For me, the design of Jesta is one step away from the other MSs in Gundam Unicorn so far, as it seems to be the predecessor of FD-03 Gustav Karl, which debuted in Hathaway's Flash, the sequel (not quite so) to Char's Counterattack featuring Penelope Gundam as the protagonist Gundam. The head, abdomen (not sure if that's the cockpit hatch) and the bulky legs are the obvious connections, but notice that the left shoulder armor is significantly smaller than that on the right, so I believe there's a shield being designed to be mounted on it.
The shoulder shield is probably the most special feature of Gustav Karl - a GM-equivalence but with Zaku II-styled shoulder shield.
Too bad the picture is being cut off right at the most important part. ^^;
FD-03 Gustav Karl.
Images above are from Toysdaily.
Original version (left) and SD Gundam G Generation version.
Images from Mahq.net.
Personally, I find the design of Gustav Karl itself to be quite interesting. The overall design shows that it's the successor to GM, although the relationship seems somewhat loose as it also has elements of design from Geara Doga (the shoulder shield) and even Dijeh (chest vents and size). In Katoki's redesigned Jesta, we can see how the final version is derived from Jegan as well (smaller overall size and the trademark grenades mounted on the left hip armor).
What do you think about Jesta's design, especially when compared to Speculum Raigo Gundam posted this morning, which is also a 'new' MS design in the Gundam universe? ^^;
