Mobile Suit Gundam and model kits go hand in hand—the plastic kits arguably saved the series from obscurity and helped turn it into an anime legend. So inevitably the announcement of a new series in the franchise, naturally, that means there’s a whole slew of gorgeous looking toys to go with it.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans was announced on a global livestream by Sunrise earlier today, the latest series in the long-running anime franchise, ahead of an October broadcast in Japan. The main mecha of the series is the above Gundam Barbatos, a relic from an old war that the main cast—the titular orphans—discover has an adaptable Mobile Suit Frame allowing it to use parts from other mecha to upgrade itself.
Naturally, this means only one thing: Prepare to buy lots of little upgrade packs (or even models of other Mecha from the show) to upgrade your own Barbatos as the series progresses! Given Gunpla’s huge importance to the Gundam series, Bandai were on hand to reveal several new model kits based on Iron-Blooded Orphans during the announcement:
A standard version of Barbatos, complete with a giant, Mobile-Suit-Smashing mace, will be a part of the High Grade line in the 1/144 scale (usually these models are around 4 to 5 inches in height), and will sell for 1,080 yen, or around $9 in October, to coincide with the anime’s release. A 1/100 version of Barbatos that allows you to remove the Gundam’s armor and reveal the adaptable frame underneath will also be available a month later for 2,700 yen, or around $21:
Gundam Barbatos isn’t the only Mecha from Iron-Blooded Orphans getting the quick model kit treatment though: one of the series’ new mobile suits will also be released in the 1/144 scale in October to square off against Barbatos:
Does... does that Mobile Suit have an axe? Sign me up.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans will air in Japan this October, with the related model kits arriving shortly after. It shows Gunpla’s huge importance to the series that our best look yet at the new Gundam doesn’t actually come from the released trailer, but the toys themselves.
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