RGAnno Domini

GN-001RE Gundam Exia Repair

The base RG Exia's excellent frame wearing a battle-scarred, half-broken shell, and I love it for that.

MechaGrade Score

3.7/5

Exia · 1/144 · 2014

GradeRG

Scale1/144

Released2014

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is the RG Exia engineering I already trust, dressed as the version of the suit that actually looks like it survived a war.

I like it a lot on the shelf, less so on the wallet. You are paying a premium over the standard RG Exia for a smaller weapons loadout, and that math only works if the story behind this specific mobile suit means something to you. If it does, the kit delivers a genuinely different-looking model, not just a repaint.

Best for: Gundam 00 fans who want Setsuna's patched-together comeback suit, not just another clean Exia on the shelf

The full review

What it is

This kit takes the excellent RG Exia GN-001 frame and reskins it as the damaged, jury-rigged suit Setsuna brings back for himself in 00 season 2. The cloak covering the severed left arm, the reattached head, and the Tieren mono-eye swapped in for the missing right camera are all molded in, not stickers, and they change the silhouette enough that it reads as its own thing next to a standard Exia on the shelf. I went in expecting a reflagged repaint and came out liking how deliberately battered it looks. The GN Sword and short blades give you enough to pose it mid-fight without the full seven-sword arsenal of the original.

The catch

The price is the real sticking point. This kit runs noticeably above the standard RG GN-001 Exia while giving you fewer weapons and accessories, since Setsuna's repair job in the show genuinely stripped the suit down. If you are chasing display options rather than story accuracy, the base Exia is the better dollar-for-dollar buy. You also inherit every RG Exia frame quirk: the inner frame plastic is soft and rubbery, the octagonal male connectors resist smooth swiveling, and the parts are small enough that a dropped runner piece can vanish into carpet. None of that is unique to this release, but it is worth knowing going in.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already have a soft spot for the Exia Repair specifically, the cloak, the mismatched eye, the reused Tieren part, and want that story told in plastic rather than paint. Skip it if you just want an Exia and are price-sensitive, since the standard RG gives you more sword options for less money and the same core frame. It also is not a great first RG, the tiny parts and delicate polycap-style joints reward someone who has already built at least one Real Grade and knows to go slow with the nippers.

The build story

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

The frame comes largely pre-assembled the way RG kits do, so most of the build is separating and cleaning tiny nub marks rather than snapping a frame together from scratch. Go slow with the polycap-style joints, since the material flexes rather than clicking positively into place, and it is easy to overtighten a peg and snap it if you are used to MG plastic. The cloak and repaired-head parts fit cleanly over the existing frame with no real gap or seam issues in my experience.

Where this kit earns its keep is the detail work: the Tieren mono-eye insert on the head is a nice small color-separated touch straight from molded plastic, and the cloak gives the model a different profile from every angle, not just from the front. Articulation matches the standard RG Exia, shoulders pull out for extra swing, thighs rotate on a ball-and-socket setup, and the head has a proper double neck joint. The reduced armament (GN Sword and short blades, no seven-sword spread) keeps the accessory runners smaller, which is the tradeoff for the higher price.

Lore & trivia

01The Exia Repair is Setsuna F. Seiei's patched-together version of his destroyed GN-001 Gundam Exia, rebuilt using scavenged parts after the suit was left decapitated and missing an arm at the end of the first season's final battle.
02The mismatched right eye is not decorative, in the show's story it is a Tieren mono-eye camera Setsuna scavenged to replace the one Exia lost, which is why the kit molds it as a visibly different component from the left.
03In-universe, the Exia Repair's GN Drive was later transferred into the GN-0000 00 Gundam's Twin Drive System, and the airframe itself was refurbished by Ian Vashti's team into the GN-001REII Exia Repair II.