Kit Review

Straight build + Stickers + Panel lining

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Various angles

Detail shots

HGUC Xi Gundam - For weapons, you get a shield, beam rifle, and beam saber. The beam saber has a unique design with beam part

For weapons, you get a shield, beam rifle, and beam saber.
The beam saber has a unique design with beam parts attached on both ends.

The mounting bracket inside the shield can be slid to adjust its position.

When attaching the shield to the forearm, you need to remove a small cover on the forearm armor first.

HGUC Xi Gundam - The beam saber handle is fixed at a 45-degree angle on top of the shoulder — it looks like it should be able

The beam saber handle is fixed at a 45-degree angle on top of the shoulder.
It looks like it should be able to swing up and down, but it's actually fixed in place.
This makes it the perfect candidate for snapping off if you accidentally bump or drop it, so be careful.

HGUC Xi Gundam - Also, since the beam saber has holes on both ends for the beam parts, it can be a bit tricky to tell which w

Also, since the beam saber has holes on both ends for the beam parts,
it can be a bit tricky to tell which way is up when storing it on the shoulder.
Just insert it so that the square palm-grip hole on the side of the beam saber faces upward, as shown in the photo above.

A total of 5 hands are included, and the proportions and sculpting are excellent.

The palm pegs fit into the grip holes on the beam rifle and beam saber, giving a nice solid hold.

Panel missiles are molded on the inside of the skirt armor and the inner surfaces of the elbow/knee armor.

Molded detail on the inside of the shoulder armor.

HGUC Xi Gundam - The thick pin on the action base joint part can be inserted into the hole beneath the hip joint, allowing fo

The thick pin on the action base joint part can be inserted into the hole beneath the hip joint,
allowing for a pretty solid aerial display.

< Flight Form >

HGUC Xi Gundam - First, remove the blades on both sides of the foot temporarily, fold the front of the foot up, then reattach

First, remove the blades on both sides of the foot temporarily, fold the front of the foot up, then reattach them.
At this point, the blades end up rotated 90 degrees from their original position.

Next, swing the small wings on the sides of the legs downward.

HGUC Xi Gundam - Before going into flight form, you can also display it in mid-air with just the feet transformed, as shown a

Before going into flight form, you can also display it in mid-air with just the feet transformed, as shown above.

To get into flight form, first separate the wings from the connecting parts in the middle.

Remove the beam saber temporarily, then rotate the beam saber mount as shown above.

HGUC Xi Gundam - Then reinsert the beam saber so it sits level with the shoulder, as shown above. You can rotate it with the

Then reinsert the beam saber so it sits level with the shoulder, as shown above.
You can rotate it with the beam saber still attached, but the mounting pin is fragile and there's a real risk of it snapping.
That's probably why the manual guides you to remove the beam saber first and reattach it afterward.

Raise the front/rear shoulder armor and chest armor upward,

then pull the rear shoulder armor outward to expose the internal gimmick.

Reposition the wings you removed earlier as shown on the right.

Now you'll need two additional joint parts.

HGUC Xi Gundam - Remove the fixing pin from the middle connector piece that links the wings to the body, then attach it to th

Remove the fixing pin from the middle connector piece that links the wings to the body,
then attach it to the wings along with the separate additional joint parts shown above, as seen on the right.

HGUC Xi Gundam - Then plug the wings back into the slots on the back where they were originally inserted, and the transformat

Then plug the wings back into the slots on the back where they were originally inserted, and the transformation is complete.

Flight Form

HGUC Xi Gundam - The limb articulation is actually pretty decent given the size. The massive shoulder armor doesn't rotate, w

The limb articulation is actually pretty decent given the size.
The massive shoulder armor doesn't rotate, which significantly limits the arm's range of motion,
but the legs do manage to achieve a full bend.

Shoulder forward/backward articulation

HGUC Xi Gundam - When raising the shoulder to the side, you can extend the range of motion by lifting the hidden inner should

When raising the shoulder to the side, you can extend the range of motion by lifting the hidden inner shoulder armor along with it.

The hip joint rotates in a slight arc relative to the front-facing position.

The neck is designed to tilt sharply backward, which comes in handy for aerial poses.

The wrist has a built-in joint that bends inward.

Action poses

HGUC Xi Gundam - Flight Form action pose (1/3)

Flight Form action pose

HGUC Xi Gundam - Shown alongside the HGUC / MG First Gundam for size comparison. It's 1/144 scale, but it's bigger than most

Shown alongside the HGUC / MG First Gundam for size comparison.
It's 1/144 scale, but it's bigger than most MGs.

HGUC Xi Gundam - Alongside the HGUC Penelope. The Xi Gundam is already pretty big, but the Penelope is a whole step up in vol

Alongside the HGUC Penelope.
The Xi Gundam is already pretty big, but the Penelope is a whole step up in volume.

Straight build

To commemorate the theatrical release of Hathaway's Flash, the Xi Gundam has been released as an HGUC kit following the Penelope. It's a large MS with a design height of 28 meters, and while it's 1/144 scale, it comes out bigger than most MGs as an HGUC — though it is still a bit smaller than the Penelope.

Compared to the Penelope, which was tricky to handle due to its sheer size and complex armaments, the Xi Gundam feels much more straightforward and easier to work with. That's all relative, of course — on its own, the Xi Gundam is still an incredibly large and hefty kit. Being a step down in size from the Penelope, the joint stability and lockup have also improved, so posing doesn't feel like a hassle. And compared to the Penelope's molded colors, which looked a bit cheap in a strange way, the Xi Gundam delivers a more refined and visually stable look. Inevitably you end up comparing the two, and the Xi Gundam just feels like a higher-quality product in terms of molded color, proportions, and joint stability.

Evaluating it purely as a standalone HGUC kit, it's the kind of build that almost tricks you into thinking you're working on a RE/100 — fitting for a large-scale HGUC. It feels like building a frameless MG, with parts that are noticeably chunkier than your average MG. Most of the design colors are reproduced through color separation and stickers alone, but the broad expanses of light-colored armor panels mean panel lining really shows up nicely on this one.

The complex armor shapes do make the articulation feel a bit restrictive. The large shoulder armor opens upward but can't rotate, which limits the arm's range of motion. The legs, on the other hand, show off a great knee bend that's close to a full fold — but overall, pulling off dynamic poses isn't easy with this kit. That said, like most chunky kits, even a slight pose gives off a commanding presence thanks to the sheer volume. The joints are impressively smooth and sturdy without any polycaps, giving excellent stability both standing and posing. The included action base joint part also connects well with the hip joint, making stable aerial poses very achievable.

The Xi Gundam's flight form is far simpler than the Penelope's — it basically just amounts to spreading the shoulder armor and pointing the feet. The transformation process is so bare-bones that there's really nothing to say about stability; you just have to appreciate that the design configuration has been reproduced at all.

All in all, the Xi Gundam delivers impressive joint strength and stability for its size, and in many ways it feels like a higher-quality kit than the Penelope. For longtime fans who've been waiting 30 years hoping it would finally get a plastic model release, this kit is nothing short of a gift. And if you're someone who loves big, flashy kits, this is definitely one you don't want to miss. :-)

HGUC Xi Gundam | 2021.4 | ¥6,000

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.