Series: Master Grade (MG) 1/100
Title: XM-X1 (F97) Crossbone Gundam X-1 Ver. Ka.
Release Date: 09/2006
Suggested Price: ¥ 3500
No. of Parts: unknown
Plastic colors: transparent pink, yellow, blue, white, red, dark gray
Gimmicks: N/A

Introduction

Contributor: Mwulf
Date: September 29, 2009

I bought the MG Crossbone X-1 for two pretty stupid reasons. First, it was on sale. Second, it was the only MG in stock that was NOT an RX-78-2. Between my purchase of the X-1 and my eventual construction of the model, I was able to at least partially educate myself in the design be reading through the first two volumes of the Gundam Crossbone manga, which details the latter exploits of Seabook Arno after the events of the F91 movie. I'm very glad I was able to read the manga, because it enabled me to have a much greater appreciation of the X-1 model. The MG X-1 is, by the way, most definitely the single best model kit--of any scale, grade or franchise--that I have ever been lucky enough to see, let alone own. Every aspect of the model exceeded my expectations; it is the only model that I can honestly say deserves nothing but praise.

Head

The head of the X-1 is amazing. Stunning. The neck that it's mounted on is actually set on a pivot in the torso, allowing it to angle forward or backward at a sharp tilt in addition to the actual ball-mount higher up, allowing for unprecedented mobility. A large skull and crossbones adorns the front of the "Mohawk" portion of the head, replacing the more traditional secondary camera, and is detailed very well for its small size--though you will want to use a Gundam marker (or other fine-tipped instrument) to darken the eye-sockets of the skull. The V-Fin may not seem to be anything new--and it's not, really--but I was pleased to note that the plastic runner that held the V-Fin in place only connected at the base of the V-Fin, so you don't have to worry about any specks of torn plastic or discoloration running up the lengths of the fins. The face of the head, too, is very well detailed. There are tiny slashes going up and down from each eye that are little more than indented onto the surface of the plastic; in the pictures and lineart, these "tears" are colored red, but I chose to fill them in with black because I felt it looked better. With those lines colored in, the face of the X-1 gains a LOT of definition. Finally, between the eyes and the red beard of the X-1 is a faceplate in a similar design to that of the old F91. Unlike the F91, however, the faceplate on the MG Crossbone is movable, sliding up and down from either open to closed positions. Closed, the head retains the feel of the original Gundam, even better than later incarnations of the original, simple design like the Victory. When open, however, the faceplate resembles an open mouth with two large canines--or fangs--pointed downward. Coupled the the iconic skull-and-crossbones at the top of the head, the Crossbone's visage becomes truly frightening.

Torso

The torso is the simplest aspect of the Crossbone's design. Although it's essentially hollow, and completely open at the rear to accommodate the entry of the core fighter, it's extremely sturdy and very stable. The arms connect to small pivots on the shoulders which allow for extreme flexibility forward and backward, and a small hatch at the front of the torso pops open to see the cockpit of the Gundam when the core-fighter is inserted. In addition, two small clamps are located on the side of the torso that latch on to the cloth cloak, holding it in place. These clamps are very small, yet stay in place with ease; and their bright coloration makes for some nice contrast with the dark-blue of the torso. The lower portion of the torso, however, is a bit odd. The middle torso connects to a lower torso by way of a ball joint in the center, which seems to imply some degree of mobility at the waist. However, the lower and middle torso pieces fit together so snugly that no noticeable movement is possible, thus negating any effect the ball joint would have had. A large chunk of the torso is the core-fighter that slides into the rear of the mobile suit and lends the Gundam it's distinctive X-shaped maneuvering thrusters.

Arms

The arms look very simple, and they are very simple. They're also very poseable, and very well-detailed. The internal skeleton of the arms is a bit less logical than other designs; in several instances I found myself unsure of how exactly to connect the pieces, and at times I had to force them together so forcefully I was certain I would break the model. Fortunately, nothing was broken and the excessive amount of force used to assemble the various pieces worked to my advantage, allowing for incredibly strong appendages. At the backside of the elbow, each harm has a small rectangular beam-shield/beam-brand marker which swivels forward over the hands and can rotate sharply to either side. Although the X-shaped brand is molded in clear pink plastic, no beam-shield is present. The elbows of the model, of course, are double-jointed. The hands, however, are a bit of a disappointment. They are no different than the hands of any other MG model, and in this isolated case, the lack of a polycap for the wrist makes for a slightly less stable grip. It's rather sad because the large beam-scimitar looks like it could make a very intimidating pose, but the hands themselves are too weak to support its weight.

Legs

There's not much to talk about with the legs. Design-wise, they're pretty much a combination of all the "best" features from previous Gundam designs. The fins at the back of the anklet-armor are a nice touch, and if you have an action base to suspend the model in the air, you can also work in some very, very cool poses. There are also small blades that can be placed at the bottom of the feet, they look kind of cool but mostly come across as gimmicky. But the key part to detail when it comes to the legs is that they are very, very sturdy and very flexible, allowing you to pose the X-1 in nearly any manner you can imagine. There's an insane amount of flexibility here--far more than I have seen in any other Master Grade model kit.

Weapons and Accessories

Next to the Crossbone X-1 Full Cloth, I'm pretty sure this baby has more weapons and accessories than any other model out there. You've got your typical beam sabers--molded in clear plastic with solid hilts--the same as always, but you also have giant knives coming out of the feet, a giant beam scimitar--a beam sword that can double as a very spiffy looking beam rifle (or pistol) hearkening back to the same weapons used by privateers in centuries long past. You also have the anti-beam cloak and two X-brands on the elbows--also with spiffy-looking clear-pink plastic beam molds. There are hardpoints on the skirt armor that allow you to attach the main weapons, and the beam sabers themselves are part of the core fighter and slide into little grooves at the sides of the neck. The core fighter itself is pretty cool--you can open up the front torso to reveal the clear cockpit with a tiny Seabook sitting inside. Sadly, there's only 1 core fighter--unlike the MG GP01 and MG GP03 models that gave us two--so you can't display your core fighter without removing it from the torso--which can be a bit tricky. There isn't a shield, which is a bit odd for any Gundam unit, but there's so much other stuff here that I really doubt you'll notice.

Conclusion

On a scale of 1 to 5, if "5" represents the ideal model that is everything you want it to be, then the Crossbone X-1 most definitely warrants a 6--even with its flawed hands. No matter how good of a model you think it will be, it will surpass your expectations (well, maybe not after you've read this). I'll admit, I was a bit nervous going in--I'd never before assembled one of the new no-polycap models--but in the end, I have to agree that the X-1 is far more stable and durable than any of the polycap models I've seen. It is nearly infinitely poseable--nearly any pose I, myself, can take can be absolutely mirrored to within the smallest of degrees with the X-1. The only area where the X-1 cannot approach humanlike poseability is the lower torso, which is a shame because it appears that the X-1 was designed to be able to accommodate some degree of stomach-mobility.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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