Zeta Gundam’s METAL STRUCTURE RX-178 Gundam Mk-II Could Finally Be Announced This Week
Image by Charlotte DavisBandai is preparing a new announcement for its enormous METAL STRUCTURE Gundam line, with fresh information set to be revealed alongside several other high-end figure projects.
The update is scheduled for August 27 and has immediately renewed interest in the RX-178 Gundam Mk-II, a METAL STRUCTURE project that Bandai has shown previously but has still not turned into a retail release.
METAL STRUCTURE KAITAI-SHOU-KI sits at the very top end of Bandai’s completed Gundam figure ranges, combining thousands of components, multiple materials, detailed internal structures, opening armor and lighting effects in exceptionally large display pieces.
The line began with the RX-93 Nu Gundam before expanding to Char Aznable’s MSN-04 Sazabi, with both Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack machines receiving additional equipment sets alongside their enormous base releases.
A METAL STRUCTURE Gundam Mk-II was shown as a reference exhibit at TAMASHII NATION 2023, making it one of the most obvious candidates for the newly teased announcement even though Bandai has not confirmed that it will be the subject of the August update.
The prototype took a different approach to exposed internal machinery than the Nu Gundam, with numerous armor panels opening outward like maintenance hatches rather than relying mainly on sliding sections.
Its display also showed internal lighting alongside weapons including the Beam Rifle, Hyper Bazooka, Vulcan Pod System, and shield, while the overall proportions were developed around the appearance of the Gundam Mk-II in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam.
No price or release schedule has ever been confirmed for the figure, so the August 27 reveal could finally provide the first substantial update on the project if the Mk-II is indeed what Bandai is preparing.
METAL STRUCTURE will not be the only Gundam figure line receiving news that day, with Bandai also promising more information on the recently announced ABSOLUTE ACT series.
The first ABSOLUTE ACT release has already been confirmed as the Strike Freedom Gundam, with the new completed figure line being developed around highly expressive action posing and a more dynamic approach to articulation.
The August announcement should provide a much clearer look at the Strike Freedom itself and what Bandai intends to make the defining features of ABSOLUTE ACT compared with its existing ROBOT SPIRITS, METAL ROBOT SPIRITS and METAL BUILD ranges.
Gundam’s ongoing collaboration with hololive Production will also receive its next major update, this time specifically under the METAL ROBOT SPIRITS brand.
The crossover has already introduced 12 custom mobile suits based around individual hololive talents, including Sakura Miko’s Nu Gundam, Hoshimachi Suisei’s Sazabi, Houshou Marine’s Crossbone Gundam X1 and Usada Pekora’s Unicorn Gundam.
Several of the selected machines have previously been released as standard METAL ROBOT SPIRITS figures, creating the possibility that Bandai will use the August 27 reveal to confirm commercially available versions carrying the collaboration’s new colors and markings.
Exactly which Gundam x hololive designs will be produced has not yet been confirmed, nor has Bandai said whether all 12 machines will eventually receive completed figures.
The upcoming figure news follows the equally substantial “Latest! Gunpla Info Bureau” broadcast held on August 25, which revealed several new model kits across Bandai’s major Gunpla lines.
The RG 1/144 Ground Type Gundam, priced at ¥4,620 (approx. $29 USD / £21 GBP), brings Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team into Real Grade with articulation developed around its kneeling 180mm Cannon firing pose and is scheduled for February 2027.
Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ’s HG 1/144 Hamma-Hamma, priced at ¥4,400 (approx. $28 USD / £20 GBP), uses flexible lead wires to reproduce its Psycommu-controlled forearms and three-barrel beam cannons, with release planned for March 2027.
The MGSD 00 Raiser, priced at ¥6,050 (approx. $38 USD / £28 GBP), combines the 00 Gundam and 0 Raiser with deployable GN Drives and a huge GN Sword beam effect ahead of its March 2027 release.
Bandai also revealed the MGEX 1/100 Mighty Strike Freedom Gundam, priced at ¥26,400 (approx. $166 USD / £122 GBP), bringing the Strike Freedom Gundam Type II and Proud Defender into MASTER GRADE EXTREME for March 2027.
Perfect Grade collectors received the “PG UNLEASHED 1/60 Fin Funnel & Clear Color Body for Nu Gundam,” priced at ¥16,500 (approx. $104 USD / £76 GBP), which adds six more Fin Funnels and transparent exterior parts for recreating a Double Fin Funnel configuration.
The same broadcast provided the first painted look at the HG 1/144 Gundam ZERO and Gundam Helix, with ZERO set to introduce a technology never previously used in Gunpla while Helix is being developed to reproduce the high-speed action of GUNDAM ROGUE ORBIT.
With Bandai having already used August 25 to lay out a substantial part of its upcoming Gunpla lineup, attention will now shift to its completed figure brands when the new METAL STRUCTURE, ABSOLUTE ACT and Gundam x hololive announcements are revealed on August 27.
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