The following is a guest review from Avi
For over a year, Halo Nation has been clamoring for 6" scale figure of their favorite Halo characters. When McFarlane Toys announced their plans for the Halo license it quickly became apparent that it would be a while before they produced any larger scale figures given their choice for a very unique scale for the main figure line. Not quite 3 3/4" but not 6" either. It was an odd choice to many but it has also proven quite popular with retailers.
What were originally billed in a very early solicitation as Halo Statues were in fact the Halo 3 Legendary Collection. These 6" scale items are a new component to the overall Halo 3 menu. Are they statues? Not quite. They are very minorly articulated, but if you're a McFarlane Collector you will recognize the dynamic posing and minimal articulation that many fans came to appreciate in a variety of McFarlane products from Spawn to Sportspicks.
Today we'll take a look at The Arbiter. The disgraced Covenant commander turned Separatist leader and one of the main characters in the Halo Universe.
The Arbiter comes with his trademark energy sword and is posed in a very dynamic stance. As you will see from the photos, the only truly useful articulation rests in his shoulders. This allows for a slight variety of looks. From my perspective he's in the start of a slash or a lunge, or perhaps is just a seasoned warrior staring off onto the battlefield from high above and standing ready for combat.
The base is solid and sturdy. It's wide stance will pretty much ensure that your Arbiter will not fall over. At least, not because of the base. A cut joint on his leg provides you with plenty of room to peg Arby onto the ground and the rock he stands on. The pegs however, at least on my figure, don't have very strong grip in the peg holes and as a result, if you pick up the figure it will likely detach from the base. Additionally, a very hard jarring to a shelving unit would have a pretty good chance at dislodging the figure from the base and letting him fall over. Take note though, when I say hard, I mean it.
The sculpt on Arby is actually fairly fantastic. He's extremely detailed and offers much more depth to that detail than his smaller counterpart. You can actually see the facial detail. The paint application is very solid. You may find a bit of overspray here and there but overall it's fairly well done. For a figure that averages $20 I'm not seeing any issues with sculpt or paint that I haven't seen with other figures in the same ballpark. The lines are all very nice, Arby seems to be proportionally accurate and even though I still don't like the gold color on him more than the silver tones of Halo 2, the paint application is helps enhance the effects of the detail.
In terms of size, on his base he stands 7 1/4" wide by about 6 1/2" tall to the tip of his shoulder armor. If he were standing this figure would likely be around 8" tall and that means he's relatively in-scale for a 1/12th scale (6" scale) figure.
Truthfully, with this figure what you see is what you get. The poseability in minimal, the accessories amount to the base and the sword. The sword is a bit too frosted for my tastes and could be a bit more translucent.
While not pictured, the packaging is actually very nice. It displays the figure very well in a very interesting window-box design. Take note, when opening this figure if you want to keep the packaging intact it's not that difficult. Simply open the box from the bottom. It features an oversized tab that fastens in the middle. There is not tape at all on the bottom of the box. Carefully slide the tab out, being careful not to bend or crease the cardboard and you'll find that the figure and it's tray slide right now. The plastic holder is not attached to the tray and comes right out giving you easy access to the base and twist ties. If you wanted to repackage this figure they have made it very easy.
Coming to the end of this review, I'd like to say that I am very happy with the figure and that my cost was $20 delivered and not $20 or more plus tax at a brick and mortar store. I will say that this does nothing to quench my thirst for a 1/12th scale articulated Halo figure, but at the same time it's one of my favorite purchases of the year.
I had no breakage issues or anything I would feel to be a close call.
While this figure is solid, I do feel the Brute Chieftain outshines it. In terms of score, I'd rate The Arbiter at a 4 1/2 out of 5. The half point deduction really does come down to price. This is about the same quality of paint, sculpt and scale that I am used to from McFarlane lines of years past. It's just more expensive. Sure, part of that is the increase in the cost of production, part of it is also the cost of a high-profile license. Neither of those reasons makes that price issue any easier to swallow. Had I paid $20 plus instead of $20 delivered I could easily see the score dropping another point.
Regardless, Arby is going to sit on my shelf and look like a badass. Now if only I could snag that Active Camo variant. We'll see how that goes.
Thanks for the read and enjoy the the photos.
-Avi
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