Hello Halo

With the launch of Halo Reach you can imagine there's been quite a bit of activity and discussion around the custom community regarding all things SPARTAN.

There's especially been a lot of buzz on both the BrickArms and BrickForge forums regarding new products and accessories. BrickForge led the way with their Space Marine helmets and armor as stand-ins for MJOLNIR Exoskeletons. As the franchise has grown and expanded, there's now armor variants for ODST, SPARTAN-III bubble heads, and variants for scouts and bomb disposal units. BrickArms latest release really expands the array of Halo weapons at the minifig scale.

I've even caught the Halo bug despite never have played more than 2 hours of the original game, which I think is a testament to the design of the characters and development of the story. I picked up a copy of Halo Encyclopedia at my library and would recommend it to anyone who is looking to learn more about the Halo universe.

Looking around Flickr you can see all sorts of Halo inspired creations from custom minifigures to brick-built vehicles and aliens (Why is it that no custom house appears to have touched the Covenant side of the equation outside of a few weapons?).

I invite you to head over to my photostream and continue the conversation (or here in the comments if you don't have a Flickr account). What do you love about the current state of Halo and minifigures? Which customizers are really breaking new ground? Who is the MinifigMaker of the Haloverse? What do you want to see next from custom houses?

I look forward to the discussion...

Ugly Duckling Favorites on Flickr

There's absolutely no way for us to blog about all of the awesome creations that exist out there on the interwebs. Flickr is one place where we are able to discover many of the custom creations put out by fans and custom houses alike. If you've ever want to see all the goodness that we discover, just go to our Flickr page and browse through our favorites.

There are also additional materials in our sets and on our photostream that don't always make it to the blog. Think of it like DVD extras. Check them all out when you get a chance, and when you are there, if you have a Flickr account, put in a request to be a contact.

(Via The Ugly Duckling Flickr stream)