Kit Review

Straight build + Panel lining + Seals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

Detail shots

Outer armor removal shot

The new inner frame optimized specifically for Exia.

RG Gundam Exia - Frame detail shots (1/4)

RG Gundam Exia - Frame detail shots (2/4)

Frame detail shots

RG Gundam Exia - Just like the MG Exia, these areas are done with hologram sheets layered over silver foil seals. Though mayb

Just like the MG Exia, these areas are done with hologram sheets layered over silver foil seals.
Though maybe because the scale is so small, you don't get that same iridescent effect where the colors shift depending on the angle like you do on the MG.

The articulation in frame-only state is perfect.

The shoulder joint swings up with a rotating motion from the center of the torso.

In frame-only state, the shoulders can also bend 90 degrees forward.

Sliding articulation frames on the forearms and above/below the knees.

The front shin frame also moves with a sliding mechanism.

RG Gundam Exia - A perfectly natural kneeling pose. (1/3)

A perfectly natural kneeling pose.

RG Gundam Exia - The RG frame's articulation really is top-notch. (1/3)

The RG frame's articulation really is top-notch.

Exia's weapons are all generously included.

The GN Blade in rifle mode and sword mode.

All the various moving parts are perfectly reproduced.

The GN Sword looks really great thanks to the plated parts.

RG Gundam Exia - The way the GN Sword II mount on the side of the hip joint is implemented is pretty clever. Normally the hip

The way the GN Sword II mount on the side of the hip joint is implemented is pretty clever.
Normally the hip side looks clean and smooth, but you can slide out that section and then extend the mounting peg from inside it.
Even at this small scale, you can really tell they put a lot of effort into keeping the silhouette clean.

The GN Shield Side can be detached.

You can recreate the deployed mode by detaching it and reattaching it in the open position like this.

The shield's mounting point can be adjusted to three different height positions.

A total of four beam parts are included,
and the handles are provided separately with pegs attached.

Hands come in a total of 4 sets, including articulated hands.

The cockpit cover and the yellow fin on the side of the head are both articulated.

The GN Drive can also be removed by opening its three retaining covers.

A precisely laser-cut 1/144 Setsuna figure.

Due to duplicate runners being used, 2 leftover parts remain.

Joint parts for Action Base 2 are also included.

RG Gundam Exia - The articulation is a bit of a mixed bag. The frame articulation itself is perfect, but the front skirt seve

The articulation is a bit of a mixed bag..
The frame articulation itself is perfect, but the front skirt severely limits the hip joint's range of motion.

RG Gundam Exia - The shoulder joints also barely raise compared to the frame-only state — push them just a little too far and

The shoulder joints also barely raise compared to the frame-only state.
Push them just a little too far and the shoulder armor itself pops right off. -_-

The forward/backward range of motion on the shoulders isn't great either..

On the plus side, thanks to Exia's signature torso rotation joint,
the waist does rotate around fairly well.

The ankle side-to-side tilt range is pretty good.

The beam saber mount on the rear skirt also moves freely.

The knee uses a two-stage split so the armor panels move together.

The thigh slide gimmick actually looks even more impressive than the MG's. ^^

Rear beam saber draw pose.
Looks incredibly natural~

RG Gundam Exia - Short beam saber dual-wield action (1/3)

Short beam saber dual-wield action

RG Gundam Exia - Long beam saber aerial action (1/3)

Long beam saber aerial action

GN Sword action

GN Rifle action

GN Blade action

RG Gundam Exia - Alongside the HG Gundam Exia. The HG that came out 7 years ago is a decent kit in its own right, but it's re

Alongside the HG Gundam Exia.
The HG that came out 7 years ago is a decent kit in its own right, but it's really no match for the RG...

A commemorative shot with the RG RX-78-2.

Alongside the MG Exia with its clear armor.

Straight build

The first RG of 2014 turned out to be Gundam Exia. The overall quality feels on par with previous entries in the line, and as you'd expect, a whole bunch of MG-level features have been faithfully reproduced. ^^

First off, thanks to Exia's very distinctive design, an entirely new articulated frame runner was developed rather than reusing an existing one. The sliding armor panels and various gimmicks on the arms and legs are all meticulously implemented. The frame's articulation on its own is arguably the best we've seen in the RG line — partly because it even includes a horizontal body rotation joint that you don't really see in other RGs.

That said, compared to other RGs, there's quite a noticeable drop in articulation once the armor goes on. The front skirt in particular severely restricts the hip joint's range of motion, limiting the thigh to only a 45-degree lift — which is pretty disappointing. The shoulder and torso rotation joints also end up using barely a quarter of their potential range due to the armor structure. Either way, that 45-degree thigh limitation really puts a damper on action poses, and I can see a lot of people being frustrated by it.

Exia's signature blue stripe sections are reproduced in the same way as the MG — a holographic sheet layered over a silver foil sticker — giving them a really premium look. It's impressive how they managed to cram all of that into a tiny 1/144 kit. The downside is that at this scale, it doesn't quite have that same brilliant, shimmering reflective quality you get on the MG version, and the parts are so small that assembly gets a bit tricky.

Exia's weapons are faithfully reproduced with plated parts and all, and the various articulated sections on the GN Blade are executed to MG-level perfection. On top of that, a variety of hand parts are included along with beam saber parts that have pegs on them, so grip issues are cleanly resolved. Like previous RGs though, the articulated hands don't hold things very securely, so when you're actually posing with weapons, you'll inevitably find it easier to just swap in the fixed hands. ^^;

One fun little detail on the RG Exia is the GN Sword mounting gimmick on the side of the hip joint. Both the HG and MG versions had always been a bit lacking when it came to securing the weapon there. The RG Exia uses a new approach — a mounting pin that normally stays hidden inside the hip and slides out when you need it. This means when the GN Sword isn't stored there, the silhouette stays clean, and when it is, it locks in nice and tight.

Overall, this is a high-quality kit that lives up to the RG name — small, detailed, and pushing for MG-level quality in 1/144 scale. That said, as mentioned above, the hip joint range of motion is disappointingly narrow and shows no real improvement over the HG Exia. The MG got around this structural issue with a separate hip articulation gimmick, but it seems like there just wasn't enough room to pull that off in the RG. T_T

Anyway, if you're a fan of the RG line and love the 00 series, this is absolutely an "RG-worthy" kit that's well worth building. :-)

RG Gundam Exia | 2014. 4 | ¥2,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.