SD Gundam Exia (Mobile Suit Gundam 00) (a Neo-Tokyo 2099 Gunpla Review)

The SD Gundam Exia (Mobile Suit Gundam 00) set is inexpensive and a great starting point for one to start their Gunpla hobby. You get a lot of weapons, you get a solid figure but because it’s so inexpensive, it gives beginners the opportunity to learn how to do panel lining, to paint, to use markers, etc. But its ease of simplicity and price makes this set worth owning.

GUNPLA SET: Mobile Suit Gundam 00: SD Gundam Exia

MODEL #: GN-001 (BB#313)

RUNNERS: 5

PRICE: $9.99

THE REVIEW:

Back in 2007, Sunrise released their 11th installment of the Gundam franchise titled “Kidou Senshi Gundam Double 0” (known as “Mobile Suit Gundam 00”).

One of the well-known Gundam mecha in the series is the GN-001 Gundam Exia (a.k.a. “Gundam Seven Swords”), a close-combat Gundam-type mobile suit piloted by Setsuna F. Seiei.

The successor to the GNY-001 Gundam Astraea, the goal for the Exia was to create a close-combat Gundam-type that mimic the movements of human.

As one will notice, the SD Gundam Exia looks quite appealing by looking at the box.

But to make your Gundam standout, this is one that will need a little paint or Gundam markers. But on its own, it still looks good, it’s really easy to build and if you are a beginner to gunpla, then this can serve as a good starting point for simple and easy gunpla building.

First, let’s talk about the SD Exia Gundam. You get a few stickers for its eyes, top of its head and for its front chest area and the GN Drive.

Everything about this set is easy to put together, for its head, there are not many small pieces. In fact, you’ll find yourself putting together the head the arms, the torso, the legs and the weapons and finish with an hour or less.

The good news after putting together, it looks rather cool and priced under $10, its affordable and simple to build. But by using bigger parts, you are limited in terms of movement. You can’t bend the arms in the elbow region, you are limited in foot movement.

In fact, the main movement is making the head turn left or right, moving the shoulders up and down, moving the torso left and right. Last, the feet do move up and down a little.

As mentioned, you will need to paint or use markers to bring this figure out. If you look at the box, there is a lot of detail, their is color in the joints, there is additional dark gray or silver paints shown, but in truth, that is up to you to paint.

I recommend having a black or gray Gundam super fine marker and before you connect the parts, do your panel lining with these markers. And if you want it to look like the box, you can use Gundam markers with the flat tip, so you will want to have black, dark gray, silver and yellow ready.

I recommend for beginners to purchase a GSI Creos Gundam Marker Basic Set (as it comes with colors you will more than likely use often and also a super fine marker). For those who are good with painting, I recommend having silver, German or Gunmetal gray, yellow and white paints ready.

Overall, the SD Gundam Exia (Mobile Suit Gundam 00) set is inexpensive and a great starting point for one to start their Gunpla hobby. You get a lot of weapons, you get a solid figure but because it’s so inexpensive, it gives beginners the opportunity to learn how to do panel lining, to paint, to use markers, etc. But its ease of simplicity and price makes this set worth owning.

Meanwhile, for those who prefer having Gunpla with articulation, compared to other SD Gundam sets, this one doesn’t have a whole lot of articulation.

But for beginners or collectors, I have no problem with recommending the SD Gundam Exia.

RATING: *** 1/2 (3 1/2 stars out of 5)