Premium Bandai Announces New Gunpla Line Coming To North America

Mobile Suit: Gundam has sold over 500 million Gunplas, aka Gundam plastic models, during the franchise's long history, and Premium Bandai is looking to jump onto these profitable figures with a line of Gundam figures that will arrive in North America for the first time! To get things started off right, prior to the wave's pre-order date of April 2nd of this year, Bandai is opening up a sweepstakes where fans of the series will be entered to win some premium Gunplas such as the "Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee", "Destiny Gundam", and "00Raiser & GN Sword". Needless to say, Bandai is looking to start the releases of these Gunplas in North America right!

Several of the upcoming Gunplas are listed on the Premium Bandai site, showing a number of different mech suits made popular by the numerous anime series of the franchise including the Tallgeese and Deathscythe from Gundam Wing, Slash Zaku Phantom, Unicorn Gundam, and Victory Two Assault Buster Gundam. The prices of said Gundam models vary from $30 USD to $275 USD, so there's definitely something for everyone!

Premium Bandai unveiled a press release that details how the new Gunpla line will be brought to North American audiences:

"Starting on April 2, 2020, Premium Bandai USA will begin offering highly sought-after and exclusive collectibles from renowned Bandai toy and collectible brands to domestic fans and customers. The catalog has been expanded to feature Tamashii Nation's S.H.Figuarts action figure line and Bandai Spirits Hobby's catalog of Gundam model kits (GUNPLA), including many rare and limited-edition releases that were, until now, available only to the Japanese market. Nearly two dozen of Dragon Ball and Mobile Suit Gundam products will be available direct to North American consumers starting on April 2nd via Premium Bandai USA"

Gunplas have had the advantage of diving into territory that many fans of the franchise had yet to experience, creating models for series that fell outside of the world of anime and manga. For example, a Gunpla has been made to reflect the sequel novel series of Gundam Wing, creating a plastic model for the Frozen Teardrop Gundam that is so prominent in the novels.

What is your favorite Gunpla that you've seen? Which of these Gundam plastic models do you plan to pre-order when Premium Bandai unleases this wave for the first time in North America? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Gundam!

Note: If you purchase one of the awesome, independently chosen products featured here, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.