When MEGA Brands released the first Halo Mega Bloks Brute Chopper in the Halo Covenant Brute Chopper 96845 set back in 2010, I didn’t really care that much. In general I don’t usually like Brutes, and I’m especially not a fan of the original Halo Mega Bloks Brute figure mold. So when I heard we were going to get another Brute Chopper set in the Halo Mega Bloks Summer 2012 series, I was skeptical of its necessity. But MEGA Brands is wiser than I, and included a couple new features to the Halo Mega Bloks Brute Chieftain Charge 96993 set that not only made me buy it, but made me excited enough to pay a surplus to get it before it hits most mass retail stores…

The Right:

The most thrilling part of the Halo Mega Bloks Brute Chieftain Charge set is by far the inclusion of the incredible new Brute Chieftain figure. I complain pretty frequently about how much I dislike the standard Brute that MEGA Brands has been using in the Halo Mega Bloks sets for the last several years, so it’s a real treat to finally get a Brute that’s not only better, but actually outstanding.

Considering I had to buy a $65 Covenant Seraph to get the new Halo Mega Bloks Elite General, I’m not about to balk about paying 12 bucks for the new Brute Chieftain. Up until now, the only Halo Mega Bloks Brute figure I liked was the Jet Pack Brute from the . For some reason MEGA Brands doesn’t release the Jet Pack Brute very often (it’s only in the ODST Ambush and Rockethog vs. Anti-Aircraft Turret sets), but I hope we get to see this Brute Chieftain frequently, because it’s it’s very good.

The other major selling-point of this set is the brand new Halo Mega Bloks Gravity Hammer. While it’s not painted and is only just molded in pure black (for the time beings) the Gravity Hammer is huge and it looks deadly powerful in the hands of the Brute Chieftain. The Brute Chieftain also includes a Brute Spiker weapon, but it’s pretty unlikely anyone is going to opt for equipping their Brute Chieftain with the Spiker rather than the Gravity Hammer.

What most people buy the Halo Mega Bloks Brute Chieftain Charge set for is going to be the Brute Chieftain and Gravity Hammer, but the Brute Chopper itself isn’t to be overlooked. The Brute Chopper included in this set is slightly different than the original Brute Chopper, but the alterations are all an improvement. While the Brute Chopper uses only a few more pieces than the original, the set looks more detailed and less toy-like. Also, the new sparkly crimson red pieces used are a notable improvement over the purple on the old Brute Chopper.

I am eternally grateful that this set has the colored designs on the Brute Chopper printed onto the pieces at the factory and thus includes no stickers. I hate decals on toy construction sets with a passion, as my OCD explodes when I can’t get stickers perfectly aligned and symmetrical. This set manages to sidestep that problem entirely and make me a happy man in the process.

For an experienced Mega Bloks builder, building this set is going to take about 10 minutes. Half-distracted and taking photos as I built, this set still only took me 15 minutes to build. It’s a quick and relaxing build, so don’t plan to fill any long afternoons with building this little set, nice as it may be.

Some people may say that this set is overpriced at ~$12 for 72 pieces, which is pretty far from my sweet-spot of 10 cents per piece. However, I’m willing to make an exception this time and concede that this set is actually worth the 17 cents per piece for a couple reasons. First and foremost, MEGA Brands needed to invest in new molds for the Brute Chieftain figure and Gravity Hammer in this set, and tooling is expensive. These particular items are most likely especially expensive, as the Brute Chieftain is the largest figure in the Halo Mega Bloks line so far (besides the Hunters), and the Gravity Hammer is easily the largest hand-held weapon we’ve seen. In addition, printing the designs on the body of the Brute Chopper costs money as well, which I’m happy to pay to avoid the horror of trying to align all of the stickers completely perfect on the vehicle myself.

The Wrong:

This is a virtually perfect small-sized Halo Mega Bloks set. The only minor nitpicks I have about the set are that I wish there was a clasp to hold the Gravity Hammer on the Brute Chieftain’s back (similar to the ones we got for the katanas with the Spartan Hayabusa figures), and I wish the armor on the Brute Chieftain was a much darker black. Every other representation I’ve ever seen of the Brute Chieftain has given him black armor, whereas on the Mega Bloks Brute Chieftain the armor is a dark grey and just not as striking.

“Where Can I Buy It?!”

I haven’t seen the Halo Mega Bloks Brute Chieftain Charge set in any retail store yet, although I have seen it available from several online sources. BigBadToyStore has been receiving regular shipments of the Brute Chieftain Charge over the course of the last week, and presently has it available for $12.99. Or if you want to hunt around for a deal, you can check out the current listings for the Halo Mega Bloks Brute Chieftain Charge set by clicking here!

Overall: Halo Mega Bloks Brute Chieftain Charge 96993 is a great value-priced set, plain and simple. You get a new-and-improved Brute Chopper with a more eye-pleasing color scheme, one of the most-wanted weapons ever in the all-new Gravity Hammer, and the debut of the terrific new Brute Chieftain figure. The set has a simplistic build, but a ton of play value. And at a super-low price of ~$12, it’s even cheap enough and worthwhile to army-build Brute Chieftains and Gravity Hammers with this set! With one of the most desirable new Halo Mega Bloks figures of the year in the Brute Chieftain, as well as the awesome Gravity Hammer, this low-priced set is a must-have for any Halo Mega Bloks collector.