Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Upper body close-up

Head

Back section.

1/100 Gundam Exia (Trans-Am Mode) - Arms and weapons (1/3)

Arms and weapons

Legs.

Unarmed body

1/100 Gundam Exia (Trans-Am Mode) - The GN Drive glow parts all over the body are done with holographic seals, making it look

The GN Drive glow parts all over the body are done with holographic seals, making it look incredibly flashy.

Weapons..

Kneeling action pose

1/100 Gundam Exia (Trans-Am Mode) - Beam dagger/saber action (1/3)

Beam dagger/saber action

A scene from the show.. Trans-Am Mode activated!

Dual blade action

1/100 Gundam Exia (Trans-Am Mode) - Shooting action (1/4)

1/100 Gundam Exia (Trans-Am Mode) - Shooting action (2/4)

Shooting action

1/100 Gundam Exia (Trans-Am Mode) - GN Sword action (1/4)

1/100 Gundam Exia (Trans-Am Mode) - GN Sword action (2/4)

GN Sword action

GN Blade action

Together with the normal Exia.

The colors are so completely different it feels like a totally different kit..

1/100 Gundam Exia (Trans-Am Mode) - Together with the Trans-Am Mode Exia included in the HG GN Arms kit. The HG Exia Trans-Am

Together with the Trans-Am Mode Exia included in the HG GN Arms kit.
The HG Exia Trans-Am Mode was basically just a kit where only the GN Drive condenser parts(?) were swapped out with red seals.

1/100 Gundam Exia (Trans-Am Mode) - Out of the 10 1/100 00 kits released so far, 5 of them are Exia variations. Aren't they m

Out of the 10 1/100 00 kits released so far, 5 of them are Exia variations.
Aren't they milking it a bit hard right from the start..

Watching the show, when Exia gets cornered and activates Trans-Am Mode, I had two thoughts.

1. There they go again using that whole "red ones go three times faster!" image~~
2. Isn't this a bit too lazy a concept for a variation kit, Bandai..

Trans-Am Mode is when the 00 Gundams are pushed to their limits and all the GN Drive-related parts across their bodies glow red-hot, causing a sudden massive spike in output. I figured a variation kit would come out one way or another, but since the changes are pretty minimal, it would've been a bit embarrassing to just release it as a straight cash-grab kit... Maybe that's why in the HG line, they bundled the Trans-Am Mode Exia as an extra included with the HG GN Arms kit.

In the end, the Trans-Am Mode Exia did get released in 1/100, and somewhat surprisingly, it came out as a plated kit in the Extra Finish style. On top of that, the entire body is completely changed to a pinkish color scheme, kind of like Strike Rouge. Honestly, if you look closely at the show, it doesn't really feel like the whole body turns that intensely red... but I guess since it's a kit, and they were going for a distinctive look with the plated finish, they probably went a bit overboard with the redness.

Anyway, regardless of how it came about or its origins, the kit itself turned out really gorgeous. The intense, striking coated colors — pinks, purples, reds — give it this really dazzling, lustrous look. The coating quality isn't drastically different from your typical Extra Finish kits, but because the colors themselves are so bold, it feels completely different from other plated kits. On top of that, even the inner frame has this slightly pearlescent purplish tint... The overall pink-purple-violet-red color combo gives it a truly unique feel!

Since it's essentially just a different molded color/plated version, the basic kit characteristics are the same as the 1/100 Exia — though there's also a slight joint strength boost(?) that's typical of plated kits.

This kit is one where you can get 200% satisfaction just from the straight build alone. The price is a bit of a hurdle since it's a plated kit, but the kit itself is more dazzling than just about any other plated kit out there. And given its rather feminine color scheme, it seems like it'd make a pretty great gift for the ladies too.. ^^

In terms of pulling out an "OOOOH!!!" reaction from just a simple build, this one gets my vote as a best-in-class kit! :-)

1/100 Gundam Exia (Trans-Am Mode) | 2008. 8 | ¥5,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.