Review of Carter - Halo sixth scale action figure

Introduction

Halo has been one of the biggest video game franchises of all time, so it's no surprise that plenty of action figure companies have taken on the license. McFarlane has done it best, but others have given it their all.

Over the last couple years, 3A Toys has been synonymous with the licenses of Ashley Wood, like Popbot and World War Robot. But 3A is expanding out to some other licenses while still sticking to what they do best - robots or dudes armored up so much they practically are robots.

Such is Halo, and 3A's first 12" figure under this license is out - Carter. Expect to pay around $200 or so, depending on the retailer.

Packaging - ***
The package is collector friendly - always a big plus. You can remove the figure and accessories  without causing any damage to the box or trays, and pop everything back in for storage or sale later.

I also like the pattern, but the exterior is pretty basic otherwise. A shot or two of the character would have been nice. They did include a couple instruction sheets though, something all companies should provide. They are particularly useful here, since the various pieces of armor fit in pretty specific ways and the light up feature is tricky.

Sculpting - ****
While there's no human likeness here, there is a ton of sculpting - much more than a standard character.

I'm not a big Halo player, but as soon as my son saw the figure he said "hey, that's Carter!". Recognizability goes a long way, but with a suit as unique as this, that's a goal that's pretty easy to reach.

More difficult is realism. While they are working in plastic, they must make you believe it's not - and they do that beautifully.

The armor is sharply defined and cut, with lots of detail. It also helps that this is a suit of armor (and rubber) built over an actual underlying body. That gives it the proportions and feel of the real deal, unlike something like the 12" figure done by McFarlane.

He's a big boy too, clocking in at around 13.5 inches tall. That seems about right to me for sixth scale, but your mileage may vary.

Paint - ****
A beautiful sculpt deserves a beautiful paint job - 3A does it up proud. Creating a worn, battle damaged and well used look with armor like this can be very, very tricky. Too often, it looks like sloppy paint, not actual wear and tear. But with just the right touch, this sort of damage adds realism, and this figure is pretty much a perfect example of that.

The wear gives the plastic armor a more metallic, life-like look, just what you'd expect if the game character were actually real. It's beautiful work, and can be just as difficult to pull off as perfect face paint on the usual sixth scale character.

I also love the look of the visor. It has a clean, sharp look that belies the simple plastic it's made from.

Overall, this is terrific work, and has me contemplating picking up 3A's release of A.T.O.M. (from Real Steel) even more.

Articulation - ****
3A does a great body, particularly for armored figures like this. All the articulation you expect is present, and it works extremely well considering the amount of potential restriction.

They've included a ton of great joints, and designed the armor to create the least impediment. For example, the knee armor is only attached to the underlying rubber suit on one side of the leg, making it less restrictive.

The underlying rubber suit is fairly soft and pliable. I'm sure everyone is hoping that this rubber material won't suffer from any degradation or 'leaking'. No way to know that now, but this does feel much more like the high end stuff we get in other long lasting products.

While all the usual joints are here, there's a few extras that make this guy really stand out in this category. That would be the fully jointed fingers and thumbs, able to take great poses and hold the weapons cleanly. You can pose them in just about any realistic human style, and they are tight enough to carry weight. No need for extra hand sculpts - these can do it all!

Accessories - ***1/2
Several pieces of armor come separate, held in place by strong magnets. That includes both shoulder pieces as well as the lower back pack. The magnets work pretty well, certainly better than those holding the weapons.

Speaking of which, there's four all together. There are two grenades, which hold against either hip, as well as his trademark gun. The gun is held in place on his back with magnets as well. Finally, there's a knife and sheath, and again, the sheath is attached to the shoulder armor with a magnet.

While the two shoulder pads hold tight, none of the weapons stay in place particularly well. The gun was the biggest problem, and falls off with the slightest touch.

There are two other pieces of chest armor that snap in place, sans magnets. They look great, but you'll need to remove them to see all the lights, and it's also easier for him to hold the rifle in both hands with them out of the way.

Light Feature - **1/2
Unfortunately, the light up feature was my one disappointment.

There are no included batteries, so you'll need to buy 6 of the tiny 377's, and two of the large 626's, at least $15. The two larger batteries go inside his back, under the armor plate. This plate has to be completely removed, the batteries inserted AND the switch turned on, then the plate is put back in place. There's a couple LED's on this back plate that actually light up, so you need to take care with removing and replacing it, and yet you have to do it just to reach the switch. Not a design that's conducive to you using the feature very often.

The smaller batteries go in the biceps of each arm. The good news here is that there is a small switch on both you can actually reach without opening the battery compartment. The bad news is that getting the three batteries in place is close to impossible. I never did manage to pull it off - in fact, one of the three popped out and ended up stuck inside the bicep armor, where it's still lodged.

So how did I get them to light up? Turns out you only need two to get it to work. They seemed just as bright as the others to me, but I suspect that they won't last too long before needing to be replaced.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
While I wouldn't recommend giving the average eight year old a two hundred dollar 'toy', that doesn't mean that in the hands of a collector this guy isn't a lot of fun. He's very poseable, making it possible for fans to get just the perfect look out of him for their display, and change it up whenever the whim hits.

Value - **1/2
I believe retail on this guy is $300 - at that price, I'd have a canary. But the actual retail is around $200 at most retailers, much more in line with what I'd expect. The light feature might have issues, but it looks great when turned on, and the armor sculpt and paint are very impressive. At around $200, this figure is pretty much in line with Hot Toys or Enterbay figures at the same approximate price.

Things to Watch Out For -
The little antenna on the right side of the helmet is very fragile - handle with care.

Overall - ***1/2
Halo fans will love this figure. The sculpt and paint are excellent, and the articulation is quite impressive. There's a decent number of extras, and he's properly scaled to go with other licensed characters.

The big negative here  is the light up feature. The difficulty in putting the batteries in the arms along with the poor design of the switch n the back disappointed me, but at least the LED's are nice and bright - and plentiful.

Some of the magnets need to be a bit stronger, or better placed to hold the accessories. It's something 3A should consider as they design future figures.

As I mentioned earlier, 3A is also doing A.T.O.M. from Real Steel, another impressive robot. At $300, he's harder to justify, but after seeing this guy I just may have to put one on pre-order.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ****
Articulation - ****
Accessories - ***1/2
Light Up Feature - **1/2
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered a few nice Halo figurs in the past, including Mcfarlane's Mongoose, and the  terrific 12" version. I also covered some of wave 2, and I split series 1 between here and over at QSE.

I also had a guest review of Master Chief.

Before Halo 3, and before McFarlane got the license, Joyride Studios made larger action figures based on Halo 2. Here's some guest reviews:

- here's their version of the Grunt.

- there's also a guest review of the Elite Guard.

- And you can't forget their version of Master Chief!

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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