Today, we are excited to be reviewing Mega Construx Halo Heroes Series 14 – the latest assortment of individual card back Micro Action Figures to be released by the team at Mega Construx. Whilst this wave has received a mixed reception online due to it’s arguably bland nature, there are a couple of standouts in this wave – so we wanted to take the time to break these figures down and compare them to prior releases.
Up first on the list is a Purple Spartan – and your eyes don’t deceive you, it is another Mark Seven – making this the third Mark Seven which we have received as a part of the Halo Heroes line. Whilst the sculpting here isn’t anything new, the figure itself looks really good – with some great, detailed paint applications and also some nice alternate colour highlights. The Silver visor colour here for this Spartan is a particular win in my opinion. Unlike the other versions of this Spartan, the Mark Seven included in this set comes packaged with a Needler – featuring a gorgeous paint scheme which looks akin to the Halo 5 design. All in all, the Mark Seven isn’t anything new but it is a decent variant of this armour – even if we’re a little bit bored about receiving it so frequently.
Accompanying the Mark Seven is a Spartan Trailblazer – another figure which we saw in the most recent wave of Heroes characters. This one comes in the colour white (hence the different background in these shots) with a light silver highlight =- and with blue and grey digital camo adorning the torso and helmet. Whilst the patterns are quite pronounced on the box art, it’s a mixed bag on the figure itself – with the chest looking good whilst the helmet is perhaps a little faded. With that said, it is a nice first attempt at the armour coatings which we are seeing in Halo 5 – and I am excited to see how Mega take the concept further. This figure does include a really nicely detailed version of the SMG – which features some gorgeous lighter grey and silver highlights. The paint apps here are very well applied.
Third on the roster is an inclusion of another Master Chief – something which I was initially taken back by given the already over-saturated presence of Chief in Mega’s line. With that said, this version offers something different – with a much darker tone more closely matching that which is seen within the most recent E3 trailer. The darker colours pair well with the black highlights – and in particular, with the black battle damage on Chief’s chest, which is printed well. The figure includes a nicely painted Mangler too – complete with the usual rotating drum. Whilst this is a more distinctive variant of Chief than others available in the line, I do wish that this one had included a forearm with the Grapple Shot sculpted in to make it slightly more distinctive in its own right.
On the subject of rehashes and re-releases, our fourth figure is a brand new variant of Hyperius, this time adorning a much darker colour scheme. When compared to the version from the turret set we can see that this new version no longer features exposed legs and fingerless gloves – instead doubling down on the crimson details which mark him as a Banished Chieftain. I do really like the hand of Atriox helmet printed on this figure’s helmet in particular, and the Hunter-Class helmet is also still present on the shoulder. He also includes a grey jetpack, too – although I wish this was printed. His gravity hammer features much more subtle detailing this time around, with greys and reds used to make the features pop – something which looks really good. Hyperius is a welcome variant – with enough visual distinction from the original version, in my opinion, to make it worth picking this one up.
Lastly, but certainly not least, we have a hyper-detailed version of the Jackal Freebooter – complete with a lighter skin tone, and also covered forearms. This figure features a plethora of paint applications when we compare it to the similar version found in the Warthog Rally set. Here we have additional paint for the feet, as well as additional paint for the chest armour and the back of the figure too – all adding extra depth. The figure even has painted feathers on the arm – something which the original is lacking, and it also makes use of the brand-new alien hand mould. The shield here uses the Guilty Spark eye piece to better resemble the central generator of the shield, and the Plasma Pistol is well detailed too. Whilst initially not a fan of the lighter skin tone, I think this is a great Jackal variant which collectors will want to get their hands on.
So that’s a look at the full series – but what do I think? Whilst Series 14 has a couple of interesting characters it suffers from the inevitable weight of the Infinite delay – meaning the figures here are not particularly new or exciting. Whilst characters like the Jackal and Hyperius feel like genuine upgrades in my opinion, they still don’t hold a light against the Chieftain and Warlord from the previous wave – making this one of the weaker heroes waves to release so far. But, who knows – maybe this is just a filler wave because the next wave is going to knock our socks off!
Make sure to check out my video review below for an even more in-depth look at this assortment of figures.
