MGAnno Domini

GN-001 Gundam Exia (Trans-Am Mode)

The same brilliant frame as the standard Exia, dressed up in a glossy red-and-gold coat for its one big cheat code.

MechaGrade Score

3.8/5

Exia · 1/100 · 2010

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2010

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the standard MG Exia mold reissued in gloss injection plastic to sell the idea of Trans-Am mode, and on the frame alone it earns its keep.

The articulation is still some of the best in the whole MG line from this era, the GN condenser parts are a genuinely clever piece of engineering, and posing this thing with the Seven Sword loadout never gets old. Where it loses points is exactly where the original kit always lost points, loose joints out of the box and more stickers than a kit at this price should need.

Best for: builders who already love the Exia silhouette and want the glossy Trans-Am look without painting it themselves

The full review

What it is

This is the same GN-001 Exia frame Bandai has sold since 2008, just molded in gloss red, gold, and white to represent the suit mid Trans-Am activation, the state where a Gundam burns through its GN particle reserves for a temporary power spike. Building it feels familiar if you have touched the original release, snap-together inner frame, the same double-jointed elbows and knees, the same green condenser bubbles on the arms, legs, and head, and the same holographic film standing in for GN cable lines under the surface. The gloss coat actually photographs beautifully once assembled, it catches light in a way the matte original never did, and it saves you the airbrush work of trying to gloss-coat an Exia yourself.

The catch

The elbows only bend to about 90 degrees instead of the 180 you get on most MG kits from the same generation, which caps some of the more dramatic sword poses. The joints, especially the hip and waist skirt connectors, run loose out of the box on a lot of copies, builders report the upper arm joint working itself free during posing sessions, and more than one review recommends a dab of joint glue or gap-filling CA glue on the skirt armor before you even start posing it seriously. The kit also leans on a surprising number of foil and dry-transfer stickers for markings and detail rather than molded color, which is a step down from what modern MGs give you at a similar price.

Who it's for

I would point this at builders who already know they like the Exia and specifically want the Trans-Am color scheme on the shelf, whether as a display companion to a standard-mode build or because they love the glossy red look on its own. It is not the kit I would hand a first-time MG builder, the loose joints require a bit of patience and maybe some glue to fix properly, and if pose range with fully bent elbows matters most to you there are later Gundam 00 kits that do it better. But as a display piece with the full Seven Sword System fanned out and the GN Drive base lit up underneath, it still looks fantastic on a shelf.

The build story

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

The build itself moves fast once you are past the frame, the inner skeleton snaps together cleanly and the limbs go on in logical stages, but pay attention to the skirt armor and waist connectors as you go, that is where the wobble shows up later. A little glue on those joints before final assembly saves you from re-tightening a floppy hip six months down the line. Gate placement is standard Bandai for the era, nothing brutal, just take your time on the small green condenser pieces since they are thin and easy to stress if you clip carelessly.

Where the kit earns its reputation is articulation and accessories. Double-jointed knees and elbows, a 360 degree waist swivel, articulated fingers, and moveable skirt plates let you hit most of the show's signature stances even with the elbow limit. The Seven Sword System means you are never short on things to put in its hands, and the clear GN Drive display base with room for two LEDs gives you a lighting upgrade path if you want to push the display further.

Lore & trivia

01GN-001 Exia is piloted by Setsuna F. Seiei of Celestial Being in Mobile Suit Gundam 00, and it is one of only four Gundams built around a true GN Drive rather than the diluted GN-X tau drives that followed.
02Trans-Am is a system that overloads a GN Drive's particle output for a short burst of speed, strength, and reflexes at the cost of rapidly draining the drive, in the anime it is shown as a red particle glow rather than a literal color change to the armor.
03Bandai's Trans-Am Mode release reuses the exact same runners and frame as the standard 2008 MG Exia kit, the only difference is the injection color and the included clear base, which is why the two kits share nearly all of their build characteristics and complaints.