“The SAFS Raccoon was the scouting type which had scouting equipments such as the large-sized sensor pod and the I.R. seeker optical unit, and that arms of the SAFS having high mobile fighting capacity were removed. Moreover this Raccoon was armed with the ECM, the radiation prevention cover, and the silencer for exhaust noise as the defense against the enemy's electric wave weapon heat sensor, and voice sensor. The Raccoon strengthened communication capacity besides the said equipments was armed as a command type at the SAFS platoon of 2885 type standard organization and the headquarters detachment.”

Hey, that is what the box said, o.k. ?

Bumbling about in a powered suit looks good in anime, but is probably quite unrealistic. This egg thingy being a scout is somewhat laughable, though interesting, as I do believe it gave way to the Elementals used in the Battlemech series, where powered suits were used to great effect.

 Wonderful instructions with great illustrations and “blown” diagrams make this one of the premier sci-fi kits in the market.

Like all Nitto kits, this is made of superbly cast styrene, with almost no flash or dimples at all. It is thicker than typical molded kits, so you will want to haul out your micro-shears.

The decals are all perfectly registered as well, with four variants available.

This would be a great “weekend” kit…it doesn’t fall together, but comes close.  A full colour diagram is also enclose showing you the port side of each variant.

 Of course, you start with the arms, which are fully jointed, so make sure to be sparing with your glue unless you want a completely stiff looking suit.

The same can be said of the legs, lots of flexible bits hold the whole pieces together, and  the legs are still quite movable.

Assembling the upper halves of the suit to the bottom legs is somewhat of a trial in patience. I’d recommend fitting everything together, and then using the capillary action of a thin C/A to keep it together. (K.I.T.)

The only part of this model I didn’t care for was the pilot figure, who looks like he has just been munched on by a Megalodon.  I definitely decided to go with a “hood down” look.

With all the neat little shields and baffles in place, it’s time to affix the cool hoses that make no sense…seriously, these things would get you hung up if you were trying to walk around in a supermarket, let alone a battlefield.   “Clean up on aisle 5 ! Again!”

Now comes the IR sensor doo-hickey. Gotta admit, it makes the whole thing look much better than the rest of the walking eggs. More hoses and stuff need to be attached, as well as a stretched sprue antenna.

 I decided to do mine in a nice olive drab, because I already had that paint out anyway, in the markings of the 303 armoured fighting suit group. I just can’t resist a massive white cross on top of a “recon” unit. The pig markings reminded me too much of Pink Floyd’s “Animals” though, and I left them off.

Even with several coats of different Micro products, the decals still silvered, but I put this down to the age of the kit, not the production of them.   If you want to do a show winner, use aftermarket.

 For some odd reason, a friend of mine gave me a yard ball. You know, those “reflecting spheres” …I guess it works, since I still stare at it now and again in disbelief.  Anyway, I thought it would be fun to pose the recon looking at one in the same way I do…like: “WTF is this for?”

 If you want a super fun easy build, this kit is the way to go. Nothing fancy, but really well engineered, and a total hoot. At least, that’s what my owl says. (hey, and no pink on this one either !) 

Typical MAK stuff on the net, and the box. I really need to learn to read Japanese, as the translations online stink.