HGAnno Domini

GN-1001N Seravee Gundam Scheherazade

A hulking artillery platform that hides two completely different silhouettes inside one box.

MechaGrade Score

3.8/5

Seravee Gundam Scheherazade · 1/144 · 2018

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2018

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I came away from this one impressed by how much shape-shifting Bandai packed into a standard HG price point.

The Ptolemaios Arms backpack is the real star, it rearranges into Djinn mode for a bulky, battleship-grade look or Efreet mode for a leaner, faster-looking silhouette, and both configurations feel deliberate rather than gimmicky. It is not the most refined engineering in the HG line, but it gives you two kits worth of display options for one kit's money.

Best for: Gundam Build Divers fans and anyone who wants a big-guns support mech with genuine transformation value in HG scale

The full review

What it is

This is Shahryar's custom build from Gundam Build Divers, an HG that takes the older Seravee Gundam frame and straps a huge modular arms rig to its back. The core kit is closer to a standard HG in complexity, snap it together, clip the runners, done. What sells the kit is the Ptolemaios Arms unit, four GN Container Beams and a GN Bazooka that rearrange around the torso and shoulders to flip between the bulky Djinn mode and the slimmer Efreet mode. Building both configurations back to back was genuinely fun, it felt like getting two different mechs to pose with instead of one static loadout.

The catch

The base Seravee frame underneath all that hardware is an older HG design, and it shows in the waist joint, which barely rotates and limits how far you can push a dynamic pose before the torso and hips start fighting each other. Efreet mode looks slicker but the legs feel less stable standing on their own once the extra weight of the arms unit is balanced on the back. Color separation relies on one sticker sheet for a lot of the detail work, so out of the box some panels read a little flat unless you're willing to hit them with paint or Gundam Markers.

Who it's for

If you like the Seravee Gundam or Build Divers as a series, or you just want an HG that does something structurally different from the usual single-mode kit, this earns its shelf space. The two-mode gimmick makes it a good pick for builders who want variety without stepping up to MG complexity or cost. Skip it if you want tight, high-articulation posing out of the box, the waist limitation will bug you in every full-body pose. It is also a poor first kit if snap-fit simplicity is what you're after, the extra runners for the arms unit add real assembly time.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

Assembly on the core body is straightforward HG fare, the extra time comes from the Ptolemaios Arms unit and its multiple small sub-assemblies that need to be built before you can pick a mode. Gate placement is typical for the line and cleanup is easy since scuffing barely shows on this plastic. The sticker sheet handles most of the fine color detail, so expect a flatter look out of the box unless you paint the panel accents yourself.

The mode-swap gimmick is where the design earns its keep, the same backpack parts reconfigure into a bulkier cannon-heavy Djinn mode or a slimmer, more mobile-looking Efreet mode without needing extra runners. Articulation on the core body is decent for an HG built on an older frame, shoulders and elbows hold poses fine, it is really only the waist that holds the kit back from feeling fully dynamic.

Lore & trivia

01The Seravee Gundam Scheherazade is Shahryar's personal Gunpla Battle machine in Gundam Build Divers, built around the older GN-008 Seravee Gundam frame from Mobile Suit Gundam 00.
02Its name references Scheherazade, the storyteller of One Thousand and One Nights, continuing the series' habit of naming custom builds after literary and mythological figures.
03The kit's Ptolemaios Arms backpack lets it dock with a support rig for firepower and thrust comparable to a battleship, echoing the Trailblazer/Ptolemaios lineage from the original 00 series.
04It can switch between Djinn mode and Efreet mode purely through rearranging the same backpack components, no extra parts required.