RGM-96X Jesta

rgm96x
Originally uploaded by Busterbeam

Alright, I'm going to start with the best as far as I'm concerned. This months Hobby Japan has got a large feature of scratch built 0096 suits and they look good! The Sinanju featured in my U.C.0096 gallery is actually not the MG that a lot of us are building now but actually a scratch built one made months and months ago. If you compare the two side by side (they did this in the magazine) the differences are very slight so I suspect that if future U.C.0096 suits are released they'll look very similar to these scratch built ones.

The one that I was taken the most with was this Jesta. Reminiscent of the RGM-79SP GM Sniper II or the RGM-79SC GM Sniper Custom. Take your pic. Except this is not a Sniper unit. On the contrary it’s a regular infantry suit.

Although it was made 10 years after Gundam Mark II (stats in italics) let’s do a comparison of the numbers.

Propulsion: 81200kg vs. 89030kg
Sensor range: 11300m vs. 14200m
Generator: 1930kw vs. 2710kw
Base Weight: 33.4t vs. 24.8t

I know. 10 years but still... When I look at this suit I don’t see a GM. The GM Custom from 0083 was actually comparable in power to Amuro's RX-78-2 just to keep things in perspective. This machine would smoke a Mark II easily in every category.

The thing I like about this suit is that it’s not special. It’s standard for its time. Maybe above average and it’s not overly armed. Grenades, Beam sabers, Beam rifle. But where’s the shield? That’s the only thing I’m concerned about. I'd like it to have a shield. Even the one the GM custom, Quel or Hazel used would be fine. This suit reminds me a lot of those one. It harks back to a time when grunt suits where GOOD and not cannon fodder like what the GM's and Zaku's eventually became. I guess that's just time though. All machines become obsolete eventually.

I also like the fact that this suit isn’t flashy. It's functional and has now become a personal favorite of mine.