Revell UNSC Warthog and Pelican SnapTite Build & Play Model Review

I’ve been building model kits for years and they’ve been an enjoyable way to pass the time on a less than busy day. Painting parts, gluing and building, then finally admiring my handiwork. In the world of plastic model kits, Revell is a huge name and they’ve always been able to cater to all different skill groups ever since their creation in 1945. With their new Halo Model Kits, they’ve been able to add the detail a fan wants with the ease of building that you’d come to expect from a SnapTite kit.

So we’ll get the elephant in the room situated first. This isn’t a video game review. But when we were contacted and asked if we would want to review a model kit based on vehicles from the Halo games, I gave Scott an enthusiastic yes. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve built plastic model kits on and off through the years and one could say it’s a small hobby of mine. So when Revell said they had model kits of iconic vehicles from Halo, I was definitely going to jump at the chance to build them.

The line of Halo SnapTite Build & Play kits includes four vehicles. The two they sent was the UNSC Warthog (MSRP $24.99) and the UNSC Pelican (MSRP $29.99). The line also includes the UNSC Scorpion (MSRP $29.99) and not to leave out the Covenant, the Covenant Wraith (MSRP $24.99). I would have loved to see a Covenant Banshee in the lineup but maybe that will be added in a future line.

Revell’s SnapTite Build & Play Model Kits are so simple to build. As the name states, these kits are literally a snap. For the novice model builder or someone who wants fast and accurate results, the no glue or tools method of the SnapTite kits is perfect. There’s no need to pull out the airbrush or paint bottles because these models come in pre-molded colors, so painting is totally optional. As you can see from the images, I went with the simplest method and just built the beasts as is. You’ll also see that they include stickers to give them a little bit more authenticity. For the sake of making things easy, the stickers are just that, stickers. They are not the water transfer sheets you’d find in a higher level kit.

When building the kits, you’ll instantly see how easy it is to follow the illustrated instructions. Both models took me less than 30 minutes to complete, even stopping periodically to take photos. There was nothing that was complicated to put together and while building, it was easy to feel how solidly the parts are molded. The pieces are well cut and when snapped together, nothing was flimsy. These kits are very sturdy, of course, they won’t survive much of a drop from a shelf but they have that build quality that will give you peace of mind that it won’t just fall apart while on display or moved around.

Both kits are a good size. The Warthog measures a rough 7 inches long which is perfect for displaying on a work desk. Not that I placed it on my desk at work or anything… The Pelican is larger than the Warthog at 13 inches long making it slightly too large for my desk, but a good shelf piece for sure. These kits have a level of detail that is pretty amazing. Most of the model kits I’ve built in the past were of the highly detailed, highest level kits. The last time I had acquired a SnapTite kit many years ago, the detail was minimal as the kits only included what was necessary to make the car look like its real-life counterpart. These SnapTite kits have surely come a long way since then. I’ll catch myself looking at the Warthog on my desk and reminding myself that this detailed kit required no glue.

Both kits even include working parts to my surprise. The Warthog’s turret rotates and with a press of a button will light up with sounds as well. Revell even included a working suspension on the Warthog, something that I never expected to see in a SnapTite kit ever. Kudos! The Pelican’s wings can rotate along with the rear thrusters. A boarding ramp can open up out of the back and the Pelican’s landing gear can retract as well. The Pelican also lights up, you’ll see a brilliant blue light come from the cockpit with its own sounds that play too.

Both kits include Spartan figures to pilot the vehicles. The Warthog has a 3 inch Master Chief to drive, Kelly-087 in the passenger seat, and Frederick-104 manning the turret out back. The detail on the figures is very nice and the fit-and-finish keeps them in place well. I would have liked to see some more detail in the armor on the figures when it comes to colors and shading but being a SnapTite kit, it’s an ok detail to bypass. On the Pelican, they include a much smaller Chief and Linda-058. These two are about the size of a Tic-Tac, they’re tiny and easy to lose. Fortunately, they sit well in the cockpit of the Pelican.

Pricewise, these kits fall into quite a sweet spot. With the level of detail and the light show each brings, the $25-$30 is a comfortable range. Considering that you could probably find prebuilt Halo vehicle toys for roughly the same price with far less detail and accuracy, these kits are well worth the bucks. If you’ve never built a model kit before, you have nothing to worry about here if you want a cool piece of the Halo universe on display. They’re easy to build, easy to follow instructions, and overall fun to put together. A more experienced model builder will even get enjoyment out of this kit, especially when they go and give their kit a detailer’s touch.

Units were provided for review purposes

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