The first deluxe set in the Halo 4 toy line by McFarlane Toys has been released at retail: the UNSC Cryotube with the Master Chief action figure!

This McFarlane Toys Halo 4 deluxe boxed set first started showing up at Fred Meyer stores over the last few days, but it has (of course) infiltrated ebay and started popping up there now as well. There haven’t been any sightings at other popular chains like Target or Toys R Us yet, but I’d expect the Cryo Tube with Master Chief (along with the single-packed Halo 4 Series 1 action figures) to start showing up at Toys R Us and online retailers within the next one to two weeks.

Initially some fans were worried that the included Halo 4 Master Chief figure would be a straight repack, but it turns out those fears were unfounded. This deluxe boxed-set gives a rare paint variant of the Master Chief: partially-frozen Master Chief!

The Chief has light frost paint deco on him, which looks really tremendous and does a great job of bringing out the detail of the sculpt. Frosty Master Chief actually turns out to look better than the regular Master Chief from McFarlane Toys Halo 4 Series 1.

Beware, though: the quantity of snow-deco on the Master Chief apparently varies by each and every set out there–on some there’s barely any frost visible at all on the Chief, and on others he practically looks like a snowman! I actually think that the diverse range of frost quantity on this figure is a good thing though–now you can find a frozen Master Chief that suits your own tastes exactly!

Also, as of yet I have not heard any complaints about defective figures with stuck or broken joints. Unlike the poor Reach Spartan molds (which got used a million times), this new Spartan mold is fresh and new and apparently sans any quality-control issues so far.

Click here to check out the current auction listings for the Halo 4 UNSC Cryotube with Master Chief!