Kit Review

Straight build +
Stickers

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Upper body and head close-up. The color separation is just gorgeous.

Rear view

Legs and arms

HG Gundam Exia - The black circles on the head/torso/arms/legs are done by applying a black seal on the inside and then snapp

The black circles on the head/torso/arms/legs —
are done by applying a black seal on the inside and then snapping a round clear part over it, giving them a really nice sense of depth.

An extra open action hand is included for the left hand.

HG Gundam Exia - The articulation is surprisingly good..! The arms only bend a straightforward 90°, but the legs have double

The articulation is surprisingly good..!
The arms only bend a straightforward 90°, but the legs have double joints and fold quite a lot. Rare to see in an HG..

The yellow collar(?) pieces on either side of the head can also be folded down.

Exia's signature side torso joint articulation.

HG Gundam Exia - When you move the shoulder, the light blue soft parts attached to the outer shoulder automatically fold out

When you move the shoulder, the light blue soft parts attached to the outer shoulder automatically fold out of the way.

HG Gundam Exia - The front skirt is designed so that the builder cuts it down the middle themselves, allowing each side to mo

The front skirt is designed so that the builder cuts it down the middle themselves, allowing each side to move independently.

Articulation of the GN Beam Dagger mount on the rear.

The weapons loadout feels fairly generous.

HG Gundam Exia - The two GN Blades can be attached to either side of the hip joints using separate mounting parts. However, t

The two GN Blades can be attached to either side of the hip joints using separate mounting parts.
However, the fit isn't very tight so they tend to fall off..

The GN Sword can also be used like a gun by folding the blade and shield together.

HG Gundam Exia - Fully armed shot. (1/4)

HG Gundam Exia - Fully armed shot. (2/4)

Fully armed shot.

Action pose

The big and impressive GN Sword

Using the GN Sword in rifle mode.

Cool pose!

GN Long Blade and Short Blade.

The kneeling pose is a bit limited since the front skirt restricts the hip joint's range of motion..

HG Gundam Exia - A kit that really needs a stand to strike proper poses! Compatible with the universal Action Base 2 for 1/14

A kit that really needs a stand to strike proper poses!
Compatible with the universal Action Base 2 for 1/144 scale.

Unsheathing pose

HG Gundam Exia - GN Beam Dagger action. There are 4 beam daggers on the body in total, but only one part with the beam effect

GN Beam Dagger action. There are 4 beam daggers on the body in total,
but only one part with the beam effect is included.

GN Sword action

GN Sword Rifle action

Comparison with the FG.
The FG has improved a lot, but the HG has improved even more...

Compared to the FG, the bigger difference isn't in the detail but in the color separation.

Compared to the FG (top), the GN Blades have better detail and some color separation as well.

With the Gundam 00 anime kicking off, Gunpla lineups are rolling out one after another. The first HG release in the Gundam 00 lineup is, naturally, Gundam Exia. And this HG Exia... Bandai has gone and blindsided us again. ^_^;

For a while before the Gundam 00 anime started, the Gunpla lineup had gone pretty quiet — obviously because all the developers were busy working on the 00 Gunpla lineup. That was understandable enough, but things started to seem a little suspicious when they upgraded the no-grade kit to an FG... and then the 00 HG dropped with jaw-dropping quality.

First off, the HG Exia is a clear and obvious step up in quality compared to the existing SEED-era HGs — it almost feels like a different grade entirely. On top of that, judged purely on its own merits, it easily surpasses the average quality of the HGUC lineup, which is supposed to be the standard 1/144 line. Honestly, most HGUC kits don't even come close to the HG Exia. It's clearly a small 1/144 scale kit, yet the build feel and overall package are better than what you'd expect from an HG — it's a strangely impressive kit.

First off, with the HG Gundam Exia, the color separation on Exia's quite complex design is reproduced to a pretty impressive degree — a big step up from older HGs. The detail in the molding and the overall parts layout are also a notch or two above older HGs. Most of all, the compact, tight assembly feel is something really unique. It's different from MG, different from HGUC, and different from older HGs — there's just this hard-to-describe, peculiar satisfaction to building it. I kept thinking, "this isn't quite an HG, but it's not an MG either..." It really is something else.

In particular, the black circular details unique to Exia — on the head, chest, arms, and legs — give off this incredibly vivid and distinctive look thanks to the combination of stickers and clear covers. The fact that they pulled off this level of fine detail at 1/144 scale (not even 1/100) is pretty amazing, and it really gives you the sense that Bandai's development team put an enormous amount of effort into this HG for the "polka-dot" Gundam.

Articulation has also been upgraded in a number of ways — the cleverly double-jointed knee structure gives a huge boost to knee mobility. The hip joints are also rotary-type, so you can get some good poses out of it, but unfortunately the front skirt's range of motion is limited, so the legs don't lift very high. In practice, pulling off really dynamic poses is harder than you'd expect. It's definitely more dynamic than older HGs, but it's still a bit of a letdown in that area. On the plus side, the joints are noticeably stiff for an HG, so there's no looseness — and that's a big point in its favor.

The FG for the polka-dot Gundam was already pretty impressive, but the HG blows it out of the water even more. They've poured quality into this HG that easily surpasses not just older SEED-era HGs but even 1/100 kits — which honestly makes me a little worried about what the upcoming 1/100 and 1/60 are even going to look like. Either way, this is the undisputed king of 1/144 scale quality — it doesn't even belong in the same conversation as the SEED-era HGs.

Sometimes a mech design doesn't grab you at first, but once it comes out as a kit, the kit itself wins you over. I really think the gap in impression between someone who's only seen Gundam Exia in the anime and someone who's actually built the HG Gunpla is going to be massive. I went through exactly the same stages as below.

1. First seeing the Exia mech design: Wh... what is this thing~ What's with that weird look -_-;
2. Seeing Exia in the anime: Hmm... well, it's kinda sleek, I guess it does look like a Gundam..
3. After building the FG: Oh nice.. it really does look cooler as a kit.
4. After building the HG: You got me, Bandai! Exia is seriously gorgeous.. quality that blows expectations clean out of the water.... T_T

The HG Gundam Exia was way more of a shock than expected, and it's got me incredibly hyped for the lineup going forward. :-)
(Guess I'd better start watching the polka-dot show properly now..)

HG Gundam Exia | 2007. 10 | ¥1,400

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.