...But the Crossbone is even smaller then the Exia.

I love Exia. The design is one of the best MS designs I have ever seen. All those sharp angles and nice shoulders....

And the bulk or "lack thereof" shouldn't really matter, since it is ridicuolusly durable in the show.

yeah, but if we're going by indestructibility in shows, then every SEED Gundam is made of invincible.

No just Strike Freedom.:lolol

That's okay, neither do I. It's a totally generic anime robot. Too many basic shapes and angles, and a totally bland colourscheme. There's nothing in it's design that's not done with more finesse and nuance anywhere else. It's like baby's first "cool" design. All angles and sharp lines with no originality or personality.

To say he has a bland color scheme, is like saying every other main MS is bland. Not his fault his color are based on the typical lead mobile suit colors and him being the actual lead MS.

The X-1 yeah, but it can get into a scrap or two with a pilot that's new to it, not one that's already skilled. That alone proves it's toughness. (That and it kicks enemies with knives in it's foot to do more damage)

Not only that, but I'm talking about the Full Cloth. You've seen it's defenses on Build Fighters Try. Those I-fields alone are a solid defense, and what they don't show is that it also has an energy shield. Not a regular one that can break.Plus the Full Cloth armor itself is a good defense as well.

If the energy shield breaks or dissipates, the suit can just turn it back on. The Full Cloth is also armed to the teeth. The Murasame Blade alone is a deadly weapon, but then it also has the Peacock Smasher, Drill Whips, Daggers, Beam Sabers, Beam Cutlass, Beam Zanber, and the Skull Boxing gloves (which use the I-fields to punch even harder).

The Exia gets Seven Swords, which it's most iconic attack is getting rid of 5 of them by using them on one suit. After the Seven Swords, it goes straight to 00. Yeah, it gets the Trans Am system, but all that does it make it faster.

I get why people like the Exia. It's simple, sleek, and fast. I just like suits that seem like they can last in a fight longer. I do like my share of grunt suits, but only because of looks or pilots involved with them.

to be honest, I always liked Virtue (AKA, the big fatty) over Exia.

I liked the Cherudim best.

The Virtue is basically a huge shout out/fusion of the GP-02 and NT-1, two of my favorite UC suits. Only 00 mecha I own any form of product of.

I just like it for the sheer fact that it's the fat kid of the 00 gundams.

like, I feel it should have Bulk & Skull's theme playing whenever it's around.

I love the Virtue and Cheridum. Those are my favorites as well. Arios is ok, but it has the same problem Exia has, if not worse.

Arios' biggest problem is that the only thing it has is the ability to transform and two beam sub machine guns. It doesn't really get a rifle until later.

I think my biggest problem with the whole series is the sheer lack of beam saber fights or beam sabers in general. Thinking back, I think I saw maybe 2 instances of beam sabers being used. Most of the blades in the series were physical. It kind of takes away from the sci fi/ mecha feel of it.

They mostly are, with obvious exceptions.

Actually it is. The bluish white, minimal red and yellow, creates a very monotone colourscheme. Yet there have been other lead MS that have deviated just enough in colour placement to be visually grapsing. TV's Wing Zero has more red and yellow in addition to blue and white, Turn A is mostly white with red accents and uses the blue as a focal point to stand out. Shining/Burning both have healthy does of red and blue on white and excellent placement, and then there's some lead Gundams that completely do away with typical colours like the Ez-8 and it's super army-real-world style. Exia is just totally creatively bankrupt, lacking in anything truely unique or iconic. Put in a lineup with the dozens of other monotone spikey-angular gundam suits, it dissappears into a sea of generic mecha anime stylings.

I've not seen any of 00, but I agree with everything SPLIT said about the Exia. The design doesn't appeal to me it all, it just feels generic as hell. The Dark Matter saved it somewhat but giving it a much nicer colourscheme (honestly I'm not fond of the fact every main Gundam needs to be blue/white but whatever), but even then it's the wingpack completing the look.

I feel it's time to make a few points about the Exia argument. I agree that it's the most generic looking of the 4 gundams, but what made me like it is how it fights. It doesn't matter how frail you are if you're agile and fast enough to dance circles around any suit powerful enough to crush you. The Exia's constantly moving around as it's fighting, dashing, dodging, hacking and slashing. The way it gracefully glides through the battlefield switching from sword to sword every few kills is why I like the Exia.

Because red is boring.

Red is awesome, and the fact that so few Gundams incorperate it as a main colour instead of an accent makes red MS's stand out even more.

I will forever point to Wing Zero TV version on how to do a Gundam right when it comes to just about every aspect of a design. But as far as colours, it had red as a primary, but not overpoweringly so. Red and blue were about even on that suit, with yellow as an accent and white mostly used in the wings and legs. I'm not saying everyone should copy that suit, rather that its even mix of multiple colours far exceeds the typical "blue and white as primary colours forever and always" that most Gundams use.

As for everything else, it also had just the right angles and shapes without being over or underdone. It had a wingpack without them being overdramatic or ridiculously impractical. It had a big gun that wasn't, again, ridiculously big. It's head is memorable without going mental. Every part of it's body is just right.

I used to think that the Wing Gundam looked like a clown with all those different colors fighting for domination. It warmed up to me over time, though. But what's so memorable about the head?

The double V-crest, the fins/ears on the side, and especially the chin-strap. Just slight details that aren't themselves so outrageous.

Are we talking about the same Wing Gundam here? Because the TV, pre-Zero Wing Gundam (the one I was picturing when I asked the question) has a single crest.

No. Blue year in year out is boring. Red isn't only other colour that exists.

...Yellow?

you guys do remember Build Burning was red, right?

Yes. Which is a nice exception to be fair.

Although it was airing at the same time as a mainline Gundam series, and what colour was that one again?

Yeah.

Did you just completely miss how I was talking about Wing Zero?

I was never talking about Wing Gundam at all. I even described Wing Zero in detail.

Ohhh... OK, that makes way more sense. Yeah, the Zero has a pretty good head. Although personally I think the Heavyarms and Deathscythe's heads look more distinctive, with the H-Arms' orange forehead (it's not very often that a gundam's secondary color is used on it's head), and the Deatchscythe's jagged v-fin.

Heavyarm's forehead is red, which is its primary colour. Deathscythe Hell has a pretty cool head, and all of them had the cool jagged crest.

I like Shining's two-stage head.

Yeah, even though it is kind of a gimmick doing the work, both modes are sweet.

I like how Sandrock looks.

I hate how it has nothing that really makes it special.

and no, I don't count the swords.

didn't beam weapons cut through those constantly?

Sandrock is one instance where I much prefer the Katoki redesign with the TV-ish colours and sheild.

That'd be pretty dumb. I assumed they were some super-rare uncuttable material. Also, I think they could heat up/energize.

EDIT: Also, how do you get promo codes for HLJ? I've been subbed to their online newsletter for ages and never had an offer.

I agree with you on that, the Sandrock is the only AC Gundam that doesn't have anything special about it. The twin khopeshes (I think?) are great and all, but you should be able to describe a gundam without mentioning it's weapons. If you can't, it's probably not a very good design.

It's got the feathery shoulders and feathery mohawk, and it's colours are cool. (though I like how Katoki swapped black for sandy dark blue)

Also, nobody ever answers when I ask how you get promo codes for HLJ. Is it a secret?

I think nobody answers because nobody gets them. I haven't ever, and I've never ever heard of anyone else getting any.

Ditto.
I always assumed they were a thing of the past.

RIP promos.

They hand them out on their business cards at cons if you buy from them sometimes. At least years back they did. They might now not since they usually have sales going on.

I love the Exia too. I respect Okawara and Katoki but it was refreshing to see the guy from FMP! design a Gundam. It's so dynamic in action onscreen. I felt that the 00 Gundam in season 2 went back to a more "traditional" Gundam look. The Exia has more character to me. Meanwhile the 00Quant or whatever it's called seemed to mimic the slender Exia but with stuff bolted on. Exia is still better IMO.

All this arguing....I think I got something to take our minds off it.

http://www.gundamplanet.com/media/ca...tryon-3-03.jpg

Tryon <3

Tryon 3 is the super-robot we didn't know we wanted.