With the new Mattel Halo toys finally beginning to deploy this month, I am officially more hyped about Halo collecting than I have been in a long, long time. And that means that I’m buying stuff I otherwise might not–stuff like the new Halo 12″ figures series! While I certainly have my reservations about this kid-oriented line, there was no way I could resist ordering the Halo 12″ Promethean Soldier figure. Am I happy with my purchase? The surprising answer is… yes!

The Right:

While it’s a hard thing for adult collectors to fathom, the low-priced Hasbro Marvel Titan Hero 12″ figure line–sometimes referred to as “Shampoo Bottle figures”–is an incredibly successful line for Hasbro. Bizarre, right?

With that in mind, Mattel is bringing that style of size and value to Halo this summer with a lineup consists of five Spartans… and a Forerunner Promethean Soldier! Props to Mattel for giving us something really different and unexpected in the first wave of this kid-targeted line of Halo toys!

As the Promethean Soldier 12 inch figure was by far the most unique figure in the first wave, he was an easy pick for me to choose to test-drive this line. And to my great surprise–this figure is really not that bad!

Whereas the Marvel Titan Heroes line started out with its figures having a whopping 5 points of articulation (neck, shoulders, hips), Mattel blows that away with more than double the articulation on this Forerunner Promethean Soldier action figure.

The Promethean Soldier has a ball-jointed neck, ball-hinge hips, ball-jointed shoulders, ball-hinge elbows, hinge knees, and swivel wrists. It’s not exactly Marvel Legends-level articulation, but it definitely makes this figure way more flexible than I had expected it to be.

As this is the only Forerunner character in this first series (and thus the 12″ Halo line as a whole), Mattel developed a 100% new mold for the figure (obviously).

Whereas Hasbro figures in this style oftentimes just have the details painted on, there’s tons of sculpting detail on every part of the Promethean Soldier’s body. The front and back of his torso, as well as his head, are particularly well-done.

The Promethean Soldier comes with one weapon: a Forerunner Suppressor. The gun is molded in grey plastic and unfortunately totally unpainted, but there’s actually an immense amount of sculpting detail on this gun!

This Suppressor is really detailed, and with a little bit of yellow/orange paint for the highlights, could actually look really nice. Hasbro’s Titan Heroes figures usually come with zero accessories, making this gun look especially awesome in comparison. The gun has a peg molded on that allows it to be snugly attached to the Forerunner’s back.

The Wrong:

…And now it’s time for the other shoe to drop. I’ve been really positive about this twelve inch figure so far, but make no mistake: this is not a high-end or collector-grade sixth scale figure. Breathe a sigh of relief, Hot Toys–Mattel is in fact not coming for you.

The reality is this: this Promethean Soldier is a toy. While his proportions are better than those of the Spartans in the series, he has minimal paintwork and is largely just molded in shiny blue-grey plastic.

This is not–and is not meant to be–a collector-friendly high-end figure. That said, I think the sculpt and articulation present in this figure are actually at a high enough level that this could be a terrific figure after some patience and repainting with high-quality paints.

As far as the articulation goes, I would have liked to have seen some sort of ball-jointed upper torso and ankle articulation, but at the “value” pricing, I’ll live without. I can get him into some fun shooting poses regardless. For 16 bucks, you’re honestly not going to find a better sixth scale Halo figure.

Overall: I hemmed and hawed over how to score this figure, and ultimately decided on not giving it a grade, as this Mattel Halo 12″ Promethean Soldier figure is not really comparable at any other Halo action figure on the market right now.

Many adult collectors are going to hate the style of this figure, but kids and more open-minded collectors may love it. This 12″ Forerunner figure absolutely kills the Hasbro Titan Hero Star Wars and Marvel figures in both articulation and sculpting detail, and is a terrific toy for the price.

This Mattel Halo Promethean Soldier is fun to pose and play with and a great value for the price, but the style of these figures is definitely not for everyone. For those who are curious about this line (and might not mind doing some repainting), this figure earns a recommendation.