HGUniversal Century

RX-105 XI GUNDAM

A 26-meter atmospheric brute that transforms, and somehow still moves like a real Gundam.

MechaGrade Score

4.2/5

XI GUNDAM · 1/144 · 2026

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2026

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is one of the best HG kits I have put together in a long time, and I do not say that lightly.

Bandai took a mobile suit that is supposed to feel massive and lumbering and gave it double-jointed elbows and knees, a 360 degree waist, and a genuine flight mode transformation, all in a 1/144 High Grade. It punches well above its grade line.

Best for: Hathaway's Flash fans and HG builders who want MG-level engineering tricks without the MG price or part count

The full review

What it is

The Xi Gundam is Hathaway Noa's personal mobile suit from Hathaway's Flash, a huge atmospheric-specialized machine built around a Minovsky Craft system that lets it hit supersonic speeds in flight. Bandai's HG take on it is dense and confident. You get real transformation from MS mode to a sleek flight mode by folding the leg armor and stabilizers out into wings, and the whole thing still holds a pose afterward. Building it feels like assembling something that was actually engineered, not just molded to look busy. I went in expecting a stiff show-accurate brick and came out with a kit I wanted to keep re-posing.

The catch

The scale means the proportions stay a little top-heavy once the shoulder armor and backpack are on, so ambitious poses ask a lot of the ankles and waist. The flight mode transformation is satisfying but fiddly the first time through, especially removing and reseating the leg fins, and forcing it before you understand the peg alignment risks stress marks on the plastic. It also comes with a real parts count for an HG, which means more gate cleanup than a beginner kit, and a few smaller connector pieces that are easy to lose track of mid-build.

Who it's for

Grab this if you already like HG-scale building and want a kit that rewards patience with an actual transformation gimmick and above-average articulation, or if you are building a Hathaway's Flash lineup and want the hero unit done right. Skip it if you want a five-minute snap build or you are brand new to gunpla and would rather start with something simpler like an Entry Grade. This is an HG that asks you to slow down a little, and pays you back for it.

The build story

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

Assembly follows normal HG logic, snap-fit frame under armor panels, but there is a lot more of it than most HGs. Gate placement is mostly on non-visible surfaces, and cleanup is straightforward if a little time-consuming given how many small armor pieces stack onto the limbs and backpack. The leg fins that fold out for flight mode are tight by design, sanding the connecting pegs down slightly before your first transformation attempt saves you from cracking the plastic.

The engineering is where this kit earns its reputation. Elbows and knees are both double-jointed for a wider bend than you would expect from an HG, the waist spins the full 360 degrees, and the new wrist joint (a ball joint on the hand side, a pin on the arm side) makes hand swaps quick without wrestling tiny polycaps. Color separation on the armor is handled well in molded plastic rather than leaning on stickers for the major panel colors. The loadout covers the beam rifle, beam saber, and shield, and the transformation into flight mode is a legitimate structural change, not a cosmetic repose.

Lore & trivia

01The Xi Gundam is piloted by Hathaway Noa, son of White Base veteran Bright Noa, under the alias Mafty Navue Erin in his campaign against Earth Federation corruption.
02Its Minovsky Craft system is derived from the same technology as the Penelope, but integrated more tightly into the frame, giving it a slimmer profile and lighter mass for its size.
03The suit's Beam Barrier forms a cone-shaped field ahead of it in flight, letting it cut through the atmosphere at speeds exceeding Mach 2.
04Its funnel-based missiles are called Funnel Missiles specifically because, unlike standard funnels, they detonate on impact rather than firing beams.