Tonight, we take a closer look at the brand-new Gamestop Exclusive Warthog set from Jazwares, which packs in both the Halo 3 Master Chief and the Arbiter. These figures are new for the World of Halo line, and bring a bunch of detail alongside a cool new vehicle.
You can check out our video review above, or can check out a handful of photographs alongside some of the copy from our script to read through at your own leisure below!
The Halo 3 version of the Master Chief is one of the best figures Jazwares have released in the World of Halo line in my opinion. There are lots of additional paint applications packed into this figure – capturing many of the unique nuances which make the Halo 3 suit so iconic. Not only do we have the scratch on the chest-plate and other details throughout the various pieces of armour packed into this figure, but we also have a fantastic sculpt which has plenty of articulation packed in. The quality here feels great too – with no joints sticking, allowing us to pose the figure in lots of great ways. Combine this with the classic Assault Rifle design and you have a fantastic action figure packed in.
The Arbiter is another absolutely fantastic figure – with the base gold figure here matching perfectly how this character appears in Halo 3. I am really impressed with the colour choices which Jazwares made with this figure, and I also love the commitment they made to packing in lots of additional sculpted details throughout this character. This figure really captures all of the ornate details and intricacies which the Arbiter’s armour has within the game, and the end result is a figure which feels pulled from the screen. Combine this with some great additional paint apps for the undersuit and you have another perfect figure. The cherry on top is the inclusion of the Covenant Carbine – a brand new weapon which fits perfectly in the Arbiter’s hands and looks very well scaled. Shout out to whoever at Jazwares designed these figures – they’re as close as you can get to perfect inclusions in my opinion!
Moving onto the bulk of the set – we have the Halo 3 design of the Warthog. The first thing that struck me was how this felt like a scaled down version of the Warthog McFarlane released in the Halo Reach days – which is a very good thing. That design felt incredibly faithful to the games, and I am happy to say that Jazwares have managed to achieve that same effect. The overall shaping and design of this vehicle looks fantastic and really feels as though it has been pulled out of the game. There are lots of small paint applications packed into the vehicle – with details for the lights and other elements at the front of the vehicle, to plenty of sculpt detailing packed into the seating area. There are certainly a couple of small issues – like the guards of the turret flattening a little in the packaging – but overall this is a very faithful rendition of the warthog which I think classic Halo fans will love. The vehicle also features a rotating and adjustable machine gun turret on the rear, and the vehicle has the ability to roll well across multiple surfaces too. The only improvement I would make here is a suspension system – but for this pricepoint I wouldn’t expect suspension to be included here.
When we compare this vehicle to the Halo Infinite version of the Warthog, the huge differences between the two designs become apparent – and they show how much Jazwares committed to making every element of the Halo 3 Warthog unique. I have a lot of respect for their commitment to new over reused, and I think that shows in how sharp a contrast the two designs have. Both items reflect different eras of Halo but look fantastic when compared to each other – and both have a similar scale and dimension too. When comparing them my only reflection was that the Infinite Warthog had some additional paint apps in the dashboard area – something which the Halo 3 version could have perhaps benefitted from, too.
Overall, I love this set – and I think this shows just how much the Jazwares team really get the Halo franchise. This takes one of the most iconic moments which we play through in the original trilogy and immortalizes it in a fun playset which puts quality at the forefront of what it does. I adore how much detail is packed into the figures here – really making them feel like the definitive versions of these characters which could have easily had single card back releases. I also love the amount of sculpt detail and richness packed into the Warthog – making this feel like a vehicle which has been pulled straight from the screen. I cannot fault this pack and the items it includes – and if you have the chance to add it to your collection then I definitely would. I cannot wait to see what else Jazwares create from the classic games in the future.
