Carter

Thanks to ThreeA Toys for this review sample. You can pick up a Commander Carter from retailers today!

Ashley Wood is an Australian artist most recognized for his Spawn comic book cover paintings, Hellspawn comic illustration work, Metal Gear Solid art, and Tank-Girl work. More recently he has spent a great deal of time on his original properties Zombies vs. Robots (vs. Amazons), Popbot, World War Robot, and the newest, Adventure Kartel, working with ThreeZero toys of Hong Kong to form the toy-making partnership ThreeA, through which Ashley’s original designs come to life. ThreeA toys are most recognizable by their incredible detail and weathered paintwork.

Halo is a long-running videogame franchise featuring genetically modified Spartan super soldiers in tricked-out space marine battle armor that has been just BEGGING for high-end toys for a while now. Halo: Reach was the 2010 installment of the franchise, chronicling a key event in the Halo mythology and introducing players to a variety of Spartans other than the series’ protagonist, Master Chief.

For details on the articulation, general thoughts, and the magnetic accessories in action, watch my HD video review!

Commander Carter is the leader of Noble Team in Halo: Reach. Clad in regal blue armor with a professional manner, Carter has a commanding presence. 3A’s Commander Carter comes in a lovely printed box, safely nestled in a vacuum tray.

Carter stands thirteen and a half inches tall, shown here with a regular Hot Toys True Type 1/6 person and a Glyos figure for scale.

Carter is the exact same toy as the Bambaland-exclusive Commando I reviewed previously, just in his regular colors. I loved the Commando, so it should come as no surprise that I also dig Carter.

ThreeA was gracious enough to provide batteries for the review sample. Getting the smaller batteries into the arm compartments is still a terrific pain. Two CR2032H batteries are required for the back and six AG4/LR626 batteries are required for the arms.

With the lights on it’s time to attach all the accessories. Everything is magnetic except for the two chest parts, which slide on with small tabs.

All geared up Carter is a gorgeous figure. The rubber undersuit and layers of armor and detail all add up to an incredible package of sci-fi goodness. Carter looks like he stepped right out of the game.

Commander Carter features a reflective burnt orange visor that pops nicely against the blues and grays of the armor.

I went through all of the workings in the Commando review, so this time I’m just going to let the details do the talking. The paint work on Carter is outstanding with fine decals, drybrushing, and washes to bring out all that sharp techy goodness. 

Subtle scratches and chipping suggest a long and storied career. Every last little bit received attention at the factory, down to the little rivets and panel lines.

The heavy boots and lower leg armor feature extra weathering. Carter has probably trudged through some nasty spots in his day.

The fully articulated hands on ThreeA’s Halo figures are marvels of engineering, allowing Carter to hold any accessory he wants.

One big, beautifully detailed and posable Spartan is cool, but two are better. Carter and the Commando are a magnificent pair on maneuvers together. Displaying them both side by side does make me wish ThreeA had given the Commando a different helmet variation.

I like the orange visor on Carter more than the black on the Commando.

The Spartans are beset by zombies!

The highly posable hands also allow Carter to do all sorts of tacticool hand commands.

Back to back, the Spartans are an armored bulwark against the alien hordes! The only good Covenant is a dead Covenant!

Carter can also hold both DMRs for extra dakka. I would love to see ThreeA release a Halo weapon pack in the future. There are so many good sci-fi guns in the Halo universe, both human and alien.

You can pick up Commander Carter from most good retailers right now for around $200. It’s an incredible figure loaded with detail, articulation, and a wonderful light up feature. ThreeA’s Halo figures feel very well built with segmented body suits, rugged plastic, and clicky joints that feel nice and solid. These are some of the most impressive 1/6 scale figures on the market right now, and cannot be beat for the price. You can even pick up the Commando release from Big Bad Toy Store, but if you only get one I think Carter is the better looking of the pair. Hopefully these sell well so ThreeA can continue with Noble Team and other Halo releases!

Thanks to ThreeA for the review sample.