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X-EX01 Gundam Calibarn

A witch's broom reimagined as a rifle, and an HG that actually earns the finale hype.

MechaGrade Score

3.9/5

Gundam Calibarn · 1/144 · 2023

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2023

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

The Calibarn is one of the better designed suits to come out of Witch from Mercury, and Bandai's HG treats it with real respect.

I built this one expecting a quick, forgettable finale-suit kit and came away impressed by how much personality it has on the shelf. The molded chest and antenna gradient alone make it look more expensive than it is. It is not a flawless build, but it is a genuinely fun one.

Best for: HG builders who want the Witch from Mercury finale mech without hunting down a pricier grade

The full review

What it is

This is the mothballed prototype Suletta pilots in the endgame of season two, and the kit captures exactly what made that reveal land: a Gundam that looks like it should not exist yet, all sharp angles and witch-broom silhouette. Building it, the first thing that got me was the chest unit and antenna, molded in a color that shifts and catches light without a drop of paint. The Escutcheon shield and its Bit Staves are the real party trick here. They pop apart, remount on either forearm, and clip onto hardpoints for the Bit-on-Form look straight from the show, and figuring out the different configurations is genuinely satisfying rather than gimmicky filler.

The catch

The Permet Score detailing is almost entirely stickers, not molded color, and there are a lot of them, including a cluster of small green decals on the Variable Rod Rifle's thrusters that take real patience to place straight. If you rush that step it shows. At $23 this sits at the upper end of a standard HG, and while the part count backs that up, builders who want zero sticker reliance will be disappointed. The rifle-to-broom conversion is clever but the connection points feel a little thin for repeated swapping, so I would not recommend transforming it back and forth constantly.

Who it's for

If you watched the Witch from Mercury finale and want that exact moment on your shelf without stepping up to an MG price tag, this kit delivers it convincingly. The articulation is strong enough to actually pose the character moment, ball-and-socket neck, full waist rotation, double-jointed knees, and it holds those poses. Builders who hate sticker sheets or want a five-minute snap build should look elsewhere in the HG line. Everyone else, especially anyone who wants the shield and Bit Staves gimmick more than raw part count, will get their money's worth.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

Gate placement is standard HG fare and cleanup is quick, nothing here trips up a builder with a few kits under their belt. Where the build slows down is the decal work. There are enough small stickers, especially the green Permet accents on the rifle thrusters, that rushing them will show on the finished piece, so budget extra time for that stage rather than treating it as an afterthought.

The engineering standout is the Escutcheon shield system. It detaches into individual Bit Staves, remounts on either forearm through an adapter, and locks onto hardpoints for the Bit-on-Form configuration straight from the finale, giving one accessory three distinct display identities. Combined with a ball-and-socket neck, double-jointed knees, and full waist rotation, the articulation punches above the price point, and the molded color gradient on the chest and antenna does real work without needing a single coat of paint.

Lore & trivia

01The Calibarn is a prototype developed jointly by the Ochs Earth Corporation and the Vanadis Institute, built with no safeguards for the pilot's survival, which is why it lost out to the Lfrith and had its research records deleted.
02Its design was described in-universe as a 'monster' because it carries no Permet Code filtering, leaving its pilot fully exposed to data storm feedback.
03When Suletta wields the Variable Rod Rifle, the silhouette deliberately evokes a witch riding a broom, tying the suit's design back into the series' witch motif.
04The kit released in July 2023 as entry number 26 in the HGTWFM (Witch from Mercury) line.