Having driven around like a crazy person all last week on the prowl for Halo 4 Series 2 figures at a dozen and a half local Walgreens stores, I finally came across a lone Halo 4 Series 2 Rust Spartan Scout figure that I was ecstatic to fork over my $15 and a change for. I promptly brought home my new orange Spartan Scout action figure, busted open his packaging, and determined that in some ways he’s a big improvement over past McFarlane Halo 4 figures, and in some ways he is not…

The Right:

I’ve got a huge thing for orange, so this was automatically at the top of my Halo 4 Series 2 want list despite the fact that the Spartan Scout armor permutation has never been one of my favorites. To my delight, not only is this McFarlane Toys Spartan Scout figure orange–but he’s painted in a great dark orange (rust) paint that puts the Halo 4 Orange Spartan Soldier figure I reviewed last year to shame.

The most obvious switch between this Halo 4 orange Scout Spartan and the orange Halo 4 Spartan Soldier action figure that McFarlane Toys released last winter is the paint. Whereas the Spartan Soldier figure was painted in a very light orange (like an orange peel), the rust Spartan Scout is painted in a darker orange color that’s a much better match for the Halo 3 and Halo Reach orange Spartans figures that McFarlane Toys has released over the years. This darker orange is a massive improvement and it honestly makes me feel kind of bummed that the orange Soldier Spartan we got looks so inferior by comparison.

Until you have the Rust Scout Spartan side-by-side with the prior Spartan figures, you may not even notice how much work and new tooling McFarlane Toys had to do to authentically recreate the Spartan Scout armor as it appears in Halo 4. This isn’t like prior Halo figure lines where McFarlane Toys was able to just make one Spartan body and add a new head and chest piece or shoulder armor–these Halo 4 armor permutations are so radically different that an enormous amount of new tooling and parts is required for each Spartan action figure. It’s no wonder McFarlane hasn’t been able to crank out these Halo 4 figures as fast as they did prior series!

One notable new addition that we’ve never seen on McFarlane Halo multiplayer Spartans figures released at mass retail before is the custom insignia and logos on the Halo 4 Wave 2 Rust Spartan Scout figure’s armor. The figure’s helmet and chest armor both have nicely-applied white logos and insignias painted on masterfully. It’s not a huge detail, but it’s something different that grabs the eye and shows that McFarlane Toys put a modicum more effort into this Spartan than they have the other Spartan action figures they’ve put out over the years.

The McFarlane Halo 4 Spartan Scout (Rust) figure includes one weapon: the Halo 4 Sticky Detonator. This is the second time we’ve seen the Sticky Detonator gun released, as it was also shipped with the UNSC Cryo Tube with frozen Master Chief action figure that I reviewed last year. The weathering and deco on the Sticky Detonator are very well-done, and it’s nice to get another Sticky Detonator without having to buy an additional Cryo Tube. Great weapon choice by McFarlane Toys.

Also, I’m pleased to see McFarlane Toys carry over the little figure descriptions on the side of the packaging that explain some of the specifics of the character (or Spartan armor permutation) contained inside. It’s another small thing, but I feel like it adds a lot to the figure.

The Wrong:

The Orange Spartan Scout Halo 4 Series 2 figure has the same problem that all of the Halo 4 McFarlane Spartan action figures have: the hip articulation is really mediocre compared to other action figures on the market today. Spartans are the ultimate combat soldiers and should be able to be posed doing all variety of athletic maneuvers, but these McFarlane Toys Halo 4 Spartans have extremely limited ranges of motion–especially side-to-side motion. The Halo 4 Seires 2 Rust Spartan Scout figure can handle jumping jacks, but anything beyond that (like karate kicks) is out the window.

The engineering of the Halo 4 Scout Spartan armor also gets in the way–while it looks fantastic the way it’s been sculpted, it also inhibits the Rust Spartan Scout action figure from being able to put his arms down flat against his sides. Instead, the closest to a neutral stance the McFarlane Toys Spartan Scout figure mold can get is to have his arms splayed out at 45 degrees angles against his chest armor. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but when you’re actually posing this Halo 4 action figure it’s very frustrating and leads to some poses that look rather unnatural.

“Where Can I Buy It?!”

Aside from sporadic appearances at Walgreens, the Orange Spartan Scout is shipping at one-per-case in Halo 4 Series 2 assortments. You can pre-order the Orange Spartan Scout (and every other Halo 4 Series 2 figure) now for $12.99, which is the best price I’ve seen around for these figures individually.

Overall: The Halo 4 Series 2 Rust Scout Spartan action figure breaks some new ground with the cool insignias added to his deco and the newly-molded Spartan Scout armor, but he’s still hindered by the same problem that earlier McFarlane Halo 4 Spartans had–namely, questionable articulation. Even with restricted poseability, however, the orange Spartan Scout figure looks fantastic and is probably my favorite multiplayer Spartan released by McFarlane Toys thus far in their Halo 4 line. He’s no Play Arts Kai Spartan figure, but the Halo 4 Wave 2 Rust Spartan Scout figure is a satisfying purchase that’s well-worth the $13-$15 price tag. Recommended.

GRADE: B+