Gundam Base’s Global Expansion Picks Up Pace With Another New Store Opening This November
Image by Charlotte Davis
Bandai has officially confirmed the opening date for another permanent Gundam Base, completing a run of three new stores that are now scheduled to welcome fans within less than a month.
“THE GUNDAM BASE SYDNEY” will open at Broadway Sydney on November 26, 2026, following new locations in Minneapolis on October 30 and Shibuya on November 20 as Bandai rapidly expands its dedicated Gunpla retail network across the US, Japan and Australia.
The new “TAMASHII NATIONS STORE SYDNEY” has also been confirmed to make its debut at Broadway Sydney on November 26, giving Bandai two permanent specialist stores opening at the shopping centre on the same day.
Plans for the Sydney locations were first announced together in September, when Bandai Namco Asia revealed that The Gundam Base and Tamashii Nations Store would both open on Level One of Broadway Sydney during November.
Neither had a specific opening day at the time, but separate new announcements have now confirmed November 26 as the grand opening for both stores.
The Gundam Base is Bandai’s dedicated retail network for Gundam plastic models, commonly known as Gunpla, combining extensive selections of kits with limited-edition products, store exclusives, displays and other merchandise based on the long-running franchise.
Tamashii Nations Store Sydney will instead focus on Bandai Spirits’ wider collectible figure ranges, with exclusive merchandise, new releases and displays featuring properties represented across the Tamashii Nations portfolio.
For Gundam fans, the new permanent store follows Sydney’s inclusion in “THE GUNDAM BASE POP-UP WORLD TOUR,” a traveling Gundam retail event that made its way through cities across Europe, Asia and Australia, during 2025.
Sydney’s pop-up operated at Broadway Sydney from September 23 to October 12, 2025, temporarily giving local fans access to Gundam Base products and activities before plans for a permanent Australian location were revealed the following year.
The new store will expand considerably on that temporary presence, with Bandai confirming plans for a wide selection of Gunpla and related merchandise that will include exclusive kits alongside large-scale displays and detailed dioramas.
Regular events are also planned as part of the permanent location, creating a dedicated space for experienced builders as well as people discovering Gunpla for the first time.
Bandai has previously pointed to the continued growth of the model-building hobby across Oceania as part of the background to its Australian expansion, with regional Gunpla shipments expected to pass three million units by November 2026.
Sydney’s launch will come at the end of an unusually concentrated period of expansion for The Gundam Base, beginning in the US with the opening of “THE GUNDAM BASE Minneapolis” at Minnesota’s Mall of America on October 30.
Image by Charlotte DavisThe Minneapolis store will become only the second permanent Gundam Base in the US after Chicago, giving collectors in the Midwest access to Gundam Base-exclusive and limited-edition Gunpla alongside standard kits, building tools, accessories, merchandise and Gundam displays.
Its October opening date was only confirmed on October 22 after Bandai unexpectedly postponed the store’s original September 30 grand opening just four days before it was due to take place.
Minneapolis will also open alongside a new Bandai Namco Cross Store at Mall of America, mirroring Sydney’s wider approach of bringing a Gundam Base together with another permanent Bandai retail destination.
Japan follows three weeks later with “THE GUNDAM BASE SHIBUYA”, which will open on the fifth floor of Shibuya PARCO on November 20.
Bandai recently revealed a first look at the Shibuya store’s interior and opening collection, which will include a monthly rotating selection of around 15 Gunpla alongside Gundam Base exclusives, official merchandise and large displays created specifically for the location.
Sydney will then become the third new Gundam Base to open during the 28-day period when it welcomes visitors on November 26, extending the expansion across three countries in the space of four weeks.
Details of The Gundam Base Sydney’s grand opening celebrations have yet to be revealed, and Bandai says further information about exclusive and special items will be announced ahead of the launch.
Tamashii Nations has similarly promised further updates for its Sydney store, with its initial announcement confirming collectible figures, exclusive merchandise, immersive displays and new releases without yet detailing the opening selection.
“THE GUNDAM BASE SYDNEY” and “TAMASHII NATIONS STORE SYDNEY” are both scheduled to officially open at Broadway Sydney on November 26, 2026, with Bandai noting that The Gundam Base opening date remains subject to change if unforeseen circumstances affect the launch.
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