MGAnno Domini

GNY-001 Gundam Astraea + Proto GN Twin Broad Blade

Exia's rough draft, built on Exia's own excellent bones, with a sword that splits in half.

MechaGrade Score

4.1/5

Gundam Astraea + Proto GN Twin Broad Blade · 1/100 · 2025

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2025

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This kit takes the frame that already made MG Exia one of the best-articulated Gundams around and hands it to a machine that came before Exia even existed.

That's a clever bit of engineering logic and it pays off on the shelf. The new Proto GN Twin Broad Blade is the reason to pick this over the older Type-F release, and it delivers, a big single blade that splits down the middle into two swords you can hand to each fist. My one hesitation is that this is a P-Bandai exclusive built for people who already know who Ruido Resonance is.

Best for: 00 lore heads and MG Exia fans who want the prototype version with a genuinely new weapon gimmick

The full review

What it is

The GNY-001 Astraea is Celestial Being's first second-generation Gundam from the 00P side story, a rawer, more modular test platform for the tech that eventually became Exia. Bandai built this MG on the MG Exia chassis, so you get that kit's proven inner frame, hip and shoulder engineering, and range of motion, wrapped in Astraea's blockier, more industrial proto-armor. The headline new part is the Proto GN Twin Broad Blade, a single large blade you can split into a GN Long Blade and GN Short Blade for dual-wielding. Alongside it you get the Proto GN Sword, Proto GN Launcher, GN Beam Rifle, and a Proto GN Shield, so the loadout options are genuinely deep for a kit this size.

The catch

This is a Bandai Hobby Online Shop / Premium Bandai exclusive, so you're paying import-adjacent pricing and dealing with preorder windows rather than picking it up at a hobby shop. Bandai's own build notes flag that getting the proto-armor's flat panels and vents to read properly wants paint and panel-lining with Gundam markers or Mr. Color, stickers alone will leave some of the surface detail looking a bit muted. The GN Drive and chest/back armor are LED-compatible but the LED unit itself is sold separately, so budget for that if you want the glow.

Who it's for

If you already own or love MG Exia and want to see that same frame wearing a rougher, earlier-generation shell with a new signature weapon, this is an easy recommend, the engineering is inherited from a kit builders already rate highly. It also makes sense for anyone invested in the 00P side story and the Ruido, Marlene, and Feldt Grace connection. Skip it if you're new to Gunpla or want an easy first MG, the P-Bandai price and exclusivity plus the paint-for-best-results reality make this a kit for someone who's already built a few MGs and knows what they're getting into.

The build story

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

Because the frame is a known quantity from MG Exia, the runners and assembly logic feel familiar if you've built that kit before, joints seat firmly and the hip and shoulder movement is the same well-regarded range Exia builders already praise. The new proto-armor pieces snap on cleanly over that frame, and the block-shaped, less-refined shell reads as a genuine prototype next to Exia's sleeker lines rather than a reskin.

The standout piece is the Proto GN Twin Broad Blade itself, a single molded blade with a hinge that splits it into a GN Long Blade and GN Short Blade for two-handed or dual-wield poses, and it's new tooling rather than a recolor of an old part. Between that blade, the Proto GN Sword, Proto GN Launcher, GN Beam Rifle, and Proto GN Shield, the accessory count is generous for a 1/100 kit, and the LED-ready GN Drive plus chest and back armor give this real display potential if you add the optional light unit.

Lore & trivia

01GNY-001 Gundam Astraea is the first second-generation Gundam built by Celestial Being, introduced in the Mobile Suit Gundam 00P side story written by Tomohiro Chiba for Dengeki Hobby Magazine, set before the main 00 anime timeline.
02Astraea served as a test platform for hardware later refined into GN-001 Gundam Exia, including clavicle antennas for GN particle control and multiple hardpoints for optional equipment.
03The unit's pilots, Meisters Ruido Resonance and Marlene Vlady, were the parents of Feldt Grace, who goes on to serve as communications officer aboard the Ptolemaios in the main Mobile Suit Gundam 00 series.
04The name Astraea comes from the Greek goddess associated with the Justice card in tarot's Major Arcana.