EGCosmic Era

GAT-X105B/EG Build Strike Exceed Galaxy [PAINTING MODEL]

The same clever Entry Grade skeleton, stripped down to a blank canvas for anyone ready to pick up an airbrush.

MechaGrade Score

3.7/5

Build Strike Exceed Galaxy [PAINTING MODEL] · 1/144 · 2025

GradeEG

Scale1/144

Released2025

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a genuinely excellent EG kit wearing a different hat.

The engineering underneath, hardpoints, touch gate, minimal part count, is unchanged from the standard release, but Bandai swapped the punchy color-separated plastic for a few close shades of plain white so the whole thing reads as an invitation to paint. If you already own the regular Exceed Galaxy, this is not a kit you need. If you have been meaning to try painting a Gunpla and want a forgiving, cheap, well-engineered subject to practice on, it is close to ideal.

Best for: builders who want their first real painting project on a kit that is still fun and well-engineered straight out of the box

The full review

What it is

Underneath the plain plastic this is still the Build Strike Exceed Galaxy, Sei Iori's souped-up take on the Entry Grade Strike Gundam from Gundam Build Metaverse, and that base kit is one of the smarter EG releases Bandai has put out. The Painting Model swap doesn't touch the frame or the parts breakdown, it just molds everything in a handful of close, slightly different shades of white instead of the usual reds, blues, and yellows. Snapped together straight from the runners it looks intentionally unfinished, almost ghostly, which is the whole point. I liked that I could dry-fit the entire thing, admire the articulation and the hardpoints, and then decide exactly where I wanted color to go before committing a single drop of paint.

The catch

Because the parts are all so close in shade, the moment you stop under bright light you lose track of what is supposed to be armor versus frame versus detail, so you genuinely need the included color guide or a reference image open while you build, otherwise assembly turns into guesswork. Touch gate nubs, Bandai's tool-free cleanup system, leave faint white witness marks that show up worse on plain white plastic than they ever would on colored runners, so a quick hobby knife pass or a light sand is basically mandatory if you want clean panel lines before priming. It is also a kit built to be painted, not enjoyed unpainted, so if you were hoping for shelf-ready color out of the box like the standard release, you will be disappointed.

Who it's for

This is for the builder who has finished a stack of EGs and HGs and is ready to try an airbrush or even hand-brushed panel work without risking a kit they actually care about finishing looking good unpainted. The hardpoints and Sei Iori's mod-friendly design also make it fun for anyone who likes kitbashing, since a blank Exceed Galaxy is an easy base to repaint into a custom color scheme. Skip it if you just want a good-looking Build Strike Exceed Galaxy for the shelf with zero extra work, the standard colored release does that job better and cheaper. Skip it too if you're brand new to Gunpla and haven't built anything yet, learn the engineering on a regular kit first.

What works

touch gate nubs mean no nippers needed for basic assembly, so the whole build stays approachable
hardpoints across the arms, legs, and backpack booster make posing and light customization genuinely fun, not just a gimmick
the close-shade plain white plastic is a real, low-cost way to practice priming, panel lining, and painting without committing to an expensive kit

Worth knowing

witness marks from the touch gate system are much more visible on plain white plastic and need cleanup before painting
the near-identical shades of white make it easy to lose track of which part goes where during assembly without the color guide handy
unpainted it looks flat and unfinished by design, so it offers little reward if you don't follow through with paint

Sold? Grab it.

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The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

The build itself moves fast, this is still an Entry Grade kit at heart, so most parts snap on with touch gate nubs you can pop off by hand rather than clipping. The frame pieces and outer armor are subtly different shades of white rather than one flat color, which is a nice touch for separating detail once painted but makes dry-fitting a little disorienting until you get used to reading the sprues against the manual.

The engineering that made the standard Exceed Galaxy stand out is fully intact here: knee and elbow joints have real range, the waist and torso articulation let it hold dynamic poses without falling over, and the hardpoints scattered across the shoulders, arms, legs, and the backpack booster genuinely support weapon and part swaps rather than existing for show. Accessories carry over from the base kit, including the booster unit that clips onto arms or legs, giving you real posing variety before you even reach for paint.

Lore & trivia

01The Build Strike Exceed Galaxy is built and piloted by Sei Iori in Gundam Build Metaverse, a three-episode original net animation released for the Gundam Build franchise's 10th anniversary, with the Exceed Galaxy first appearing in the third and final episode.
02In-universe, the suit runs on a fictional 'EG (Energy Glitter-circulation) System' based on the Real Grade system, meant to allow multidimensional boost-ups suited to different battle situations.
03The kit is a redesign built on the bones of the standard Entry Grade GAT-X105 Strike Gundam, with Sei adding extensive hardpoints specifically so the suit would have, in his words, no single final form.
04'Painting Model' releases are a recurring Bandai Gundam Base Limited line that reissues existing Entry Grade kits in plain, closely-shaded white plastic instead of color-separated runners, aimed at builders who want a low-cost kit built specifically for practicing painting technique.