The best RG kit of 2019?

This week has been really one great week for me. Because I have been finding myself smiling and having fun with building a kit which is becoming my new favorite for this year. Yes, today I will be giving you my final thoughts on the brilliant RG 1/144 XM-X1 Crossbone Gundam (RG)!

But as ever, we would first delve into some of the lore of this awesome MS before we get to the review.

So without further ado let us get into it, shall we?

The history and development of the F97 / XM-X1 Crossbone Gundam

Model name:

F97 / XM-X1

Classification:

Prototype General-Purpose Mobile Suit

Weapon systems:

Vulcan Gun

Beam Saber

Heat Dagger

Scissor Anchor

Beam Shield/Brand Marker

Buster Gun

Beam Zanber

Zanbuster

Rifle Granade

Atomic Shell

Height:

15.9m

Armour Material:

Gundarium Alloy Ceramic Composite

Powerplant:

Ultracompact Minovsky Fusion Reactor (5,280 kW)

Total Thrust:

4 x 25,000kg (Maximum 4 x 30,000kg)

Effective Sensor Radius:

Unknown

Crew:

1 pilot

Out of all the places in the known universe that one can choose to operate the MS in, the space surrounding Jupiter is probably one of the hardest places one could choose to do so. So when S.N.R.I was commissioned by Crossbone Vanguard’s heir Berah Ronah on developing a high-performance MS that is capable operating in space surrounding Jupiter, they knew that they had a tall order to be able to create something with that kind of specification set.

The reason why this is a tall order for the chaps in S.N.R.I because to develop an MS that is capable of operating near Jupiter is an almost an impossible thing to do. Mainly because of Jupiter’s strong gravitational field surrounding the planet and as well their lack of experience developing an MS that is capable of operating in that kind of environment.

Plus even if they could develop something like that it would require them to create an MS with large thrusters and one with a much more powerful powerplant for it to be able to operate near Jupiter. Which is not something that Berah Ronah had in mind when she wanted to revive the Crossbone Vanguard to combat the ever-increasing threat of the Jupiter Empire.

So with that kind of requirements set by Berah Ronah, the chaps from S.N.R.I still decided to give that a try and see what can they do. With much trial and error in developing this MS, they finally managed to create something that fits the requirement that is set by Berah Ronah which was the F97 Gundam.

a.k.a better known as the Crossbone Gundam.

One might think that with their lack of experience with developing an MS that is capable to operate in the region surrounding Jupiter that the MS developed by S.N.R.I might not be as good as the one that was developed by the Jupiter Empire. Not really, because what created here managed to successfully outperform many of the MS that was developed by the Jupiter Empire. In which it was to a point they needed to capture one to counter the unstoppable threat posed by this Crossbone Vanguard MS.

So you might be wondering how did they manage this, even with them lacking both the experience and expertise?

Well, they first managed it by designing a completely new thruster unit for the F97 unit. They gave the F97 4 moveable thruster in an x shaped configuration. Used in tandem with the F97’s AMBAC system, this thruster unit enables the F-97 to operate near Jupiter without needing to increase its powerplant or the size of the MS. Plus, this configuration enables the MS to be as agile and as maneuverable as it could be.

Which is frankly is a very impressive feat. Considering that it had to operate in the close proximity of Jupiter’s strong gravitational field. The only downside of this very impressive thruster system is that the MS is very hard to maneuver on or near Earth. Even by toning down the thrusters the MS still is a beast to control.

Another thing that done here on the F97 is by making it a monster in close quarters combat. Although technically the F-97 was designated to be a general-purpose MS, however, the truth of the matter is they made the F-97 to have a much stronger emphasis to its close-quarters capabilities. Because when combined with its high mobility the F-97 can easily out-maneuver any enemy MS that it encounters in combat and take their enemies out without them even realizing what has happened. Its high mobility as well enables it to slip into close range and past the beam shield of most MS in service at the time. Which made any countermeasures useless when coming up against this MS.

The F97 is as well equipped with alot of melee, close-range and medium-ranged weapons which are more specialized in disabling its opponents MS without completely destroying them. What’s more, S.N.R.I as well helped to develop an Anti-Beam Coated Cloak which can be stored at the F97’s back and can be easily unfolded when needed. When deployed, the cloak covers the whole F97’s body, in which the cloak could withstand 5 beam shots before it is rendered unusable and it should also be said that the cloak is as well capable of stealth.

Like the F91 Gundam, the F97 as well has a heat dispenser vent installed at the F97’s head unit which is as well functions like the F91’s vent. Which means that it would help to improve the overall performance of the MS when the heat vent was opened. Finally, the F97 as well was installed with a Core Fighter which was used to increase the survivability of the Crossbone Gundam’s pilot in combat.

The reason why the Crossbone Gundam was equipped as such, is because it was one of Crossbone Vanguard’s leader, Berah Ronah’s desire to fight the war against the Jupiter Empire with as little loss of life as possible on both sides. Which is why the MS was equipped with alot of weapons and equipment which would enable the Crossbone Gundam to achieve that.

You might be wondering why am I using the F97 model name instead of the one that the Crossbone was better known for? Well, that is because F97 is the actual model name, of the Crossbone Gundam. The reason why it was given the ‘XM’ designation is for the S.N.R.I to hide the fact that they are making secret deals with the Crossbone Vanguard pirates. That is why it was given the ‘XM’ designation to its MS.

The Crossbone Gundam X1 model has seen alot of changes throughout the years and as well seen a fair share of different pilots piloting the unit. But it was at the battle of IO that the Crossbone really manages to distinguish itself in battle and securing its place amongst the other legendary MS’s.

With that ends the history lesson, let us get into the review, shall we?

The Review

Today, I will be joining many other gunpla Reviewers, Instagrammers and YouTubers in singing praises for this badass kit.

Why wouldn’t it be since you can really feel that this kit is really a culmination of 9 years of trial and error by Bandai in perfecting the RG line up? You can see it in both the RG Sazabi and this the RG Crossbone that there is some very solid MG DNA that is being given to it to make the kit even more awesome.

Honestly, from the point, I started off with it, all the way I put the last piece on the kit. I was hooked by how good it was. I keep on constantly finding myself getting lost while building this every time I started working on it.

There is a really good reason for this. Because as I opened this review, I realized how much this kit made me think of how much the RG line up has changed throughout the years. From an unstable mess of the RG Gramps to this, an awesome kit which is the one kit that I feel everyone from every skill level would be able to enjoy.

However, it is not like the RG line up has toned down on the difficulty level for the RG Crossbone, oh no-no. In fact that I do feel this is prolly one of the harder RG kits to build and yes, one of the main reasons is really due to its small size. How small is small, you might be wondering?

Well, just take the time to imagine the normal RG Gramps’s visor unit but half the size of that. Yes, the parts are that small, and as you can already tell by now that makes it insanely hard to work on them. Them parts are so small that I can’t remember how many times I find myself lying on the floor trying to find them bloody parts.

So if you thinking of picking this up, do remember to take slow and easy. Because as I find during my run with the kit, rushing it causes me to keep dropping all the insanely small parts which are a bit of a pain in the bum to find.

Oh as well remember to stock up on your hobby knife blades, because you will find yourself needing it for this kit. Because of due the RG Crossbone’s size as well, the nubs and excess sprues for this RG kit are as well a bit of a challenge to deal with. Because there were a few occasions where I find the nubs to be located in places that are harder for a nipper to get into and the lack of space available does make me have to take things nice and slow.

Even with that said, I do not find it to be an issue because this is something that I kind of expect with the RG line up. In fact, I would say that I do find myself enjoying that process. All this challenge is a fun thing to experience, and like the RG Sazabi during the building process, there isn’t anything here that I’d find to be an annoyance.

However, there is something that I wasn’t really expecting when I started work on this. It’s on how the parts feel on my hands as I worked on it and as well on how all the said parts behave when worked on them.

I really don’t know how to explain it here. But the RG Crossbone’s parts had this very matte-ish feel to it and it really feels good to handle them. I as well find that even though I do have quite a time dealing with the badly positioned nubs, but I do find that none of them gave me any serious issues while I worked with them. As strange as it may sound, them nubs were annoying but not a pain in the ass to deal with and I really think that this got something to do with the materials that was used for this kit.

However, this is something that I’m quite unsure of. To be frank, I’m starting to wonder if I’m the only one is experiencing this or if anyone experiences this as well?

Regardless do let me know here if to those that had built this kit if you had the same experience. Because if it is something that was done deliberately by Bandai, then I would definitely commend their efforts in improving the gunpla builders experience building their kits.

but if it is just a rare occurrence…well I really hope Bandai does this for the next RG kit.

As well it should also be said that they did a really good job in making the RG Crossbone’s parts look really good. Like I mentioned before the parts looked something that was taken from the MG line up to just to be scaled down to this 1/144 size. But it is not just a recreation of the MG parts into the RG form, I do as well find that they as well improved on certain areas that I find it to be annoying on the MG version. Like the RG Crossbones arm unit.

Because unlike what I experience with the MG version, I do feel like the RG arm unit looks like it is more capable to carry heavier weapons system and it is something that I’d really hope Bandai would improve upon if they ever thought about making a Ver.2.0 version of this badass MS.

Speaking of the looks, the RG Crossbone Gundam is without a doubt is a very handsome kit. The RG Crossbone as well might be one of the best looking RG’s that I have owned and displayed here in the Homebase. The amazing Real Grade treatment that is done to this kit really makes an already sexy MS design into something even more of a badass.

I bet that anyone that sees the RG Crossbones would feel the same way too.

The RG Crossbone as well had a pretty good articulation. You can really pull off some insane poses here, and it would still be able to hold the said pose well. Even with the anti-Beam Cloak installed, I was still quite surprised that you can still be able to pull off quite a number of poses here and there. I think it might be due to the fact that they didn’t use an actual cloth to make the RG Crossbone’s Anti Beam Cloth part but instead opted with a flexible plastic-based part to recreate the Anti Beam Cloak for the RG Crossbone.

The only thing that I was a bit disappointed with this RG kit, is the fact that the kit is a tad bit unstable. Why? Well, the instability of this kit might be due to the fact that the RG Crossbone’s feet units are quite small. Yes, this is one of those cases where having big feet does play an important part in making sure your kit can be able to stand properly. Especially considering the fact that the RG Crossbone is a top-heavy kit. Although it is not impossible to have the kit posed without a stand, however, you will find yourself spending hours trying to find THAT perfect pose.

So yeah it is easier to have a stand to pose the kit up if possible.

But I do admit, aesthetically having small feet does make the RG Crossbone look good. So in a way that is a good trade-off, I suppose? Plus you can always attach the kit to an action stand, so this isn’t really that serious of an issue. Furthermore, this is really one kit that is best to get with a stand. Since you can really pull off some insane poses with em.

So just remember to get a stand if you are planning to get this kit up. Or you can always use blue tack if a stand is a bit too expensive to get.

Overall, despite some of the issues that I encountered with my run with this RG kit, I still feel like this RG kit is one of the best kits that I’ve built this year. I’m really glad that the Gunpla Evolution people again managed to create something AMAZING for the RG line-up and looking back at how good this kit is…I really can’t wait to get my hands on the upcoming RG ν Gundam.

They really do have come along the way from the disaster that is the RG Gramps.

With that ends the review for the RG 1/144 XM-X1 Crossbone Gundam X1 (RG). What do you think of both the kit and the review for this RG kit? Do you share the same thoughts with us or do you think that this kit could’ve been better? Again the RG line up of 2019 is looking pretty strong with this masterpiece of plastic art.

We are really looking forward to more RG kit, and I’m as well looking forward to all the inevitable releases of the P-Bandai RG Crossbone variants. This is really one line up that I really don’t mind selling my kidneys for.

Oh before I take my leave I do want to make a small announcement, starting from today onwards I will be moving the weekly Sunday review to Monday since I do have plans to increase the frequency of the blogs posting activities soon. This is after we have gone through all the suggestions that was made by you guys here, throughout the blogs life cycle. So you guys will be seeing posts being released on Monday, Wednesday and as well on Friday.

However, it should be noted that in this coming Friday I will still not be posting anything yet since the new piece is still in the works, but you will most definitely be seeing it next week. You guys may be seeing a video content coming from us soon too! So do look forward to that! 😀

Anyways, we will be back again this week more Let’s Talk Gunpla Segment on the coming Wednesday and we will be back as well on the coming Monday with a new unboxing or review! So, do look forward to that! Oh, we might have a special segment Let’s Talk Gunpla segment that is coming this, or the next Friday so do look forward to that! 😀

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We hope by sharing our love and passion for gunplas here, it’ll inspire you to pick up the hobby or reignite your love for gunpla!

Anyways, we shall see all of you again next week, and we hope that you all have an awesome week and weekend ahead! Have an awesome Gunpla building time there as well and until next time!

Ciao!