So the 1/144 IBO Rocket Launcher doesn’t look too good on a souped-up 1/100 Jesta, I’m not that surprised, actually. After giving it some thought, I settled for a nice alternative that makes sense in the overall build : I’m giving my gun-totting Mobile Suit a melee weapon, namely a combat knife. Since I have one lying around in my spare parts box, I’ll be using an Astray Blue Frame Armor Schneider. The spare one I got with my Astray Red Frame, in fact.

Nice details. There will be some masking involved, but I should be able to squeeze 2-3 colors on that knife. At the very least dark iron as the main color, chrome for the blade and light grey for the handle. Maybe some accent red on the three thingies at the back of the blade if I feel confident enough.

Originally the knife has a little “hole” in the handle, to make it easier for the Astray MG hands to hold it (the hands have corresponding tabs). Since the Jesta doesn’t have those little tabs (and I don’t plan to put it in its hands anyway), I decided to fill it with putty. I’m taking no shortcuts here, it has to look as good as possible. Scribing evenly on plastic AND putty is challenging, though. I hope it doesn’t look too bad when primed.

As for adding it to the backpack, well that’s easy. I’ll be using a 3mm thingy I got with my Frame Arms Architect (there are a good amount of those in a kit, I use them quite often, but frankly a piece of runner would work as well). It needs some sanding to fit the knife, but I can re-use the hole I drilled in the backpack for the Rocket Lancher. If I ever feel like putting the Koto Rocket Launcher back, that will be possible.

Don’t mind the irregular sanding on the knife holder, it’s just a test fit. Now my Jesta has a backup weapon if it ever runs out of ammo (known as the “Heavy Arms Syndrome”).

Here’s what it looks like from the front :

It doesn’t look half bad, IMO. The Buster Canon’s arm can rotate from left to right, so it kinda makes sense not to add something over the other shoulder that could hinder movement. That, and there already are rocket launchers on the legs. Okay I’m just convincing myself here…

Now, those of you with a keen eye may have noticed that the Jesta is no longer standing on a piece of paper, but on top of two acrylic sheets. I have started building the stand I will be using for displaying my piece in the GBWC. Following Kenwin’s awesome tutorial, I’ve already cut the black and clear acrylic sheets to the correct sizes. I’m waiting for the metal standoffs as of writing this. I’m not sure wether I’ll print something to stick between the black and clear sheets. I think the gloss black base will look good on its own.