Kit Review

Straight build +
panel lining

Size comparison with a cigarette pack. It's absolutely massive, as you'd expect from a big-scale kit.

Upper body and arms close-up, front and back

Head section.

Leg section

1/60 Gundam Exia - Head seals. The seals are pretty flashy overall.. especially the parts that go inside the circular areas g

Head seals
The seals are pretty flashy overall.. especially the parts that go inside the circular areas got quite complex.

Seals inside the chest clear parts.

The backpack structure is also nicely represented with green seals inside the clear parts.

Seals on the back of the round clear parts on the arms and legs.

Base body with all weapons removed

1/60 Gundam Exia - The connection for the GN Sword mounting part on the side of the hip joint is sturdier than on the 1/100 o

The connection for the GN Sword mounting part on the side of the hip joint is sturdier than on the 1/100 or HG.

1/60 Gundam Exia - Articulation.. well, it's decent enough if you think back to old 1/60 kits, but it's definitely not as goo

Articulation.. well, it's decent enough if you think back to old 1/60 kits,
but it's definitely not as good as the 1/100;;

1/60 Gundam Exia - The shoulder range of motion up/down and forward/back is pretty limited. Funnily enough, the shoulders see

The shoulder range of motion up/down and forward/back is pretty limited.
Funnily enough, the shoulders seem to get stiffer the bigger the scale gets... -_-;;

All four finger knuckles are double-jointed, so they look fairly natural.

1/60 Gundam Exia - The fingers use a unique system where they attach straight from the runner as one piece.. But if you look

The fingers use a unique system where they attach straight from the runner as one piece..
But if you look closely at the three-finger part, it looks like you could cut them apart with a knife to make each finger articulate individually.
However, according to reports, if you do cut them, the ball joint on each finger becomes too loose to stay in the palm
and they tend to pop right out. So if you're going to cut them, be prepared to reinforce the ball joints with super glue or something..

The articulation isn't really at a level you'd call great.

Action pose time!
Drawing the GN Dagger from the rear end

GN Dagger action

Drawing the beam saber from the back of the shoulder. Looks fairly natural.

1/60 Gundam Exia - Dual beam saber action (1/2)

1/60 Gundam Exia - Dual beam saber action (2/2)

Double beam saber action

Single beam saber action

GN Blade action

Dual GN Blade action

Looks like it's dancing.. but that's actually how it fights in the show too.

Fully armed action

Rifle action

Drawing the GN Sword!

"You're dead~!" pose

The scale being what it is, it completely overflows my photo studio.

1/60 Gundam Exia - GN Sword actions (1/4)

1/60 Gundam Exia - GN Sword actions (2/4)

GN Sword actions

1/60 Gundam Exia - Comparison with the 1/100 Exia. The 1/60 basically feels like a scaled-up copy of the 1/100, but there are

Comparison with the 1/100 Exia.
The 1/60 basically feels like a scaled-up copy of the 1/100,
but there are quite a few differences between them.

1/60 Gundam Exia - First, the head comparison. On the 1/60, the yellow on the cheeks is color-separated, and the seals inside

First, the head comparison.
On the 1/60, the yellow on the cheeks is color-separated, and the seals inside the circular areas make it look a bit more elaborate.
The 1/60 also has added detail on the yellow side pieces(?) of the head.
However, if you look closely, the serrated detail on the top of the head is actually more refined on the 1/100.

1/60 Gundam Exia - Looking at the molding on the shoulders, arms, thighs, and so on, the 1/100 actually has more delicate sur

1/60 Gundam Exia - Looking at the molds on the shoulders, arms, thighs, and so on, the 1/100 actually has more refined molds.

Looking at the molds on the shoulders, arms, thighs, and so on, the 1/100 actually has more refined molds.
My guess is that since the 1/60 is a big-scale kit, they intentionally simplified the panel lines. (Or maybe they just couldn't be bothered??)

1/60 Gundam Exia - The feet... The 1/60 has an extra black part added between the top of the foot and the sole, giving it bet

The feet... The 1/60 has an extra black part added between the top of the foot and the sole, giving it better depth than the 1/100.

Even looking at the weapons, the 1/100 has slightly more detailed molds.

A comparison of the HG 1/144, 1/100, and 1/60.
They just keep getting taller and taller!

Including the FG, all four Exia kits have now been released.

1/60 Gundam Exia - A comparison with the 1/60 Strike/Impulse Gundam from the previous series, SEED and Destiny — as you can s

A comparison with the 1/60 Strike/Impulse Gundam from the previous series, SEED and Destiny.
As you can see, the Exia is significantly larger.

1/60 Gundam Exia - Individual comparisons with the Strike and Impulse. The Exia is about 2cm taller, and looking at the head

Individual comparisons with the Strike and Impulse.
The Exia is about 2cm taller, and looking at the head size and proportions, you can really tell how much things have improved.
Especially the Impulse... looking at it now, the proportions are pretty lacking;

Together with the most expensive No Grade 1/60, the Strike Freedom Lightning Edition.

1/60 Gundam Exia - A comparison with the PG. They're about the same height. This time I did a special comparison with the lim

A comparison with the PG. They're about the same height.
This time I did a special comparison with the limited edition G3 version PG First Gundam..

Massive size! It completely fills up my photo booth, which is no small thing!

Straight build.

One after another, the 1/144, HG, 1/100, and then the 1/60 Exia were released. The HG and 1/100 had built up quite a bit of excitement with their quality that was on a whole different level from the old SEED kits — but the 1/60 Exia isn't quite as revolutionary as those earlier releases. To be more precise, it doesn't feel groundbreaking, but rather like they stayed true to the basics while bumping up the quality.

First off, the kit's proportions and overall feel give the impression of a straight-up enlarged copy of the 1/100. Aside from the yellow parts on the cheeks, the black parts on the top of the feet, and the white part at the very top of the back, there's no real improvement in color separation over the 1/100. The gray areas on the chest and front skirt are still handled with stickers — which is a real shame when you consider the scale, since those areas could easily have been done with separate parts. This is classic Bandai sabotage. Feels like they're laying the groundwork for something...

The way the fingers are assembled from the runners is a fresh idea, but in practice it doesn't seem all that useful. Once it's all built, it looks the same anyway, so... Also, the three fingers other than the thumb and index finger are molded together as one piece, but you can cut them apart with a knife to make them individually poseable. However, once cut, the ball joint connections on each individual finger are reportedly quite weak, so you'd need to reinforce them with super glue or similar.

Overall it strongly feels like an enlarged copy of the 1/100, but strangely enough, the 1/100 actually wins out in terms of detail. In other words, there's almost nothing that's actually improved in the 1/60, and in fact the molds are less refined despite the larger size. (See the comparison photos above.) Personally, I think they deliberately held back, keeping things at a safe level with a PG Exia in mind. The detail, the articulation, the fineness of the molds — it all feels like they intentionally kept everything at a modest, average level.

The articulation is also more disappointing than expected... the range of motion is noticeably narrower than the 1/100. Sure, they might have avoided pushing the articulation too far because of the size, but when you think about PGs at the same scale, that excuse doesn't really hold up. This also feels like a deliberate choice to limit the kit's quality by keeping the articulation at a safe, middle-of-the-road level.

So, reading up to this point, it might seem like the 1/60 Exia falls below expectations compared to the HG or 1/100. And it's not just an impression — in terms of color separation, articulation, and detail, it honestly didn't live up to expectations across the board.

And yet, strangely enough, once you actually build it, the satisfaction level is surprisingly high — it's a weird kit like that.

For starters, the proportions, which used to feel a bit chunky and No Grade-ish in older kits, have been transformed into the sleek MG/PG-style proportions seen on the 1/100 Exia. Long, slender legs, small feet, a small head... As you build it piece by piece, you can't help but think, "Wow, the Exia really is a beautiful design."

Also, the feel of snapping together those large parts with clean color separation — quickly and satisfyingly — is really nice. In terms of build feel alone, it's a step above the HG or 1/100. The assembly of the compact yet chunky body in particular feels great. I used to think bigger kits tended to lose that satisfying build feel, but this 1/60 Exia delivers a solid, back-to-basics building experience.

And the detail that stands out most clearly in the 1/60 is the circular sections scattered across the head, chest, arms, and legs. Just like the HG and 1/100, it uses a system where a round clear part is placed over a sticker, but these stickers are packed with all kinds of elaborate text. And once it's all built, it actually looks really premium;;

Joint strength is excellent — stiff enough for the size, making it perfect for posing and playing around with. Even if the articulation is a bit limited, the sheer size means even a slight pose looks impressive, and it holds poses really well. In particular, the area where the GN Blades attach to the sides of the hip joints felt a bit flimsy at smaller scales, but the 1/60 has improved a lot in that regard.

So, in the end...
When you first open the box and look at the runners and manual, it feels a bit underwhelming for the scale... but as you build it piece by piece it gets more and more fun, and by the time you're nearly done, there's a real sense of excitement. To think a kit this big and this beautiful could come out at this price...! The molded colors are excellent too, so it looks great even as a straight build, and panel lining is easy — just a little bit of work and it looks dramatically better. (This sense of a pleasant reversal is actually why I wrote the review in this particular order on purpose.)

Anyway, the overwhelming presence that comes with the big scale is hard to convey through photos alone — it's a kit that makes you go "wow" once you've actually built it and held it in your hands. It's genuinely hard to put into words, but once you build it, a wave of satisfaction just washes over you ^_^;

The way things are looking, it seems almost certain this will get a PG release, as long as the anime doesn't crash and burn toward the end. If you're after a clean, large kit at a reasonable price before that happens, I'd recommend it without hesitation. I can guarantee it offers the best quality and satisfaction of any 1/60 released so far.

1/60 Gundam Exia | 2007. 11 | ¥4,500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.