Earlier today I posted news about the first set of Halo Avatar Figures by McFarlane Toys arriving in stores. I picked up one of the XBox Live avatar-inspired blind-packaged figures this afternoon, hoping to get lucky and draw the flaming helmet figure.

I didn’t. In fact, I drew the figure I wanted the absolute least: the sole Covenant-themed avatar figure, wearing gold Elite armor. Don’t get me wrong–I love me some Sangheilis, but I wouldn’t want to dress my avatar up as one. Regardless, I have to work with what I’ve got, and the figure I pulled here isn’t necessarily a bad one–it’s just not a particularly good one either…

The Right:

You have to give McFarlane Toys credit for trying something totally different here. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that any company would put out Halo figurines based upon players’ avatars from XBox Live. I’m genuinely unconvinced that there’s a market for peoples’ avatars dressed up in Halo costumes, but it’s an interesting idea and I commend McFarlane Toys for trying something outside-the-box.

Each Halo Avatars series 1 figure comes in a plastic tube wrapped in clear plastic. There are no individual codes or identifying numbers of any kind on the containers, so these are true Halo “blind bag” collectibles. Once you unwrap the canister, you can open it at both ends and pour out the pieces of your figure (or Warthog) and the paper insert showing all the figures in the series. The bottom of the canister has a peg in it and can be used as a figure stand, which I’m grateful for, as the Elite Ultra Halo Avatar figure I pulled will only stand up a few seconds unassisted.

As for the figure itself–well, it’s not quite up to the usual McFarlane Toys levels of paint and sculpting, but it is still pretty damned good. This exact Elite is interesting in that it’s one that McFarlane never released in their 6″ Halo Reach figure line: a gold Elite Ultra. So being able to own one of those (outside the Mega Bloks scale) is pretty neat, albeit not the same as getting a full-sized 6″ version.

The paint on the Ultra Elite Avatar figure is pretty close to the paint on the gold Elite General McFarlane Toys released in Halo Reach Series 4 (as it should be, since they’re from the same manufacturer). It’s nice to have the consistency there, and it makes this feel more like a real McFarlane Toys product and not some bootleg-like toy from a company just trying to cash in on Halo. The paint deco isn’t the most amazing work I’ve ever seen or anything, but it is fairly impeccable and far better than I’ve seen from a lot of companies’ cheap, blind-bagged offerings.

Finally, these figures have two points of articulation including a swivel waist and a ball-jointed head. That’s hardly a great number, but it is legitimately more than I was expecting. These are still among the least-articulated Halo figures ever released, but at least your Spartan or ODST or Elite Avatar figure can turn his head to look at you or gaze around your room so that it’s not a complete statue.

The Wrong:

Realistically, these figures are just not a good value. The XBox Live Halo Avatars Figures cost about $3 + tax each. That’s a lot for what you’re actually getting here. You can get a fully-articulated, beautifully-painted Halo Mega Bloks blind-bag for the same price, or a larger and more uniquely-sculpted Halo Minimates figure for about 50 cents more. Those are some of the finest 2″-3″ action figures ever produced, and they cost essentially the same as these two point of articulation figures that are very nearly statues.

The concept of being able to mix and match the pieces of the Halo Avatars figures is amusing on paper, but does anyone really want to stick a flaming Spartan helmet on an Elite torso? And once you do, all you can really do is stare at the figure–there’s not enough articulation built in to pose these figurines or make them battle or anything. It’s a far cry from the super-articulated Halo Mega Bloks figures at the same price.

Finally, I hate that there’s no discernible codes on the plastic canister “blind-boxes” for these figures. I honestly don’t know that I’ve ever seen a blind-boxed American figure series without some sort of secret code on it–I didn’t even know it was legal not to have one. Given the niche nature of this toy line, many collectors (like me) are only going to want one or two figures from it–and I really doubt those collectors will be happy about having to buy especially blind-boxes trying to get the ones they want (I won’t).

Overall: It’s not the easiest thing in the world to grade a $2.99 figure, because you have to take the low price into consideration. That said, even with a “budget” price-tag, I just don’t think these Halo Avatars figures are all that great. The sculpts and paint are good enough, but the lack of any kind of real articulation beyond head and waist means these figures will just stand around forever doing nothing. For the same relative price, Halo Mega Bloks figures and Halo Minimates figures are loaded with articulation, come with weapons and accessories, have superior paint deco, and are all-around more fun to have. I don’t think it’s bad that McFarlane Toys is trying something new here, but these Halo Avatar figures are just not that exciting and I really can’t see them catching on. For the $3 I paid the XBox Live Gold Elite Halo Avatar figure isn’t awful, but I do think it’s below-average and I can’t really recommend it.

GRADE: C-