Bandai Officially Unveils Gundam's First-Ever Blind-Box Gunpla Kits

Bandai has fully revealed GUNDAM XMX, a completely new Gunpla brand that combines simplified assembly with collectible blind-box releases built around redesigned versions of popular mobile suits.

The first GUNDAM XMX release will focus on the Strike Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, with five revealed variants featuring different colors, weapons and Striker Packs alongside a sixth secret design.

Bandai originally teased GUNDAM XMX in September as a new project created specifically for Gundam fans in mainland China, promising a different way to experience Gunpla without revealing exactly what form the new line would take.

The full concept was finally unveiled at Wonder Festival 2026 Shanghai on October 3, revealing that XMX sits outside established Gunpla formats such as HG, RG, MG and SD rather than becoming another conventional scale-based grade.

Instead, Bandai has developed completely new proportions that are neither realistic scale representations nor traditional SD designs, with the first Strike Gundam models standing approximately 11 cm tall.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED originally introduced the GAT-X105 Strike Gundam in 2002 as the main mobile suit piloted by Kira Yamato during the opening stages of the war between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT.

One of Strike Gundam’s defining features is its ability to use interchangeable Striker Packs that alter its equipment for different combat roles, most famously through the Aile, Sword and Launcher configurations.

That modular concept fits particularly well with XMX, as Bandai has designed the new kits so their backpacks, weapons and other equipment can be removed and swapped between different releases.

The first blind-box wave uses that flexibility to create five revealed Strike Gundam configurations, alongside a sixth design that Bandai is keeping secret:

1. Strike Gundam + Armor Schneider
2. Strike Gundam + Aile Striker and Beam Saber
3. Deactive Strike Gundam + Sword Striker
4. Clear Strike Gundam + Launcher Striker
5. Strike Rouge + Bazooka and Shield
6. Secret Design

The lineup ranges from a relatively simple Strike Gundam armed with its Armor Schneider combat knives through to versions equipped with the Aile, Sword and Launcher Striker Packs.

Bandai has also moved beyond the standard Strike Gundam through the Deactive and Clear versions, while Strike Rouge introduces the pink and red Mobile Suit most closely associated with Cagalli Yula Athha.

The sixth design remains completely hidden, giving the first XMX wave a dedicated secret pull alongside its five standard variants.

A dedicated joint structure has been developed for the line to provide considerably more articulation than the compact proportions might initially suggest, allowing the approximately 11 cm models to recreate a range of action poses after assembly.

Bandai is also deliberately lowering the barrier to building the kits, with the runners using touch gates that allow parts to be removed without requiring nippers or other specialist tools.

Selected pieces will arrive pre-painted, reducing the need for color-correcting stickers and allowing newcomers to achieve more of the intended appearance directly from the parts included in each box.

The combination of tool-free part removal, pre-painted components and compact size positions GUNDAM XMX as an entry point for beginners who haven’t necessarily built a traditional Gunpla kit before.

At the same time, the interchangeable weapons and equipment give existing builders another reason to collect multiple variants, particularly as the first wave is being sold through a randomized blind-box format.

GUNDAM XMX project lead Ryota Kiyomiya explained that the new brand was developed using Bandai’s experience operating its Gundam model business in China alongside feedback gathered through direct interaction with local fans and China’s wider hobby and trend communities.

Japanese staff are involved throughout the project from planning through production, working alongside Bandai’s local team to create a Gunpla brand developed specifically for the mainland Chinese market.

The new project follows several other China-focused Gundam releases, including Gunpla based on the life-size Freedom Gundam installed outside LaLaport Shanghai Jinqiao, which has continued to receive new variants through Bandai’s regional Gundam Base releases.

RG 1144 Gundam Base Limited ZGMF X10A Freedom Gundam Ver.GCP [Clear Color] 0

Bandai has also increasingly used China for exclusive and early Gunpla launches, with its 2026 Double 11 lineup recently adding new silver-themed versions of the MGSD Freedom Gundam and MG Testament Gundam.

Freedom Gundam and Testament Gundam Silver Colo Gunpla 5

Strike Gundam will not remain the line’s only mobile suit for long, as Bandai has already confirmed that an XMX version of the original RX-78-2 Gundam is currently in development as the second release.

Further GUNDAM XMX models based on mobile suits from other popular Gundam series are also planned, establishing the project as an ongoing range rather than a one-off collection built solely around Gundam SEED.

The first “GUNDAM XMX STRIKE GUNDAM” collection is scheduled to launch in mainland China during spring 2027 with an expected price of CNY59.9 (approximately $9 / £7).

The kits will initially be sold through physical designer-toy retailers alongside Bandai’s official online stores and Gundam Base locations in mainland China, with no release in Japan, the US or other international markets currently announced.