Entry Grade GN-001 Gundam Exia Gunpla Unboxing & Review

Time for the Gundam Meisters to make their appearance!

Commencing intervention!
Now, it's time to review the EG Gundam Exia from the "Mobile Suit Gundam 00" series. (That's pronounced "Double O", by the way, if you're not familiar with the series.)

Alright! Head on past the break for the full unboxing and review details.

Unboxing:

Front Cover

First, let's take a look at the box of the model kit. On the front cover, we'll see the "Seven Swords" in a very explosive-like pose. As usual, the Gundam's name, model number, and scale (which is 1:144 scale) can be seen in the front cover as well, just below Exia's box art. The "Entry Grade" labeling can be seen in the upper left portion of the box, while on the upper right we can see the Mobile Suit Gundam 00 logo.

The "Entry Grade" logo.

This is my second Entry Grade Model Kit review. Similar to No Grade Kits in terms of detail, articulation, and its affordable price tag, this kit is perfect for beginners like me. Plus, it's super easy to assemble since it only has a few parts. For beginners who'd like to buy something with more detail and decent articulation, you'll be better off buying a High Grade [HG] Kit, which is a little more expensive, but not really. (Huh. Hope that made sense.)

₱230. Very Cheap.

Price tag here. I can't remove the damn thing... I don't want to remove it by force either, I don't want to ruin the box. Priced at ₱230 here in our country. When converted to US currency, that's around $3-5. (And ¥400-500 in Japan. Or probably cheaper.) Very cheap. Which is a good thing, I guess..

Kits from the Entry Grade line.

The left side of the box shows you pictures of other kits from the Entry Grade line. Collecting them all shouldn't be a problem financially. After all, they're super cheap. However, most of these kits are out of stock as of late..

From left to right, we have:

1. GN-0000 00 Gundam
2. GN-001 Gundam Exia
3. RX-78-2 Gundam
4. GAT-X105 Strike Gundam

Also, take note that the kits pictured on this side of the box are painted kits. The Model Kit won't look like this when assembled out of the box. You have to paint it first.

Right Side Cover

OOB pictures and Gundam informations.

Gundam series information.

The "Separator"

Checking the right side of the box, we'll see some basic information about Gundam Exia and the Mobile Suit Gundam 00 anime. There's also front and rear view sample pictures of Gundam Exia here when assembled out of the box. Painting is a necessity if you want to make this kit look at least decent. And it's the perfect kit, in my opinion, to practice on your Gunpla hand painting skills. Since it's super cheap, you won't feel sorry for messing it up. You can just buy a bunch of these for practice.

Back Cover

Go check the official website.

At the back of the box, there's more information about the Model Kit and some warning notes. Go read them. Might by useful. It's written in different languages,. But more importantly, there are notes written in English. That's a relief, since I can't read Japanese or Korean texts.

Top Cover

Bottom Cover

You'll just see the box art cover on the top and bottom part of the box again, so nothing new there. And from there, we can open the box.

So, finally, let's take a look inside.

Runner A2: 4 Parts ("Separator" Included)

Runner B2: 7 Parts

Runner C2-1: 10 Parts

Runner C2-2: 5 Parts

There are 4 runners. 26 parts in total, with the "Separator" included which is used to assist the Gunpla builder in separating the parts from the runners but is not part of the actual Model Kit.

Seals

You also get seals, which are very useful. You can add more colors to the Gundam by sticking these if you're not comfortable painting it.

Some advertising stuff about the different line of kits.

Some survey questions at the back.

There's also a piece of paper inside the box, advertising other lines of Model Kits that you might be interested in. And at the back of that same paper, a questionnaire of some sorts. I'll place a picture here if you'd like to see it, for some reason.

Ok, it's time to assemble Gundam Exia!

But, wait a minute... Where the hell is the Construction Manual?! Well...

"Tear Here".

If you already read my first Entry Grade review, you probably already know that you have to tear the box open because the instructions are printed on the reverse side of the box. But if you haven't yet, I would like to tell you that you have to tear the box open because the instructions are printed on the reverse side of the box. Huh. And also, read my other review after reading this one. Ok? Thanks!

Construction Manual

Here's the Construction Manual, if you don't want to tear the box of your model kit. Convenient! (Click to enlarge. Although I don't think anyone will be needing this, the kit is too simple..)

Time to cut the parts off the runners!

Parts removed from runners with side cutter.

Picture of actual Separator.

Here's a picture of the "Separator". There are instructions on the Construction Manual on how to use it. Basically, you use this to remove the parts from the runners easier. I didn't actually use this because I'm trying to get zero or at least minimize the amount of nub marks on the kit. So, it's the side cutter and hobby knife for me. I thought, at first, that should be similar to EG RX-78-2 Gundam's Separator, but I remembered that these things can also be used as a guide in placing the seals for the Gundam Kit's eyes. Upon closer inspection, I was able to verify that they are slightly different. Neat!

And then we put together the parts.
Then, we move forward to the Gunpla review!

Review:

As expected, the kit is VERY limited when it comes to articulation and detail. First off, let's see some front, rear and side view pictures.

Front View

Rear View

Side View

Height Measurement

Then, let's try to get Exia in a few "dynamic" poses. Due to its very limited articulation, this is going to be hard.

Setsuna's getting emotional again. Huh.

Exia's gonna slice you up.

Sadly, this kit only has 1 accessory. More disappointingly, that accessory is not even its signature weapon, which is the GN Sword. It comes with the GN Blade instead. It would've been ok if they at least included another GN Blade (in the anime, Gundam Exia comes with 2 GN Blades) or at least a shield, for crying out loud. Oh well. What did you expect from the price... Well, I guess you can buy 2 of these, so you have 2 GN Blades for 1 of the kits. But that will slightly be inaccurate, since the other GN Blade in the anime is a bit shorter.

Now, let's go in-depth with the features of the Model Kit itself. Pictures are worth a thousand words, so I'll just post some pictures here then add my comments in captions.

The inside part of the arm is hollow and the elbow has no articulation.

For some reason, the arms have peg holes. So when I first saw the runners, I thought they've included a shield... What are these for, anyway?

Arms can go up sideways this much. Exia has better shoulder pads than EG RX-78-2 Gundam.

Inner part of the thighs are hollow as well.

Legs can spread out this much and, again, better than EG RX-78-2 Gundam. Although that maybe because Exia doesn't have much Skirt Armor on it.

Legs can go forward and backward this much. Hips can tilt a little since Exia's Skirt Armor is small but is still restricting the movement.

Ball joint for connecting the leg parts to the feet.

Due to the nature of Exia's frame, there is a lot more articulation when tilting its neck when compared to EG RX-78-2 Gundam.

Again, since the mold only comes in 3 colors, painting is a necessity to make the kit look at least decent. The GN drive here is supposed to be white, along with the Beam Sabers attached to its shoulders.

I didn't place the stickers since I'm planning on painting this kit in the future. I'll post the pics of the painted kit here on my blog once their done, as usual.

Now, for some final thoughts on the assembled kit..

I assembled this kit in less than an hour, which is a huge difference from the 2 hour assembly last time with EG RX-78-2 Gundam, but that's because I didn't put as much effort in polishing the Gundam this time. You can probably see some nub marks here and there in the pictures. Usually, the assembly of these kits will take around 15-30 minutes. The reason that it takes me so long is because I take pictures of the kit as I go. (Also, the reason why I wasn't able to minimize the nub marks this time is because of my hobby knife. It's got rust all over it. Annoying...)

Aside from the color discrepancies, which is understandable due to it's price (Have I said that too much already? Huh.), this kit is alright. Although the sticker for the GN Drive on the chest is supposed to be green instead of black, but never mind. No Grade kits knock Entry Grade Kits out in terms of articulation, except for detail. Both Grades are recommended for beginners like myself. But if you like better detail and articulation but the price is still affordable, like I said, you're better off buying High Grade [HG] Kits.

Looks like the first phase of the mission is complete.

Thank you for reading this Gunpla Review! More Gunpla and other reviews coming soon, so check my blog from time to time. ...and I'll see you on the next post!