Evangelion’s Best-Ever Rei Ayanami Model Kit Officially Returns This Fall
Image by James RichardsonOne of the best Rei Ayanami model kits Evangelion ever released is officially returning this fall, giving collectors another chance to build X-Plus’s impressive take on the iconic pilot.
The “1/8-scale Rei Ayanami Plastic Model Kit” is returning only a few months after its original June 2026 release, providing another opportunity for fans who missed the first production run.
Rei is introduced in Neon Genesis Evangelion as the enigmatic pilot of Evangelion Unit-00, with her quiet personality and mysterious connection to both Gendo Ikari and NERV gradually becoming increasingly important to the wider story.
X-Plus has built the model kit around a dramatic vignette that brings together several pieces of imagery closely associated with Evangelion.
The completed display shows Rei wielding the enormous Spear of Longinus while leaning against a jagged rock, with a broken and weathered faucet nearby adding another detail to the surrounding scenery.
Combined with the large scenic base, the overall presentation feels closer to an elaborate scale figure than a conventional character model kit once everything has been assembled.
Rei herself stands approximately 20 cm tall at 1/8 scale, while the complete display reaches roughly 40 cm to the tip of the Spear of Longinus when the base is included.
X-Plus has also paid close attention to her plugsuit, with the sculpt reproducing its close-fitting shape alongside the smaller panels and surface details across the costume.
Her wistful expression forms another important part of the finished display, while the face comes with tampo-printed eyes that remove one of the more difficult details normally associated with building and finishing a character model.
Although the kit arrives unassembled and is officially classed as unpainted, its individual parts are already molded in color, meaning additional painting is not necesssarily required.
That still leaves experienced builders free to add their own shading, highlights and weathering if they want to push the presentation further, particularly across Rei’s plugsuit, the rocks and the damaged faucet.
The parts use a snap-fit construction, although model-making tools are recommended and plastic model cement can be used for a more secure finished build.
Pre-orders for the “1/8-scale Rei Ayanami Plastic Model Kit,” priced at ¥7,700 (approx. $48 USD / £35 GBP), are now open via reputable hobby goods retailers such as HobbyLink Japan.
The re-release is currently scheduled to ship in October 2026.
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