MGAnno Domini

GN-001 Gundam Exia

The looker of the 00 lineup, built for close combat and photos, not for holding a pose all afternoon.

MechaGrade Score

3.7/5

Exia · 1/100 · 2024

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2024

Runnersn/a

Check price on Amazon

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

The verdict

This is one of the best looking MG kits Bandai has ever put out, and I mean that as a real compliment, not a backhanded one.

The translucent green GN Drive parts, the laser etched engravings, and the holographic GN cable film all read as genuinely special on the shelf. Where it stumbles is stability, the hips and ankles are looser than a kit this detailed has any right to be, so this is a kit you build for the display case, not for wrestling into dynamic action poses.

Best for: MG builders chasing the best-looking GN Drive Gundam on the shelf who are willing to work around loose hip and ankle joints

The full review

What it is

Exia is the melee specialist of the four original Gundam 00 machines, and Bandai built the kit to match, an original frame with no parts shared from other 00-era kits and a genuinely fun 12-runner build. The clear green GN parts on the sides, thighs, shins, and forearms catch light beautifully once assembled, and the holographic film standing in for the GN cables is a small touch that photographs far better than I expected. I came away from the build impressed with how much personality this kit has for a 2009 tool that is still in print. It does not feel dated in the hand, it feels considered.

The catch

The honest problem is stability. The hip connection is loose enough that dynamic poses take real patience, and the ankles were not built to carry the suit's own weight through anything more ambitious than a standing idle. The panels holding the GN Blades on the hips have no locking mechanism, so they pop off if you handle the kit casually. Elbow bend also tops out around 90 degrees, well short of the 180 you get on many other MG kits, which limits some of the sword poses this suit is famous for in the show. None of this ruins the kit, but budget extra patience for posing sessions.

Who it's for

Buy this one if you want the definitive display version of Exia and you are building primarily for the shelf rather than for constant repositioning, the detail payoff and the GN Drive greebling are worth the trade. If you want a Gundam 00 kit that can hold an aggressive sword pose reliably and stay there, look at the RG Exia instead, it is smaller but noticeably steadier in the joints. Newer builders who get frustrated by parts popping loose mid-build should also go in with reasonable expectations here rather than picking this as a first MG.

The build story

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

The 12-runner build moves fast and stays interesting the whole way through, nub removal is manageable on the standard parts though the chrome-coated pieces show scarring more easily if you are not careful with your nippers. Foil stickers and dry-transfer decals cover the detail work well and most builders find them cleanly arranged rather than a chore to apply.

The frame gives good leg articulation, three-part feet and double-jointed knees add real balance for standing poses, and the waist rotates the full 360 degrees. Weapon variety is the standout here, the transforming GN Sword swaps between blade and rifle mode and is a genuinely satisfying accessory, but the loose hip block and shallow elbow bend keep this from matching the posing range of Bandai's later inner-frame designs.

Lore & trivia

01Exia is one of four original Gundams deployed by the paramilitary organization Celestial Being in AD 2312 to end armed conflict through direct intervention.
02Its pilot, Setsuna F. Seiei, shares an English voice actor, Brad Swaile, with Amuro Ray from the original Mobile Suit Gundam.
03The GN Drive mounted in Exia's torso produces a near-limitless power supply along with GN Particles that boost the suit's maneuverability far beyond its Gundam 00 stablemates.
04This MG tooling first released in 2009 and has been reissued multiple times since, including updates to box branding and an added target age notation in later print runs.