Plamo: The 30 Minute Missions “Digger” Rabiot (Orange + Option Armour for Special Operation, Yellow)

Yes, its been a while, but I finally got my hands on one of the newer 30MM kits. And while this was a less involved project than the last one, I did find this a very satisfying experience.

As both a kit and a robot model, the Rabiot is very much cut from the same cloth as the Alto and Portanova. This is mainly due to the common joint sprue being retained for compatibility, while the visuals are akin to the Alto but bulkier. The main functional change involves the weaponry, which sees both the Roy Roy and the unconvincing melee weapon being dumped in favour of a larger shotgun type weapon. Those options return in other kits, and there is an adaptor present so you can swap out the gun barrel if that's something you want. Like most 30MM kits, the Rabiot is largely flawless as a no-nonsense grunt project, and if you've built one previously, you know what you are getting here. With one exception.

Bandai seems have taken the opportunity to go a bit weird with these "2nd gen" kits, and the Rabiot is clearly not intended as a straight iteration on the Alto. You do get armour sets, but these, for reasons, feature crotch mounted digging equipment. This is hysterical, but it's not without precedent. Combat engineer variants of the Zaku for example have been around longer than I have, and the idea of "subarms" goes back to Zeta and the Titans Test Team. Then you realise that one set is in yellow, while the Rabiot is in orange...... JCB! CONSTRUCTICONS MAYBE LATER! BUT RIGHT NOW, JCB!

So, I got the Orange Rabiot, and two of the yellow armour sets, my research indicating that you could easily double-up. The result is this asymmetrical but unambiguously construction themed mecha. Observant readers will note the use of stickers, which come new with these armour sets. As stickers go: they aren't bad, but I was glad to have a spare sheet. Actual paint would look much better, but the yellow is very bright, so that would have taken time. Even more observant readers will also note the lack of “before” pictures of the unmodded Rabiot. Ummm, well.... I've left those bits on the sprue for future projects.

 

I know this is one of the shorter and less intellectual blog articles I've wrote, but hopefully the pictures will make up the difference. Its a JCB that would kick your ass, and I love it.