Pixel Pals Master Chief from Halo

Performance Designed Products LLC (PDP) is a company who designs and manufactures peripherals for all major video game platforms. They also create a variety of Pixel Pals light up figures from various comics and games. This time we will look at their Master Chief from Halo light up toy.

Halo is a popular first-person shooting game based on a military science fiction genre. The game focuses on an interstellar war between humanity and an alliance of aliens. Halo was originally a project of Bungie Studios which was acquired by Microsoft in 2000. The first Halo game was used as a launch title for Microsoft’s Xbox console. The current development and management of the Halo franchise is handled by 343 Industries, the company was established in 2007 by Microsoft Studios.

Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 (a.k.a. Master Chief and MCPO John-117) is the protagonist of the Halo franchise. He is a fictional character who has been modified and enhanced to be a super soldier. The character looks like a human wearing advanced futuristic green coloured armour which seems to be worn permanently. Featured in video games, toys, comics and animation, the Master Chief is one of the most iconic video game characters of all time.

The packaging is nicely designed with all the relevant logos, descriptions and colours that match the Master Chief character. The box has a matte finish and includes a conveniently positioned window which allow the toy to be viewed from a few angles. The top and bottom openings are factory sealed with stickers. There is also a code stamped on the bottom of the box which should match the code in the toy’s battery compartment.

The build quality seems decent and the toy size is large enough to house several bright LEDs to give the iconic character another dimension. The glow is bright enough to be used as a nightlight, although the batteries might only last about 4-6 hours. You could purchase the optional USB adapter and connect it to your computer or portable USB battery which would allow you to have it on for much longer.

I believe that the Master Chief’s helmet was designed as the main focus. In my opinion, the mid-green colour should have also been used on the body and not just the helmet. The colouring styles look somewhat disjointed, the helmet appears 3D by utilising 5 colours and the body section looks flatter because it only uses 2 colours.

Since the small squares have some depth and are also slightly bevelled, this gives the allusion of pixels. I found that looking at the toy too close makes it look blurry because of the pixel design. By placing the toy at least 50cm away from the face gives the best result and consequently less strain on the eyes.

Box: 88mm (width) x 112mm (length) x 160mm (height)

Toy: 25mm (width) x 106mm (length) x 116mm (height)

Pixels: ~4mm

Batteries: 2x AAA 1.5v (Not included)

Switch: Off/On

Casing colour: Black

Display colours: 6 (2x yellow, 2x green, brown and black)

Backlight: White LEDs (~10-15)

Accessories (Optional): Standard USB Adapter (Comes with USB cable) – Not compatible with 8-bit Pixel Pals characters.

Overall it is a great item to liven up your decor or to have as a discussion piece when your friends come over. It is not too expensive if you can locate a major reseller in your country or find a deal on eBay or Amazon. My version was a gift from a friend but I found it for about AUD $10 here in Sydney Australia.

If the Master Chief from Halo is not your cup of tea then perhaps one of the other figures that PDP create will whet your appetite. Luckily they have a good selection of various characters to choose from.

Visit website: https://www.pdp.com/pixel-pals