The Man Rodi came into Iron-Blooded Orphans just as I lost patience with the anime. Occasionally, I pick up on foreshadowing for tragic events in a story, and immediately drop it. I've no love or patience for the slow-motion car crash, and I prefer actual surprises to telegraphed tragedies. Of course I went back to check while writing this, to see if I was overreacting and took no pleasure in being less pessimistic than the show. And, yes, the dude was piloting one of these. Why did I get this then? Well, the design is interesting and the kit is cheap.
As a build project, the Man Rodi is cathartic but kinda half-arsed. It lacks the internal frame gimmick, which admittedly makes for simpler assembly, but it retains the wasp waist issue a lot of these IBO kits seem to have. As bulky as it looks, you're still relying on a single polycap with only minimal support around it. On the plus side, the colours are on point with minimal stickers, granting you two choices for the unusual eyes, and no comment-worthy paint requirements. Once completed, posability is pretty decent too, considering the bulk, and there is weapon storage. It was lacking something though, like a stand. This is a kit that was crying out for an included flight stand of some kind, as this doesn't actually have feet, and was only seen in space. It can balance by itself, but you aren't getting any dynamic poses without an action base. You get what you pay for, I suppose. Its definitely not bad for what it is, but its not good enough to convince people whom weren't already onboard with its “Froggy-Zaku” styles.
So, with that in mind, and as observant readers will have already realised, I decided to go off plan. The Man Rodi has a classically Zeonic paintjob of two-tone green, but its proportions don't work well with that. There's too much of a contrast between the limbs and its main body. So, spraypaint in grass green! That makes three greens, which helps break things up. I didn't bother with panel-lines, but I may come back to it.
In short: inexpensive kitbash fodder, but not bad.
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