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X-EX01 Gundam Calibarn [Permet Score 5]

The same great Calibarn frame, dressed up in its blinding finale glow and handed to you half unpainted.

MechaGrade Score

3.5/5

Gundam Calibarn [Permet Score 5] · 1/144 · 2024

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2024

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this kit more than I expected to, but it earns its grade for the wrong reasons.

The Calibarn skeleton underneath is genuinely one of the better HG TWFM builds, sturdy joints, deep bends, a design that reads clean on a shelf. What makes this specific release worth talking about is the gimmick: it recreates Suletta's overexposed Permet Score 5 form from the series finale, and Bandai leaned into the joke by leaving several shell parts intentionally blank so you finish the job yourself.

Best for: TWFM fans who already love the standard Calibarn and want the finale-glow variant enough to hunt down a P-Bandai exclusive and pick up a marker set

The full review

What it is

This is the X-EX01 Gundam Calibarn reissued as its Permet Score 5 form, the state Suletta's machine hits during the climactic fight in the Witch from Mercury movie finale, where the Permet system overloads and the whole suit washes out in light. Bandai's answer is a clever one: the chest shell unit gets genuine in-mold color molding so the red glow looks layered instead of flat, and you get two styles of foil stickers for the helmet, shoulder, and thigh shell units to nail that lit-up look. Underneath it all is the same well-liked HG TWFM engineering, soft easy-to-clean plastic, deep knee and waist bends, and swivel feet that plant solidly. Building it felt like assembling a kit I already knew I liked, just wearing a more dramatic coat of paint.

The catch

The blank antenna unit and the blank variable rod rifle are exactly that, unprinted, so if you want the finale look to actually read as finished you're reaching for Gundam markers or Mr. Color paint, not just clipping parts off a runner. That is a real ask for anyone who came in expecting a snap-together HG experience. It is also a P-Bandai exclusive that first sold at Hyper Plamo Fes 2024 in March before a wider online release, so it costs more and takes more hunting than a shelf-stock HG, and you are paying event-exclusive money for what is functionally a recolor of a kit that already exists. The thigh's closed upper joint still caps how wide a stance you can pull off, same limitation the base Calibarn has.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already built the standard HG Calibarn, loved the frame, and want the version that matches the moment fans actually talk about from the finale, and if you don't mind grabbing a couple of paint markers to finish the blank parts properly. Skip it if you just want a good HG Calibarn on a budget, the standard release does that job for less money and less hunting. It's also not the kit for someone who wants an out-of-box, no-extra-tools build, because the whole point of this variant leans on you finishing what Bandai left open.

The build story

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

The runners feel like every other HG TWFM kit I've built, soft plastic that clips clean with barely any nub scarring, polycap joints that go together without fuss, and a decal sheet that includes the two styles of Permet foil stickers for the shell units. Where this build differs is those blank parts. The antenna and the variable rod rifle come molded in white with zero printed detail, which is the kit's whole joke about the finale being so overexposed you couldn't see the details anyway, but it means the last stretch of the build is really a small paint job rather than a plastic assembly.

Articulation carries over everything that made the standard Calibarn a strong HG: deep knee and waist bends, ball-jointed backpack thrusters, and front-and-back swivel joints in the feet that give the stance real contact with the ground. The chest shell's in-mold color is the standout engineering touch here, it holds up in a way foil stickers alone never quite do. Accessory count is light but purposeful, two beam sabers, the rod rifle, and the escutcheon staves, so you're not drowning in parts, you're building one clean, thematically-focused figure.

Lore & trivia

01Calibarn's name plays on both Caliban, the half-monster of Shakespeare's The Tempest, and Caliburn, the legendary sword tied to the Excalibur myth.
02This variant depicts Suletta Mercury's Gundam Calibarn in its Permet Score 5 state, the overloaded, blinding-light form it reaches during the climactic battle in the Witch from Mercury movie finale.
03The kit first sold as an event exclusive at Hyper Plamo Fes 2024 (March 22 to 24, 2024) before Bandai made it available through P-Bandai's online shop.
04The X-EX01 Calibarn was developed using GUND Format technology in competition with the Lfrith, but its lack of pilot-safety features meant it was ultimately shelved in favor of Lfrith as Ochs Earth's main Gundam.