It totally blows my mind, but it’s now been almost two years to the day since I posted my review of the original Halo Reach Elite Ranger action figure (which you can find in the Reviews Index archive). That McFarlane Halo Reach Elite Ranger figure was one of my favorite action figures of 2011 from any company, and stands to this day as one of my favorite Halo figures. So I had pretty lofty expectations for the long-delayed Halo 4 Wave 2 Elite Ranger action figure that was finally released this fall. Unfortunately, this newest Elite Ranger figure manages to be pretty good, but not to the level of “amazing” that I was hoping for…

The Right:

After the insanity of driving from Walgreens to Walgreens to hunt down the McFarlane Toys Halo 4 Series 2 Spartan action figures, I was more than content to sit at home lazily and wait for the Halo 4 Elite Ranger figures I ordered from Amazon to arrive in the mail.

Once I finally did receive the rest of my Halo 4 Series 2 action figures, I liked the Elite Ranger quite a bit, but at the same time I wasn’t excited enough about him to feel the need to go online and preach to the Halo collecting community how amazing he was. I can’t quite put my finger on what “X-Factor” it is that this figure is missing, however, as there’s a whole lot to love about the Covenant Elite Ranger.

First off, the Elite Ranger is appropriately huge, just like the Halo 4 Series 1 Elite Zealot figure. There’s some parts reuse between the figures, but you might be surprised by the sheer number of 100% newly-tooled pieces created exclusively for the Elite Ranger.

The Ranger Elite figure doesn’t have the same crazy amount of intricate sculpting as the Elite Zealot did, but that’s hardly McFarlane Toys’ fault–the Elite Ranger armor permutation simply isn’t as elaborate as the Elite Zealot armor is.

While I loved the visually striking white Elite Ranger armor from Halo Reach, the blue-grey armor for the Halo 4 Elite Ranger is far less compelling to me, aesthetically speaking. Even so, the paint apps for this figure land in “The Right” because, despite my personal preferences, McFarlane Toys made the most of the authentic Halo 4 color scheme. I don’t like the colors nearly as much, but there’s no arguing that McFarlane Toys did an outstanding job of accurately replicating the color scheme of the Sangheili Rangers from the Halo 4 video game.

Not having the Brutes around in Halo 4 is paying dividends, as the natural size of the Sangehili is much more prominent when the Brutes aren’t around to overshadow them. The Halo 4 Series 2 Elite Ranger’s immense size makes him look extra fierce and intimidating when posed next to the Grunt Storm and Storm Jackal action figures.

There was some concern that the visor on the Halo 4 Elite Ranger’s helmet was going to be opaque, but that was unfounded. As usual, the visor is molded in transparent plastic, so there’s no problems checking out that handsome Sangheili face right through the clear helmet window.

A problem that has plagued Sangheili figures almost since the very inception of the McFarlane Toys Halo action figures brand is the inability of Elites to stand up stably and reliably. With the Halo 4 Elite Ranger action figure, that’s not even an issue. His large feet and legs have been posed in such a way that getting the figure to stand up is almost never an issue–not even when I have him standing on my desk that I bump into clumsily a couple dozen times a day.

Almost as important to this release as the Ranger Elite action figure itself is his included weapon: the Halo 4 Beam Rifle. This time out, the Beam Rifle is vastly bigger than its previous incarnations, and looks far deadlier and more powerful. The shiny purple paint McFarlane Toys chose for the new Beam Rifle looks terrific, as does the impressive amount of metallic weathering deco overlaying the purple.

Unlike the Halo 4 Elite Zealot action figure, the Halo Elite Ranger can actually hold the weapon that he’s packaged with without endless amounts of struggling and swearing. In fact, the Elite Ranger holds his Beam Rifle perfectly, without a hitch. The hinged fingers on the Elite Ranger figure’s hands are sculpted ideally for holding the Halo 4 Beam Rifle, which is quite a relief after the ordeals trying to get figures like the Elite Zealot and Storm Jackal to hold their weapons.

There are no holes on the back of the Elite Ranger’s armor to allow him to store his Covenant Beam Rifle on his back, but the figure does have a peg hole on either leg if you want to store his gigantic Beam Rifle there. It’s definitely non-canonical and it doesn’t make a ton of sense to hang a Beam Rifle off the Ranger Elite’s leg, but I do think it looks rather snazzy (if I do say so myself).

I don’t have a lot to say about the Chill Storm Rifle Weapons Skin DLC code that comes with the Elite Ranger, other than to say that it’s free and it will hopefully help this figure to sell well in the few stores carrying it. It’s a free bonus and I’m not going to complain (other than to note the fact that a Beam Rifle skin would have been a far more fun choice). Thanks for the freebie, McFarlane Toys.

The Wrong:

McFarlane Toys delayed this series of five action figures for almost an entire year, so I would like to see some bells and whistles to really make the wait seem worthwhile. In this case, a removable helmet on the Halo 4 Series 2 Elite Ranger would have fit the bill nicely. The design of the helmet makes it look like it would be an easy enough feature to implement, but McFarlane Toys chose not to go with that feature. The only bit of the Elite’s head that’s actually sculpted is the bit you can see through the helmet’s window.

Of course, the lack of a removable helmet isn’t the only problem with this Elite Ranger’s head…

The Ridiculous:

The Halo 4 Elite Ranger’s head falls off. A lot.

For some reason, when McFarlane Toys was developing this product, apparently no one ever tried to pose his head. Otherwise said testers would have realized that if you turn the Ranger Elite figure’s head the slightest bit, the whole things pops off and falls on the ground. It’s really rather annoying, and it hinders the posing opportunities for the Elite Ranger Halo 4 action figure quite a bit. Again–for a figure that was delayed for close to an entire year, this should not be an issue.

Overall: The Halo 4 Series 2 Elite Ranger figure is an above-average figure that’s one of the better McFarlane Halo 4 action figures, but it fails to “wow” me in the manner that the Halo Reach Elite Ranger did. The sculpting and paintwork are both very good, and I love the new Covenant Beam Rifle weapon that the Elite Ranger includes. Even so, the hindered head articulation and lack of a removable helmet hold this figure back, contributing to it not quite reaching the same height of coolness as its predecessor. The Elite Ranger Halo 4 Series 2 figure is an overall solid action figure that I’m happy to have one of in my collection, but not something I feel the need to army-build multiples of. Recommended.

GRADE: B+