Halo Universe Anniversary series 2 Master Chief (The Package) figure review

When it comes to Halo figures McFarlane Toys gives you an enormous selection of customizable parts options and weapon/armor packs we only dream that other toy companies would do. The figures have seen multiple series from each game and here we have Master Chief not based on a game series but on his appearance in the Halo Legends DVD "The Package" episode where he's seen in his Mark VI armor.

Sculpting for this figure is perhaps the best I've ever seen McFarlane do. I hear it was because the digital sculpt was created directly from the cgi model and if that's the case well, dang. Every angle, leg port fin, toe tread, and collar section can be seen in perfect detail. His joints are worked into the sculpt nicely and the Mark VI Reach armor looks awesome rendered like this. The bulkiness of the armor works here and he's the tallest Master Chief made so far standing 5 1/2" tall.

Articulation is much better than the Halo Reach figures as the back portion of the legs are sloped, hips given clearance, and elbows set lower than earlier models. His ball-jointed torso has amazing range of motion as does his neck. Only his shoulder pads are removable however and tend to pop off if his arms are spread out to the side too far. Master Chief can almost kneel and has the toe articulation to pull it off if one were to mod the knees a bit further.

Paint apps are standard Reach style, a really nice green and gray armor color muddled up with a gunmetal drybrushing that gives his armor a sparkly coating. It's just as distracting here. The white and red tampos are applied perfectly and are on top of the weathering making them look a bit odd being so clean. I like the 117 applied to his chestplate and the visor is a much better gold than the previous wave. His tiny mask ports are finally painted, hooray!

Master Chief comes with a grenade that pegs, his MA5C assault rifle, and a build-a-symbol section to a UNSC logo. The rifle is unfortunately the older, smaller mold and looks hilariously tiny in his hands. Swap it out with the larger rifle from one of the earlier figures. I don't know many people who buy all the figures to complete the symbols as they're not very large and tend to pop apart easily. Still it's better than nothing.

The verdict? This is one cool Master Chief and definitely my favorite even tho I'm not a fan of the Reach style armor. If only these figures were 6" they would be flying off the shelf but McFarlane still desperately clings to his 'gotta be unique' style and go against the grain. Out Sponsors Big Bad Toy Store has him at an excellent price as does Past Generation Toys so snag him before he sells out. With Halo 4 figures on the horizon it's only a matter of time until these stop shipping.