Every once in a while, MEGA Brands manages to truly and genuinely surprise me. Oh yeah, the Halo Mega Bloks sets we expect get released like new Warthogs, Wraiths, and Banshees, but occasionally MEGA Brands will deliver something that’s utterly unexpected. The unique and totally original Halo Mega Bloks Versus Snowbound Highbase 97069 showed up with no fanfare or advance warning this summer, and is just such a set. I was more compelled by this set than any other in the Target exclusive Snowbound theme, but the Highbase was late arriving for Target’s fall reset. Finally, the Versus Snowbound Highbase came home last week and I fully built it over the weekend. In some ways, it meets all my expectations. Unfortunately, in others it falls quite a bit short…

The Right:

Before I discuss anything else, I want to start off by throwing out there that this set is a truly fantastic deal! For just $34.99 MSRP, you get an all-new retailer exclusive set with 438 pieces! That’s less than 8 cents per piece–how often do we get a deal that good, especially on a retailer exclusive?! That’s not to say that every piece (or sticker) I’d like to see in this set is present (more on that later), but what is here is a terrific value. Bravo on the pricing here, Target and MEGA Brands.

Next up on my list of important topics to cover about this set is my pure bliss that finally, finally a toy company is releasing an Arctic Mongoose. I’ve been waiting for one for years now–doubly so since McFarlane Toys announced and subsequently cancelled an Arctic Mongoose of their own. This is exactly the same Mongoose you’ve grown to love in previous Halo Mega Bloks sets–except this time it’s in a beautiful bright white plastic. Rather than being pure white, there’s some light gray added into the plastic which adds a touch of depth and improves the overall appearance of the Mongoose. This is exactly the Arctic Mongoose I’ve been waiting for (though there’s something missing I’ll discuss in a bit).

For figures, you get only two in this set. The Snowbound blue Spartan EOD is a new-release, and I’m happy to have him with the ever-impressive snowy deco on his legs and feet. He includes a Mauler, which is my very favorite Halo gun, and which we never seem to get enough of released in the line. I’m satisfied to get another Mauler here, and I’d also love to see a fully-painted Mauler in one of the upcoming figure-centric sets. You also get a Blue Team flag, which is making its second appearance in the Versus theme.

That just leaves the largest and most integral part of the set to discuss–the Covenant Highbase itself. I applaud MEGA Brands on giving us something wholly different from the norm in this set. The Highbase is pretty breathtaking in the middle of a bunch of Halo vehicles, as it absolutely towers over the majority of the sets released in the Halo Mega Bloks line. The spires of the Highbase look incredible and are one of the best uses of translucent plastic that I’ve seen on a set ever. When the light hits on them just right, they look super cool and are quite a sight to behold. In addition, it’s pretty fun to have an actual Covenant base (of a sort) for the Covenant to stand around and try to defend from the UNSC Spartan army.

I thought that the Snowbound Highbase was going to be a relatively simple build as you start with the foundation of the Highbase and build up from there. However, the build quickly accelerates and before you get to the second page of the Highbase assembly instructions, the foundation is already about a foot long.

Building the Highbase is fairly complex without causing the pieces to come disconnected, and you have to be extremely prudent in counting to make sure the rectangular pieces you’re attaching have exactly the right number of studs. It took me about three hours to build the set in total, which is a lot more than I had been expecting (though I was stopping to take photos throughout the build). If you want to see step-by-step photos of the complete assembly of the Snowbound Highbase, check out the full photo preview of the build that I posted earlier this week.

Perhaps my favorite feature of the Halo Mega Bloks Versus Snowbound Highbase 97069 is the ingenious way that the set interconnects with the Snowbound Arctic Battlescape 97068. Rather than releasing an $80 Battlescape with Highbase attached that would be very difficult to sell at retail, MEGA Brands went with a modular design that allows the Snowbound Highbase and Snowbound Battlescape to enhance each other, while being able to function as standalone sets in their own rights (for the most part).

The modular approach to these Snowbound themed sets is the reason that the Snowbound Highbase is lacking two ramps, as one is already built into the Arctic Battlescape 97068 and there’s no physical space for a fourth ramp on the Battlescape. I totally see what MEGA Brands was intending with these sets, and I’m excited that they planned out such an impressive and amazing interconnection between the two sets.

The Wrong:

As much as I understand and appreciate the modular design of the Snowbound sets, I think MEGA Brands should have at least included a pair of “placeholder” ramps for collectors who want the Snowbound Highbase as a standalone set. These didn’t have to be anything fancy–they could have even just been one solid large rectangle piece each–but I would’ve liked the option to be there for people who don’t necessarily want to combine this set with the Versus Snowbound Battlescape.

Additionally, I’m baffled by the figure selection in this set. The blue Spartan EOD is fine, but another Snowbound red Spartan EVA? When he’s already readily and easily available in a Weapons Pack for 5 bucks…? Really?! Considering we’re getting a bunch of repeats in the Arctic Warthog re-release set, I really would’ve liked something unique here. How about a Snowbound red Spartan Air Assault or HAZOP figure? Strange figure choice and an overall bad selection here with the red Spartan EVA figure.

On a smaller front, the stickers for the front ramp of the Highbase don’t fit correctly. Each side’s line is broken into two pieces, but even when you match them up perfectly they’re just not long enough to go from the bottom of the ramp to the top. It sets off my OCD something terrible to not be able to have the stickers cover the sides of the ramp as they should.

Finally, and perhaps more frustrating for me than anything else about this set, of all things in the universe to cut costs on, MEGA Brands cheaped out on the stickers for the Arctic Mongoose. As in–there are none. None! Consequently, the Arctic Mongoose is devoid of any of the details all the other Mongooses have–it has no headlights, no caution stripes, no control panels, no tail lights–nothing! I love my Mega Bloks Arctic Mongoose and I’m glad to have it, but I’m really surprised to see such a simple and important thing as its stickers left out of the set.

Overall: There are things about the Halo Mega Bloks Versus Snowbound Highbase 97069 that I think are fantastic, and there are things that I think are downright lame about the set. I love that the Snowbound Highbase is such an unconventional choice for a set, that it gives us the first-ever Arctic Mongoose, is a fantastic value piece-wise, and that it is awe-inspiring and monstrously huge. At the same time, the set’s lack of two ramps, missing stickers for the Arctic Mongoose, and repeat use of the Snowbound red Spartan EVA figure leave me completely cold. I still find the size and uniqueness of this set highly pleasing, but the Highbase definitely has its flaws that are hard to overlook–the Halo Mega Bloks Versus Snowbound Highbase 97069 earns a slight recommendation and is definitely worth a look if you’re building the Snowbound Battlescape or if the Highbase’s aesthetics appeal to you.

GRADE: B-