Last month I claimed that the Wing Zero would look better with a melee weapon than with a rifle. I finally got around to testing my theory out. Let’s see how it went.
The Weapon
I don’t have that many loose/spare melee weapons, and of the ones I have, most of them are Zaku Heat Hawks. Those are a bit too small for what I had in mind, which left me with only one option - the Lance that came with the Iron Blooded Orphans accessory set I bought years ago. There was just one little problem - the lance was the very first thing I ever tried to hand paint, and it looks like …. well, it looks like this:
Yuck! I tried sanding off all this old, crusty paint, but that was easier said than done. Certain nooks and crannies were just too hard to get into - I could get the old paint off, but sanding it down complete smoothness was out of the question. I did the best I could, then applied a basic layer black (and a tiny bit of gold, for style).
Next, I added an extra handle to the lance. The one that it comes with is too narrow to fit in the Wing Zero’s holding hands; without another handle, this project simply wasn’t going to work. I went through my spare parts and found one that a) fit in the model’s hand, and b) could be attached to the lance. I wouldn’t go so far as to call this kitbashing, but perhaps I was inspired by the concept.
With the lance upgraded and recolored, it was time to put it to the test:
Here it is in a simple standing pose. I will admit that the placement of the new handle isn’t ideal. It forces Wing Zero to hold the weapon like a gun, which isn’t quite right. However, if you use your imagination, and picture it using a different style of grip, then I think this kind of weapon absolutely looks appropriate on this particular mobile suit. The lance is angular and pointy, and so is the Wing Zero itself!
Let’s try some attack poses:
This is when I was reminded of how difficult it is to indicate thrusting attacks via pose. You have to position the model in such a way that suggests it is putting its full body into the attack, which I clearly did not do here. I could have sworn that I rotated the torso more than I did here …
Here is a very simple flying pose:
While it may be simple, I like it. It looks like the Wing Zero is screaming forward at top speed - all it needs to do to attack is lift that lance up just a little bit. If it instead carried its rifle, such an attack wouldn’t feel quite as natural.
This next one would have looked better with the gun:
Finally, I switched it up and had Wing Zero hold the lance using the original grip. It only works if you can nestle the lance itself in between its armpit:
That actually looks really good. Or at least it looks like it would be good if the lance was a better fit.
Conclusion
After putting my theory to the test, my mind remains unchanged. I now know that the Wing Zero looks good with a melee weapon. It just needs one that is custom tailored for its body type. Melee weapons fit well with its sense of speed, and arguably fits well with the mobile suit’s ornate, armored look.