Alright, this review has been a while in coming, primarily because it was quite challenging to secure a figure in the first place. The Converge Crossbone X-3 (or X3 as the packaging prefers to name it) was released through the premium CORE brand in January 2019 with a price tag of ¥2200. This quickly shot up in price and I missed this item several times before finally finding one in August for ¥4000. Some figures just skyrocket in price while others are dead in the water already at launch...
The end of 2018 was a good spot if you are a Converge collector with a special interest in the Crossbone Gundam design. Bandai spit out in quick succession the X-1, the X-2 Kai, X-3 and X-1 Full Cloth over a period of just a few weeks. Since then they have also been trickling out mobile suits from the various related F91 storylines.
The Crossbone Gundam X-3 is a bit of a derivative design and the same can be said for the Converge figure. If you have some of the other figures you will feel just at home and know what to expect. Still; it does have a couple of unique tricks up its sleeve as we shall see.
I can't believe I say this but I think the X-3 was rather moderately priced for being a CORE release, considering Bandai went in and included some extra accessories also for your X-1 and X-2 figures.
The basic X-3 figure looks quite similar to the X-1 but comes with obvious changes such as the skull insignia being moved to the chest area and the overall blue colour being much brighter. Overall it is a very attractive figure and it feels solid and well proportioned. The rebooted Converge Crossbone figures are miles ahead of their older counterparts in that regard.
You get two faces included with the figure. The "Open Face" that comes preassembled is intended for venting tremendous heat build-up while you also have the traditional face to use if you so choose. I originally planned to use the traditional face for this figure but as you can see something went wrong in the assembly there, the mouth isn't centered properly with the eyes at all and it looks a bit wonky. People had similar issues with the open face of the X-1 Full Cloth figure. I guess getting good faces on these figures is a bit like playing roulette.
The X-3 figure comes with two holding hands which is not as common as you would think (or want for that matter). In addition to these we also find an open expressive left-hand in the box which is a great touch that I would like to see on more of the bog-standard figures rather than the same old clenched fists. I probably shouldn't wish too hard though or Bandai will force common interchangeable hands on all figures like they are messing with
Mobile Suit Ensemble...
We have a total of four weapon choices in the box, and you will recognize them as lifted from the X-1 and X-1 Full Cloth figures respectively. With so many great gear choices and two holding hands it is easy to go overboard with all sorts of crazy loadouts. Especially when you begin to gear swap with the X-1 figures. In the end however, I settled on the measly beam rifle simply because it was not equipped on the other Crossbones in my line-up...
The biggest reveal for this figure is of course the anti-beam cloak which turns the X-3 into a caped crusader. And not only that, Bandai and FusionWorks decided to go the extra mile and included three cloaks for us to equip on already prepared X-1 and X-2ex figures as well. This is much appreciated.
As you can see above the cloak works well with all the accessories as long as you restrict them to right-hand use only of course. I think the cloaks look great on all of the figures but in the end I found that it works best on the X-3 figure only, as I prefer to display the other figures without. However the cloaks are there if needed and I love it.
The last accessory in this box is the Crossbone style action base and this is the only component in the box that I think doesn't work. The stand is reused from the Full Cloth X-1 figure that looked awesome atop it because that figure included optional feet in a relaxed and loosely dangling pose. This figure sadly does not have these replaceable limbs and putting it on the stand just looks like it is standing in mid-air. I kind of wish that the box included the standard black stand from the basic X-1 figure but I guess you can always salvage one from another figure. Bit of a poor effort there.
Above you can see the four Crossbone figures released between December 2018 and January 2019, the X-1, X-3, X-1 Full Cloth (notice the dangling legs...) and the X-2 Kai. It is a great line-up although I will keep my X-3 on the ground for its final display. In the picture below you can also see the X-0 Ghost and the base X-2 from the earlier Converge generation. The Crossbone Gundam line-up feels fleshed out by now.
All in all, I imagine the X-3 should be a given entry in your Converge collection if you have any sort of affection for the Crossbone era. The only problem is finding one and the price will probably hurt a little. If you are only moderately interested in Crossbone Gundam the X-1 and the X-2 Kai from the basic line-up will serve you quite well instead.
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