Kit Review: HGBF 1/144 – Gundam 00 Shia Qan[T]
What if we put cat-ears on one of the most powerful Gundam of all time and put it in Build Fighters? Well, that’s what Bandai did for the HG Shia Qan[T]. Appearing in the Island War OVA of GBF Try, the Shia Qan[T] is the successor of the Gundam Portent. Unlike the Support-oriented Portent, the Shia Qan[T] is an all-out assault unit with high firepower. And the naming scheme is similar to Kamiki Burning (and that would definitely kick off a different “war” if you know what I mean lol)
+ Build quality: Most of the kit is identical to the original Qan[T] – which is a very solid kit overall. The only nitpicking I can make is that some of the green parts’ gate are humongous, which might makes it really hard to clean up the nubs, but there are very few parts like that so if you just be careful, it should be all good. The clear parts are also very nice, basically the similar to the Gundam Transient – Shia’s brother’s unit. One of the downside is the amount of stickers (not just the silver protector but there are some feet stickers that are really annoying, so I didn’t put them on)
+ Design & Proportions: Well, the Shia Qan[T] is probably the only kit with nekomimi. It’s fair since the Qan[T] is quite a sleek and feminine-looking suit if you remove the shield. The Shia also made the shoulder armor symmetrical but the arms are still asymmetrical. A bit of an odd choice but I guess Bandai wants to reuse parts as much as possible. The Shia also doesn’t use as much armor parts as the original Qan[T], like the back-knee armor and the right armguard. Overall, the Shia is very feminine and sleek-looking.
+ Articulation: As usual with Build kits, the articulation is on-par or lower, and in this case, it’s on par with the original. You can pretty much do a lot of poses with little to no obstruction since the skirt are very flexible (including the back one). One of the downside of Build kits is they don’t usually innovate the joints, that’s why you’re stuck with single-jointed arms for this kit. But overall, it’s still a very flexible unit.
+ Accessories: Well, it’s Qan[T], so you expect a shitton of swords right? Well not exactly. the Shia Qan[T]’s weapons are quite limited despite the absurd amount of clear parts. The only usable weapons are the sword and the shield blade – which the kit has two but only one arm can attach it (which seems a bit of a missed opportunity for me). I guess you can replace the left arm with another right arm and it would work but still. The shield is very nice to look at but it can be a bit fiddly. The kit comes with 2 holding hands and 1 spread-out hand. Accessory wise, this kit isn’t as good as the original counterpart for sure.
+ Gimmicks: Of course, the main gimmick of the Qan[T] will always lie in its shield. And to be honest, the Shia Qan[T]’s shield is mostly just cosmetic. The middle panel can open up and it looks really pretty with the clear parts but that’s about it. The 2 shield binders can be attached to the right arm but you can only use one of them so it looks a bit imbalance when you use it. The movement of the Shield is relatively free so you can swing it any way you like, including attaching it to the back GN Drive like the original kit but otherwise, that’s pretty much it. It doesn’t give you the option to use all of the attached parts like the original, which is a bit of a shame. But I guess the “concept” of the kit is entirely different from the Qan[T]
In conclusion, the Shia Qan[T] is a good HG with some a really unique head design (viva la nekomimi I guess). Very decent articulation. However, there’s not much playability with the kit when compared to the original, where as the point of Build kits are usually to add newer features that increase the value of the original. The Shia Qan[T] can be said to go in a different direction. Sorta like a revamp with a different concept. Overall, it’s still a good kit with a great design.
Gallery:
Gallery:
