Plamo: The 30 Minutes Missions Extended Armaments Vehicle (Armored Assault Mecha Ver.)

So, here we are again. Another 30 Minutes Missions article, and pallette-cleanser project. One where I do a straightforward build, and then make it look dirty with my usual techniques, because I find that relaxing. Another post where I have only so much interesting to say, because 30MM kits are consistently good, and there's no real lore for me to ramble on about. Of course, lamp-shading and self-parody aside, I have a good time with this sorta thing.

 

So, the Extended Armaments Vehicle (Armored Assault Mecha Ver.) is the latest in an increasingly long line of sub-mecha with similarly long names. I'm just going to call this chap "Eggbot" for reasons that should be self-evident. This looks like something Doctor Robotnik would make, or something from a strange alternate universe where the Dizzy games dabbled in the mecha simulation genre. It's basically adorable, and since it comes in olive drab, this always was gonna end up in my hands. In fact, I'd mentally committed to this before I'd realised what it's gimmick was. It's a meta-mecha for a Royroy drone, aka those little things which don't seem to do much, or be that common these days. If anything, this only makes it more adorable. Imagine this friend-shaped robot waddling towards you, firing a rotary grenade launcher in anger, only to take a hit, fall, and have its head scuttle away.

 

 

A few things I want to highlight here with respects to kit. First off, the Spinatio joint sprue is back again, and mostly unused. Yay for spare hands! This does mean that the knees and shoulders are cast in the green plastic though, an arrangement possibly not ideal for the latter. Its arms like to pop off, although this might be my fault for trying two-handed poses. The Royroy meanwhile has a War of the Worlds vibe going on, with a big central dish making it a fairly large example of such things. On the downside, the area where it sits in the chest is regrettably light on detail, and you'll find the little chap gets stuck in there. None if this is near an actual problem, but I like to be honest. 

 

This was weathered in the style I so often do with these kits now, but I seem to have gotten good at it. I used two different washes here, and some light drybrushing, all very simple techniques, but given the pay-off, this almost feels like cheating now. The sensor eye was meanwhile done with contrast paint.

 

Job’s a good ‘un.