If there’s one thing Halo Mega Bloks collectors can never get enough of, it’s Spartans. And that’s a good thing, because MEGA Brands releases dozens and dozens and dozens of Mega Bloks Spartan figures each year. Army-builder figure multipacks have become a staple of the line, and a much-loved one by hardcore collectors. I talked about Target’s Snowbound Combat Unit earlier in the week, and today I’m back with the UNSC Cobalt Combat Unit 97001. As you might guess from the set’s name, it’s a pretty blue color. But that’s not all this excellent figure pack has to offer…
The Right:

The biggest innovation about the UNSC Cobalt Combat Unit is, of course, its Cobalt color. We’ve been getting quite a few blue Spartans lately in the Target Red Versus Blue Halo Mega Bloks themed sets, so I was falsely assuming that the figures in this Cobalt Combat Unit were going to be very similar. They’re not–whereas the Versus Blue Spartans are a very bright, primary blue, the Cobalt Spartans are in a sleek, metallic-looking dark blue. The armor on these figures looks a lot more realistic than that of the Versus Spartans, and there’s a dark paint wash on each figure that really brings out the depth of the sculpt.

The three figures included in this set by default are a Spartan-II Mark VI, a Spartan CQB, and a generic Marine. We’ve seen all of these figures quite a few times before, so none of them are a stunning revelation, but this is their first time in Cobalt and they look fantastic. The knee armor on the Marine looks particularly good in these colors, as the silver color on them complements the Cobalt nicely.

Along with the three base figures in the set, you also get some “Customize!” armor additions: a Spartan Scout helmet and shoulders. The Scout armor is certainly the rarest item in this set, and a great incentive to purchase it! The Scout helmet is accurately angular and very authentic-looking, as are the rectangular shoulder armor pieces.

Since there’s four possible figure configurations in this set, you also get four weapons: an SMG, a silenced SMG, a Rocket Launcher, and a Shotgun. The other weapons are all pretty standard, but the Rocket Launcher is an all-new redesign, and any of the figures look quite badass wielding it. Along with the Scout armor, the new Rocket Launcher is definitely one of the best parts of this Cobalt Combat Unit.

Finally, you get a two-piece armory with the set. One wall of the armory features the UNSC Logo, while the other has hooks and wrench pieces to hold a Spartan helmet, shoulders, and one gun.

The Wrong:

As much as I love the UNSC color scheme of this Halo Mega Bloks 97001 set and the Spartan figures included with it, there’s a couple things that bother me about it just a smidgen.

The armory consists of two walls, which is bigger than the ones we’ve been getting in the little Armory packs like the Covenant Armory and UNSC Armory, but the second wall is largely useless. There’s a square UNSC Logo piece that fits on the wall, and… that’s it. The second wall only has the proper pieces to hold the extra Spartan armor and one gun, so it ends up not being much of an Armory at all. I’d have much rather foregone the second wall and instead had a couple more weapons or grasping pieces included in the set. In addition, the connector pieces that hold the two walls together only hold each side very loosely, and they break off and cause the two walls to disconnect at the slightest touch. It’s really obnoxious.

And I don’t know about anyone else, but personally, I could have done without a Cobalt-colored Marine. I love this color scheme so I’m going to buy multiple packs anyway, but I’d have liked to been able to army-build at three Spartans per set instead of two. There aren’t any cobalt blue Marines in-game that I’ve ever seen, so having to get one per set isn’t really a positive to me.

“Where Can I Buy It?!”

The UNSC Cobalt Combat Unit is shipping to retail stores now, but I’ve yet to see it anywhere myself. BAToys is always the best online retailer for new Halo Mega Bloks sets, and they have the UNSC Cobalt Combat Unit available for just $14.95. A variety of other online retailers have the set in-stock right now as well.

Overall: In general, I love the UNSC Cobalt Combat Unit. The metallic-like cobalt blue paint looks phenomenal, and I’m kind of bummed now that this isn’t the color MEGA Brands is using for their Versus: Red vs. Blue sets. The Spartan Scout looks really cool, and may well be my favorite Spartan armor permutation that’s been put out in the Halo Mega Bloks line. The set falls just short of earning an excellent review as I’d rather have had painted weapons or another Spartan instead of the Marine and/or armory included, but I will definitely be picking up at least one or two more of this great UNSC Cobalt Combat Unit to build my Cobalt Spartan ranks.

GRADE: B+