The mighty GX-9901-DX Gundam Double X from Gundam X will be getting the Robot Damashii treatment this July. Sold for around 4,800 yen, the toy looks to be pretty beefy and featuring all the necessary gimmicks you’d expect. No word yet on the GS-9900 G-Falcon but it has been previewed already, so it will likely end up as a web shop exclusive. Anyway, considering the original series was cancelled mid-run it’s nice to finally have a decent toy for the Double X on the way.

What with a Metal Build Gundam Exia recently being released, Bandai haven’t missed a trick and have announced a Metal Build 00 Raiser as a web shop exclusive. This is shrewd as this toy already existed in two parts; the Metal Build 00 Gundam Seven Sword and Metal Build 0 Raiser (with the latter again being a web shop exclusive). Combining the two sets produced the mighty GN-0000+GNR-010 00 Raiser. This version, despite being a little cheaper than the previous sets combined, will also have all manner of new bespoke decals as created by Kanetake Ebikawa, who was one of the main mecha designers on Gundam 00. We’re actually big fans of the new Metal Build toys as well as the 00 Raiser, so we’re pretty tempted to snap this puppy up once it is released in August.

We now know that the transforming Vic Viper from Anubis will have its Revoltech incarnation released sometime this May. Like the version in the game, the toy also also transforms too. Considering the very meagre price point, this functionality is surprising and wholly welcome. Admittedly Kaiyodo have done wonders with their variable fighter Revoltechs from Macross, which also transform, but it’s nice to see a supporting mecha design from a game get similar treatment.

Courtesy of our good friends at HobbyLink Japan we’ve been sent the Robot Damashii Nu Gundam and Robot Damashii Sazabi as seen in the climactic film Char’s Counterattack. In addition, we’ve also included some game and anime footage of the mecha in action at the end of the review.

So the much loved Blodia from Cyberbots will be getting a rather lovely looking toy, from Sentinel’s increasingly amazing Riobot line. We’ve covered this before but now we have some very nice pictures of the toy in question. As an aside, Sentinel’s Tumblr is worth bookmarking too. Despite the different player colours, which is a nice touch, the paint scheme on the figure looks very nice indeed and it also appears that the toy will have some manner of diecast (this being a good thing obviously). Still no word on a release date or price but it’s nice to know that Sentinel haven’t forgotten about the Blodia.

Following the Tamashii Nations 2012 poll where the wonderful Layzner came out on top, Bandai have been working hard to fulfill the wishes of their fans. As we already have a thoroughly excellent Soul of Chogokin Spec Layzner toy, it now looks like we’ll be getting an E-MF-LZ-00X-2 Layzner Mk2 figure too. This was the designed but never animated version of the titular upgraded and transformable Layzner that was meant to appear at the end of the second season. Due to all manner of funding issues, the series was cut short and the Mk2 never appeared. However, as is always the case in gaming, the Mk2 has graced many games over the years. From Super Robot Wars to the Another Century’s Episode games and as such the Mk2 is very much a fan favourite (so it makes sense to have a figure made of it finally). No word on release, toyline or price but Bandai have followed this announcement up with asking people to fill in an online questionnaire. It is interesting to see Layzner still endure like this though. Especially as the series is very influential when it comes to mecha gaming. If only the PS2 game had been finished, oh well.

There’s currently some interesting stuff going on at the Tamashii Nations Akiba Showroom, as we have the release of Battle Robot Damashii around the corner. Apart from showing all manner of new toys, with the lovely Robot Damashii RX-105 Xi Gundam above being notable, the really cool stuff is the AR elements of the exhibit. For this you need an iOS device and this app. Seeing Ideon pop into existence looks to be pretty cool. AmiAmi has a nice update on all this too.

Following on from our previous Revoltech Jehuty, Revoltech Jehuty (Anubis Version) and Revoltech Jehuty with Vector Cannon reviews, our good friends at HobbyLink Japan have sent us the Revoltech Naked Jehuty. This being the final and most powerful incarnation of Jehuty from the end of Anubis. In addition, we’ve also included some game footage of the mecha in action at the end of the review.

On January 29th, Archer Arios and Gundam GP-03 will be added to the Gundam Extreme Versus Full Boost roster. As you may know, these two units were previously released as DLC for the PS3 version of Gundam Extreme Versus. The units themselves felt very much like they were made specifically for the sequel, so it will be interesting to see how well they both perform with their intended gameplay mechanics.

In addition, Bandai will be releasing a Robot Damashii version of the Extreme Gundam (Type Leos) Xenon Phase unit found in Full Boost on April 13th. Obviously taking cues from G Gundam units, the Extreme Gundam Xenon Phase is aesthetically similar to the GF13-017NJII God Gundam in this particular evolved form. I’m sure we’ll see the rest of the Extreme Gundam forms as the year continues.

As was hinted at a while back, the mighty RX-105 Xi Gundam will indeed be getting the Robot Damashii treatment. Pre-orders start today and it is also a Bandai premium online shop purchase. Coming in at 10,500 yen it’s probably one of the most expensive Robot Damashii toys yet made. There is good reason for this though, the toy is utterly huge. It’s being done to scale with the other Gundam mobile suits and at 26m in the original novels, that practically dwarfs the original RX-78-2 Gundam (that’s just a meagre 18m). To put this into perspective, the mobile armor PMX-000 Messala from Zeta Gundam has a lower head height (23m) than the Xi Gundam. There are some nice comparison shots of the new toy too and it shows the scale difference off very nicely. Apart from the height, this will also be part of the Ka Signature splinter brand. So it’s going to have Hajime Katoki handle the the modelling and finish. The Xi Gundam was also recently added to Gundam Extreme Versus Full Boost as well as a DLC pack for the current Gundam Extreme Versus. In any case, it’s one of our favourite Moriki Yasuhiro designs so we’ll be getting this for sure.