Halo Mega Bloks UNSC Siege Bike Review 97116 ONI REAP-X

In late winter 2013, intel leaked that MEGA Brands was working on a newly themed series of Halo Mega Bloks sets featuring original designs not seen in the Halo video games. Dubbed Halo Mega Bloks ONI REAP-X, the line features vehicles reverse-engineered from Covenant technology. This sounded like a superb, innovative idea to me, and I’ve been looking forward to seeing the fruits of this idea. Finally, the first of these original vehicles has been released: the Halo Mega Bloks UNSC Siege Bike 97116!

Halo Mega Bloks UNSC Siege Bike ReviewThe Right:

The biggest achievement of this little Hall Mega Bloks set is that it is literally filled with new stuff. The UNSC Siege Bike itself is all new, and both figures included with the set are brand new releases. For a value-priced set, MEGA Brands had packed it chock full of stuff that Mega Bloks Halo fans will want.

97116 Halo Mega Bloks Siege Bike ONI REAP-X Unassembled Pieces The UNSC Siege Bike vehicle isn’t much a build–it can easily be completed in about 10 minutes or less with no problems. I was careless and didn’t follow the instructions carefully, and as a result I broke a peg inside the body of the Siege Bike Mega Bloks vehicle, but that’s due to my own hubris and not any flaw in the set instructions (which are clear as can be–I’m just overconfident).

The bike itself is wildly fun, and reminds me of something you might have seen during the glory days of G.I. Joe in the 1980’s. Whatever shortcomings this bike may have (and there are some), it is most definitely stylish and cool. I really like the colors on the bike, and the printed “REAP-X” on the side of the bike was a welcome surprise–my OCD self loathes applying decals.

Mega Bloks Halo UNSC Siege Bike Side-Mounted Machine GunThe Siege Bike’s sole weapon is a side-mounted machine gun, which is a more interesting build than I expected and which looks pretty deadly. The Mega Bloks Siege Bike also has a kickstand that supports it perfectly when resting.

Halo Mega Bloks Active Camo Grunt Runs Over CIO Spartan FigureThe two figures included with the 97116 Halo Mega Bloks Siege Bike are a Cobalt Spartan CIO and an Active Camo Grunt Storm. The CIO Spartan armor permutation is one of my most-wanted new armors from Halo 4, and I’m psyched to finally own a Spartan CIO figure (what with the McFarlane CIO Spartan figure being delayed for close to a year now).

CIO Spartan Halo Mega Bloks Figure vs. LEGO Mandalorian MinifigureBoth sculpts are very detailed and well-done, though the darker paints on the CIO Spartan make it harder to see all of the fine sculpting on the Spartan CIO Mega Bloks figure than on the set box.

Mega Bloks Halo 4 Storm Grunt Active Camo Figure and Forerunner BeaconThe set also includes a small Forerunner beacon. It’s a very small and inconsequential build, but it makes for a nice little piece of terrain for the Halo Mega Bloks Active Camo Covenant Storm Grunt to hide behind when sneaking up on the UNSC Spartan CIO figure.

Halo Mega Bloks 97116 UNSC Siege Bike Box ContentsThe Wrong:

I had the unique experience over the weekend of building two singular tread vehicles: the Halo Mega Bloks UNSC Siege Bike 97116 and the LEGO Corporate Alliance Tank Droid. The Tank Droid’s tread construction was shockingly fun, as you assemble it via attaching five dozen individual pieces of tread track. Afterward, the tread can roll freely very well on the floor.

Comparison of LEGO Corporate Alliance Tank Droid and Halo Mega Bloks Siege BikeMeanwhile, the UNSC Siege Bike ONI REAP-X tread is one solid piece of bendy rubber. You can sort of make it rotate, but it doesn’t really work well (and I’m not sure it’s designed to do so at all). There’s about a $10 price difference between the two, but the Siege Bike is a bit of a downer after the huge fun factor of the new 2013 LEGO Tank Droid.

Back of Box Halo Mega Bloks ONI REAP-X UNSC Siege Bike Summer 2013Moreover, the logistics of how the Halo Mega Bloks Siege Bike can function at all are absolutely baffling to me. The way that the UNSC Siege Bike is constructed, the physics just don’t make any sense–the bike simply should not be able to turn or change direction in any way. I was hoping the box text would shine some light on this mystery, but no such luck.

Halo 4 Mega Bloks Active Camo Grunt Storm FigureAnd while I’m always giddy to get a new type of Mega Bloks Grunt, I’d be lying if I sad I was happy about getting a non-canon clear Active Camo Covenant Grunt Storm figure. Maybe MEGA Brands has some research group data saying that people want a billion Active Camo figures–even ones that don’t make sense–but I’m sure sick of them being thrown into set after set this year.

Halo Mega Bloks 97116 UNSC Siege Bike Box ONI REAP-X“Where Can I Buy It?!”

I just received my ONI Reap-X Siege Bike Mega Bloks set over the weekend from BA Toys. They previously thought the set would be delayed until August 2013, but MEGA Brands speed-delivered them a special shipment. I expect it’ll be a few weeks before the UNSC Siege Bike is available in other stores.

Halo ONI REAP-X UNSC Siege Bike Designs BlueprintsOverall: Given my laundry list of complaints, you might think I hate the UNSC Siege Bike Halo Mega Bloks set. That’s not the case. I love that MEGA Brands is working toward original designs, and the Siege Bike is a very cool design (despite the irreconcilable physics issues with it). While the colors picked for the two figures aren’t to my liking, I’m thrilled that MEGA now has Storm Grunt and Spartan CIO molds to fall back on, and I’m sure we’ll get versions painted to my liking soon enough. Overall, the Halo Mega Bloks 97116 ONI REAP-X Siege Bike is a fun, creative set that I find clever and enjoyable despite its drawbacks. If you’re not a stickler for all your Halo toys being canonical to the games, it’s definitely worth adding to your collection.

GRADE: B

Comments

Halo Mega Bloks UNSC Siege Bike Review 97116 ONI REAP-X — 18 Comments

  1. Technically, 343i has announced that these ARE canon, even though they are Mega’s own creation. Call them non-canonical is actually not true. Other than that, nice review. Thanks for this. 😀

    • Just to clarify, I mean canon to Halo visual media outside of these toys (ie video games, comics, novel covers, etc.). Technically the REAP-X vehicle are canon, since they’re been approved by Microsoft and officially bear the Halo logo, but until I see these in some other form of Halo media, they’re not “canon” to me. =P

      • I see. I’m just a stickler for words being used in a form that is 100% precise. I’m OCD that way. :p

  2. I think the active camo grunts are canon and are found in a spartan ops mission(unless it was only the jackal snipers that were camo).

  3. Hey Dabid, I think you got an early protype siege bike. Cos on the back of the brute battle pack (I have it, got it a week ago), the wind-screen/wind/shield is supposed to be red. Maybe I’m wrong???

  4. It is possible by the time of Halo 4 that active camo technology has been advanced to the point that regular types of infantry like grunts, jackals, ODSTs marines, and other types can use it without a problem.

    • It is possible, but if we didn’t actually see it in the games, it doesn’t count. =P

      You guys are nitpicking too much. It has its flaws, but I like this set. It’s pretty slick.

  5. GEEZ! $37.97 DOLLARS? Ok, that is overpriceing 50.92 dollars id expect a little less for the shipping pay.

  6. I wish the Storm Grunt was painted. It’s an amazing new mold, and they waste it by making it active camo.

    • Well, they painted the one in the Hornet vs. Vampire set. They want you to buy that, obviously. :p

      • I guess, but for its first release, it would be nice if we had one that we have actually seen in games. I wouldn’t mind if they made an active camo one in the future, just not on its first release.

  7. F***! My grunt’s hand broke when i tried to put it on the bike like you 🙁

  8. I just remembered in Halo 2 in the level The Arbiter the spec ops grunts used active camo.