For the first several years of the Halo Mega Bloks line, with very few exceptions we didn’t receive any specific named characters. Through 2012, the only specific individuals released as Mega Bloks Halo figures were The Arbiter, the Master Chief and Cortana. But that time is over, and in 2014 we’ll be treated to a variety of well-known names, including Emile, Sarah Palmer and… ODST The Rookie! Having just debuted at the 2014 Toy Fair in New York over the weekend, the Rookie is deploying this summer with the Halo Mega Bloks UNSC Wombat 97451!

I’m going to be honest here: I forgot the UNSC Wombat existed. Serioisly–when I saw the UNSC Wombat Halo Mega Bloks set on the table at the New York Toy Fair 2014, I asked if it was a Micro-Fleet set. Yes, Halo 3: ODST is my favorite first-person shooter Halo video game, but the Halo Wombat is just so obscure that it slipped my mind. But once I heard the name–and read the Halo Wiki entry–it all came rushing back to me.

While the F99 Osprey Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle isn’t the most high-profile Halo vehicle, the Wombat drone is a real, canonical Halo vehicle that hadn’t been created before in toy form by any company. There aren’t that many Halo vehicles left from the video games that haven’t been given their due Halo Mega Bloks form yet, so it’s great to cross another never-before-done vehicle off the list.

The Halo Osprey/Wombat is an unmanned drone, so the cockpit (obviously) doesn’t open. I forgot to ask at Toy Fair if the Mega Bloks Halo Wombat set will include a flight stand or not, but I’d like to think that it will.

The big attraction in the Halo Mega Bloks UNSC Wombat 97451 set isn’t the Wombat itself, of course–it’s The Rookie! The (sort of) main character in the Halo ODST video game will make his official Halo Mega Bloks debut–with his name (ODST The Rookie) proudly emblazoned on the front of the box.

The Rookie will come packing his signature weapon–the Halo 3: ODST SMG. Considering that The Rookie ODST is a player character with no personality of his own, he’s not the most compelling character to add to our collections, but I’m glad to have him nonetheless.

The Mega Bloks Halo UNSC Wombat 97451 set is part of the Summer/Fall 2014 Halo Mega Bloks wave, and will be released by August 2014. The set contains 105 pieces and will retail for about $14.99. I’ll post a review of the Wombat and The Rookie Mega Bloks set when it’s released, and you can ‘Like’ Halo Toy News on Facebook to have news, reviews and photos beamed straight to your Facebook Newsfeed.

Halo collectors–are you pleased to be adding the UNSC Osprey/Wombat drone to your Halo collections, or is this vehicle too obscure for your tastes? And are you thrilled about the possibility of getting more named characters like The Rookie in the Mega Bloks line beginning this year?