Plamo: New Continent Machines Adventure (Alphamax)

I will admit to not really knowing what this was at purchase, and indeed, now. And that this article got pushed back a lot. In so far as I have been able to gather, New Continent Machines is an artist led project, a designer going by the name of Moi, featuring distinctive mecha of about half the size of a gunpla. The novelty of this is what attracted me; the art has maybe a bit of the Syd Mead about it. Its something I wouldn't find out of place in Turn-A Gundam, or the more esoteric bits of The Witch from Mercury. The Adventure is a stocky machine with a large torso, and proportionally skinny limbs. I suppose you could call it bird-like, especially in the legs. It also features a shield and gun, which gives it grunt vibes, and there's a parts-swap feature advertised in the box. I do like things that are that little bit different, while staying within genre.

 

The actual build was a similarly odd mix of fresh and old fashioned. You get several nicely laid out sprues, with minimalist but concise instructions. There are no polycaps or mixed materials in general, but what was there worked effectively, with maybe a bit of the old Revoltech about it. A definite highlight is the included stand. There are however downsides. Its entirely cast in yellow, for example. While snapfit, the parts-fit isn't great, the outward shoulder joints are fixed/decorative, and there are reasons why this style of friction joint went out of fashion. Then it hit me. No, not the kit. A realisation. While this kit definitely has its charms, the deeply-disappointing Duel Gundam does the several things better than the Adventure here, while being bigger and in a comparable price bracket. And that one's outdated by at least fifteen years. This may be a function of a price point, economies of scale, or simply the company making it. As it turns out, Alphamax has done a few mecha things on occasion, including Optimus Prime at one point, but more normally does 18-rated waifu figures. Robots and finely engineered kits does not seem to be their bread and butter, but in fairness there’s merit here. It goes together quickly and easily. But its not great for posing, liking to separate when doing so, and then you need to paint it.

Realising that I was possibly too harsh in that comparison above, I decided to treat this more like a 28mm project and paint it like a tank. You can't really expect a more boutique example to match the market leader. I took a moment to fill the gaps, before breaking out the spraypaints and weathering techniques. These are simple tools, but they worked on this kit, and I think I’m pretty good with them now. Of course, the joints did not like this. Truthfully though, I didn't feel like doing anything fancy here

I want to like this model more than I do. I respect the look, and the whole artist-led aspect. Unfortunately, it sits in an awkward place where its too ambitious for its own good. I feel it would have been better off as a fixed pose kit that cost maybe 15% less, or maybe keep the price same but scrap the stand in favour of better fundamentals. Either way, I’ve built worse, but this Moi individual may have to rethink a few things.