love the gun-stock black. No gloss.

A Great set to get and an awesome figure for your UNSC forces but the price should be just a little lower because you don't get as much as a set like the UNSC Cryco bay or the Combat units that give you more than the drop pods do. Though the figure is a definite figure to get.

Out of the Drop Pods being offered for Spring 2013, I probably anticipated this one the most for two reasons: the inclusion of a SOCOM Magnum, and my having previously missed the old ODST drop pod sets. Needless to say, this set had far more goodies in store for me.

Having seen nothing but Covenant Drop Pods and Flood Pods in local stores for months, I was unprepared for the complexity of the ODST pod - opening the pod means flipping out two side panels and popping open the middle front. Be careful where you put it if you're showing off an open pod, as there's no stow point for it. Two extending rods are included for posing the drag chute in undeployed and deployed modes - it's messy from a keeping-track-of-pieces standpoint, but it's preferable to a single rod that would skewer the Recon ODST inside when pushed into the pod.

Speaking of the Recon ODST, it's as nice a piece of work as ever - and also the cheapest iteration of Recon out there, even if only as the helmet. The deep gray finish means it'll swap well onto most other UNSC figures with a "Stealth" designation, so feel free to mix and match armor permutations until the time comes that Mega rolls out a proper Recon Spartan in this color.

As for the weapons, the SOCOM Magnum and Suppressed SMG are natural fits for an ODST, though I'm a bit burnt out on the latter after hunting down rare Series 5/5.5 figures. Heavy firepower is also included in the form of a detailed Rocket Launcher that curiously comes with a peg-in handle. Primarily included so it can be stored on the clip pegs within the Drop Pod, I'm sure there's far more hilarious and/or nefarious uses for it.