HGUniversal Century

XM-X1 Crossbone Gundam X-1 Full Cloth

A patchwork pirate wrapped in every anti-beam cloak the Crossbone Vanguard had left, and it looks every bit as desperate and glorious as that sounds.

MechaGrade Score

3.7/5

Crossbone Gundam X-1 Full Cloth · 1/144 · 2020

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2020

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is one of the better looking P-Bandai exclusive HGs I have put together, and I say that as someone who usually rolls my eyes at online-only reissues padded out with a new cloak.

The Full Cloth mantle genuinely transforms the base X-1 silhouette into something bulky and battle worn, which fits the Steel 7 story it comes from. The suit underneath poses well. The cloak on top of it does not always cooperate.

Best for: Crossbone Gundam fans and HG builders who want a dramatic silhouette kit and don't mind fighting the cape for every dynamic pose

The full review

What it is

The X-1 Full Cloth is the patched together, battle scarred evolution of Tobia Arronax's original Crossbone Gundam X1, built from every scrap of anti-beam coated cloak the Crossbone Vanguard had left after the Jupiter War ground them down. As a kit it is the base HGUC X-1 frame buried under a heavy cloth mantle, and building it feels like assembling two kits in one, a clean agile Gundam and then a bulky survival coat you strap on top. Snapping the cloak sections together and watching the whole silhouette change from lean UC Gundam to hulking pirate is genuinely satisfying, and the molded color work on the mantle panels means you are not staring down a sticker sheet for the main color scheme.

The catch

The cloak is the whole story here, for better and worse. Several of the mantle panels sit loose on their connection points out of the box, so you get some rattle and occasional part droop if you handle the kit a lot, and a little bit of joint tension or a dab of tape solves it but you should expect to deal with it. The bigger issue is posability. The bare X-1 frame underneath has a solid pose range, but once the full cloth armor and cloak are on, the shoulders and hips lose real range because the mantle panels physically block the joints. Getting the signature weapons (Muramasa Blaster, Peacock Smasher, Zanbuster, twin beam sabers) into two hands at once means fighting the cloak the whole time.

Who it's for

Buy this one if you love the Crossbone Gundam manga or just want a mobile suit that looks like it survived something, because the transformation from bare frame to full mantle is the best part of the build and worth experiencing yourself. Skip it if dynamic wide-stance posing matters more to you than the silhouette, since the cloak will fight you on the widest poses no matter how you shim it. It is also a P-Bandai exclusive, so expect secondary market pricing rather than retail, which nudges the value proposition down a notch even with the generous accessory loadout.

What works

The Full Cloth mantle genuinely reshapes the silhouette from lean UC Gundam into a bulky patchwork survivor, and it is the most dramatic transformation I have built in this scale
Molded color separation on the main cloak panels keeps you off the sticker sheet for the parts that matter most to the look
A generous accessory set (Muramasa Blaster, Peacock Smasher, Zanbuster, Brand Marker, twin beam sabers, beam shield) gives real display and pose variety once the cloak cooperates

Worth knowing

Several cloak panels sit loose on their joints out of the box and can droop or rattle without a little extra tension
Shoulder and hip articulation drops noticeably once the full mantle is installed, since the cloth panels physically block the range the bare frame has
P-Bandai exclusive pricing puts it above a comparable retail HG for what you get

Sold? Grab it.

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The build story

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

You are effectively building two kits, the bare X-1 frame first and then the cloth mantle system that clips over it, and the gate placement on both is typical clean HG work with minimal visible nub scarring once you clip and sand the obvious spots. The frame goes together fast and poses well on its own, which makes it worth test posing before you commit to the full cloak so you know what range you are trading away.

The standout engineering is how the mantle sections hinge and layer to keep the anti-beam coat look intact while still (mostly) letting you access the beam sabers and shield underneath. Color separation on the cloak's patchwork panels is handled in plastic color rather than stickers, which is the right call for a kit whose whole identity is that ragged, mismatched armor look. The weapon loadout is generous for an HG price point, giving you a real display case of Crossbone signature gear rather than one or two token accessories.

Lore & trivia

01The X-1 Full Cloth is the version of Tobia Arronax's Crossbone Gundam that appears in the Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam: Steel 7 manga, built by patching the damaged X1 with every remaining anti-beam coated cloak the Crossbone Vanguard had left after the Jupiter War.
02This HGUC release was a P-Bandai exclusive that shipped in August 2020, tied to Bandai Spirits marking the 26th anniversary of the Crossbone Gundam franchise.
03The Full Cloth Unit itself was originally developed during the Jupiter War as optional equipment before it was pressed into service covering the battered X1 in the Steel 7 storyline.
04The kit's weapon set carries over the Crossbone line's signature arsenal, including the Muramasa Blaster and Peacock Smasher, both established equipment from earlier X1 kit releases in the same UC timeline.