Gunpla Review: HGBF 1/144 Gundam Portent

Shia Kijima's personal Gunpla is known for its great agility, but because it is also minimally-armed, the kind of overwhelming force we see in the 00-Raiser or in the Crossbones Full Cloth X-1 is not one of the G-Portent's concepts. Instead it goes for a more subtle approach, making finesse this Gundam's central concept: the G-Portent is so well built, and Shia pilots it so well, that she can use its particle transformation fields to allow her to kick off of or touch missiles without detonating them, and even beams without sustaining any damage. And yet she takes a support role, as seen through the use of the repair carrels in the tail unit.

Unfortunately as an HG kit in such a small scale, the carrels cannot be included in the kit. Fortunately the G-Portent still has enough going for it without them, and there is always the power of imagination. I knew from reviews that this would be a different experience, but I underestimated how much of a different experience. My first clue of this reality after opening the box was seeing how much fewer parts the kit has -- in particular the polycaps, not all of which get used putting the G-Portent together.

Most of the build was easy and straightforward, due to the engineering that makes it so that nearly all of the polycaps get firmly seated within the other parts. This helps to avoid the situation I had with the Star Build Strike in always having to sandwich the polycaps between two pieces before I could press them together, and never knowing if they would slip out. With the G-Portent the polycaps were always well-placed, and easy to put in.

Unfortunately some of the gate placement was awkward, and even with my new baby nippers, I found myself clipping a piece twice. Fortunately it seems not to have mattered all that much I don't know how I would have fared with the side clippers I had been using before. Sticker placement was another challenge, in particular the eyes, due to their size and their not being attached to each other. This time you have to attach them to separate projections on an incredibly small piece that fits inside the front of the G-Portent's head. Sometimes my placement of the silver stickers that go under the green domes was also a bit off, but with the domes on it hardly matters. Ironically the large, white stickers for the GN Pierce Sword presented the next challenge, because they have to be placed exactly so or they will be off. One side is slightly off as a consequence, but I do not want to mess with it further.

As for weapons, while I appreciate the two long and two short beam saber blades, in most cases the GN Smash Rifle and GN Pierce Sword will not be going anywhere, owing mostly to the closed handle design, which forces you to remove the hand guards in order to equip or unequip the G-Portent with them. I want to do this as little as possible, so the Portent is stuck with them, at least for awhile. I would greatly appreciate it if Bandai included some way to store even a Gunpla's main weapons on itself.

The G-Portent also comes with three extra hands, two closed fists and the usual open palm. I have no idea why Bandai would include closed fist, when a more appropriate gesture would be the one Shia uses when she bounces off a beam or missile. This makes the open palm more appropriate to the G-Portent, assuming it loses a weapon in battle.

One of the accessories I appreciate the most is the clear green stand with which the G-Portent comes. It's not quite an Action Base, but it is more flexible than the stands that the Star Build and 00 come with, since you can lock the head into three positions. And I can tell you right now that the 00-Raiser looks the best when it's in a flight pose!

Appearance wise, I am very pleased with the G-Portent: the domes came in coloured green plastic this time, and the silver stickers Bandai includes really make them seem to glow. I like the smaller GN Drive, and the softer pastel colours, and green has always been my favourite of all the colours. I quickly noticed the elements Shia had borrowed from the Exia in the G-Portent's design: the collar, chest, and the pieces between the chest and the arms are pure Exia. I'd been wondering which Exia-related kit I'd end up getting, and now I know. I am also greatly appreciative of the fact that the G-Portent has an overall feminine quality to it without resorting to strange tricks like putting a sailor girl uniform on a Gundam, or using hair. It's not just the hourglass hips or the softer colours that do this either: the G-Portent is slightly smaller and shorter than the other Gundam. Yet it is still an extremely powerful unit.

I do have some problems with the shoulder joint popping out when I want to raise the sword beyond a certain height, and the V-fin is only secured to the head by a single deep peg, which means that while it won't pop off the way the 00's V-fin did, it does keep rotating. I may end up using some glue to secure it fully. I also worried about the yellow hip pieces, since they fell off a lot when I was working on the waist. But that seems not to be an issue with the Gundam fully assembled.

Overall I enjoyed building this kit a great deal, and the G-Portent looks great, on its own, or together with its two new friends. Its ease and shorter build time means that this is a better kit to start with than the Star Build Strike, but those who want a more fully-armed Gunpla may be left unsatisfied by the lack of alternative arms, but remember that the G-Portent doesn't necessarily need as many weapons as the 00 to kick flank. Remember, too, that your building experience may vary. I do still believe it was a good experience for my third kit, with an approximate build time of 4 and a half hours.

I give the G-Portent an 8.5 out of 10.