Master Chief (Halo) - Action Figure Reviews

Series: 1, Halo

Sculpted by: Chiarelli Studios

Craftsmanship: 9.0 / 10

- Paint could have been a shade lighter

- Very good (but loose) articulation

- Three different guns

- Good detail

Playability: 9.0 / 10

- Big figure

- Good accessories

- Even with loose articulation manages to be durable

- Samus Aran vs. Master Chief

Related Links:

Review: Halo (XB)

Action Figure: Samus Aran (Metroid)

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Master Chief (Halo)

by Joyride Studios

I’ve caught myself a number of times calling Halo’s protagonist “Master Chef”. Master Chief never really caught on in my mind so if you see a few typos referring to Master Chef, you know I actually mean Master Chief. (Just think how different

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Halo would have been if his name were Master Chef.)

Master Chief stands 7 ½” and is instantly recognizable by anyone that has played Halo. He’s packed with 18 points of articulation, which translates into many different poses. The sculpt is very good with just the right amount of chinks out of the MJOLNIR Mark V Assault Armor to make

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it seem like he’s seen some action. The highlight is definitely the gold, mirrored faceplate on his helmet. That’s all very good, but the green paint should have been a shade lighter to snag the default color found in the game. (I know that Halo lets gamers adjust the color of Master Chief (MC) but the default colors are what most are familiar with.)

Although I really have to applaud the amount of articulation, it bothers me that some of them tend to be loose or become loose after any amount of play. This is particularly true of the hinged ankles joints, which are critical to any action poses. And he can be put in lots of action poses thanks to the mix of hinged, seam and ball-joints. I would have liked to see ball-jointed hips, but even so there’s enough to mix things up a bit. His shoulders are ball-jointed for that “locked and loaded” look when he’s holding the pulse rifle.

MC stands easily for the most part. If the joints get too loose there can be problems, but if he’s standing straight up and down it’s not a problem.

Besides the pulse rifle, MC comes packed with a sniper rifle and the pistol. His right hand is sculpted in such a way to accommodate each weapon, but only just. Only the pistol fits snugly. The other guns tend to just fall out unless you have MC in the “locked and loaded” pose. The sniper and pulse rifles lack any significant detail, which is a bit of a letdown. Although it is hard to be disappointed with MC as he stares down the barrel of his sniper rifle, crouched on the top of your bookcase.

Playability is equal to any of MC’s display properties. The articulation and guns make MC very playable even though he’s not to scale with Cortana or the Warthog vehicle. (I have yet to get a look at the Covenant aliens, Elite and Grunt.) However, his size is just right to take on Samus Aran (of Metroid fame and also from Joyride) among other figures. This works out well since MC is relatively durable. His faceplate will pick-up scratches if you really put him through his paces but you shouldn’t lose any limbs (but keep track of his weapons). The joints can become quite loose under any kind of play making some poses tricky because the articulation can’t keep itself in place.

Master Chief is the perfect collectible for any Halo fan and possibly a way to alleviate those pangs while they wait for Halo 2. He’s also very playable. You can’t go wrong either way – MC’s a great purchase.

- Omni
(August 20, 2003)