It's been a while since I got a Real Grade, the last one being the Wing Zero. To scratch my toy itch, I impulse bought myself this kit. Looking back, maybe I should have bought the Graze Eins that was out instead of this. Anyway, past is past so after a week of slowly building the kit, here's a quick look at the what is probably my most negative review of a Gunpla kit ever.
I said in the my last review, The Flag suits have always been my favorite from the 00 universe. The Gundams on the other hand, were pretty average, especially the second season. It's a bit...plain... generic even. The most unique aspect of all these suits are the clear GN condensers littered around the body while the most interesting design comes from the MSV of 00. Anyway focusing back into the 00 Qan-T (which came from the movie) ...
The asymmety is mostly limited to the arms. The left side features a stubby 00 Gundam-like shoulder armor, with the second GN drive and binder hanging to the side, and the right featuring a gauntlet and an Exia-like shoulder armor. Unlike the HG however, some of the proportions are tweaked.
The thighs are a bit wider, same with the chest. The neck a tiny bit shorter. The portion where the chest meets the abdomen is a bit too thin for my liking... but it's part of the design. The lineart has the chest a bit thinner and the stomach a bit more substantial.
Color-wise, it's pretty standard: red, white and blue in all the expected location. It has more blue in the knees, but other than that, does not really deviate from the traditional colors. there are 2 shades of white, but not as obvious as the older RG (Wing Zero is the same) I actually prefer the original colors where there was no red at all. Makes it feel more special somehow...
Now, If you have any real grades, you'll notice one thing about this RG. The surface details are lacking. If you have the Justice, Rx-78, Zakus, you'd know that these kits are riddled with surface details. The 00 Qan-T has very little compared to the mentioned kits. And if you've seen the upcoming RG Sinanju, you'll see that this seems to be the trend. Kinda detracts a bit from the original RG concept.
What I do like are the clear parts. Unlike the MG, where the clear green is darker and the stickers underneath are flat dark green, this RG uses metallic foil stickers. That plus a lighter green makes the condenser pop. If you're wondering why the left hand condenser looks flatter, it's because I lost the clear part.
Interestingly enough, there are more surface details at the back vs at the front.
Overall, the RG Qan-T is a bit average. It doesn't really overwhelm you with detail like the 1st Real Grades. It's made worse because I'm not a huge fan of the design to begin with (I should have bought the Exia). It does have a unique trait in that the arms does not use the pre-assembled frame. This results in a much tighter elbow construction. Also there are parts where they are undergated... which is weird as they actually result in larger nubmarks simply because of the size of the gates. I've not seen a Real Grade with consistently small gates. There will always be a huge one in parts where the color does not hide it well.
Starting with the shoulder binder. It connects via a multitude of joints. The base which connects to the backpack slightly swivels. The base connects to the arm via several swivels, all the way to the blue base. The top arm though does not bend vertically, which is fine as the weight of the binder will probably make it droop.
The blue binder opens, and blue base which contains the GN drive can swivel up and down and the GN condenser itself can rotate around the blue base. Which means you can pose the drive in many different position and thus getting out of the way when you pose the kit.
The articulation for the head is a bit limited though... mainly because of the collar, a shorter neck and the flap at the back of the helmet.
Considering it's a space suit, looking up and down is extremely limited. The double jointed neck moves too little so for the most part, it's just a ball joint.
The front fin also tends to clash with the v-fin... makes it look awkward when you want the kit to look to the side. And the head is wobbly and pops out very easily.
Onto more positive things, the torso is superbly articulated, as the chest can swivel around the GN drive torso. The chest can also swivel up slightly independent of the main chest swivel.
The waist is not a balljoint, but is limited to just a swivel. not sure if the Exia or 00 has the same articulation.
The Ab Joint though is a bit limited. It can crunch down a bit but does not go back. Considering the weight of the binder, it's understandable to have the crunch a bit limited.
I mentioned the chest, it can also move front and back a little and the main shoulder can move forward.
The arms are very good. It does not use the RG frame for it, so it lacks the rubbery/buttery feel of it as the elbows are stiff. The wrist are specially tight. The shoulder armor can flip up to get out of the way. When adding the stickers for the elbow, make sure it sticks flush, cause the left elbow on mine is peeling away.
Lower articulation is pretty good... but a bit loose. Mine cannot stand in a wide angle pose without it doing the splits due to the weak hip articulation.
The front cod piece connects via a single balljoint, the rear has a ball joint and a swivel at the base.
The sideskirts slide to the back to give way for the hips. Also, it's the 1st RG I have where there is no mechanism to move the hips forward and back. You don't really need it as it does not have front skirt armor.
The knee has double joints. I like how the tiny white bit extends. Do make sure to move the back blue armor up to get the full bend.
It has thigh swivels and the toes and feet can bend down. The front bit of the ankle armor can flip up.
The ankles are very good. The lack of ankle armor means it's virtually unrestricted. The base is a balljoint and is connected to a swivel.
The cockpit can open... but it's fiddle and tight so not going to bother. Also you can remove the GN drive from the back, but again, mine's also tight. Overall articulation is pretty good, but the weak hips and limited head means you cannot really put it in decent poses. It's all there, but you can't make it look where it's suppose to which is annoying. The hip issue on mine is expounded when you start adding the weapons.
Speaking of...
It comes with extra hands. A holding things hands, closed fists, the standard RG articulated hands, and an open palm.
One of it's primary weapons are the sword bits, which comes in different lengths.
These sword bits all have handles so it can wield them. I like the one that looks like a knife.
To start assembling binder with the bits, you'll need to connect the shortest and the longest bit together staring with the handle of the short sword bit.
And clipping the small green nub to the blue square hole.
Flip down the connectors on the shield binder. Move the white side bits down to open up the connectors stored in the main binder.
The medium sword bit connects to the side white bits while the long+short sword connects to the main binder.
I find it easier to remove the shield binder 1st, as the connectors are very recessed into it's storage.
It's other primary weapon is the GN Sword V. The main blade can swivel to it's gun mode... which always looks stupid. The blue hilt guards can swivel and the handle can also swivel.
You're given a dedicated holding hand. Note that there's a peg in the hand, so you can't really weild the sword with the articulated hand reliably. Also you're given a tiny connector to store it on the side skirt. I don't like the sword design because of the large grey "gun" part.
You're also given an action base connector which slides to the rear.
Once all is connected, you get the full 00 Qan-T experience: Side heavy and cannot look up.
If there's one accessory I wish it had is some form of base to display the sword bits.
Now the main sword can combine with the bits to form the gigantic buster sword...
or the gigantic flat gun.
Both form too heavy too wield and pose, which is why I only have 2 pics. You're given a small display stand to help prop it up... but is rendered useless if you place the kit in a stand as it's too short. Still it's a nice gesture as the ball jointed wrist is too weak to hold it in decent poses.
Overall, the weapons are plentiful and has the gimmicks the Master Grade has. You do not need extra parts to connect the bits to the sword. If there's one thing missing, it's the lack of display option for the bits flying around. Also, the lack of the head articulation means that you can't really put it in a pose that looks dynamic.
A more apt comparison is with the Seed suit. Here's a comparison between it and the RG Freedom. Height-wise they're the same.
Detail-wise, you can see the difference. The thighs alone has less surface detail despite the RG having more exposed grey bits.
Notice in the Freedom, the tiny details around the shoulder armor, the more detailed skirt armor, the tiny bumps in the chest and torso, a bit more panel lines. It's an explosion of details... which I wish the 00 Qan-T had.
Good:
- Involved build process.
- Smooth fluid joints for the most part.
- Excellent parts separation.
- Nice clear parts. It's translucent enough to reflect the foil stickers beneath.
Bad:
- Head articulation limited. Head also likes to pop-off.
- Loose hips
- No sword bit display option
- Surface detail is a bit lacking
 |
| He promises to update this pic... once he get's it into a decent pose |
I said in the my last review, The Flag suits have always been my favorite from the 00 universe. The Gundams on the other hand, were pretty average, especially the second season. It's a bit...plain... generic even. The most unique aspect of all these suits are the clear GN condensers littered around the body while the most interesting design comes from the MSV of 00. Anyway focusing back into the 00 Qan-T (which came from the movie) ...
Aesthetics
The 00 Qan-T is a mish-mash of some of the features of the Exia and the 00 Gundam, though mostly the Exia. The suit is sleek and slender, consisting of clean solid lines. Appropriate for a melee based suit. I personally don't like the suit for some reason. It looks... generic despite the asymmetric design.
The asymmety is mostly limited to the arms. The left side features a stubby 00 Gundam-like shoulder armor, with the second GN drive and binder hanging to the side, and the right featuring a gauntlet and an Exia-like shoulder armor. Unlike the HG however, some of the proportions are tweaked.
The thighs are a bit wider, same with the chest. The neck a tiny bit shorter. The portion where the chest meets the abdomen is a bit too thin for my liking... but it's part of the design. The lineart has the chest a bit thinner and the stomach a bit more substantial.
Color-wise, it's pretty standard: red, white and blue in all the expected location. It has more blue in the knees, but other than that, does not really deviate from the traditional colors. there are 2 shades of white, but not as obvious as the older RG (Wing Zero is the same) I actually prefer the original colors where there was no red at all. Makes it feel more special somehow...
What I do like are the clear parts. Unlike the MG, where the clear green is darker and the stickers underneath are flat dark green, this RG uses metallic foil stickers. That plus a lighter green makes the condenser pop. If you're wondering why the left hand condenser looks flatter, it's because I lost the clear part.
Interestingly enough, there are more surface details at the back vs at the front.
Overall, the RG Qan-T is a bit average. It doesn't really overwhelm you with detail like the 1st Real Grades. It's made worse because I'm not a huge fan of the design to begin with (I should have bought the Exia). It does have a unique trait in that the arms does not use the pre-assembled frame. This results in a much tighter elbow construction. Also there are parts where they are undergated... which is weird as they actually result in larger nubmarks simply because of the size of the gates. I've not seen a Real Grade with consistently small gates. There will always be a huge one in parts where the color does not hide it well.
Articulation
Real Grades are known for being superbly articulated and incredibly fiddly. Quick summary: this is not as fiddly, but some parts are compromised.Starting with the shoulder binder. It connects via a multitude of joints. The base which connects to the backpack slightly swivels. The base connects to the arm via several swivels, all the way to the blue base. The top arm though does not bend vertically, which is fine as the weight of the binder will probably make it droop.
The blue binder opens, and blue base which contains the GN drive can swivel up and down and the GN condenser itself can rotate around the blue base. Which means you can pose the drive in many different position and thus getting out of the way when you pose the kit.
The articulation for the head is a bit limited though... mainly because of the collar, a shorter neck and the flap at the back of the helmet.
Considering it's a space suit, looking up and down is extremely limited. The double jointed neck moves too little so for the most part, it's just a ball joint.
Onto more positive things, the torso is superbly articulated, as the chest can swivel around the GN drive torso. The chest can also swivel up slightly independent of the main chest swivel.
The waist is not a balljoint, but is limited to just a swivel. not sure if the Exia or 00 has the same articulation.
The Ab Joint though is a bit limited. It can crunch down a bit but does not go back. Considering the weight of the binder, it's understandable to have the crunch a bit limited.
Lower articulation is pretty good... but a bit loose. Mine cannot stand in a wide angle pose without it doing the splits due to the weak hip articulation.
The sideskirts slide to the back to give way for the hips. Also, it's the 1st RG I have where there is no mechanism to move the hips forward and back. You don't really need it as it does not have front skirt armor.
The knee has double joints. I like how the tiny white bit extends. Do make sure to move the back blue armor up to get the full bend.
The ankles are very good. The lack of ankle armor means it's virtually unrestricted. The base is a balljoint and is connected to a swivel.
The cockpit can open... but it's fiddle and tight so not going to bother. Also you can remove the GN drive from the back, but again, mine's also tight. Overall articulation is pretty good, but the weak hips and limited head means you cannot really put it in decent poses. It's all there, but you can't make it look where it's suppose to which is annoying. The hip issue on mine is expounded when you start adding the weapons.
Speaking of...
Weapons and Extras
It comes with extra hands. A holding things hands, closed fists, the standard RG articulated hands, and an open palm.
One of it's primary weapons are the sword bits, which comes in different lengths.
These sword bits all have handles so it can wield them. I like the one that looks like a knife.
To start assembling binder with the bits, you'll need to connect the shortest and the longest bit together staring with the handle of the short sword bit.
The medium sword bit connects to the side white bits while the long+short sword connects to the main binder.
I find it easier to remove the shield binder 1st, as the connectors are very recessed into it's storage.
It's other primary weapon is the GN Sword V. The main blade can swivel to it's gun mode... which always looks stupid. The blue hilt guards can swivel and the handle can also swivel.
You're given a dedicated holding hand. Note that there's a peg in the hand, so you can't really weild the sword with the articulated hand reliably. Also you're given a tiny connector to store it on the side skirt. I don't like the sword design because of the large grey "gun" part.
You're also given an action base connector which slides to the rear.
Now the main sword can combine with the bits to form the gigantic buster sword...
or the gigantic flat gun.
Both form too heavy too wield and pose, which is why I only have 2 pics. You're given a small display stand to help prop it up... but is rendered useless if you place the kit in a stand as it's too short. Still it's a nice gesture as the ball jointed wrist is too weak to hold it in decent poses.
Overall, the weapons are plentiful and has the gimmicks the Master Grade has. You do not need extra parts to connect the bits to the sword. If there's one thing missing, it's the lack of display option for the bits flying around. Also, the lack of the head articulation means that you can't really put it in a pose that looks dynamic.
Size Comparison and Other Comparison
It's pretty average for a suit. Compared here with the RX-78, you can see the difference between the sleek 00 Qan-T and the block RX-78.
Detail-wise, you can see the difference. The thighs alone has less surface detail despite the RG having more exposed grey bits.
Summary
I have mixed feelings about this kit. On one hand, it has all the build involvement a Real Grade has: Tiny intricate parts, excellent parts separation, and a complicated build process. It has the gimmicks of the bigger MG, which is always impressive in such a small scale. On the other hand, once completed, the resulting kit is not as detailed as I expected. It looks sleek yes, but it lacks the wow factor of even the 1st RG RX-78. The limited head articulation means you can't quite put it in dynamic poses as it can't emote due to it always looking straight or down. Not very good for sword wielding/melee suits. A lot of people are fans of the suit so they'll probably get this. I personally would rather buy the Exia instead, since I like the aesthetics on the suit better, despite the kit also being not as detailed as the older Real Grades (and the chrome blades). I hope the RG Sinanju will end up a better aesthetic experience that this one... but will now lower my expectations.Good:
- Involved build process.
- Smooth fluid joints for the most part.
- Excellent parts separation.
- Nice clear parts. It's translucent enough to reflect the foil stickers beneath.
Bad:
- Head articulation limited. Head also likes to pop-off.
- Loose hips
- No sword bit display option
- Surface detail is a bit lacking
The Flags are okay but the 00 series Gundams are some of the best in the series, especially the Season 2 versions.
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