When I ran a poll asking readers which of the first wave of announced 2013 Halo Mega Bloks sets was their favorite, the runaway winners were the Mega Bloks UNSC Cryo Bay and the Covenant Spectre Ambush. MEGA Brands started showing the Halo Mega Bloks UNSC Cryo Bay at conventions months ago, but other than a small and grainy picture in the Halo 4 Game Guide, we’ve never gotten a really good look at the Covenant Spectre Ambush–until now.

Retailer BA Toys has posted the final packaging for the Covenant Spectre Ambush 97110 set, which gives us a great view of the vehicle. The Spectre was created to be the Covenant’s answer to the UNSC Warthog, but it didn’t really catch on and hasn’t appeared in a Halo game other than Halo 2. It’s a lightly-armored ground vehicle that can carry multiple troopers, and features a plasma cannon that can swivel 360 degrees. In Mega Bloks form, the Covenant Spectre looks sleek and natural, and I really like the sparing use of stickers in this case to add some extra detail to the vehicle. Aside from the Spectre itself, the most exciting new items in this set are the first release of the M6C Socom gun and a Missile Pod.

The Covenant Spectre itself has improved greatly since early prototype images of the vehicle were leaked. The cockpit and rear of the vehicle are no longer white, the plasma turret matches the rest of the Spectre, stickers have been added, and the Marine no longer has a Halo Reach Assault Rifle.

(It’s important to note that the image above is of a prototype. This is not the final product.)

The Covenant Spectre Ambush comes with 3 Halo figures, which is decent for a $22-$25 set. The Mega Bloks Marine figure is nothing special, but both Covenant Elite Mega Bloks figures are terrific. This is only the second Halo Mega Bloks Elite Honor Guard released (the other was in the frustratingly difficult-to-find Covenant Crimson Combat Unit), and one of a small number of Elite Commando figures released. While I don’t prefer the white Elite Honor Guard figure to the Crimson one, I definitely like the white Commando figure far more than the hideous gold one from the Covenant Armory Pack II.

The 183-piece Covenant Spectre Ambush 97110 is scheduled to arrive at BA Toys next week and is currently still available for pre-order. The set is part of the 2013 Halo 4 Mega Bloks The Forerunner Threat lineup, and should arrive at regular retailers at the end of 2012 or start of 2013.