Halo UNSC Punic Class Supercarrier Unboxing

I mentioned last post that I love the look of the Halo Covenant ships...I'm not a great fan, however, of the UNSCs' aesthetic. Fortunately Oscar does, so we fall naturally into the two factions in Halo Fleet Battles. Now, as the Covenant have the Assault Carrier, the UNSC also have their own counter, the Punic class Supercarrier.

Like the Covenant box, this is a large full colour box with artwork on the front and the usual contents on the back, showing studio painted models.

Opening the end, the box is pretty full - once again this is the width of my dining room table!

As with the Assault carrier, I won't go through the standard plastic minis that are included with the Punic. Also as with the prior unboxing, you get a bunch of card two each of token sheets, stat card sheets and base overlays.

The other paperwork are the instructions for both the plastic minis and the resin ship. As these are more complex minis than the Covenant, these are very welcome

Now, bring on the Punic...!

That's quite a beast - it could pretty much double as a lightsaber, it's that big! The mini is much nicer than I expected, and both looks great with intricate detail and has a very imposing presence.

The lower hull has some great detail, and also features a drop-on piece that fits perfectly.

The upper hull is less interesting, but gives the impression of massive armour plating well.

The front of the ship is a separate piece, cast this way (I'm guessing) because of the fine detail on the front.

The rear of the ship then has the engines as separate assemblies, which feature nice detail across all faces. There are also a number of "gribbly bits", the location of which I'm uncertain of (because I've not read the instructions!) However, all are perfectly cast and show just how far Spartan has eveolved their resin casting over the past few years.

As with the prior massive model, it's supplied with a large resin and acrylic base.

That completes the set, and I have to say it impressed me, considering I wasn't a massive proponent of the UNSC look, this is still a great model. Kudos to Spartan for realising 343 and Microsoft's virtual visions as such nice real-life pieces.

Halo Covenant Assault Cruiser Unboxing

I must admit, I'm a big fan of the designs of the Covenant ships in Halo, ever since I saw first them on the original X-Box game. Inside and out, they are just cool. So when I saw the Covenant Assault Carrier at SG almost a year ago, I instantly fell in love. Now roll the clock forward and Halo is out on the streets, you can buy it in Argos and the releases are starting to ramp up for it, including this ship and the UNSC Punic class supercarrier (covered shortly in a separate post).

Now Halo releases don't follow Spartan's usual format, being in end-opening card boxes with a fairly distinctive look. This one is no different, and the box is about the size of a Patrol Fleet box in Firestorm or Core Helix in Planetfall, but a touch longer and deeper. It's full colour, and looks good - with artwork on the front and contents on the back.

Opening the end, the box is pretty full - this is the width of my dining room table!

Now I don't intend to go through the plastic minis - those were covered in the original Halo unboxing, instead I'll concentrate on the main attraction. Now that's not to say there aren't plenty of other relevant components here - you get three token sheets, two stat card sheets and three base overlay sheets, which is actually a substantial amount of card!

You also get construction instructions for both the plastic ships and the resin Assault Carrier

Now onto the resin beast!

Here she is in all her glory, just placed together...beautiful. Getting in closer to each component, however, really starts to show the craftsmanship in this model. Here is the under section for the prow, for instance.

This features really delicately engraved and cast detail - it really shows how far Spartan have come in casting quality since 2009. The main spine of the ship also demonstrates this in spades - as much care has been put into the underside sections of this model as the top, it's a real marvel.

Last is the rear/low hull, another single piece which shows incredible finesse with a very complex shape.

The only other part is an inch-long (ish) part that goes neatly into the front section of the rear lower hull

Which, as you can see, it does flawlessly.

The model is also supplied with a large resin and acrylic base - I'm not sure if these are one assembly or different bases you can choose from (as I haven't read any of the instructions!)

So there you have it - the Covenant Assault Carrier - it's simply gorgeous!