A year in Gunpla
Another year down, and over 80 new Gunpla added to the roster. It’s a lot! Let’s take a closer look — to better understand the state of play, and gauge how next year is coming together.
❄️ The 2024 Cooldown
January and February brought us a few outstanding 1/144 SEED FREEDOM, Silver Phantom & Requiem for Vengeance kits, with the tap mostly turned off from March onwards.
✨ HGQuuuuuuX
Recent Gundam anime have been very well represented with 1/144 High Grade kits, and GQuuuuuuX has been no exception. January brought us the G[undam]QuuuuuuX itself, with a slow but steady trickle of kits in the months since.
The run isn’t over, with more kits releasing through to June 2026. No 1/100 scale Gunpla to be seen though, which is a shame — a larger size with more complex engineering could do wonders for Yamashita’s complex mechanical design styling.
🎉 MG Generation
March brought us the MG Gundam Vidar, the first standard (non Ver.Ka) Master Grade kit to grace shelves since the Dom in 2022. 3 whole years! Thankfully it wasn’t a one-off, with the Gundam Barbatos Lupus also releasing in November.
Two kits isn’t much, and arguably the same as last year — which saw two MG Ver.Ka boxes at retail (Narrative, Sinanju Stein Narrative Version). Still, we can hope that new Master Grades of all forms will continue to see the light of day in stores moving forward.
🐦🔥 [RE]Reborn/100
Considered superseded by the overhauled Full Mechanics line, Bandai decided to switch things up with the RE/100 Den'an Gei — from Gundam F91. Does this mean we’ll see more on the way, or even reissues of older kits? Or was this a one-off novelty? Let’s see.
🐭 Honey, I Shrunk the MG
Master Grade SD kits seem to be here to stay, albeit with a single annual release cadence. This year, Gundam Aerial received the treatment — and by most accounts, it’s a fantastic kit.
🔑 Link to the Past
Whilst not an ideal retail channel for many, P-Bandai offered up mobile suit designs from older media such as F91, Battlefield Record U.C. 0081, G, 00, AGE, MSD, Hathaway, Cucuruz Doan's Island, Witch from Mercury, and more.
📓 From Page to Plastic
Gunpla based on original manga lining store shelves, is not something you’ll see nowadays, but a few did make an appearance via P-Bandai. From deep cuts like Under the Gundam: Double-Fake, to Witch From Mercury Vanadis Heart, and Gundam ACE’s latest darling Gundam Eight — some fantastic designs have made their Plamo debut.
🧁 Anniversary Treats
There’s a pattern of Bandai releasing kits at retail, in celebration of major anniversaries. This year, we received the HG Psycho Gundam Mk-II & RG Shining Gundam (Z & G anniversaries in 2024), plus the HG Galluss-J, EG Wing Gundam, RG Wing Gundam Zero, MG Gundam Vidar & MG Gundam Barbatos Lupus (ZZ, Wing & IBO anniversaries in 2025). Will 2026 unlock kits from Gundam X? It seems almost certain, but time will tell.
🌍 EXPOnential
The Gundam Next Future Pavilion at the World EXPO 2025 in Osaka was a major landmark in Gundam history. Its lifesize Gundam (itself, a reworked version of the Yokohama moving Gundam) received a handful of EG & No Grade kits. And they’re everywhere in Japan, definitely a lot produced. If you enjoy working on panel lines, you simply must pick one up!
🤝 Collabs
Some interesting Gunpla collaborations this year, including Fragment, Hatsune Miku and Japan Airlines. Plus 7-Eleven — always 7-Eleven! Just maybe we’ll get that Hatsune Miku RG RX-78-2 Gundam Ver.2.0 teased by its acrylic merch..
🔬 2025, the Stats!
By Retail Channel
🛍️ 41 General Retail Releases
💸 44 P-Bandai / Exclusive Releases
Similar to last year, Gunpla releases were fairly evenly split between general retail and P-Bandai / other exclusives.
By Media
🥇 15 GQuuuuuuX kits
🥈 8 SEED kits
🥉 5 Wing kits
GQuuuuuuX wins the ‘Most Gunpla’ award by a mile, though it’s been nice to see a selection from shows all the way from 1985 to 2025.
By Gunpla Line
🥇 43 HG kits
🥈 8 MG kits
🥉 7 RG kits
As always, HG dominates. Striking that perfect balance of engineering-efficiency, and size for bulk-shipping — both for Japan and overseas. Plus they have such a broad market appeal, and help expand the Gundam fanbase. Notably out of the 8 MG and 7 RG kits, only a couple of each reached general retail. The others were Premium Bandai exclusives.
🛠️ Building into 2026
We already have a clear view of retail Gunpla hitting for January-March next year. And it’s a nicely varied mix across product lines. From neat HG GQuuuuuuX hangovers, to SEED DESTINY HG & MGSD, a splash of Hathaway, a fresh MG Ver.Ka Full Armor ZZ, and more. The statement piece that is the Perfect Grade Unleashed 𝝂Gundam is a monster, though maybe don’t check your bank balance for a little while after picking it up (or its separate LED set).
April through May is looking curiously empty though. These are typically quiet months due to national Japanese holidays, but still — maybe a hint of something new to come on the anime side? Or some surprises for Gundam X’s 30th anniversary? 🤞
To keep tabs on all upcoming (and recently released) Gunpla, check out the Gunpla Catalogue on this very site! Each item has a detailed page with images, info, instruction manual links, and more.
