No offense to McFarlane Toys, who’ve done a great job with the various franchise figure lines over the years, but Halo is much too big a property for a relatively niche company to handle. Now Mattel’s got the master license, and they’re putting it to good use.
Mattel and Halo aren’t exactly strangers. Mattel subsidiary Mega Brands has been making Halo Mega Bloks sets for years. Plus Mattel’s Nerf rival BoomCo has been putting out Halo style dart guns recently.
Those two lines will continue to put out building sets that LEGO fans turn their nose up at and guns that Nerf wielders loathe. Where Mattel’s new lineup, featured this weekend during Toy Fair 2016 in New York City, really shines is the action figures.
Where McFarlane Toys figures went for a somewhat more gritty feel, Mattel’s first figures are bright and shiny figures in sleek metal armor. The 6" figures feature mix-and-match armor pieces, swappable weapons and more than 30 points of articulation.
They look much more like toys to play with than toys to display, though I’m sure they’ll still look fantastic on a shelf.
Along with the 6" figure line there’s also a slightly cheaper 12" figure assortment, with less articulation but much more presence.
They’ve even got a 12" Master Chief with a scale Warthog.
“The success we’ve seen with the Halo MEGA Bloks franchise over the years laid the foundation for this partnership,” said Bonnie Ross, Microsoft Corporate Vice President and Head of 343 Industries via official announcement. “We’re excited to work with Mattel to bring innovative, quality and, most of all, fun products to old and new Halo fans alike.”
I’m pretty excited as well. Mattel is hitting Halo from all sides in 2016—BoomCo guns, Mega Bloks, Tyco remote control vehicles and figures inspired by both Halo 5: Guardians and the upcoming Halo Wars 2. I’ll be getting a closer look at their offerings this weekend during Toy Fair. For now, scroll down for a closer look at some of the upcoming playthings.
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