Over the weekend I had to give a rare negative review to the Halo Mega Bloks Covenant Armory Pack II set, which disappointed me by being something the majority of Halo Mega Bloks sets I review aren’t: below average. But as much as that set concerned me, the UNSC Armory Pack II 96996 with its white Spartan Air Assault figure earns back my faith by being a well-done, worthwhile addition to the Halo Mega Bloks collection…

The Right:

After the disappointment of the Covenant Armory Pack II, I had some trepidations that the UNSC Armory Pack II might share some of the some flaws. In particular, I was afraid the figure included might be as under detailed and lacking in paint applications as the yellow Elite Commando figure was. Thankfully, that isn’t the case.

The white Spartan Air Assault figure is wonderfully-detailed, and features a respectable amount of paint deco and paint washes that bring out the details of the sculpt very nicely. Whereas the unpainted yellow plastic of the Elite Commando figure drowns out all of that figure’s details, the deco on this Mega Bloks Spartan Air Assault figure enhances them. As a result, this white Air Assault Spartan looks terrific and realistic, whereas the gold Elite Commando looked like a cheap toy. In fact, the weathering and detailing on this Spartan Mega Bloks figure look comparable to the level of quality of the McFarlane Toys Spartans, which is a pretty insane feat for a 2″ figure with a cost of about 3 dollars.

The UNSC Armory II won’t exactly set fandom ablaze with its intricacies or authenticity, but it’s immediately apparent looking at it that it’s a weapons rack, something I can’t say about the Covenant Armory II. Having a white weapons rack is a little unconventional, but the color makes the guns stand out against the rack and make the guns look more pronounced.

Considering this set is 22 pieces (including the figure and guns), the build for the Halo Mega Bloks UNSC Armory Pack II 96996 was never going to be especially challenging or time-consuming. The whole set can built in under a minute by even the biggest Mega Bloks novice, and the base looks a lot better overall than the Covenant Armory Pack II’s did, even though they’re very close to being the same–sometimes the little things make all the difference.

Another thing I really like about this set is that it gives us a very worthwhile “Customize!” alternate head–this time featuring the white HAZOP helmet. Considering we got neither a white HAZOP Spartan nor a white Air Assault Spartan figure from McFarlane Toys, it’s nice to get some all-new Spartan Halo toys never done before by any company. I like the HAZOP head enough that I’m going to pick up a second copy of this set so I can have both the white HAZOP and the white Air Assault Spartan on my shelf!

Finally, as with the other Halo Mega Bloks Armory Packs, you get an assortment of fully-painted weapons with this set. The guns chosen this time are the Battle Rifle, Assault Rifle, and SMG. We’ve been getting a decent amount of Magnums, Spartan Lasers, and even Rocket Launchers lately, so I really can’t complain too much about the weapons selection this time out. These are all standard weapons you’ll want plenty of for your Mega Bloks Halo Spartan army, and the detailing on each gun is quite nice for such small pieces.

The Wrong:

There’s really nothing “wrong” with this particular set. The figure is the main selling-point of the set, and it’s as excellent as any Halo Mega Bloks Spartan figure. The guns could include something a little more rare like the Sniper Rifle, but there aren’t as many UNSC guns needing painted versions as there are Covenant ones. Finally, as much as I like the defect of the pure white weapons rack, I think a more realistic light grey for the Armory would have worked even better.

“Where Can I Buy It?!”
I don’t know what’s up with MEGA Brands’ distribution of the Combat Units and Armory Packs this year, but this is another set I’ve never seen in a retail store–ever. The UNSC Armory Pack II is available for right about retail price with no tax and free shipping on Amazon, so if you don’t mind ordering online, that’s probably your best bet to get this set and save yourself some frustration.

Overall: The Halo Mega Bloks UNSC Armory Pack II 96997 is just an all-around better set than its Covenant counterpart. The white Mega Bloks Spartan Air Assault figure looks stupendous, and the alternate white Spartan HAZOP head is a welcome bonus. The guns aren’t anything special, but they’re not as stale and overdone as the painted Needle Rifle is becoming. The Armory itself is still really small and sort of lame looking, but for some reason it looks and feels more like a legitimate weapons rack to me than the purple lump from the Covenant Armory Pack II. This set isn’t anywhere near amazing, but for a $6 purchase, it’s fairly well-done and includes the parts to make one of two great all-new Spartans. Recommended.