Gundam Converge EX 34 : RX-105 Xi Gundam

With the recent cinematic release of the reinvigorated story of Hathaway Noa's misadventures, Bandai of course saw the opportunity to support it with model kits and figurines. First out was the RX-104FF Penelope in April 2020 and now, almost a year later, comes its sparring partner, the Xi. Released through the EX program, the figure had a P-Bandai price of ¥3500. Yet when I picked mine up it cost only ¥3000.


The box art is pretty bare bones and devoid of any interesting technical data. You do however get a pretty good idea of what you can do with it.


Notice how tiny the Xi Gundam box is compared to the Penelope. It is remarkable that the Xi costs almost as much as the Penelope when they are clearly very different in complexity.


The box may be tiny but it is crammed full. So full in fact that I accidentally tore through the build instructions when I cut open the box.


With both the Penelope and the Xi doing to Gundam what Michael Bay's Transformers movies did to that franchise, I realize they must be quite the challenge for the figure designers. The Xi Gundam figure comes out quite well though, the build complexity for us end users isn't much worse than a basic Converge figure. Notice the interesting design choice where the forward and backward facing fins are attached to separate components that are placed between the shoulder sockets and the shoulder components themselves.


The figure is supplied with components for standing or hovering mode. When hovering, two hanging feet are used together with an action base that attaches to an H-shaped socket in the figure's groin area. The overall appearance of the figure is very white and the face parts are hidden well beneath its brow. The only weapon option is the large beam rifle - I think a nice beam saber option would have lent this figure a bit of extra flair.


While the Penelope seen here is the limited metallic color version even the basic variant makes the Xi Gundam look quite dull in comparison. Notice that both figures have action bases of the same type, which is a nice touch.


The Xi Gundam comes with a pair of optional open hands. The hand pegs are quite rubbery and didn't fit as neatly as you normally expect a Converge figure to do. I had to take a knife to the peg of the left hand to squeeze it in properly. What is even stranger is that the shoulder pegs are also rubbery. This makes attaching the arms to the torso a bit uncomfortable and at first I was afraid I might break something in the process.


When standing you replace the two feet with standing type parts instead. While not a 100% perfect pose (Converge figures often feature legs that bend slightly, making the figure standing with one foot slightly in the air) the large fins at the back add some extra support and the figure will stand neatly in place.


Here the Xi Gundam stands next to the Odysseus form of the Penelope Gundam. These two machines match each other's style better than the Penelope and the Xi do I think.


And here we have the full family. Well, at least until Bandai chooses to unveil an exorbitantly priced pear color variant of the Xi Gundam; surely that can't be far away... :)


Conclusion

Overall the Xi Gundam figure is a fine entry into the Converge family. While it might not be as spectacular as the Penelope figure it is a natural companion to it. In my personal opinion, unless you are a big fan you'd do better to spend that money on something else for your collection. I also wish that Bandai will continue to support the Hathaway's Flash line-up with some of the grunt-type suits, especially the sexy Gustav Karl.