Mobile Suit Ensemble EX 06A : GNT-0000/FS 00 Qan[T] Full Saber

The Mobile Suit Gundam 00 television series premiered in 2007 and for some reason Bandai have been busy celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2018. The occasion has been marked also in the release schedules of some of the smaller figure series. We've seen a fancy four-pack of Celestial Being mobile suits in Converge and a reissue of the Ptolemaios mobile suit carrier in the adorable little Cosmo Fleet series. Mobile Suit Ensemble also joins in on the fun with not one but two different special EX releases.

In this review we will take a look at the first of the two; the Qan[T] Full Saber, which is an evolution of the previously released Qan[T] figure from MS Ensemble volume 05. Available through the P-Bandai program the figure was initially sold for ¥2916 and released in late July. I picked up my figure for ¥3000 on the secondary market shortly thereafter.

The box is full of plastic bags with small pieces, many on tiny Gashapon style sprues. It all looks a bit confusing right out of the box.

As you can see there is a lot going on here, for what would normally be a ¥500 capsule figure. Luckily we get a very detailed instruction leaflet which is desperately needed to get this stuff done right.


Basic Figure

Before we start on the path of outrageous weaponry let's just begin by appreciating the overall look of the basic mobile suit figure itself. The 00 Qan[T] is one of the more attractive MS Ensemble figures with a very vivid appearance enhanced especially by the translucent cyan colour parts.

While the Ensemble figures are all snap-fit I do recommend a bit of glue underneath the transparent parts that go on the legs, since they can fall out of their sockets once you start messing with the leg articulation. And speaking of articulation you can get an idea of what the figure can do out of these pictures. While the figure has a number of joints the stubby arms and wings mean you can only go so far with bends and twists.


Mode 1 - Weapons stowed

Here's a look at the mobile suit with all its weapons in carry configuration. The backpack with its GN Drive is attached and connected to it are two large weapons that look very bulky on a compact figure such as this one. The Qan[T] does look a lot sleeker in its normal fullsize proportions.

Equipped on the left shoulder is the GN Shield which is similar to the shield on the regular Qan[T] figure (see below). On the right shoulder we instead have the very large GN Sword IV which also features three GN Gunblades attached to it. These three GN Blades look very much oversized on a figure this scale but you can always leave any of them out if they are too much of an eyesore.

Here we see the regular Qan[T] figure from volume 05 next to the Full Saber version. I'm not terribly familiar with this mobile suit so I couldn't really say if the varying sizes of the GN Shield is a matter of actual mobile suit design or if the GN Sword on the capsule version Qan[T] simply had to be shortened due to capsule size restrictions (which is of course the most probable reason).


Mode 2 - Big-A**e GN Sword IV (Full Saber Mode)

While you might be forgiven for thinking the entire bulk attached to the Qan[T]'s two shoulders are defensive contraptions he's got news for you. The right shoulder removes to form the bulky GN Sword IV in Full Saber Mode; a huge triangular sword comprised of the main blade and the three GN Gunblades (each a cross between guns and daggers if such a thing could be imagined).

Although bulky you can get a decent range of poses out of this cumbersome blade. Most of the time though it looks like the mobile suit will just cut its own arm off courtesy of those smaller blades that are all over the place. You'll probably want to remove the blade attached to the centerpiece while the two attached to the lower part of the sword give it a nice look.

The big unsightly hole in the hilt is a bit of a bummer, but this is what the Ensemble figures are all about, and you can always attach something even weirder to cover it up...


Mode 3 - Puny GN Gunblades

The three mentioned GN Gunblades of course come apart from the GN Sword IV and can each be wielded in either of the figure's two weapons holding hands. The Full Saber Qan[T] actually comes with a total of three pairs of hands, which is very generous for an Ensemble figure. Two open expressive hands, two weapons holding hands and two clenched fists.

There's not a whole lot to say about the GN Gunblades. With all the stuff going on on this busy design you can hardly even spot them when equipped. Also the compact shape of the figure does them no extra favours; the handles are huge and the blades themselves look so tiny. On to the next...


Mode 4 - GN Sword IV (Saber Mode)

The terminology surrounding all the different weapon variations on the Qan[T] borders on what I am prepared to take in, but as I understand it this is the "basic" Saber Mode of the GN Sword IV. Basically you leave the hilt section with its attached Gunblades on the shoulder and remove the centerline blade to form a nice and clean looking saber.

This sword is a bit more elegant looking than the Full Saber variation and gives the figure a more clean appearance. Here you see it battle the regular Qan[T] which has equipped the GN Sword V, why the basic Qan[T] has a later generation sword I'll never know...


Mode 5 - Swiss Army Knife

Although not showcased on the box or mentioned in the build instructions, the Qant[T] Full Saber also comes with its own GN Sword V. The sword features a blue hilt instead of dark gray as on the regular Qan[T] figure. Here I have equipped it in the figure's right hand while the Full Saber GN Sword IV sits attached to the shoulder above it. However, the weird stuff is now taking place on the left hand side.

Ah yes, the left hand now equips what I believe is an alternate version of that same GN Sword V. We've taken the fancy green parts from the GN Shield and instead attached them to a slightly different version of the GN Sword V to form this bizarre yet awesome piece of gear that I think is the GN Sword V + GN Bits Buster Sword configuration... Just give me a heat saber and a machine gun already... :)

The Qan[T] Full Saber is a rare mobile suit choice and I can only think of one other appearance that it has made in figure form; the rather spectacular Gundam Converge CORE 005 release from January 2016. That figure comes armed with the GN Sword V while storing the GN Sword IV and GN Shield on its shoulders.

While the MS Ensemble figure is rather pretty to look at the Converge figure has got it beat with fancier colour applications (save for the translucent bits on the legs) as well as unit markings (however non-canon they might be, as CORE figures often tend to be).

Overall I really do enjoy the MS Ensemble version of the Qan[T] Full Saber and I think it is a nice purchase for your MS Ensemble collection. While at 3000 yen it is a bit pricey it is nowhere near as bad as some of the other Ensemble EX figures so this is a good place to start if you want something fancy and freely customizable as a centerpiece in your Ensemble collection.