Kit Review

Straight build + Stickers

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

FG Gundam Exia - Close-up shots. There are quite a lot of seals stuck here and there. Color separation is done only for the m

Close-up shots. There are quite a lot of seals stuck here and there.
Color separation is done only for the most basic areas, with most of the rest handled by seals.

Close-up of the upper body and face. The mold detail is decent enough, color separation aside.

FG Gundam Exia - The back verniers — a signature feature of the Double-O Gundams — are, as expected, not color-separated on t

The back verniers — a signature feature of the Double-O Gundams — are, as expected, not color-separated on the FG.

FG Gundam Exia - The beam sabers mounted behind the shoulders. Quite an unusual placement. They look like they'd be a bit tri

The beam sabers mounted behind the shoulders. Quite an unusual placement. They look like they'd be a bit tricky to actually pull out.. ;

FG Gundam Exia - Unlike no-grade kits, the FG has articulated elbows and knees. Sure, it's just a straightforward 90-degree b

Unlike no-grade kits, the FG has articulated elbows and knees.
Sure, it's just a straightforward 90-degree bend, but even that alone makes the kit feel like a step up.
The one downside is that the legs are blocked by the front skirts and barely move, which is a bit of a shame.

FG Gundam Exia - The side chest gimmick working almost perfectly on a ball joint is honestly impressive. On a budget-grade ki

The side chest gimmick working almost perfectly on a ball joint is honestly impressive. On a budget-grade kit like this!!!

FG Gundam Exia - Your typical cheap no-grade kit never had anything like that, so this one feature alone really sets the FG g

Your typical cheap no-grade kit never had anything like that,
so this one feature alone really sets the FG grade apart from no-grades in a big way.

As for weapons.. it's pretty bare-bones — just a big sword and a small sword, that's it.

Action pose

The elbows bend, but without any horizontal rotation, the arm articulation is pretty severely limited.

Dual sword action

FG Gundam Exia - The hip swivel joint is another plus for the FG. And if you look closely, you can see a big peg hole down th

The hip swivel joint is another plus for the FG.
And if you look closely, you can see a big peg hole down there..

You can also mount it on various universal 1/144-scale action bases.

Bandai had been pretty quiet on new releases for a while — and the reason was obvious: they were gearing up for a big wave of new kits for the new anime series, Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (Double-O, a.k.a. "Double Circle"). The overall lineup looks similar to the previous SEED series, but one change is that the old budget no-grade kits are now being released under the title "FG (First Grade)."

Originally, FG was a commemorative line released for Gundam's 20th anniversary — 300-yen kits of Gundam and Zaku that took the old-school parts structure and dressed it up with modern designs and molds. Now that the FG title is being brought back as the entry-level budget kit for the latest anime, it's gotten several upgrades over the old no-grades in various areas.

For starters, small gates are used — just like on the Destiny no-grade — so you can snap the parts off by hand without nippers. That said, due to the material, the lighter-colored runners snap off easily while the darker ones can be a bit stubborn, and no matter how small the gates are, you'll still want to clean them up with a knife.

The biggest change that came with the upgrade to the FG title seems to be the articulation. Unlike the stiff arms and legs of the old no-grades, the elbows and knees now move, and in Exia's case, the tricky shoulder separation joint is properly implemented. It's exactly these kinds of improvements that seem to justify calling it FG — an actual grade — rather than just a plain no-grade.

The FG's detail is actually quite good — on par with a typical HG in terms of detail and proportions. Just as the Destiny no-grade showed better detail than the earlier SEED no-grades, the move to FG seems to have brought the mold refinement and detail to a point where it's basically indistinguishable from HG.

All in all, the FG Double-O series has become a kit that's great for painting practice thanks to its HG-level detail, improved articulation, and proportions — and it's also a perfectly fine casual build just for the fun of it at a low price. Sure, color separation is kept to an absolute minimum and you'll be relying heavily on seals, but either way, the quality is clearly a step above no-grade. :-)

FG Gundam Exia | 2007. 9 | ¥500

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.