Bandai announced that they will be going for miniature wargames in earnest this year with a new miniatures game coming out later this year. Gundam Assemble is on the horizon and we've already got a trailer and a few more details about the miniatures.

Gundam Assemble // Bandai

Gundam Assemble will be a tabletop game that uses 2-inch-sized (5cm) Gunpla miniatures for you to do battle on the tabletop. From the description on the Gundam Assemble website...

"Each unit has abilities that reflect their unique characteristics, allowing players to enjoy scenarios that follow the original story, or diverge into situations that transcend the world of Mobile Suit Gundam series; thus providing both a sense of recreation and distinct battles."

As well as the information, we also got to see a bit of gameplay from the trailer (see above). It looks like it's going to be d10-based and will make use of a hex grid for movement; pretty standard for a mech-based game and makes a lot of sense.

Gameplay // Gundam Assemble

You can also see some of the kits in the background for the new miniatures that will be a part of this range. They certainly look quick and easy to assemble and in bare grey plastic so you'll be cracking out all the paints to get these ready for the tabletop.

Miniature & Sprue // Gundam Assemble

Plamo Times and Tales Of A Tabletop Skirmisher also did a bit of digging and it looks like there is going to be a selection of Starter Sets coming later this year. They are as follows...

• Heroic Beginnings Set (RX-78-2, Gundam Aerial, and ???)
• Wings of Advance Set (Wing Gundam, Tallgeese, and ???)
• Zeon's Rush Set (Char's Zaku II, Sinanju, and ???)
• SEED Strike Set (Aile Strike Gundam, Aegis Gundam, and ???)

I would assume that that means there will be quite a few sets aimed at particular popular series/shows but I'll need our resident Gundam nerds to add some clarification on that. Sound the horn and call for John and Shay!

Miniatures // Gundam Assemble

That's not it though as even more miniatures were rumoured to be on the way...

• RX-78-2 Gundam (Beam Rifle)
• RX-78-2 Gundam (Beam Saber)
• RX-75-Guntank
• RGM-79 GM (Beam Gun)
• RGM-79 GM (Beam Saber)
• RGM-79 GM (White Dingo)
• MSN-02 Zeong
• GAT-X105+AQM/E-X01 Aile Strike Gundam
• XVX-016 Gundam Aerial
• AMX-109 Kapool
• OZ-00MS Tallgeese
• X3G-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero
• X3G-01D2 Gundam Deathscythe Hell
• MS-06S Char Aznable’s Zaku II (Machine Gun)
• MS-06S Char Aznable’s Zaku II (Bazooka)
• MS-05B Zaku I
• MS-06 Zaku II (Cracker)
• RX-0 Full Armor Unicorn Gundam (Destroy Mode)
• EMS-10 Zudah
• MSN-06S Sinanju
• RB-79 Ball
• LCAM-01XA Archangel Class Assault Ship
• STSS-909 Rising Freedom Gundam (MS Mode)
• STSS-909 Rising Freedom Gundam (MA Mode)
• ZGMF/A-262PD-P Mighty Strike Freedom Gundam
• TOLRO-800 Torohachi
• GAT-X303 Aegis Gundam (MS Mode)
• GAT-X303 Aegis Gundam (MA Mode)

Once again, you'll have to forgive my ignorance of what all of that means but in the grand scheme of things, it means Bandai isn't slouching when it comes to Gundam Assemble. From the rumours at least, it seems like they are going to be revealing a lot of miniatures for the game to make it worth diving into and expanding.

Miniatures // Gundam Assemble

You can see some of the miniatures here. It should also be noted that the Gundam Trading Card Game is also going to be coming out this year (July) so there will be no shortage of Gundam-themed tabletop goodness for you to drink in over the next year or so.

Coming Soon // Gundam Assemble

We'll have to wait and see but it appears like we could get some more information on this in the coming months, especially with conventions starting to ramp up again as we move deeper into the new year.

Do you think this could get you invested in Gundam or are you still watching from the sidelines? I will be intrigued to ask John and Shay more about this concerning the scale, the miniatures and what they think about the ideas presented so far when it comes to Gundam Assemble!

What do you think?