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Series: Halo 3 Craftsmanship: 8.0 / 10 - More articulation needed! - Perfect accessories and to-scale with other Halo figures - Kind of cartoony likenesses Playability: 8.5 / 10 - Hands don’t hold the guns snuggly - Accessories are compatible - Immobile legs make for better durability
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UNSC Marines (Halo)
While these three figures are all identified by different names – generic UNSC Marine, Sergeant Stacker, Sergeant Johnson – they’re so similar that I’m reviewing them together. The only thing separating the figures is the head sculpts: Sergeant Johnson is chomping a cigar, Sergeant Stacker sports a goatee and a scar on his face, and the UNSC Marine features a doo-dad studded helmet. Aside from the head sculpts and Johnson’s forearms, the figures are identical. They have the same articulation at exactly the same points with the same armor and paint applications. But they all fall short of Master Chief in terms of playability and articulation. The upper body features close to the same articulation as Master Chief. The Marines have hinged elbows, seamed wrists and waist, ball-jointed shoulders, and seamed necks, but they lack a seam joint just above the elbow. It’s amazing how much a seam joint can completely effect the poseability of a figure! Not helping the poseability is the lack of articulation for the Marines legs (aside from hinged ankles joints). While this does ensure a more stable display figure it’s a shame they weren’t given the same articulation as Master Chief. If there was that articulation, conga line dioramas would have been possible! We came this close to being able to enact the action figure version of Halo: The Musical! But I guess that’s okay… There are other problems with the Marines. For starters their hands don’t hold the weapons quite as snuggly as you might expect; however, they have no problem holding any of the accessories – namely the various human and Covenant guns. And while I’m talking about the guns… I know it’s faithful to the video game source, but why don’t the Marines have any place to stow their extra guns? There’s nothing I hate more than losing accessories (except |
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maybe war, religious intolerance and government ineptness) so it’s always a bone of contention with me when there isn’t a place to put the extras. Although the Marines aren’t as eye-catching as Master Chief thanks to a mainly average paint application and airbrushed sculpt, they still manage to be appealing on display, particularly in a group. Playability ranks high if you have a few other Halo figures. As the Marines are mostly immobile from the waist down, they manage to pretty durable, which is a good thing because the Marines tend to draw the short |
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straw when presented with danger situations (i.e. they’re the first ones to die). I thought for sure that their rubber hands would easily pop out of their sockets but as of this writing, they have yet to be disconnected. These are the first figures in a while that I’ve really put through the wringer for a play test. They were buried, thrown, dropped and kicked all over the backyard and they came through fine, although they did pick up scuffmarks and a layer of dirt. It actually adds to the figures – it makes them look really battle-hardened. Joyride could have made the Marines more appealing with a few more articulation points and possibly more textured armor. Or hell, even making one of them left-handed would have gone a long way to making them absolutely essential for Halo fans and collectors. That being said, if you’re a Halo fan it’s worth it to snag at least one Marine so you can set up some cool dioramas. - Omni (April 3, 2004)
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