HG Gundam X

Hey there everyone! Today's review is on the HG Gundam X kit. I picked this fella up over the summer on the suggestion of a friend, and I've really grown to like it :D. And it's got a nice amount of purple on it, too, which is a huge selling point for me. There aren't enough purple Gundams out there... anyway, no more rambling! On to the review~!

It did take quite a bit of touching up paint-wise to make it look as nice as it does, but it's worth it. It really strays away from the traditional Gundam colors [white, red, blue, yellow].

Moving right along, we come to articulation. Because of Gundam X's backpack, there are a lot of moving parts but it's not quite as daunting as it seems ^__^;;. From the top down, the head is on a ball joint and can rotate and move around nicely. The v-fin, though, kind of gets in the way of the Satellite Cannon [more on that later]. The shoulders are polycapped into the torso, and have a pretty remarkable range of motion. The arms are attached to the shoulder armor at the usual place and can bend out nicely. The arms can also rotate just below the shoulder and have a single joint at the elbow. The hands, like all HG kits, are ball jointed into the wrists. The waist is ball jointed but seems like it's there mostly to keep the upper and lower body together =\

Moving back up to the backpack, the gatling gun on X's left shoulder can swing down and serve as a more high-powered source of physical bullets than the usual forehead cannons. The mechanism that the gatling gun is attached to can also swing out of the way, as it's on a polycap-like joint on the backpack. The Satellite Cannon system [the huge gun and the panels] are all attached to an arm on the backpack that can rotate pretty freely. X's beam rifle can also attach [and swing back and forth] to the bottom of the backpack.

Gundam X's waist has two ball joints where the legs can plug in, and those two ball joints are on a little piece that can rotate a little bit, allowing for more dynamic posing. The front skirts can move very nicely and aren't ever a problem, and the same goes for the side skirts. Like most other HG kits, the back skirt is totally immobile. The legs can move at the hips very well, though it is somewhat limited because it's a ball jointed connection instead of a peg to polycap connection. The knees have two bend points, but you can really only get about a 90˚ bend out of them =\. The feet are very free moving, despite the huge ankle armor, and they have no trouble supporting the rest of Gundam X.

And Gundam X can kneel! And not look awkward doing so! Really, my only complaint about the kit is that the knees are quite "meh" compared to some of the other recently released HG kits.

~*~ACCESSORIES~*~

Gundam X has a few accessories that can all be stored on his handy dandy backpack :D. Let's start with the [very unconventional] beam saber!

Attached to the back end of the Satellite Cannon, Gundam X's beam saber looks more like a cutlass than an actual beam saber xD. It also includes a very vibrant neon green beam effect that is molded quite nicely~

Next up is Gundam X's beam rifle, which, as I mentioned before, can store right on his backpack! You just need to attach the handle, lift up the target sensor, and extend the barrel, and BAM!

The rifle can also transform into a shield. Why they chose to have a perfectly good beam rifle turn into such a silly looking shield is beyond me D:

And the last and definitely most important part of Gundam X is the Satellite Cannon!!

When I have better lighting I'll take a better picture of Gundam X with the Satellite Cannon deployed, I promise D:  It's awesome to look at. The huge cannon and the big shiny moonlight collection panels definitely do not disappoint~

~*~FINAL VERDICT~*~

Well folks, that pretty much wraps up this review of the HG Gundam X [I've been so tempted to type Turn X this whole time Dx ]. It's a very solid kit that flaunts untraditional Gundam colors incredibly well, and just generally looks cool~. Gundam X retails for around $17, so if you find one at a hobby shop or online, I'd definitely recommend picking it up! It's an awesome build, and if you choose to paint up the finer details on it you can really make it look amazing! :D

And that's it! See you next Friday, my loyal Gunpla fans~! :D