HG 1/144 Crossbone Gundam X1 Review

This is the High Grade 1/144 Crossbone Gundam X1. This mobile suit comes to us straight out of the Gundam F91 series, and is one of the few mobile suits from the series that actually got a model kit. Right off the bat I can tell you guys that I really dig the design of this one. The sort of skull and crossbones theme it has going just looks really cool, and you get a lot of neat weapons and accessories. Let’s go ahead and talk about this kit some more, shall we?

•DETAIL•
This is not only a cool looking kit, but it’s also very detailed for a High Grade kit. While it does come with a sticker decal sheet, you’re honestly better off painting many of the spots where the stickers would be applied, as it will look a lot better and will last a lot longer. The only sticker decals that I actually used in this kit were the ones for the eyes, the ones for the shoulders, the one for the emblem on the chest, and the one for the sight on the gun. All of the other spots I chose to paint. While panel lining this kit shouldn’t be too much of a problem, the painting can be a bit tedious, as all of the spots that should be painted are very small. While most of those spots won’t take anything away from this kit’s look if left unpainted, I do still advice painting the vulcan guns, as the stickers they give you to just put on the tips of them look just plain silly.

•ACCESSORIES•
For accessories, you get quite a handful with this kit. With this kit, you get one set of regular weapon holding hands, one set of pistol holding hands, one buster gun holding hand, one beam pistol, one beam sword, one beam shield, two beam sabers, two knives, two knifes that insert into the bottoms of the feet, two beam brand markers, two interchangeable faceplates, and one core fighter. So you get quite a lot of stuff with this kit. The accessories on this one are pretty fun, and you can combine the beam pistol and beam sword to create a buster gun. For the faceplates, you get one closed faceplate and one open faceplate. The head of this kit is designed to make switching them out pretty easy, but I prefer to just use the closed faceplate.

•ARTICULATION•
The articulation on this kit is very good, overall. For articulation, the head can rotate a full 360 degrees, can tilt side to side, and can look up and down. The arms can each rotate between 360 and a just a little over 180 degrees at the shoulders depending on how you have the arms positioned, and can each swing forward at the shoulders. Each arm rotates a full 360 degrees at the biceps, can move all the way outward, and each gets a full double bend at the elbows. The body can bend forward and backward a tiny bit at the abdomen, and rotate a full 360 degrees at the waist. The legs can each move all the way forward, a little bit backward, and can move all of the way outward. Each leg also gets almost a full double bend at the knee, and both feet can tilt side to side and can move upward and downward. The backpack can rotate a full 360 degrees, and each segment can rotate a full 360 degrees and can fold all the way back for the core fighter gimmick.

•GIMMICK•
With this kit’s cool design and wide variety of accessories comes a few fun gimmicks. First, the faceplate is interchangeable. I don’t use this gimmick much, but it gives fans two different ways to display this kit however they want. Next, by combining the beam pistol and beam sword, you can make a buster gun. It can only hold the buster gun in right hand though, as you only get one right hand piece made to hold the buster gun. Also, the armor on the backs of the lower arms can flip forward to allow you to attach either the beam brand markers or the beam shield. Finally, you can remove the backpack and combine it with another piece to create a core fighter.

•MY ISSUES WITH THE KIT•
Honestly, I had trouble finding any negative points about this kit. If I had to pick some things, though, I would have to say that the amount of small parts that need paint to get them looking the way they do on the box is pretty annoying. A lot of those spots they could have just gone and included sticker decals for, as it would made things a lot more simple for builders that aren’t experienced when it comes to painting Gunpla. Also, I’m just going to come out and say that the sticker decals for the vulcan guns look really stupid. Instead of adding the proper color to each gun, these stickers only color the very tip of each one. Which really is just stupid looking. I seriously recommend simply painting the vulcan guns.

•FINAL THOUGHTS•
All in all, I’m very impressed by this kit. The detail, quality, and articulation are all really great for a High Grade kit, and I love the accessories that you get with this one. This kit usually retails online for $16 to $19, making it one of the more reasonably priced kits on the market, as well as a really good value for everything that you’re getting in the box. Whether you’re a fan of the Gundam F91 series, or have never heard of it at all, I still highly recommend this kit, as it’s fun to build and looks great once you have it all put together.