I’ve been looking forward to taking out this GFF for over a year but haven’t been able to get around to it until now. The X-3 is my favorite among the three Crossbones partly due to the Muramasa Blaster and head design… the rest of its body is almost identical to the previous two. I wonder what took Bandai so long to release this GFF; X-1/2 are #0016 while X-3 is #0031.
Out of the Box
The Gundam
Like the previous Crossbone Gundams, the X-3 also comes with its own stash of weapons and accessories that becomes a waste when all is said and done ^^;. Replacing the shot lancer and cloth cloak found in the GFF X-1 and X-2 are the Muramasa Blaster, a hook shield, screw whip, the Peacock Smasher and the parts for the X-1 Full Cloth (“Kai Kai”) conversion. Everything else is the same (like the multiple pairs of hands and other bits one probably don’t need to care about).
The paint job on this GFF is just gorgeous eye-candy. It can just stand there and I’ll be able to stare at it for a long long time without being bored. It’s that good looking. The white is also more pure unlike the “dirty white” on the X-1 which constrasts nicely with the light blue. My only nitpick is that there’s a bit of imperfection on the skull chest.
A minor difference in the X-3’s head design from the other two is that this time you replace the face instead of the whole head. Not sure if this is easier or not since the face sits just snug in the helmet but the neck is tight inside the body so you’ll have to take two steps to remove the head. The nice part about this is that you can actually adjust the helmet so you can see the Gundam’s eyes.
The Weapons
The GFF line-up was never made with articulation in mind and so the best one can do is make the Gundam hold its weapon and look good standing with it… and it sure does. GFF are made to look good just standing straight. I don’t know how nor can I explain it but something about the proportions I guess… Might have to ask Katoki about it ^^;. The figure also looks too elegant for any hard dynamic poses so I had to pose with what looks natural to it…
Was trying to get the lighting to accommodate the X-3’s “soft” poses ^^;. I was aiming for somewhere along an “ambient” feel to the poses.
I reallly didn’t care that the cloth cloak wasn’t included because that thing just looks plain silly. The plastic ABC cloak is more than good enough with incredible detetails like bullet holes and a net of caution markings inside. Notice how the X-3 is taller than the X-1…
GO PIRATES!!!
Crossbone Gundam X-1 Full Cloth
I thought it was funny that the box says “Crossbone Gundam X-1 kai Kai”. A full upper body, two helmets, rear skirts, side skirts, and the Full Cloth mantle parts make up the conversion for the X-1 Kai.
Noticed the off-white on the original X-1?
^ Swapped X-1 Kai’s lower body with the original X-1 and now there’s a bad combination of pure white and off-white ^^;. That won’t matter later since it’ll be covered by the Full Cloth parts.
One common problem in GFFs are… the more stuff you add on, the easier it becomes unstable and parts not fitting in right. I fear for my Deep Striker in this respect. The Full Cloth mantle was simple at first until I tried to get it in snug on the shoulders (as in… get it on without it popping off). The collar parts just rest on top and can also easily pop off. After getting everything set in, I really couldn’t do much with it except let it stand there. Its articulation is restricted in the same way as the ABC cloak. I would’ve loved some action poses with the Full Cloth on… oh well, guess I’ll wait until I build the MG model then :D.
Out of the three Crossbone GFFs, the X-3 definitely has the most going for it. Rather than simply being a recolor of X-1 and X-2, the X-3 is a bit more unique in its design and armaments. You also get to convert it back to the X-1 Kai or X-1 Full Cloth if you get bored so if you can only choose one, the X-3 is the way to go. I also find the X-3 more attractive than the other two as well.
ガンプラ命 
Nice collection of the 3 Crossbones!
I do have this GFF too. I really liked the fact that you can have so much versatility with it by actually being able to form 3 different Gundams but in the end I sticked with the X-1 Kai with the antibeam cloak strapped over it. As you said, this GFF has some problems with the Full Cloth conversion: the armor plates of the cloak keep getting in the way and fall all too easily, while it can barely hold the Peacock Smasher but forget about actually lifting it(the MG version also has the same problems due to the crappy hands it has -_-).
Another gripe is the Muramasa Blaster, it should have included the beam effect parts for the 14 beam sabers of that overkill sword lol.
Anyways, a great figure, loved the fact it has almost all the weapons (the pair of standard beam sabers and the scissor anchors were missing) of a total melee oriented Gundam.
Yea… I saw that the peacock was almost touching the ground when I put it on. I knew that couldn’t be good ^^;. I heard a lot of issues about the MG Crossbone that’s why I’m putting it back for a while. You reminded me about the Muramasa Blaster too… initially, I thought “why no beams?!” too but then after playing around with this figure, it doesn’t really matter anyway since all this figure can do is stand. Having beam effect parts on without the dynamic pose would be a bit… silly I guess (might not be the right word) xD.
The X-3 will always have a special place in my heart as my first GFF and my first piece of Gunpla merchandise ever! (Well, first piece that matters anyway. No grade Seed kits don’t count!).
Though aren’t you a bit harsh on the articulation on this thing? What exactly are you comparing it to? Sure it’s not MG quality but I think it’s pretty decent and some of the poses in your photos are pretty good. Is it better articulated than the old #0016’s or the same? If I had to complain, it’d be about the lack of beams for the standard beam sabers and how damn painful it is to replace the hands. Do the thrusters on your X-3’s core fighter pop off easily like mine do? I’ve been thinking of super gluing that for a while.
I also confirm the problems of the MG version. Just built it two weeks ago. The elbow joints are somewhat loose (any suggestions for fixing those? I tried using Danny Choo’s white glue method but with no luck so far) and it has the same problem with the collar pieces of the Full Cloth not being properly secured. When I thought about it, the beam parts for the Murasama look a bit silly. They’re basically triangles. I don’t have any Crossbone scans that show this thing in action, but in Super Robot Wars Alpha 2 the blades are more menacing and pointed upwards. They kinda look like very nasty saw blades, and there’s also a beam blade at the tip. Sucks that the MG doesn’t have that.
I’m actually quite neutral about its articulation ^^. I even point out that GFFs are usually made without articulation in mind and most of the focus on the details. The articulation is exactly the same as the old #0016’s… and pretty much the rest of the line-up. Just basic joint rotation. Nothing fancy. Only enough to adjust the standing pose.
For the elbows, I used to stuff a piece of tissue paper in the joints of my HG 1/100 EW models and it worked temporarily (until the paper wore off). I also can’t agree with you more on the Muramasa beam effect parts… Bandai really skimped on that.
Z, after seeing this review…
Will it be possible to recolor MG crossbone x-1 full cloth, to become x-3?
since you have that GFF, you have more reliable knowledge than me. please tell me how to modify its head.. somehow…
The reason to buy that MG is just for x-3 anyway… x-3 ftw.. thanks
Z, please don’t ignore me :(
well.. that was not ur fault since I posted it in your downtime.
but.. please reply :) thanks
Ah my bad… never saw your previous post. Anyway, it is possible since the body is exactly the same thing (except the arms). As for the head… not sure how comfortable you are with adding more scars to the face with knife/scriber or change the skull to… whatever that is on the gem. I think if you can just do the color scheme accurately, you can cover 85% of the X-3.
Another question ive been wondering about, where exactly did you buy all the XM-X1,2,3 GFF from? Amazon, Ebay, or do you have a place near your house? BTW nice review
eBay is where I try to find most of the GFF as that’s where I have the most chance of finding them for cheap and brand new. I believe I got this GFF For around $32.
thanks for responding, but just one more question, do you prefer the GFF of crossbone, the MG versions (Full-cloth), or Bandai Robot Spirits version of gundam crossbone
MG Full Cloth Ver. Ka. It is sturdier, slightly bigger, and you can be sure there wouldn’t be any warped plastic.
This FIX FIG is very awesome, I don’t own any Bone Fix but I would like to get this one sooner. Though it seems that big sword doesn’t come with beam effect parts, so does it?
nope
man i hope bandai would release a MG X-3 already ,its not like them to skimp on a chance for using old molds :(