HGAnno Domini

GN-001 Gundam Exia SHIMIZU S-PULSE Ver.

A dated 2007 mold reborn in orange and black for a J.League football club, and I still had fun clipping it.

MechaGrade Score

3.3/5

Exia · 1/144 · 2020

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2020

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the original 2007 HG Exia frame wearing Shimizu S-Pulse's orange, black, and white kit instead of its usual blue and grey, and once I accepted it for what it is, a novelty crossover piece, I enjoyed the build more than I expected.

The engineering underneath is the same middle-aged mold with stiff shoulders and shallow hip spread that Gunpla fans have complained about for years. What makes it worth talking about is how well the team colors actually read on Exia's slim, angular frame.

Best for: J.League supporters and Gundam 00 collectors chasing the 40th anniversary crossover kits, not builders wanting the best version of Exia

The full review

What it is

This kit takes the familiar GN-001 Gundam Exia, Setsuna F. Seiei's first suit in Mobile Suit Gundam 00, and reruns it in Shimizu S-Pulse's orange and black instead of the show-accurate blue, white, and grey. It came out of Bandai's 2020 collaboration with Japan's J.League, where several HG kits got team liveries and club decals to mark Gundam's 40th anniversary. Building it felt familiar the moment I opened the bag, because it is the same 2007-era Exia runners I have built before, just recolored. The orange actually suits Exia's slim proportions better than I expected going in, and clicking the frame together again was a comfortable, low-stress evening.

The catch

The frame under the paint job is the original HG Exia mold, and that means the shoulders barely swing forward, the hips do not spread far enough for dynamic poses, and the elbow bend is shallower than newer kits. There is a real sticker load here too, including a large shield sticker that takes patience to lay down straight, and the green GN Drive parts still look flat under clear plastic the way they always have on this mold. Because this is a limited team run, it also tends to sell at a premium over a standard HG and pops in and out of stock, so shop around before assuming it is a $20 kit.

Who it's for

If you follow Shimizu S-Pulse, collect the J.League Gunpla wave, or just want a genuinely different-looking Exia on the shelf next to your standard build, this scratches an itch nothing else does. If you are shopping for the best engineering or poseability Exia has to offer, skip this and get the RG or a newer HG in the line instead, since you will pay collector prices here for a kit whose frame does not fight for you the way current tooling does. I'd point a first-time buyer toward this only if the team colors are the actual reason they want it.

The build story

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

Assembly is quick and low-stress if you have built any version of this mold before. It comes off three main runners plus a small rubber runner for the shoulder polycap connectors, gates are easy to reach, and nub cleanup is minimal for an HG. The team-color plastic feels a touch shinier and smoother than standard grey Bandai runners, which I liked, though it also shows fingerprints more readily during the shield sticker application.

The GN Drive core and vent details are molded in green plastic rather than painted, so under the clear cockpit piece they read a little flat, the same complaint builders have made about this mold since 2007. Articulation is the real limiter: the knees pose well and the suit balances fine standing, but the shoulders will not swing far forward and the hips will not open into a wide stance. The full GN long blade, GN short blade, beam saber, beam dagger, shield, and convertible GN sword all carry over, giving decent accessory value even if the beam effect parts and saber blades are not included.

Lore & trivia

01The GN-001 Gundam Exia is Setsuna F. Seiei's mobile suit for the first half of Mobile Suit Gundam 00, one of four Gundams fielded by Celestial Being.
02This kit reuses Bandai's original 2007 HG 1/144 Exia tooling, recolored rather than re-engineered, as part of a 2020 collaboration between Bandai Spirits and Japan's J.League to mark Gunpla's 40th anniversary.
03The J.League wave covered multiple kits beyond Exia, including team versions of HG 00 Gundam, HG Barbatos, and HGCE Strike and Impulse Gundam, each recolored and decaled for a different club.