The attractive design of the Messer and its sheer size meant that when the High Grade Messer was announced, it inevitably caught the eye of many. This was also the case for the members of PlamoLabs to the point where we decided to hold an internal Group Build: Clean Up This Messer. We were also lucky enough to have prizes sponsored by DSPIAE and GalacticToyz. Also to keep things fair, all members of PlamoLabs would rank their favourite builds in order and the mean placings would determine the Top 3 builds. I was honoured to place 1st in the group build which netted me the 2 DSPIAE sanding sponge sets and a bunch of their scribe tapes. GalacticToyz also sent me the RG Eva Unit-02 kit!
On to the build, seeing that I knew I wouldn't have the time to go all in with the scribing, I instead put my efforts into making a unique colour scheme for the Messer as well as added some additional armaments to its basic shield and rifle combination. I also wanted to add some symmetry to the suit so I traded my non-spiked shoulder for a spiked shoulder with top dog mrnvl.art. I also had a custom part 3D printed for a set the Bandai MS Cannons to plug into, turning this into the Messer Cannon! Additionally, from the same Bandai MS Cannons add-on pack, I drilled a 3mm hole into the side of Messer's left arm for the Missile Launchers to strap on to. Lastly, I trimmed half of one grenade from the same add-on pack and stuck in on top of the rifle where detail was a little lacking.
Those who know me, know that I absolutely have to paint custom colours rather than keep them canon - after all, Gunpla is Freedom right? I like to mix things up and do 'What If' colour schemes. In this case, I chose to do a 'What if the Black Tri-Stars were still around as a group and sided with Mafty' colour scheme. I took inspiration from the Tri-Stars Dom and the Tri-Stars Zaku II in terms of colour placements and came up with this! I also applied the popular gradation technique to the colours. Gradation is where you 'simulate' shadows where the bottom of pieces are darker than the tops. However, this ultimately not very realistic so I just use it as an excuse to add some dynamism to my colours. The gradation is much more noticeable on the purple parts but rest assured that they are also there on the whites, blacks and pinks!
All in, I found this build to be very enjoyable and interesting, especially how the torso was assembled. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anyone!