LMHGNeon Genesis Evangelion

Evangelion EVA-04 Production Model

Bandai's own invented look for a unit that blew up off screen and never got a canon design.

MechaGrade Score

3.2/5

EVA-04 · non-scale · 1997

GradeLMHG

Scalenon-scale

Released1997

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is one of the more honestly weird entries in the LM-HG line, and I like it more for that reason.

EVA-04 is destroyed in a mysterious explosion in the United States and is never actually shown in the anime, so this kit is Bandai's own invented take on what it might have looked like, dressed in a flat silver finish specifically so you never have to paint it to get a finished look. It comes with everything the other posable LM-HG kits offer, plus a fictional 'Modified Positron Sniper Rifle' that never appeared on screen either. It knows exactly what it is and leans into it.

Best for: Evangelion completionists and anyone who wants a striking, paint-free silver Eva as a desk piece without touching a brush

The full review

What it is

EVA-04 never appears on screen in Evangelion, so this kit represents Bandai's own design guess for the unit, styled after EVA-03's body but finished in a flat silver that reads as an unpainted prototype look. It includes the same posable arms with rubber-encased elbows found across the early LM-HG line, a pallet rifle, and a unique 'Modified Positron Sniper Rifle' accessory invented for this release, plus figures of Rei and Asuka depicted as children. Decal work is sticker-only, no waterslide sheet.

The catch

Because this suit was never on screen, everything about its design, including the silver finish and the sniper rifle, is Bandai's own invention rather than a faithful recreation of anything canon. If you are chasing screen-accurate Eva units this one sits outside that mission by definition. It is still built on the same 1996-97 era snap-kit engineering as the rest of the line, so articulation and fit are dated by modern standards even if the silver molded finish means you can skip painting almost entirely.

Who it's for

If you like the idea of a striking, unpainted-looking silver Eva that stands out on a shelf of orange and purple units, or you are filling out the full roster of Eva-numbered units regardless of screen time, this is a fun and low-effort pickup since the finish does most of the work for you. If screen accuracy matters to your collection, treat this one as a curiosity rather than a must-have.

The build story

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

Assembly matches the rest of the early LM-HG line: snap-together panels, no cement, with the shared rubber-encased elbow arm units dropping into the shoulders for basic posability. Because the whole kit is molded in its flat silver finish, this is one of the faster builds in the range to get looking clean, since there is no waterslide sheet to fuss with, only stickers.

The real draw is the accessory set: alongside the standard pallet rifle you get a unique 'Modified Positron Sniper Rifle' invented specifically for this release, plus figures of Rei and Asuka as children rather than the usual pilot figures, both details that mark this as its own thing rather than a simple recolor of the EVA-03 mold it is based on.

Lore & trivia

01EVA-04 is described in the show as destroyed in a mysterious explosion in the United States and is never actually depicted on screen.
02Its design, finish, and included weapon accessory in this kit are Bandai's own invention, not a recreation of a canon appearance.
03It is molded entirely in a flat silver finish specifically so the kit needs no painting to look complete.