Plamo: The 30 Minutes Missions Iglight 02

You know, it's been a hot minute since I last checked in with 30MM, I wonder what they're up to?

The Iglight 02, I didn't see the 01, is one of the newer 30 Minutes kits to materialise at my local nerd shop. Something of a soft reboot, it goes back to basics with three concise and briskly organised runners, putting me in mind of the original Alto and Portanova kits. It is however something of a clean sheet design, drawing on the five-ish years of experience. Polycaps aren't present, and it's clip joints all the way. The Roy Roy partner drone thing is still present, although these seem to have gone a bit targetmaster this time, with a pair pulling double-duty as weapons. Another innovation this kit brings is that parts are designed to be removed from a sprue without the use of tools. This isn't super new or anything, Blokees does the same thing, but I made a point of doing so here, as part of the whole 30 minutes thing. No tools? So faster and easier, right? I can report that it works pretty well, as I was cleaning with just my thumbnail in many places, but the light green likes it better than the dark green. The 01 version probably doesn't have that problem with it's white and purple, but that's got more of a Gundam protagonist look TBH.

Once assembled, the Iglight is a very skinny, very-very skinny, but just as posable, grunt. The overall vibe is similar to that military Spinatio I did a while back, while the moustache and shoulders are similar to early Alto parts. While already skeletal, there's notable hollowness in areas like the knee joints and ankles. This is the only area where I felt I felt the price-point biting. Well, that and the Roy Roy drone that doubles as a shield. That needed a sensor or something. This was a notably cheap kit by local standards at £13, and while I've paid a lot more to get less, I feel it's worth a mention. Things I do like include the rotating arm mounts, the way the blaster can become a sentry gun, and the head. In a clever bit of design, possibly unintentional given the paperwork, the translucent visor pegs into the head so as to suggest eyes behind the glass. The other translucent bits in shoulders just kinda get lost though. Meanwhile, there's an adjustable, ECOAS style sensor pack to cover all that for the Splinter Cell look. It's all very characterful, in a pleasant distraction kinda way. Its not complex, but it is elegant, and in a style I like. Whereas the Gelgoog was a revelation with fictional baggage, this is a simple meal done well. 

I did a basic weathering job on this, picked out some details and put some leftover mud paint on the feet. It worked pretty well. Would buy another as a palette cleanser.