HGAnno Domini

GN-001 Gundam Exia Trans-Am Mode

The same slick Exia frame, dipped in Trans-Am red and looking sharper for it.

MechaGrade Score

3.6/5

Exia · 1/144 · 2009

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2009

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a repaint done right, and I mean that as a real compliment, not a knock.

Bandai took the already well-liked HG00 Exia frame and reissued it in gloss injection plastic that mimics the red-tinged Trans-Am color scheme straight off the screen, hologram foil stickers included for the GN particle glow. It builds fast, poses well for a 2007-era HG, and the sword-heavy weapon loadout still feels generous for the price. It just has the same small-parts fragility the original Exia kit always had, so go in expecting a couple of loose spots rather than a flawless frame.

Best for: 00 fans who want the Trans-Am look on the shelf without stepping up to MG money

The full review

What it is

This kit is the GN-001 Exia frame recast in the red-tinted gloss plastic Trans-Am mode wears on screen, and building it feels like getting a second crack at one of Gundam 00's best-designed early suits. The three-ball upper thigh joints and double-jointed knees do real work here, the waist spins the full 360, and the head has a proper double-hinge neck so you are not fighting the kit to get a decent pose. I like that Bandai leaned into the alternate colorway instead of just slapping a new box on the same runners. It comes loaded with the full sword kit, GN longblade, shortblade, shield, two beam sabers and two beam daggers, so you actually have something to do with your hands once it is built.

The catch

The elbow and knee bend caps out lower than I would like for a suit this dynamic, and the rear skirt armor is fixed, which kills backward thigh movement more than it should. The bicep-to-arm connection runs loose out of the box on a lot of copies, and the hip-stored blades barely clip in, so do not be surprised if they end up on the floor a few times before you find the right storage angle. Chest armor panels that peg to the shoulders pop off if you handle the kit too roughly. None of it is a dealbreaker, but it is the same handful of niggles the original non-Trans-Am Exia release has always had, carried straight over.

Who it's for

If you already like the Exia silhouette and want it in the Trans-Am red without paying MG or PG prices, this is the easy call, especially since the gloss injection plastic actually sells the effect better than paint would for most builders. It is also a fine pickup for anyone building a 00 cast on a budget, since the sword loadout gives you real posing variety for the money. Skip it if loose joints genuinely bother you or if you were hoping Trans-Am mode fixed the small-parts fragility of the base kit, because it did not. Grab the original colorway instead if the red does not matter to you and you want to save a few dollars.

The build story

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

Assembly is quick and low-fuss, which tracks for a mid-2000s HG, nub placement is on the simple side and cleanup is minimal. The gloss plastic shows fingerprints and scuffs more readily than matte HG runners, so handle it with clean hands if you want the finish to stay pristine. Nothing here trips up a first-time builder, it is a straightforward afternoon kit.

The real payoff is the pose range for the era, that three-ball thigh joint plus the double-hinge neck and 360-degree waist let Exia hit the dynamic sword stances it is known for in the show. Color separation on the frame is handled well through molded plastic rather than paint, and the hologram foil stickers do a convincing job standing in for the GN particle emitters without looking like an afterthought.

Lore & trivia

01Trans-Am was a hidden system built into Exia's GN Drive by Celestial Being founder Aeolia Schenberg, meant to be triggered only if his plans went off course.
02In the show, Exia first activates Trans-Am during its fight with Ali al-Saachez's GNW-002 Gundam Throne Zwei, immediately turning the fight in its favor.
03Trans-Am works by releasing the GN particles a suit's GN Condensers have stored up, and it's said to push output to roughly three times normal specs while the suit runs.
04This HG00 release reused the original GN-001 Exia frame from earlier in the same product line, just recast in gloss plastic to match the on-screen Trans-Am color shift.