[TAO's Note: Check out Clark's early look at this Halo 3: ODST Collection figure, The Rookie. This guy might be hard to find right now, but the real question is whether he's even worth the wait at all. Read on for a no-holds-barred review!]
Name: ODST Soldier: The Rookie
Line: Halo 3: ODST Collection
Manufacturer: McFarlane Toys
Released: October 2009
Price: Retail $9.97-$12.99, Online $10.99-14.99
Scale: 5.00 in. (figure is 4.75 in. tall)
Accessories: Gun
Sponsor Listings: Amazon-$10.99 (Preorder)
For a company that prides itself on quality sculpts, The Rookie is a great example of what McFarlane Toys can do. There are plenty of details packed into this figure, from pouches and straps to layers of armor plates, this guy looks really great in person. The main thing that I like about this figure is how he looks more like a well-equipped soldier from the near future, instead of a bulky storm trooper like some of the Spartans seem to be. The Spartan figures look so futuristic that they could pass as a space knight, or a robot. The Rookie helps to flesh out the army of the future, and make it seem more human. So why does he only get a seven on sculpt? Because he is so damn short! At the five inch scale, this soldier would only stand 5’8” in full armor, so he (and subsequently every other ODST figure you might have to fill out your ranks) would only be 5’5” standing barefoot in his undies. I guess in the future our planet becomes so overpopulated that we start to regress back into munchkins.
Aside from his shoulder armor, nothing is removable, so don’t expect to swap parts with other figures.
Sculpt Score: 7 / 10
I have only recently become interested in the Halo 3 toyline, but I have seen a lot of sloppily painted figures on the shelves. This guy, luckily, suffers none of the issues that I have seen so often with the Spartans. As I hold this figure in hand, and look him over, I am really having a hard time finding any paint issues. His dark colors might be helping that, but really I have only found one issue that I would describe as “slop” and it is not worth pointing out because it does not detract from his overall appearance whatsoever. The color palette of The Rookie is mostly made up of black, grays, dark metallic, and a couple of spots of white. He has camouflage on his thighs, but nowhere else, so that seems to be pointless. Although all of his colors are dark and similar in color, they are different enough to make the design of his sculpt really pop! I now own four Halo figures, and this one by far has the best paint job of them all.
Paint Score: 9 / 10
Here is where we start to have some real issues. I don’t know if McFarlane is trying to pull the Halo figures into more of a line of poseable statues or not, but as I examined this guy and tried to pose him I was left scratching my head quite often. The Rookie has the balljoint neck that offers a great range of motion, and the typical swivel hinge shoulders. He has not only the known swivel joint where the arm meets the shoulder, but he has a cut joint below that in the bicep. I don’t understand the point of this, because it does not seem to help the shoulder armor stay in place. He has hinge elbows, and new swivel hinge wrists, instead of the ball joint wrists that the earlier figures have all had. He might have a balljoint torso like the Spartans, but you can’t tell because it is restricted by the armor, and can only act as a swivel joint with a small range of motion. The hips are disappointing, as they are only hinge, with a thigh swivel where it meets the hip, hinge knees (that can only bend about 45 degrees), a swivel joint at the top of the shin, and swivel hinge ankles, with a swivel where the ankle meets the shin, and where the foot meets the ankle. So what do all of those swivel joints add up to? Unfortunately, not much. All of these joints just make him look awkward, and difficult to put in a natural looking neutral pose. The hips are the biggest disappointment, and you can’t extend his leg out in the front without it either being stopped by the armor crotch plate, or just snapping the thing off (which is what happened to me).
Basically he is worthless below the waste.
Now the other problem is that he has plenty of loose joints. Several of his joints (including the right elbow and shoulder) did not want to move at all right out of the package, and when I did get them to move they immediately started to flop in the wind. His arms and wrists are so loose that I keep thinking they’re going to break off. Some of the swivel points on his legs are very loose too, and this makes him hard to balance.
Articulation Score: 5 / 10
This should be a fun figure based on his looks and upper body articulation alone. However, because of all the issues I have with loose joints he just isn’t. Couple that with all of those useless joints going from his hips to his ankles, and the armor plate that I’m going to have to glue back on, and this guy just doesn’t do anything for me.
Fun Score: 5 / 10
The value is really going to be up to you, I just want you to know some of the issues that you might be getting into when purchasing this figure. Had I not had so many quality control issues with mine, then I would put him higher, but for the $12 plus shipping that I spent I feel that Ole’ McFarlane got one over on me.
Value Score: 5 / 10
7 / 10 - Fantastic sculpt, that is just too small.
9 / 10 - Almost flawless paint, very impressive looking figure.
5 / 10 - Loose joints in funky places, this just seems to be a poorly thought out toy.
5 / 10 - Stuck joints, loose joints, pieces falling off, all of my fun was in the unpackaging of the figure.
5 / 10 - Too many QC issues to make me a happy consumer.
62 / 100 - This is an Okay Toy
I am just so unimpressed with this figure. I was so excited to receive this figure in the mail, but I just feel deflated after having so many problems with him. If he only had better articulation, then I could work with the other problems, but without the POAs that I was expecting, he just doesn’t score well at all. Purchase him if you want, but buyer beware on this one.
-Clark
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