Preamble
Along with the HGBF Lightning Z Gundam, supakoji had this Crossbone Gundam in the package. I had this in my wishlist, but I also did not want it. The first reason is because I already have the HGUC Crossbone Gundam X1, a gift from a good friend. The second is because Bandai decided to replace all the white parts with the crappy gloss injected pearl white. Not only would I be basically building a duplicate build, the out-of-box build would look ugly.
So why did I have it in my wishlist? Because I saw the custom build Crossbone Gundam Dai-Maoh. Like the Lightning Z Gundam, after seeing the custom job, I also wanted to try my hand at a custom Crossbone Gundam. This kit is one step closer towards a custom build, however, i would have to build Crossbone Gundam for a third time (and consequentially collect all the regular production Crossbone Gundams).
Background
In context to the Universal Century, the suit is titled Crossbone Gundam X1 Kai Kai "Skull Heart." I guess the X3 unit was destroyed and the pilot of the X3 gets the X1 Kai and modifies it further (thus the Kai Kai title) and calls it the Skull Heart for the jolly roger on the chest. One major modification is the Full Cloth unit which rests on the shoulders with the Skull Head units.
In context with Build Fighters, the Full Cloth Crossbone Gundam is piloted by Lucas Kankaansyrjä. No matter how I look at it, the suit is basically a stock mobile suit. Nothing new to bring to the table.
Unfortunately, like most antagonists showcased in Build Fighters Try, we see very little of this guy in the show.
Thoughts
For this Quick Review, I decided, since I already have a review of the HGUC version, that i look at the additions to the kit and how it effects the overall look and structure. If you want to read about the HGUC Crossbone Gundam X1, please follow this link.
To start, the chest has a few noticeable modifications, all of which are in the upper area. The bulbous bow that is the upper chest is a new piece that allows for the jolly roger to be attached in the front and part of the full cloth unit to be attached from the back as if they were a second set of front skirt armor. The second modification is the neck area. The alternative piece gives Crossbone Gundam a pseudo-collar. I assume this modification is to further the full cloth motif. These two modifications do not harm the suit's structural integrity and as an added bonus makes the suit look better. So far we are on the right track!
Most of the head sculpt is the same. The only noticeable difference is the slot included for the plume antenna. Even though the plume is supposed to have a red tip, the addition does not really stand out over the yellow V-fin. At least it does not cause any problems on its own.
The arms and legs, other than the color, are identical to the HGUC version. They were good in Crossbone X1, they are good on the Full Cloth. However, the shoulders are where the major addition exists. This is where the Full Cloth units are held.
Alternatively, the Skull Head Units on top of the shoulders can be slid off and placed on top of the hands as massive fists. All we need is a surfboard and we have a Crossbone Gundam Maxter! These skull units are friction fit and though the fit feels okay, trying to put these on with the full cloth unit was quite troublesome.
The instructions tell us to attach a piece on the top of Crossbone Gundam's shoulder, very similar to the HGUC version. It then instructs us to take that piece off and attack the Full Cloth Units in place of it. Why did they just leave that piece off and tell us it is an optional piece? Maybe it was a copy/paste job for Bandai.
Either way, this massive addition to the shoulders, as one might expect, get in the way of everything.Trying to articulate the arms with the Full Cloth Unit can get cumbersome as they fall off quite easily. The positive side to these large pieces is that they do not seem to cause any stability issues for the Crossbone Gundam.
With the Full Cloth unit fully assembled, the suit looks so filled out and bulky despite how short the suit is. Unfortunately the pieces do require quite a few stickers for proper color separation. Yellow for the vent tips, red for certain lines throughout, and a massive gray sticker to cover the white patch near the top. At least the rest of the suit does not rely on stickers.
On the subject of pearly white plastic, the gloss injection plastic does not seem so bad once assembled. Mind you, the pearly plastic still looks terrible, but with the Full Cloth Unit blocking a majority of the ugliness, the overall suit does not look too bad.
In addition to the Skull Head Units, and all the play options from HGUC Crossbone Gundam X1, two new weapons are included in the Full Cloth: The Peacock Smasher, and the Muramasa Blaster. Two iconic weapons of the Crossbone Gundam.
The Peacock Smasher is unique to the Skull Heart and boasts a beautiful detailed mold. Though the color separation is not nearly as good as the Master Grade version, the High Grade version can at least withstand the force of gravity (it stays up in the hand).
The Muramasa Blaster was originally a weapon of the Crossbone Gundam X3. However, since there is no HG version of the kit, the weapon is currently unique to the Full Cloth version. This weapon is also monochrome despite the color separation it is supposed to have. At least this weapon has the effect parts to compensate.
Like some of the previous weapons, the two aforementioned weapons have a peg that allow them to be stowed on the side skirts. Though the Muramasa Blaster looks natural in such a position, the Peacock Smasher does not. I would keep that weapon in hand.
That should cover the specific features the HGBF Crossbone Gundam X1 Full Cloth Type.GBFT brings to the table. Before building this, I was afraid the additional parts would be too flimsy or create a top heavy kit. However, none of the parts truly create any problems. With a little paint, this Crossbone Gundam can look amazing. I will be sure to make this suit shelf worthy in 2016!
Thank you once again, supakoji, for the amazing Secret Santa gift. I enjoyed seeing the additions to the X1 and hopefully the Custom Crossbone project will go smoothly. To everyone else, I hope you are enjoying the holiday season. As we approach 2016, I want to wish you all the best for the next year. May your cuts be clean and your sandpaper rough! This is Gundariumsmith, signing off for the year.
Another Competition
One more thing. r/Gunpla has a build-off going on! The theme is "Raise Your Flag" with Graze (and its variants) as the base kits. Click the link at the top of the side bar for full rules and guidelines on the competition. I hope to see you in the fray!
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