MGMobile Suit Gundam SEED Eclipse

EW453R Raijin Striker for Eclipse Gundam

A P-Bandai battery pack with a personality, built for owners who already have the Eclipse Gundam on the shelf.

MechaGrade Score

3.7/5

Raijin Striker for Eclipse Gundam · 1/100 · 2022

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2022

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this kit a lot more than a plain accessory expansion has any right to be liked.

It is not a mobile suit, it is the Raijin Striker equipment for the MG Eclipse Gundam, and once I accepted that framing it turned into one of the more satisfying add-on builds I have done. The molding is new, not reused from the base kit, and it genuinely changes how the Eclipse Gundam reads on the shelf. It just demands you already own (or plan to own) that base kit, which is the whole catch.

Best for: Eclipse Gundam owners who want a second, tactical-looking loadout without buying a whole new suit

The full review

What it is

This is the Raijin Striker equipment pack for the MG 1/100 Eclipse Gundam, a Premium Bandai exclusive built around a large backpack battery unit that boosts the suit's firepower. The parts are newly molded, not recolored leftovers, and the matte white, red, yellow, and blue scheme gives it a tactical, disaster-relief look that is a real departure from the stealthier standard Eclipse colorway. Clipping the backpack and its side units onto an existing Eclipse Gundam is quick and satisfying, and the pack detaches to stand on its own included base in a fighter-jet silhouette, which is a nice bonus display option I did not expect from what is essentially a weapons pack.

The catch

The unavoidable catch is that this is not a standalone mobile suit kit. The MG Eclipse Gundam body is sold separately, so this is an add-on purchase for people who already have or are already committed to that base kit, and P-Bandai exclusivity means used prices and availability swing around a lot once a run sells out. The gate placement on the new backpack parts is tight in a few spots given how chunky the battery unit is, so cleanup takes patience. Because it is an equipment pack rather than a full suit, there is very little here in the way of new articulation, the pose range you get is whatever the base Eclipse Gundam already offers.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already own the MG Eclipse Gundam and want a second look for it without committing to an entirely different kit, or if you are drawn to the disaster-relief color story from Gundam SEED Eclipse and want the fighter-mode display option that comes with it. Skip it if you do not own the base Eclipse Gundam and are not planning to, since this pack has nothing to attach to on its own, and skip it if you were hoping for new articulation or a bigger part count that reads like a full suit rather than a striker pack.

The build story

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

The backpack battery unit is the star of the build and also the trickiest part to clean up, the gates sit close together on the bulkier panels so I took my time with a sharp side cutter and some sanding before the seams disappeared. Everything clips onto the existing MG Eclipse Gundam shoulders and back without any fuss, and the fit is snug enough that the pack does not sag or droop once it is on.

The engineering payoff is in the color separation, since Bandai molded the new parts in their actual in-universe colors instead of leaning on stickers, and the finished pack looks like it belongs on the suit rather than bolted onto it. The included water slide decals add panel markings without the sticker sheen, and the standalone fighter-mode base is a clever bit of value for what is otherwise a fairly small accessory kit.

Lore & trivia

01The MVF-X08 Eclipse Gundam comes from the manga Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Eclipse, piloted by Tatsumi Hori of the Orb Disaster Relief Team.
02The Eclipse Gundam is built around a Mirage Colloid stealth function and gear suited to the covert side of disaster relief operations, which is why its standard colorway reads so differently from the Raijin Striker's tactical scheme.
03The Raijin Striker Pack's large battery unit was designed by mechanical designer Junichi Akutsu to expand the suit's firepower capacity.
04Premium Bandai reissued the Raijin Striker Pack in 2024 after its original 2022 run, a sign of steady demand for an accessory-only release.