If you’re like me, you literally have more Halo Spartan action figures than you can count. No, seriously. I have Spartans in my office, Spartans in my living room, Spartans on bookcases, Spartans in boxes of spare figures, Spartans sealed in the package in the closet–Spartans, Spartans, Spartans. So at this point, you would think that there’s very little McFarlane Toys could do to make Spartans exciting again, particularly in the dying Halo Reach line. But they’ve done just that, not with a new and improved Spartan body, but by finally giving the Spartans something to protect. Other companies would have probably wanted collectors to be content with a cardboard backdrop, but McFarlane Toys unexpectedly crafted a huge and highly-detailed Generator Defense set for us, and for my money, it’s one of the best items McFarlane Toys has put out…

The Right:

With the huge panoply of Halo items coming out on a consistent basis, the expensive deluxe boxed sets often slip through the cracks of my collection. So when McFarlane Toys first announced the Generator Defense boxed set, I wasn’t terribly interested in it and I definitely wasn’t planning on dropping $30+ on it. But then a funny thing happened and McFarlane Toys cancelled and reshuffled a bunch of the boxed sets, and the Generator Defense ended up in the cheaper Halo Anniversary boxed set cases with a ~$20 pricepoint, despite being a larger and usually more expensive Halo Reach set. So for less than the cost of two Halo Reach figures, you get a new Spartan Custom and a huge, unique accessory. I was buying a case for the Halo Reach Red Team Spartans regardless, and thus ended up with the Generator Defense as well. I sure am glad that I did–this isn’t just one of my favorite McFarlane boxed sets, but one of my favorite Halo Reach items McFarlane Toys has ever released.

For a unique accessory that can’t really be reused for anything, you might expect McFarlane Toys to cheap out on the tooling for the Generator. Instead, they really went all-out and put an enormous amount of sculpting work and detailing into it. The Generator features vastly more paint applications and detailing than I think we’ve seen in any Halo product McFarlane Toys has released so far. Yes, the Warthog is bigger and more essential, but it’s also really plain-looking next to the excellently-decorated Generator. Everything from the outer shell of the Generator to its piping and radar are accurately and beautifully sculpted, making the Generator one of the best-looking “passive” pieces I’ve seen in a toy line.

Not only does the Generator look fantastic, but it also has some cool moving parts and features to it. The radar dish atop the Generator can turn and pivot so that you can display the Generator from whatever angle you want while having the radar dish positioned to your own sense of aesthetics. Even more fun is the fact that the shielding for the Generator can remain in place or be lowered into lockdown mode to add an extra sense of danger to the Spartans’ battle.

No one would buy a Halo Reach Generator by itself, so McFarlane Toys wisely included a unique pack-in figure with the accessory: an Olive/Steel Spartan JFO Custom. The Spartan isn’t a straight-up JFO and is actually wearing a mish-mash of armor (hence the “Custom”). He has a JFO helmet, but Security chest armor and HAZOP shoulder armor. I love when McFarlane Toys gives us mixed up figures like this–this figure actually reminds me quite a bit of the Series 5 GUNGNIR Custom, which is one of my personal favorite Spartans McFarlane Toys has released.

The Olive/Steel color scheme on the figure is dark and a nice complement to the deco on the Generator–the JFO just looks like he belongs as part of this set. I’m really glad that McFarlane Toys picked a serious, realistic color scheme for this Spartan rather than one of the more wacky, whimsical colors. I love Rust Orange Spartan as much as anyone, but the the more gritty color of this Spartan JFO seems more appropriate for the dire nature of the Generator Defense.

This Spartan JFO Custom figure has the typical Spartan 28 articulation points, as he’s got the same Spartan base body we’ve been buying since 2010. Articulation includes a ball-jointed head, ball-jointed upper torso, double-jointed ball-joint shoulders, double-jointed ball-joint elbows, double-jointed ball-joint wrists, swivel hips, ball-jointed thighs, double-jointed ball-joint knees, double-jointed ball-joint ankles, and swivel balls of the feet. All that articulation has been more than enough thus far in the line, so I see no problem with retaining the same amount straight on through this final series of Reach toys.

The Spartan JFO includes one weapon: a shotgun. It may sound overly generous to stick this in “The Right”, but earlier Spartans such as ones paired with Mongooses in the Halo 3 line came with no weapons whatsoever. Thus, the inclusion of the shotgun is a major plus, and the Spartan JFO looks poised to strike with the powerful weapon to fulfill his defensive responsibilities.

The Wrong:

I’m really content with this set–other than some excessively loose joints on the Spartan JFO (presumably because of the degrading Spartan mold), I have zero complaints about the Generator Defense boxed set.

“Where Can I Buy It?!”

The Generator Defense Boxed Set is shipping in the same case as the Spirit of Fire Red Team of Spartans from Halo Wars. Thus far I’ve only seen the set once at a Wal-Mart and at a number of stores online.

As far as online options go:

Amazon has the Halo Reach Generator Defense in-stock from a variety of sellers at right around retail price (and some even below retail price!), and many of the sellers are offering free shipping.

BigBadToyStore still has the Generator Defense boxed set available for just $22.99, as well as the pair of boxed sets including Generator Defense and Spirit of Fire Red Team for $44.95, and they also have a TON of other Halo items available at the best prices of any online store.

CMDStore has the Generator Defense Boxed Set for $24.95 in-stock now, as well as nearly every non-exclusive Halo figure from every McFarlane series available, as well as having the complete Halo Anniversary Series 2 available for just $59.95.

And if you want to try your luck, there’s always ebay, where you very likely can get a good deal on the Halo Reach Generator Defense set. You can check out the current listings for the Generator Defense Boxed Set on ebay by clicking here!

Overall: This was not a set that I was excited about from any moment up from when it was announced to when I got it into my hands, but the Generator Defense surprised me by being one of my favorite boxed sets McFarlane Toys has ever released. The Generator itself is anything but a cheap prop–it has extensive detailing and moving parts to it that I honestly wasn’t expecting. Just having the Generator on a Halo shelf adds a ton of diorama and play possibilities, and I’m thrilled for my Spartans to finally have something to defend. The Olive JFO Spartan that comes with the set has a realistic color scheme and looks gritty and ready to defend the Generator. With an outstanding price point of just $19.99-$24.99, this well-designed and fun set is a fantastic deal and earns itself a high recommendation.