Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Model Kit Review: Gundam Exia 1/144 HG from Gundam 00

Having survived a move between houses, my Gundam Exia kit is finally completed. Let's get right to it!
Out of the Box:
This being my 9th model kit from the 00 series there was nothing very unexpected. I'd like to say if you've built either High Grades of 00 or one of the various Exia repaints/changed release, then you've built Exia. Most of the 00 series comes with the same types of joints and some similar body parts. Most of the kit was easily assembled with very few problems. My biggest gripe about this kit is some of the plastic ends not wanting to come out nicely. This lead to a small screw up removing the extra plastic from the very top of the head. As I mentioned before, this was my 9th 00 HG model kit and there where no surprises. Easy kit for anyone who's built a few kits already with minor flaws right out of the box.  3/5

Coloring & Detailing:
Let me tell you a little story before I go into this next section: I did my first few model kits back in the late 90's when Gundam Wing was the talk of the mecha town. I made 2-3 kits before my local Electronic's Boutique no longer sold them. I took a break that lasted until about two-three years ago. After seeing the Blood: The Last Vampire live action movie, one of my best friends who I'll call "Tenchi" for now took Yopo and myself to the local anime store in Las Vegas. (Tokyo Discount: A place for overpriced but awesome stuff.) I was looking through the items when I found a First Grade Exia Gundam for around $15. I considered buying it just to build a kit and to relive the experience I had previously. This kit would reopen the door to my model building future. Thanks to a little influence from Cable, his brother, and Tenchi, I got myself back into model kits full time.
This kit would not only be my reintroduction to model kits, but would also be my test subject for numerous model building techniques. This Exia was subbed "Bitch Exia", or "Test Exia" for my PG audience. Now, onto the review.
With most of the HQs, there was little detail needed. The more time you want take to detail the kit, the better it could potentially come out to be. There was a little painting a did on the "ears" and in a few minor places. A grey and black ultra thin marker were perfect for detailing. My goal with this kit was to honor "Bitch Exia" by giving this kit the most attention possible. I still think I have a long way to improve my model kit powers, but I wanted this kit to be almost a tribute to how much I've approved over the last year. This kit would of taken about an hour or two to detail for a normal person.
4/5

Stability & Movement:
Simple poses with or without a stand are available for all your posing needs. It's not as poseable as my 00 Raiser kit but has better movement than some of the Unicorn HGs that I've completed recently. The slim-figure of Exia makes it easy to balance but the lack in weight of the kit sometimes leads to the kit falling over if you put to much weight on one side. (Such as weapons.) Then again, at least he's able to hold all of his weapons. Seven Swords 00 can't stand with all of his weapons equipped unless you balance him using the weapons. 4/5
Overall:
A simple kit that shouldn't take anyone as long as it took me. (Again, was moving during the last few months.) If you've built any of the Gundam HGs from the 00 series, then you've basically built Exia as well. Alot of similar pieces and stickers makes it seem repetitive when you've built a few, but overall it was a fun kit to build. If you can find this kit around $17, it'll be worth every penny.
3.66/5

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