Kit Review: MG 00 Qan[t]

 

About:

I had a bit of down time between painting sessions on the Ground Gundam commission, so I decided that now might be a good time to start working on a kit in my backlog! I incorporated some subtle mods to enhance the form and function of this kit. My goal with the Qant is to eventually give it the same clean paint & decal scheme that I used on the MG Exia submitted to GBWC. I'm also planning on using the BTF GN Sword IV 'Full Saber' kit to mod the kit a bit further. 

 

 

Background:

The Qan[t] is the final suit built for Setsuna F Seiei by Celestial Being in the movie A Wakening of the Trailblazer. Similar to the Exia and 00 in role, the Qan[t] is a melee bruiser. It's equipped with the new GN Sword V, GN Sword bits and GN Shield. Also similar to the 00 Raiser the Qan[t] is capable of feats of quantum teleportation and has tremendous amounts of energy output. 

The MG Qan[t] was released in November 2010.  

Out of the box:

I got ahead of myself and didn't take photos of the runners before I started building the kit. After this model,  I will take photographs of everything as it comes out of the box. For the benefit of this review I will use the photos of runner provided by Dalong .

I get pretty giddy whenever I see two large runners of clear parts. 
 

As you can tell from the photos of the runners, this kit has a lot of blue, and only a few hints of red and yellow. 

Once you start building the Qan[t] you'll quickly realize that this kit has a lot of parts compared to most other simple MGs. 

 

   

Appearance: 

The MG Qan[t] is a great looking model out of the box. The proportions are excellent, and it has one of the most unique and interesting head and torsos I've seen.  

The head of this kit is another well designed part. It features layers of clear, clear green, white, grey and blue parts with create a lot of depth and interest. The four pointed V fin is also a nice design.

Multiple hatches can open to reveal the cockpit.

These arms should look familiar if you have build either version of the 00 before. The GN condensers are also capable of sliding part way out of the slots to recreate the final burst from the end of the movie.

The legs are also nearly identical to the 00, and feature the same GN condenser features as the arms. 

The shield is definitely the highlight of this kit. the multiple colors, angular design of the blades and articulation are fantastic. 

Under the main blue part of the shield is a GN Drive which can swivel.

This is the shield in it's standard closed form.

The GN blades can also splay out, which creates a much more interesting design.

The GN Sword 5 is less exciting than the GN Sword 1 or 3 from the Exia or 00 Raiser respectively. But it can combine with the six GN Blades to form one of the largest swords in all of Gunpla! 

The GN Sword 5 in it's normal mode is surprisingly long, and the upper hand guard can plug into the upper fore arm. 
 

This is the rifle mode. The blade rotates 90 degrees and the handle shifts down.

The Qant has 6 GN blades in 3 different varieties. The largest and smallest variety can be combined into 1 larger blade. 

The backpack is fairly simple. It slides over the back of the GN drive.

Articulation:

As  you pull the shoulder forward and back the chest opens up to improve the range of motion. 

 

The Qan[t] can kneel without a problem.

The Qan[t] has two main points of articulation in the leg, one above and one below the 'knee'. There are also multiple points of articulation in the lower leg and foot.

The torso can rotate the upper torso independently from the lower, so you can straighten the upper body even if the hips are lopsided.

The arm bends before and after the elbow, the wrist and hands also have a very wide range of motion.

The hips are capable of rotating down and forward. Some other reviewers mentioned that the side skirts on this kit tended to pop off. I really haven't experienced this issue, the only time one came off was when I over extended the legs.

Here's another example of the chest articulation.

The usefulness of this pose is debatable, but it's great to see how far you can bend the legs of this kit.

The leg is just as flexible with the armor on or off.

 

Poses:

I'll be the first to admit posing kits is not my strong suit. This should give you an idea of the range of motion you can achieve with this kit.

The Qan[t] is a very capable ground poser, however it looks much better whooshing around on an action base.

Here's the Qan[t] wielding each type of GN blade.

It's not easy to get the whole sword into the picture. Once all the GN blades are attached the sword becomes too heavy to pose in most positions.

This is the 'blaster' position. You rotate the blade 90 degrees and open the tip up.

 

 

Build:

In my opinion the line of master grade 00 kits are some of the finest kits available. Since the original release of the MG Exia in July of 2009 I have built the MG Exia (twice one standard and one ignition mode), GNX, 00 Raiser (I intend to build this one again) and now the Qan[t]. In general these kits feature a superbly designed, layered system of frame and armor. Each section of the kits requires far more parts than you would believe necessary.

This layering isn't just there to bulk up the part count either! Bandai intelligently used circular joints in the chest, arms and legs to provide wide ranges of articulation. Double and triple articulated joints in the shoulders that pulls part of the chest sections out. And layers different colored parts to add detail on the head, legs and arms. 

The Qan[t] isn't as large as the MG Unicorn or Sinanju, but the number of parts 'feels' very similar. This is probably due to the abundance of small parts used in the articulation points of the kit. 

The inclusion of the smaller action base in this kit is also a nice touch. It's very unlikely the Qan[t] could manage the weight of the fully decked out GN Sword V.

You may encounter trouble with some of the GN condenser details in the arms and legs. the final caps used to sandwich decals between the sets of green plastic can be hard to assemble. They only go in one way, take some convincing to sit nicely and they will sometimes fall out. 

 

 

 

Mod-ability:

I followed some of the modding suggestions from an old copy of Hobby Japan I had. For example I sharpened the head and chest fins. And I also adjusted the height of the v fin. With the modification the fin sits slightly lower and gives the face a much more aggressive look. Additionally I ordered a second blue forearm armor section from Gentei Kits to help balance out the asymmetrical design. 

It wouldn't be difficult to further mod this kit with new shoulder armor, a second rack of GN Sword bits, or maybe every two GN Sword IV Full Saber Packs. The Qan[t] also shares many parts with the MG 00 Raiser/7 Sword/G, it wouldn't be difficult to bash these kits together to create a unique amalgamation! It's worth mentioning that this kit can use the LEDs that were originally sold with the Exia Ignition Mode! You can now purchase the LEDs separately to enhance the look of your kit! The Qan[t] can use up to two of them to light the chest and GN Drive. It's also worth nothing that you can still buy the waterslide decals for this kit! Although this seems trivial; the availability of waterslide decals greatly influences my decision to purchase a kit. 
Many other reviewers mentioned that two of the connection points for the GN blades on the GN shield are very tight, and tend to break when you add or remove the blades. I used my nippers to cut the top connection down very slightly. The blades still stay is place, but now they're much easier to remove.

Overall: 8.5 out of 10

Pros:

It looks great out of the box.

The number of panel lining on this kit is just right.

The abundance of clear green parts really make this kit stand out on your shelf. 

It has a wide variety of weapons and equipment that are fun to pose the kit with.

Poses well on the ground, and even better on an action base.

This is a long build, you're definitely getting a lot of 'bang for your buck'. 

If you choose not to use the small action based provided with the kit for your Qan[t] you can use with with a standard HG model. I use mine with the HG Sinanju or RG Strike.

 

Cons:

The GN shield is heavy, and it will pull the entire torso to that side. I'm still looking for a way to strengthen that joint to keep the body straight. 

The Full GN sword is too heavy for the kit to wield on its own. While the stand Bandai provided solves the problem I would have preferred a clear, or clear green stand instead of a black one.

 

Things to watch out for: 

Neither pros nor cons, these are just the things I encountered when I built mine.

The clear green parts used throughout this kit are made from a very hard but brittle type of plastic. You need to exercise care then removing them from the part trees to avoid cracking. 

This kit has a lot of articulation points, if you're like me and not very good at posing kits, this complexity can be frustrating.

During final assembly a tiny touch of extra thin cement along the edge of some of the more difficult clear green GN condensers will keep them secured.

You can still get waterslide decals for it! 

Conclusion:

 
The Qan[t] is a fantastic build. There are a few hang ups about: the design of the GN condensers in the limbs, weight issues from the GN Sword & shield. However the 00 Qan[t] still receives a solid 'definitely buy' recommendation from me!