Elite (Halo) by Joyride Studios

For an alien beast that is supposed to “tower over” human opponents, he actually manages to be smaller than Master Chief.  Elite comes it at 7” tall, while Master Chief registers just over 7 ½”.  It’s entirely possible that if Elite’s legs had some articulation he would be taller than Chief, even at the cost of Elite’s stability.

Elite’s lower half is one solid piece giving him better than average stability – watch where you position the arms – but at the cost of poseability.  He will forever remain in the half-crouched position and because he’s bent over in that position you’ll need to display him above eye level if you want his display properties to come alive.

He is a good game-to-action-figure translation, with particular attention to the face and open mandibles.  The detail is good – not on the same level of a McFarlane figure but it is good and consistent with the other Halo figures and collectibles.  The armor is smooth with the exposed skin all bumpy blue. (Just creepy!)  And even though it could have been overlooked, Elite even has treads on his shoes.

gun, which fits pretty well in his left hand. (The energy gun can be fitted into his right hand.)  The articulation points that he does have – ball-joints at the torso, neck and shoulders; seam joints just above the elbows and the wrists. – don’t provide much mobility.  The seam joints are useful, but all the ball-joints have very restricted movement and, in the case of the torso joint is too loose to be of much use. (To keep the torso joint in place I jammed a paperclip in there.)  If the neck articulation had been a little more drastic, you wouldn’t have to display Elite at eye level.

Can you play with Elite?  Sure, you just have to use your imagination a little.  Obviously, with a Master Chief figure on your roster of action figures it makes sense to display and play with them together.  Because Elite isn’t much taller than the average action figure height of 6” it fits in with many other figures.  It’s always fun to have those video game figures arranged in some kind of diorama – a stab at your own Console Wars!  Rough play isn’t recommended because his hands can be popped off and the guns lost (since they don’t fit all that snuggly).  However, they both fit very, very nicely in the hands of any big Master Chief figure.  (Great touch!)

If you’re a Halo fan this one’s a no-brainer – it complements your Master Chief figure, particularly when you realize his weapons can be used by Master Chief.  Elite is a fairly solid figure, even though there’s room for improvement, but it may not be enough for the casual buyer.

- Omni

(January 17, 2004)