Gundam fans have spoken, and in 2016, anime publishers listened.
On the TV side, we got a second season of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans that’s still ongoing! We also got a fun, funny new installation of the Gundam Build Fighters TRY series, a half-hour special called Island Wars.
On the release side, we got new DVD and Blu-Ray versions for so many classic Gundam shows—Gundam X, Zeta Gundam, and Gundam ZZ—plus Gundam Build Fighters, too!
As for new Gunpla kits, well, that’s what this massive post is about! While there were no new Perfect Grade kits this year, there were more than 100 new releases in the other grades—and we want to build them all.
We’ve collected the complete list of every Gunpla model that came out in 2016, and listed them out in alphabetical order, right here for your reference. Did you build any of these in 2016? We’d love to see your comments and reviews!
See also:
Table of Contents
Master Grade
Gundam Seed continues to have some of the most popular Gunpla models out there, and now we’re getting an updated MG of Kira’s suit. Love those wings!
MG Full Armor Gundam Ver.Ka (Gundam Thunderbolt Ver.) (pictured above)
This is the first Version Ka model for Gundam Thunderbolt. (If you’re unfamiliar with the term, read up on Ver. Ka here.) It’s a sturdy, blocky design with a lot of decals.
MG Unicorn Gundam (Red / Green Twin Frame Edition) Titanium Finish
Perfect for Christmas, this Unicorn model comes with both its red and green psycho frames. The outer shell has a metallic sheen for a high quality version of the titular model.
MG High Mobility Type Zaku II “Psycho Zaku” Ver.Ka (Gundam Thunderbolt Ver.) (pictured at top)
This heavily armed High Mobility Type Zaku is an elaborate Ver. Ka riff on the ones featured in Gundam Thunderbolt, complete with a burnished red finish.
Reborn 100
Efreet Custom RE/100 (pictured above)
The RE/100 scale is doing its job, bringing suits that would otherwise never get made to Gunpla form. This one hails from the video game Mobile Suit Gundam: Cross Dimension 0079.
Even though it wasn’t out yet I put this in the Gunpla Holiday Guide 2016 last month because I love ZZ’s flashy, wacky, wild suits like this one.
Real Grade
RG XXXG-01W Wing Gundam EW (pictured at top)
Real grades are really coming into their own in 2016. Early reviewers say this ‘90s throwback is as detailed as a Master Grade, but at 1/144 scale.
Pronounced “Double-Oh Quanta,” this obscure Real Grade hails from the Gundam 00 movie. This kit shares Exia’s familiar pointed shoulder pads.
Sinanju is a favorite here at Gunpla 101. Both Mario and Nanochi have done builds. It’s about time this flashy Zeon model gets a Real Grade kit.
RG Build Strike Gundam Full Package
The most realistic version of Sei’s homemade model yet! The build booster makes a dramatic pair of wings, and new surface details make it look more stunning than ever.
High Grade
From Iron-Blooded Orphans comes Gaelio Bauduin’s custom suit from the Calamity War. It’s in his trademark purple, but resembles Barbatos in a lot of other ways.
Shino’s iconic red custom Graze with angry eyes he painted himself. Shino started out as a character I couldn’t care less about, but now that he’s a pilot he’s awesome.
Akihiro’s current Iron-Blooded Orphans suit. It’s a big bulky guy, just like Akihiro himself, and you can really feel like it has his personality.
McGillis’s Calamity War era suit. Like the other Calamity suits, this one has major shoulderpads. Don’t miss the gold detailing in back.
HG Gundam Barbatos 6th Form (pictured at top of section)
In case the other five forms weren’t enough to satisfy you/empty your wallet completely, Bandai’s got a Barbatos for you.
What’s black and white and red all over? This prototype Dom, apparently. A surprisingly detailed Gundam: The Origin suit but good luck applying all those stickers.
The Earth form of Gaelio’s mobile suit. Not every HG comes with a stand, and this one has an especially durable one, so you can pose the suit as it’d appear in mid-air.
HG Graze Ritter (Carta’s Custom)
The very official looking model that Carta has customized for her rigid style of battle, all pomp and circumstance. A quick build with lots of weapon accessories.
Couldn’t find Ein’s ridiculous cyborg “body” many places; looks like it’s selling out fast. Larger than other Iron-Blooded Orphans suits, it’s like Zeta’s Psycho Gundam for modern times.
HGTB Full Armor Gundam (Gundam Thunderbolt Ver.)
Oh yeah, there’s another Gundam show right now. The Thunderbolt Gundam is one detailed HG, with plenty of firepower and shields.
HG Zaku II + Big Gun (Gundam Thunderbolt Ver.) (pictured above)
It’s hard to tell what the selling point is here—the gun or the Zaku! The gun is even larger than the suit, a perfect match for the heavily armed Gundam Thunderbolt.
Also known as Waffu, Vaffu, and Vaff. It’s clearly a riff on the Zaku, and its monochrome coloring would look great with a matte topcoat.
The Revive series has brought us a lot of re-releases of classic suits. Goufs aren’t exactly rare, so I’ll be looking to see what this latest version brings to the model.
HG GM (Gundam Thunderbolt Ver.)
Here’s one for anybody who couldn’t wait to pre-order the Gundam Thunderbolt blu-ray. A sturdy suit in cool color tones that early reviewers are calling flexible and articulate.
HG High Mobility Type Zaku II `Psycho Zaku` (Gundam Thunderbolt Ver.)
The most psychotic thing about this Zaku is the sheer amount of accessories it comes with—a bazooka, machine gun, heat hawk, and more!
Gundam Astaroth hails from a Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans side story that isn’t available in English, so I’d never seen it before. However, it has quite a past, as its asymmetrical appearance suggests.
It’s all in the name—it’s a slimmer version of the original Zaku, and it’s got denim-blue detailing. Not very flashy on its own, but great for Universal Century dioramas.
Looks like we’ll never be hurting for classic Mobile Suit Gundam suits. This latest Gyan is advertised to be more articulate and proportional than previous models.
HG Zaku I (Gundam Thunderbolt Ver.)
I love the police-tape caution look of this paint job, making an old-model Zaku look a lot more dangerous than it really is.
With classic, streamlined features, Gundam Seed Destiny models like this one have always been some of the best models on the market (so that’s one good thing to come out of Destiny!)
HGUC Full Armor Unicorn Gundam (Destroy Mode/Red Color Ver.)
For those who are watching Gundam Unicorn Re:0096 (like me), here’s a fitting late-model Unicorn to build. I love that shield-created “ninja star.”
The Local Type was designed as the missing link between the Gundam Ground Type and GunDiver models that came before. It’s a simple, but versatile, High Grade.
Speaking of flashy, here’s the latest take on everyone’s favorite metallic gold model. With every Gunpla generation, that gold plastic gets just a little bit crisper.
Pronounced Double Z-Two, this is a brand new build from Gundam Build Fighters TRY: Island Wars built by Minato Sakai. It’s based on the ZII from a Gundam ZZ side story.
Aww yes, it’s Gyanko’s new Island Wars build! (Gyanko is my fav.) This takes Gyan’s already-knightly features and turns them up to 11, the way Build Fighters kits often do.
Here’s a model I’ve never seen before, apparently from a side story of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans. It’s a hardy looking model, but flashier than most Orphans builds.
Only four releases this month, and all from Gundam Build Fighters Try Island Wars. Nils Yajima created this flashy blue and orange model to test his latest Plavsky Particles battle system. In its berserk mode, it has an elaborate set of orange wings.
Shia’s new build for Island Wars. As usual, her primary inspiration comes from the mobile suits of Gundam 00. I love the more intense color palette this time around.
HGBF Beargguy P (pictured above)
Magical Girl Beargguy! In case Beargguy wasn’t pretty enough for you, the newest look includes a pink frame, halo, and angel wings. I love the range in Build Fighters Try, spanning from sleek and powerful-looking suits like Shia’s to… well, this thing.
HG Reginlaze (Julietta’s Custom)
This is Gjallarhorn’s spiritual successor to the Graze, so you might have to search spellings like “Reginraze” or “Regingraze” to find it. It’s the teal and white square-faced model our favorite butterfly-eating pilot likes to face off in.
HG Gundam Gusion Rebake Full City
When I say that Iron-Blooded Orphans suits look like they were devised by a Medieval tactician, I’m thinking of suits like this one. On top of its bulky, intimidating build—which includes FOUR ARMS—the Full City comes with a giant pair of pliers that look like the perfect torture device.
The new Barbatos is here! I can’t see what’s especially wolf-like about it, but I love that it has a complete internal skeleton for improved durability and poseability. Just be ready for some stickers—early reviewers say it comes with a LOT.
Here’s the neat blue-and-orange suit that the leader of the Dawn Horizon Corps pirates totally didn’t deserve to pilot. With its weird feet and unique cable grips, it feels complex for a suit we probably won’t see again after episode four.
A tough-looking oxblood colored suit with a massive shield. This is the “Zaku” of Tekkadan that everybody pilots, but I don’t get sick of looking at its imposing proportions.
So many alternate spellings for Iron-Blooded Orphans Gunpla! This one is also known as Geirail, but I can’t pronounce it either way. Love the boxy computer-screen face of it though.
HGBF Transient Gundam Glacier (pictured above)
I adore this stunning, crystalline take on the Transient Gundam just in time for colder weather. This is beauty and grace personified in mecha form, you guys.
This is one of those kits that makes me do a double take like, “Hmm, didn’t I just post about Strike Freedom?” Gundam SEED may have a lukewarm reputation, but its mecha live on forever in constant reiterations in every grade and scale, this time HG 1/144.
Thank Gundam: The Origin for this new-old suit. The Guncannon has always reminded me of a vintage ‘70s super robot, and that’s perfectly preserved in this latest build.
Vidar’s distinctive model from the second season of Iron-Blooded Orphans.
This was initially released under the name “tentative” to avoid spoiling a major Iron-Blooded Orphans plot point. Now it’s out in all its avian glory.
One of my favorite parts about Flauros is that it can walk on either two or four legs, and the same is true for this flexible HG kit.
HG MS-05S Char Aznable’s Zaku I
Char’s very first custom Zaku from Gundam: The Origin. A very true-to-show build.
Before there was the Gouf, there was the Bugu, this prototype model from Gundam: The Origin.
No Grade 1/100
(New this year! Orphans saw a lot of no-grade 1/100, about the same difficulty as a High Grade model but magnified with extra details you can’t see at 1/144.)
Schwalbe Graze (McGillis Type) (1/100) (pictured above)
Something tells me Bandai is banking on this suit being a popular one, because I’ve been seeing versions of it since before the show started.
Gundam Gusion/Gusion Rebake 1/100
Check out aaaalllll the little details on Akihiro’s Gusion with this handy extra-large 1/100.
Gundam Kimaris Booster Unit 1/100
The booster version of Gaelio’s Kimaris from Iron-Blooded Orphans. An imposing model with lots of potential for panel-lining.
Gundam Barbatos 6th Form 1/100
Just what we needed, a 6th Barbatos! Bandai is really milking this one. This one comes with the ginormous Wrench Mace weapon from the tail end of the show.
High-Resolution Model Gundam Barbatos 1/100
This isn’t exactly a Gunpla, but a figure with more assembly than usual. It comes with a base and armor that goes on top, and parts are glued together. A very unusual piece.
A larger version of McGillis’s suit from Iron-Blooded Orphans. It’s interesting to see how quickly suits from this show are making it to larger sizes, compared to Reconguista in G before it.
This unique suit is broken on purpose—blending the white and green Graze parts that it was salvaged from in a lopsided, but fitting result for its hardscrabble pilot, Akihiro.
A larger version of the previous High Grade Kimaris from Iron-Blooded Orphans. The most distinctive part of this model is its feet, with pointed toes and looping fasteners.
You like the new Barbatos Lupus? Then you’ll love it on a larger scale with this 1/100 version, the better to show off every detail with enhanced accuracy.
This detailed kit has a complete internal skeleton and its own stand. In many ways it’s like a master grade except for its High Grade-like ease of build.
SD Gunpla
SD Legend BB Knight Superior Dragon (pictured above)
What’s crimson and gold and shimmery all over? This fancy SD swaps between two modes—knight and dragon form.
I can’t find this on Amazon and I can already tell it’s gonna be a tough one to get my hands on. Petitgguys are more like collectibles now, with no variation here except a new color.
Same goes for this one. Exactly like the yellow, pink, red, and blue Petitgguys that came before it, except now it’s brown. Collect them all?
What a cutie! This is the first tri-colored Petit Beargguy kit I’ve seen (black, white, and green). It’s likely that a lot of the color comes from sticker application, so get ready for that.
SD Gundam EX-Standard RX-78-2 Gundam
Mario reviewed this one, and his article about its articulation, coloring, and ease of build says a lot more than I can summarize.
SD Gundam EX-Standard Aile Strike Gundam
A cute new take on the normally serious-looking Aile Strike. The price is definitely right, but early reviewers say there’s less color variation than in previous SD versions.
SD Gundam EX-Standard Gundam Exia
A tinier take on the Exia. I really like that the example build has dramatic black panel-lining, because it emphasizes the suit’s cartoonish feel.
SD Gundam EX-Standard Wing Gundam Zero EW
With fully-articulating wings, this kit might be the most detailed of the new EX-Standard line. A relaxing, three-inch build.
SD Gundam EX-Standard Unicorn Gundam (Destroy Mode)
I have the previous SD Unicorn, which can be manually switched back and forth between Unicorn Mode and Destroy Mode, but it looks like this one stays in Destroy all the time. Not really a problem, since that’s the cooler-looking form.
SD Gundam EX-Standard Strike Freedom Gundam
Once again, a cute and tiny take on a normally imposing and complex suit. Here’s a good start for people intimidated by the Strike’s ordinarily detailed appearance.
SD Gundam EX-Standard Gundam Astray Red Frame
Of course fan-favorite Astray Red Frame gets its own SD EX-Standard! Keep in mind that this kit’s accessories (and all EX-Standard accessories) can also be used by High Grade models.
SD Gundam EX-Standard 00 Gundam
This shows how the EX-Standard line attempts to preserve the personality of each mobile suit better than previous SDs did. Earlier SDs show the 00 as being much bulkier, while this version places the emphasis squarely on its shoulders, just like for larger grades of the kit.
This is one weird SD kit that almost seems to have the proportions of a person. On second thought, a Gundam humanoid hybrid is kind of a cute idea, perfect for the SD line.
HGPG Petitgguy Rapapan Purple & Drum
Trust me when I say I WILL buy every Petitgguy and create a massive Bearggarmy. It looks like the series is branching out into accessories, since this purple guy comes with a tiny drum.
HGPG Petitgguy Surf Green & Guitar
…And this green petitgguy comes with his own little guitar! I’m guessing this will all start to make sense after the next cour of Gundam Build Fighters Try begins.
Petitgguy Strayblack and Catcos
Now there are more Petitgguys than I’ve seen in any Gundam TV show or special! This is cute and I’m wondering how a feline Beargguy will work out.
Pettitguy Woofwoofwhite and Dogcos
Not exactly a Beargguy, more like a Dogguy. I don’t understand it but I still want it. A great first Gunpla for a kid to build.
Accessories
MS Option Set 3 & Gjallarhorn Mobile Worker
A set of accessories, including axes and a mobile worker, designed to work perfectly with any Gjallarhorn mobile suit from Iron-Blooded Orphans.
MS Option Set 4 & Union Mobile Worker
A booster pack and mobile worker. Pretty typical by this point.
Dimension Build Knuckles [Maru]
Need some new hand pieces to fit on your High Grade models? How about… nine? These expressive add-ons help Gunpla punch, pose, and hold extra weapons.
A combo set of weapons for Build Fighters models. There’s a small rifle, a large rifle, and a lance. They’re all the same gray color so you can paint them to match any kit.
HGBC The Northern Pod (pictured at top of section)
A support unit that appears to also be wearable as a shield. It’s another one of those accessories for customizing your Build Fighters kits without using putty or anything.
HGBC Lightning Back Weapon System Mk-III
The third iteration of Lightning’s back weapon system. The Build Fighters series is taking the “build” part seriously, and Gunpla fans of the show are never going to hurt for variety.
HG MS Option Set 5 & Tekkadan Mobile Worker
This fifth and latest option set is meant to add functionality to Barbatos Lupus, including a buster sword, among other weapons, and other types of hands.
HG MS Option Set 6 & Mobile Worker
I’m not sure if Gunpla customization is as common as the amount of options sets makes it seem, or if Bandai is simply betting on it growing in popularity. Either way, have another set of weapons, accessories, and a mobile worker for your Orphans dioramas.
A railgun and a long-range railgun characterize this customization set.
6 Comments.
I actually got almost all the new bearguys this year except the dog and cat. The panda one actually has only eye stickers and the twitch thing for the head. The green has its own runner which is great!
@milkykou:disqus just got my Pandagguy in the mail, can’t wait!
I think you posted the RG Wing Zero EW instead of the Wing EW by accident. The Wing Zero was released 2 years ago! ^^;
Thanks for noticing! Fixing now!
HI Lauren, great blog and suberb recount of all 2016 gunplas, do you happen to have an instagram account? , specially for posting your Gunplawork in there, might be valuable and inspiring to others and you can get some ideas from other builders 🙂 , if you do please add me: freddykabuto , happy building
I have a personal Instagram and don’t always post Gunpla on it. It’s @laureninspace.