The Gyan was never a particularly well received suit in the Gundam fandom; most people seemed to dislike it for it’s douche pilot, while others had qualms with it’s design and color scheme.
Given all that, it’s surprising for a suit like this to receive a MG treatment at all. I’ve never personally been fond of its appearance in the original show, but the Gyan’s Master Grade design grew on me; I liked the French Knight motif that Bandai had attempted to go for.
I went ahead and grabbed the water slide sheet for this kit and just plastered it all on there. In retrospect that may not have been the best idea, since it now looks stupidly cluttered, but at the same time I’m too lazy to go back and scratch some off.
The design is fairly bulky, but nothing like a Dom. Plastic comes in a sort of silvery light blue and you get the dark blue areas. The armor plates are actually not baby blue. There’s only one piece of baby blue plastic, used for the cockpit hatch. You get full rotation and movement for the mono-eye; to move it you have to slip the top of the helm off first.
The big beam rapier saber can be stored inside the shield, though that giant thing is heavy enough as it is; add the hilt in there and it’s like a shackle to the Gyan’s arm. Fingers were also cut apart to allow for individual articulation.
The big yellow beam rapier is actually a really nice weapon, given how simple it is. Bandai must’ve realized that and added the LED effect in there as a bonus. You get two hilts with the kit; one with space for the battery and the lighting components and a basic one that’s all plastic. The beam lights up from the base, and doesn’t really distribute as evenly as it should, though it’s a small quirk; never really cared for the LED gimmick anyways. As usual with Gunpla kits, a battery isn’t included. Gonna have to grab that yourself.
Shoulder and wrist articulation is also advanced enough to allow for a wide range of poses with the beam saber; they can bend and turn in pretty much all directions. No fancy armor to restrict movement.
Gyan’s giant missile shield is stupidly heavy; given the weak legs and craptastic ankles it’s hard for it to keep its balance most of the time.
Missile effect parts are included along with a bunch of little mines that pop out of the shield in the show.
Generally the Gyan’s a pretty substantial kit; the only glaring problems being it’s cumbersome and inarticulate legs. The ankles can’t really bend whatsoever to allow it to maintain a wide ground stance. The arms, however, swing to the opposite extreme; the shoulders are especially articulate.
In the end, it really boils down to whether you like the design of the suit or not, or if you cared for it at all in the show. It doesn’t really compare to modern Master Grade kits, given it’s age, though the LED effect and bonuses that come with the shield make it a fair buy.
