, no extra work, just build and go.
For accessories, he comes with a rifle and pistol. And, yes, you build those too. Sure, they are only two pieces each, but you still get to put them together. When not using the weapons they have places they can be put. The rifle pegs on his back through the trigger guard. The pistol hangs in a small “U”-shaped piece that pegs into Chief’s thigh. Again, if you watch the video, I couldn’t get it to stay, but I was, again, informed in a comment how to do it.
He also comes with a display stand. It has a molded piece that kind of snugs around the foot. There is no snap or peg, but it stays on well. Really, though, with the light weight and tight joints, along with the big feet to provide a good foundation, Master Chief doesn’t really need a stand to stay upright. But it is a nice addition. you know, just in case.
Finally, he comes with extra hands. In all, he has two fists, two hands with trigger fingers to hold the weapons, and an open left hand. And this is where my only minor point of frustration comes into play. The weapon grip hands split apart to go and then peg back together around the handles of the guns, making it to where they don’t fall out. Excellent concept, and it works well. For me though, because of the size of the hands and how I can’t really see what’s going on when I’m trying to hold the weapon and two hand pieces all together and get two pegs to pin, it is a little frustrating. Just a little. But after playing with him for a bit I realized I can just leave the right hand on the rifle and the left hand on the pistol and just set those aside when I’m using the fists.
All in all, I’m super happy with this kit. I went in thinking the worst, about the frustration of the build and the fragility of the finished piece. And I was definitely not sold on the statement of “no glue” because, really, no glue on a model kit? That’s going to fall apart, right? Nope. I couldn’t be happier with the final product. Just a good, solid action figure that’s a blast to pose and was fun to build.
You can pick up your very own Halo Master Chief Level 2 SprüKit on Amazon. And looking at the first picture on Amazon, they don’t have the hips fully secured either. See? It’s a common mistake!
Special Thanks to Bandai for sending this
