Gunpla Review: 1/144 HGBF Crossbone Gundam X1 Full Cloth Type GBFT

The opalescent white plastic is one of the many things that makes the Full Cloth stand out. So do the Full Cloth mantle and the gundam's signature weapons, the Peacock Smasher and the Muramasa Blaster -- 26 points of insane awesomeness even before you add the beam markers and beam shield. It really gives the impression of overwhelming force, applied more defensively, and closer range, than the Cross Bone Maoh. And that is fantastic.

The Full Cloth also comes with two beam sabers and two heat knives that cannot be stored on the suit, and two heat blades for the feet, as well as a little core fighter molded in that same bright white that the armour and Muramasa all come in. There is an optional collar piece without the peaked collar, an extra face plate, and an extra back of the head in case you want to go with a more traditional Full Cloth build. But I went full-out, and with a wiggly feather and V-fin, that meant breaking out my plastic cement -- but really, what else would you do for a gundam that has a 'feather in its cap?'

While the Full Cloth looks imposing, there are some issues you should be aware of when you consider whether you should get one of your own. First, there is an extensive sticker sheet, because the thrusters, the red on the Cloth and cape collar, even the yellow on the shoulders and the eyes on the skull-shaped I-field projectors -- they're ALL stickers. Since my red gundam marker doesn't show up so well on the dark, dark navy blue of the cloth, I decided to use the stickers for those. But after trying the thruster stickers on the front bits of the cloth, I decided a little gold marker would go a lot farther, and I think I'm right. I also coloured in all the eyes on the skulls (except for the I-field generators because the stickers have some additional markings) and have the weapons some extra colouring that isn't on the anime version. Certainly if you're not fond of stickering or painting this is not the kit for you. But if that is an aspect of the build you enjoy, go for it by all means -- and speaking of 'means,' I got this while it was on sale, making it an excellent deal since it was just a couple more dollars than my Maoh.

Another issue you'll encounter is how finicky the cloth is: it can get knocked off easily and is harder to put back onto the shoulders if you're just trying to press them down onto the arms. It's easier to just take the arms off the suit and do it that way. It may be tempting to just glue the cloth on, but then you wouldn't be able to take it back off.

One thing I noticed is that the Crossbone Gundam stands smaller than my other models. Looking at the stats, I saw that they stand at 15.9m instead of 18m, which is what the older gundam are like. This means that because all my models are 1/144th scale, my Crossbones being smaller than my other models including the G-Portent, is correct scaling. That is awesome attention to detail on Bandai's part.

Overall I love this kit. The build took longer than I thought because of all the stickering and colouring, but I think it was worth it. I recommend this kit to anyone who wants an awesome display piece that only becomes so awesome after you add in the colour. I also recommend it to Crossbone fans, as it retains the usual beam zamber and buster rifle.