[MS] Miniatures for Gundam 1/400, 1/300 SOG, Standart, Ultimate Operation, Assault Kingdom

On this page we’re going to discuss the different miniatures available for Mobile Suit Gundam for use in the MechaStellar Wargame Rules. This post will feature the Gundam 1/400 collection, the 1/300 S.O.G. range, and a number of ranges that are roughly 1/220 scale but for the sake of convenience we’ll call them 1/200 for this write-up. We’ll examine the pros and cons of each Gundam mini collection and at the end we’ll have a number of comparison shots showing the different ranges side by side.

Gundam 1/400 Collection

The Gundam 1/400 collection offers numerous advantages for wargaming.  First and foremost they are cheap and plentiful.  When searching second hand markets such as ebay the Gundam 1/400 is the easiest to come by and usually the cheapest options available.  Each figure is fully painted and prices range from $2-6 per model on the low end and a few rare or hard to find models in the $10-20 range.  For veteran 40k players this is quite a steal.

What’s more the 1.5-2″ size is perfect for wargaming since you can reuse many 28mm or 32mm terrain from other wargames.  It’s also beneficial if you plan on 3d printing terrain since they will generally be smaller and you can fit more on your build plate. 

The small size is also very helpful for storage.  Since the figures are all soft plastic you don’t have to worry about them breaking and they can easily be transported in just about anything, I find screw-sorters to be the most useful for this. 

When it comes to range the Gundam 1/400 line has one of the largest ranges compared to all other Gundam minis.  It has an exceptional variety of figures for the Universal Century (UC) starting with Mobile Suit Gundam and extending all the way to Victory Gundam, there’s also a very broad range for the Cosmic Era (Gundam SEED). 

For other alternate universes (AU) it tends to have the Mobile Suits for the principal characters, for example it has the main Gundam’s from 00 as well as the Tieren and Union Flag used by Sergei and Graham Aker.  Gundam Wing is fortunate for having a few grunt units as well including the Leo, Taurus and Serpent.

While the variety of units is very impressive there are a few gaps.  In UC, nearly all of the GM Sniper family tree is absent, and while it does have quite a few units from Mobile Suit Variations (MSV) it does not have the GM Nightseeker for instance. 

For AUs really only SEED and Wing have grunt units, and for Wing in particular it’s disappointing they don’t have some of the common grunts such as the Aries or the Virgo.  What’s more disappointing is that there is no Epyon in the 1/400 range.  Lastly, since the Gundam 1/400 range ended in the 2010s it does not include any series that aired after that date, so Iron Blooded Orphans (IBO) or Reconguista in G (G-Reco) will not be included.

Be sure to check out the Gundam 1/400 collection checklist at Gundanium Gateway.

Gundam 1/400 Mini Figure Selection M.F.S.

One last thing to note is that there are actually several Gundam 1/400 lines.  The standard collection comes with the black bases, and usually a bent beam saber.  In addition to those are two Mini Figure Select (M.F.S.) lines, one that is painted and one that is painted a single monotone metallic color.  The metallic line has bases that resemble bottle caps, some of the chrome models have very nice and detailed sculpting but some of the monocolor units have less detail and poor sculpts.

For the pre-painted line they tend to have some poor color choices when representing some units, for example the GP01 or the Asshimar tend to have colors that are quite a bit off, some also tend to have a sparkle or sheen on there instead of a matte color. 

On the bright side, they do have nicer bases overall with the units name on it. Some of them strike very good poses which require minimum fuss setting up, the GP02 Physalis is notable for this, and rarely are the limbs / pieces separate so it’s easy to transport them without having to reattach arms, shields and wings after traveling to your game store. There are of course expections with the M.F.S. Wing Zero Custom falling apart easily compared to its 1/400 Collection counterpart.

Lastly, the M.F.S. line has a few models that are not present in the Gundam 1/400 range.  There is a metallic GM Sniper Custom and a pre-painted GM Light Ar.  There is a metallic GM Sniper Custom and a pre-painted GM Light Armor which is nice for those who want the exact model when playing a cooperative MechaStellar campaign for instance.  There are also some Mobile Armors such as the GP03 Dendrobium and Neue Ziel, but the scale is perhaps more similar to 1/2000.

For more information on the Gundam 1/400 range please look at the collectors check list at Gundanium Gateway.

Gundam 1/400

PROs

• Easy to find and affordable
• Massive variety of models for UC and AU
• Small, easy to transport and you can reuse 28mm terrain
• Great for building a massive tabletop army and they all comes with bases.

CONs

• Less detail than larger minis
• Missing some iconic units (Epyon and most of G Gundam) does not have newer AUs
• Soft memory plastic means you’ll need to use warm water to straighten out beam sabers and similar bits that get bent

Gundam 1/300 SOG Collection

Next up we have two collections that are slightly larger in size.  The Gundam 1/300 SOG is a beautifully detailed and sturdy set of models that are a bit bigger than the 1/400 range.  If the 1/400 is 1.5″ – 2″ then the 1/300 is 2″ – 2.5″ depending on the unit. 

All the SOG units have minor assembly such as inserting legs, or attaching cannons but the tolerancing is very high for most of these so they fit together easily and look great on the tabletop. I have nothing but positive things to say about the 1/300 line and I would field entire armies of them if I could.  The downside is that the range is limited and they have become increasingly harder to find these days. 

The range primarily focuses on the One Year War (OYW) of the UC but does include some later units such as the Nu Gundam and Sazabi from Char’s Counter Attack (CCA) and even Burning / God Gundam and Master Gundam from G Gundam.  Price wise these tended to be slightly more expensive than the 1/400 range ($4-10 versus $2-6 per model) but with the models becoming scarce the prices have been rising.

PROs

• Incredible level of detail for the size and look even better with weathering and custom paint jobs
• Relatively inexpensive per model compared to larger figures with the same level of detail
• Very nice looking small scale tabletop army

CONs

• Limited range for UC and very limited for AU
• Very hard to find the rare models nowadays

1/350 G Sight Collection

Similar in size we also have the 1/350 scale G Sight collection.  This collection is not nearly as detailed as the 1/300 and also uses the soft memory plastic so expect some bent rifle barrels and beam sabers.  It does include some units missing from the 1/400 including the GM Sniper II, the problem is the scale difference is big enough to notice so for the most part if you run them next to a 1/400 or a 1/300 they will stick out. 

The G Sight collection also varies a lot in scale even though its advertised as 1/350, some models are much closer to 1/300 while others are closer to 1/400. For example look at the comparison image above to see that the GSight figure (3rd figure from the left with the bent barrel) looks far smaller than the 1/300 and 1/200 figures on its right.

As a bonus many of G Sight units comes with a piece of terrain such as the samson truck that Zakus were hauled in (such as the Ramba Ral arc of Mobile Suit Gundam) and several small Federation bunkers such as the ones we see in Jaburo, and oddly enough giant mobile suit sized sandbags.  They make for nice scatter terrain when setting up your games.

Gundam 1/200 Collection

Bandai released a number of small size Gundam figures over a few different lines.  While scale isn’t listed they are between 1/200 and 1/220 for the most part, with each figure being around 3-3.5″.  We’ll look at a few of them below.

Gundam FW Ultimate Operation

The Ultimate Operation figures were an affordable line of figures with unique designs and paint schemes for many classic figures from the UC.  The figures are very nice with a good level of detail and weaponry and have enough articulation for wargaming.  The downside is that more than a few figures tend to have issues standing up, or have poses that aren’t ideal which can make moving them around the tabletop vexing at times. 

As a bonus many of the classic designs have been reworked and look a bit different than what you’re used to, with many figures having different proportions.  This can be good or bad, the Guntank for instance more closely resembles the version from Kazuhisa Kondo’s manga which is a huge plus for fans of that; the RX78-2 on the other hand tends to have very enlarged and blocky shoulders and thus looks a bit off.

For more information on the Ultimate Operation line of figures take a look at Gundanium Gateway.

PROs

• Broad range of figures
• Unique paint schemes and redesigns
• Looks great on the tabletop, ideal for smaller games of 5 vs 5

CONs

• Stability Issues
• Harder to find nowadays

Gundam STANDart

These figures are very nice and as the name implies are standing art.  The downside of course is that they are moreso artistic pieces and so have limited (often zero) articulation and are mostly for posing.  Still out of all the 1/200 figures these look very good and can be taken out of the box and placed on the tabletop without worrying about them falling over or requiring fidgety assembly.  They also are more common to find nowadays than Ultimate Operation.  The height is roughly the same as the Ultimate Operation so you can mix and match here.

For more information on the STANDart line of figures take a look at Gundanium Gateway.

PROs

• Broad range of figures
• High level of detail and paint quality
• Looks great on the tabletop, ideal for smaller games of 5 vs 5

CONs

• Stability Issues (Wing Gundam)
• Almost no articulation
• Some MS are easy to find but others will be harder to track down

Gundam Assault Kingdom

Assault Kingdom are a more recent batch of the 1/200 line evolving from Ultimate Operation and Standart.  Assault Kingdom aimed to give a product for dynamic and action oriented figures with minimal assembly required.  Many of these come with options to swap out hand parts or weapons such as the shining finger versus shining finger sword. 

It has a fairly broad range of figures for both UC and AU and lasted for a good amount of time so they are often easier to find on second hand markets and relatively inexpensive.  While they have great articulation compared to previous models, the amount of paint and level of detail is far lower than the other figures.   Go with this if you enjoy posing your figures while playing on the tabletop.  The height is roughly the same as the Ultimate Operation & Standart so you can mix and match here.

For more information on the Assault Kingdom line of figures take a look at Gundanium Gateway.

PROs

• Broad range of figures
• Lots of articulation, great for dynamic posing
• Usually the easiest to find on second hand markets
• Makes for great small games for Ace pilots to duke it out

CONs

• For stability you may need to rely on the posing base
• Increased articulation came at the cost of details

[MSIA] Mobile Suit in Action Figures

On the whole models for G Gundam are hard to come by, both for Gunpla plastic kits as well as action figures and gashapon. Fortunately, the widely popular Mobile Suits in Action Line (MSIA or MS in Action) line of action figures from the 1999 through the 2000s has the biggest variety of models for Mobile Fighter G Gundam.

The MSIA range has a good level of detail and is very sturdy even after all these years and are great for posing and letting the kids play with them. Since they come with large amounts of accessories similar to the more modern Robot Spirits / Robot Damashii line its usually best to keep some plastic bags on hand to keep all the accessories (beam sabers, weapons, special attacks, etc.) in one place.

Pictured above is the Shuffle Alliance. Many of the popular Gundam’s from this series also have a battle scarred version which have a good deal of weathering and battle damage on the model and often come with a piece of terrain as seen above where Dragon, Shining, Rose and Maxter are all battle scarred.

The Mobile Suit in Action range is also one of the only places to find some of the more esoteric designs. Pictured above is the Matador Gundam, Zebra Gundam, Mandala Gundam, and Cobra Gundam. There were only a few fighters that did not receive MSIA figures, that said some of the more popular ones (such as the Windmill Nether Gundam) are very hard to find these days.

While many of the Mobile Fighters from G Gundam received a Gunpla treatment, they are difficult to find nowadays. Since then typically the only Gundam’s to receive model kits are Shining Gundam, Master Gundam and Burning / God Gundam. Although 20 years later, Rose Gundam received a new kit but on P-Bandai only.

Comparison Photos

Below we have some comparison photos for those shopping around and trying to determine which range of Gundam miniatures they’d like to buy based on size, design and color. We’ll start with the original Mobile Suit Gundam.

Here is the original trio from Mobile Suit Gundam. I haven’t yet picked up an Ultimate Operation Guncannon so as is a stand-in we have Guncannon the Fighter from an SD Gundam spinoff. In the front row is the 1/400 collection followed by the 1/300 SOG range in the middle and lastly 1/200 scale in the back represented by the Ultimate Operation Gundam and Guntank. As you can see the design for Ultimate Operation is more stylized while the 1/300 is simply better detail and colors compared to the 1/400 range.

Next up we have the Gelgoog with Char’s Commander type on the left and the standard model on the right, once again we have the 1/400, then the 1/300 SOG then the Ultimate Operation in the back.

Lastly we have the various types of Zaku with the 1/400 range on bottom (and a M.F.S. metalic on the right) behind them is a kneeling 1/350 GSight Zaku then the 1/300 SOG Zaku IIs and lastly the 1/200 in the back with Ultimate Operation on the left and Standart on the right.

Additional photos of the Zaku II variants.

Here are the Ground Gundam from the 08th MS Team and The Blue Destiny side story game / manga.

Above is a profile view showing the different heights and a 2nd one comparing it with the Zaku series.

Here’s a collection of Dom’s and Goufs with the 1/400 in the front row, the 1/300 in the second row (and a 1/350 GSight Dom Tropen on the far left) and 1/200 in the back.

Here’s a side by side view to show you the different heights for 1/400, 1/300 and 1/200 scale.

Here is a collection of GMs with the 1/400 in the front row, the second row has a 1/350 GM Cold Districts and a kneeling GM Sniper II, the third row has the 1/300 GM and GM Cold Districts and the back row has a 1/200 GM Sniper Custom and GM Sniper II.

Here’s a side by side view showing the different heights.

Here’s a collection of Zeon amphibious units with the 1/400 in the front, 1/300 in the middle and 1/200 in the back (although the Acguy is an older diorama toy and likely closer to 1/250 instead of 1/220 of Ultimate Operation).

Here’s a side view showing the different heights for the Zeon amphibious units

Here’s a shot showing the RX-78NT1 Gundam Alex and the MS-18E Kampfer from Mobile Suit Gundam 0080 War in the pocket. From left to right we have two different 1/400 figures, then the 1/300 figure and lastly the 1/200 scale figure.

For the smaller gashapon on the outside edges we have the 1/300 SOG Burning and Master Gundam released as part of a special set at the end of the SOG range. In the middle are the 1/400 range which includes Burning / God Gundam, Shining Gundam, Master Gundam with Fuunsaiki, Nobel Gundam and the Dark / Devil Gundam. Unfortunately there aren’t any other fighters in the 1/400 range.

Above you can see a comparison photo showing the heights of the 1/400, the 1/300 and the MSIA figures (4.5″). The MSIA figures are slightly larger than the Gundam Standart and the Ultimate Operation figures which are 3.5-4″ in height.

Thank you all for reading, let us know if you need any help choosing out Gundam minis for your game. And keep an eye for out older figures as well, you may get lucky and find a giant sized vinyl Big Zam featured above.

If you’d like to hunt down Gundam minis one of the easiest places to start is the ebay store “Gundam Collector Hiro” Hiro has a very impressive collection of Gundam miniatures at various ranges and has them extremely well organized. He’s also great to work with and if eBay ever messes up shipping discounts he is quick to refund the difference.

https://www.ebay.com/usr/hiro-japan-brand

https://www.ebay.com/str/hirogundamcollector