RGAnno Domini

GN-001REII Gundam Exia RepairIII

A battle-scarred Exia rebuilt from a particle storage tank, sold to you as parts only.

MechaGrade Score

3.7/5

Exia · 1/144 · 2019

GradeRG

Scale1/144

Released2019

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a genuinely satisfying kit to build, but it is not the kit its box art implies.

I'll say it plainly, this P-Bandai release is a repair parts set, not a standalone Exia. You need an already-built RG GN-001 Gundam Exia sitting on your bench before any of these runners mean anything. Once I accepted that framing, the actual assembly of new shoulders, a reworked GN Sword Kai, and that particle storage tank on the back was some of the most rewarding small-parts work I've done in the RG line.

Best for: RG Exia owners who already have the base GN-001 kit built and want the battle-damaged 00 Raiser finale variant on their shelf

The full review

What it is

What you're actually buying here is a conversion kit for an RG Gundam Exia you already own. Bandai packages it as the GN-001REIII Exia Repair III, the version Setsuna piloted after the 00 Raiser's GN Drive was wrecked, running instead on a jury-rigged particle storage tank strapped to the back. The parts on offer are new shoulder armor, the reworked GN Sword Kai, the GN Long Rifle, twin GN Beam Sabers, a pair of open and closed hands, and a small 1/144 Setsuna F. Seiei figure to pose alongside the finished suit. Snapping the tank assembly onto an existing Exia and swapping the shoulders genuinely changed the silhouette in a way I didn't expect from what is, on paper, an accessory pack.

The catch

The catch is right there in the product itself, this is not a self-contained model. Premium Bandai and every retailer that stocks it are explicit that you need a separately purchased, separately built RG GN-001 Gundam Exia before this set does anything. If you don't already own that base kit, you're not buying a Gundam, you're buying orphaned shoulder armor and a rifle. It's also a P-Bandai exclusive, so pricing runs above a normal RG (roughly the 3,000 yen range at retail, more once resale and import fees stack on) and availability comes and goes with reissue waves rather than staying in regular rotation at hobby shops.

Who it's for

This is for the builder who already has an RG Exia on the shelf and wants to chase the full 00 storyline through its repaired, battle-worn forms rather than stopping at the clean debut version. If you collect variant suits or want the Setsuna figure and the GN Sword Kai in RG scale, it delivers exactly that at a manageable part count and a short build session. Skip it entirely if you don't already own the base Exia, or if you were expecting a full standalone kit from the box art. Go find the base RG GN-001 Gundam Exia first, then come back for this.

The build story

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

The runners here are small and the gate placement follows RG conventions, thin nubs on visible edges that need a careful clip rather than a twist-off. Because you're mating new shoulder armor and the storage tank onto an already-assembled Exia, fit tolerance matters more than usual, I found the shoulder joints seated cleanly onto the stock RG frame without needing to sand or shim anything, which is exactly what you want from an official add-on set.

The GN Sword Kai and GN Long Rifle hold their color separation well straight off the runners, matching the molded-color philosophy of the RG Exia rather than leaning on stickers for the weapon details. Articulation isn't really this set's job since the base Exia's inner frame does the posing, but the new shoulder armor doesn't fight the arm's range the way some parts-only add-ons do, mine still swung through a full sword stance without the plates clipping into the neck.

Lore & trivia

01The GN-001REIII Exia Repair III is powered by a particle storage tank rather than a GN Drive, since the original drive was destroyed by 0 Gundam during the Innovator conflict in Mobile Suit Gundam 00.
02This RG release is a repair parts set, it requires a separately owned RG GN-001 Gundam Exia to build into the complete Exia Repair III.
03The kit includes a 1/144 scale Setsuna F. Seiei pilot figure alongside the GN Sword Kai and GN Long Rifle armaments.
04It was sold as a Premium Bandai exclusive, following the same repair-parts format Bandai used for the earlier RG Exia Repair and Exia Repair II releases.