Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining

HGUC Xekueins - The universal size reference — a cigarette box comparison. For a 1/144, it's got a seriously impressive prese

The universal size reference — a cigarette box comparison. For a 1/144, it's got a seriously impressive presence!

The machine gun is pretty long, isn't it.

HGUC Xekueins - The articulation is honestly not that great. The knees in particular can't bend 90 degrees, which is a shame.

The articulation is honestly not that great. The knees in particular can't bend 90 degrees, which is a shame..
But the proportions are so good that even a slight pose gives it a real sense of dynamism.

HGUC Xekueins - Upper body close-up. The head, with its Sazabi and Marasai-like styling, looks pretty sharp. This is a remark

Upper body close-up. The head, with its Sazabi and Marasai-like styling, looks pretty sharp.
This is a remarkably detailed kit — the color separation even extends to those little red nub-like bits on the skirt section.

HGUC Xekueins - The backpack's verniers have been swapped out. What you see in the photo are the ones from the HGUC S Gundam'

The backpack's verniers have been swapped out. What you see in the photo are the ones from the HGUC S Gundam's backpack —
I used leftover parts from the HGUC Ex-S. Wondering why the sudden detail upgrade?
Actually, the truth is I lost one of the original backpack verniers, so I had no choice but to replace all four as a set. T_T

HGUC Xekueins - On the left are the original Xekueins verniers.. on the right are the S Gundam's verniers. Once I grudgingly

On the left are the original Xekueins verniers.. on the right are the S Gundam's verniers.
Once I grudgingly slapped them on and took a look, the S Gundam verniers actually seem bigger and better looking.. ^^;

The propellant tanks on the back of the legs can move slightly up and down.

A beam saber is stored inside the shield armor on the left arm.

HGUC Xekueins - The hands have an articulated index finger. Since all the finger parts are made of poly material, the detail

The hands have an articulated index finger.
Since all the finger parts are made of poly material, the detail feels a bit soft and mushy.

HGUC Xekueins - The action-pose left hand. The thumb direction looks a bit off.. Maybe it's meant to recreate Bruce Lee's nos

The action-pose left hand. The thumb direction looks a bit off.. Maybe it's meant to recreate Bruce Lee's nose-wiping pose or something..

Action po~se

Personally, I think this thing has an outstanding charisma from the back.

Beam saber action pose. Hand over the money!

A shot with the HGUC S Gundam. It may be a bit shorter in height, but it holds its own in terms of presence.

HGUC Xekueins - Compared to the Zaku II, which you could call the standard-size MS, you can get a real sense of just how impo

Compared to the Zaku II, which you could call the standard-size MS, you can get a real sense of just how imposing this thing is.

Straight build photo before panel lining. The molded colors are nearly perfect.

Following the S Gundam, the Xekueins was released — and what a surprise it was. It was easy enough to guess that the Sentinel lineup would start joining the HGUC roster with the S Gundam, but a lot of people were caught off guard that it was the Xekueins rather than something like the Zeta Plus or FAZZ. The Xekueins — one of those units from Sentinel that always felt like it had something to prove — became the very first injection kit of its kind.

The molded colors and color separation are nearly perfect, and even the blue molded color, which could easily have come out looking garish, has a slightly deep, understated tone that works really well. In particular, the fact that they properly separated even the little red nub-like parts at the front skirt hem — an area most kits would have skipped — really shows the designer's dedication. As some of you may know, the Bandai development team is said to be huge Sentinel fans. The limited product releases were simply due to the market weakness of being a non-anime series..

The detail is quite good. It's a brand-new first-ever release with nothing to compare it to, but the exterior detail is thorough throughout — the articulated index finger and the action-pose left hand in particular are pretty nice. The only downside is that the poly material used makes things feel a bit rough around the edges. I can't help but wonder if regular plastic for the hands might have been better..

The articulation is below average, which was a bit disappointing, but the proportions are good enough that even a slight pose gives it a real sense of dynamism, so it's not too bad. ^^ The joints aren't loose — they're nice and tight, so there's no wobbling around. But the knees.. structurally it really looks like a double-joint design that could bend further was possible, yet 90 degrees just isn't achievable. Hmm.. that's a shame.

The part that bugged me the most is the oversized machine gun.. The size and style are great, but the ammo feed lines connecting up to the shoulder mean you can't really change the pose. T_T It's stuck in that fixed pose you see in the photos and can't break out of it. Sure, it's fine for just displaying it, but if you want a more dynamic pose, you're basically locked into that one position. Move it around a bit and — pop — the hand comes right off.. (pretty ridiculous..)

Personally, I consider this one of the most iconic kits representing what makes the HGUC line special — its willingness to go after more niche, off-the-beaten-path units. Long-time Gundam fans were probably pretty shocked just to see the Xekueins get an injection kit at all, and I was completely caught off guard myself. And yet it came out with the detail and proportions to really capture the feel of the source material, which must have been deeply moving for Sentinel fans. T_T

If I'm being greedy.. I'd love to see the Xekueins Mk-II — you could call it the Xekzwei (in German, "ein" means 1 and "zwei" means 2) — get a release someday, but it's an even more obscure giant of a unit, so who knows if that's even possible.. Hmm~ If the Xekzwei ever comes out, I think I'd faint. @.@

The first-ever injection kit.. outstanding color separation, a big imposing frame, and a certain weighty charisma that comes through even just standing there on display.. By any measure, this is a kit worthy of being called one of the defining releases of the HGUC lineup. The more kits like this sell, the more cool and unique units we'll get in the future. ^^

HGUC Xekueins | 2001.10 | ¥1,600

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.