| HGGS 1/144 ZGMF-X56S/α Force Impulse Gundam
Series: High Grade Gundam SEED (HGGS) 1/144 Title: ZGMF-X56S/α Force Impulse Gundam Release Date: 11/2004 Suggested Price: ¥ 1500 No. of Parts: 114 + polycaps Plastic colors: red, dark gray, white, blue, yellow, black Gimmicks: able to transform into Core Splendor, Chest Flyer and Leg Flyer
Contributor: Aloysius Date: February 8, 2005 After a short break from the HG SEED-MSV model lineup, Bandai returns with the SEED DESTINY models, kicking off with #17: Force Impulse Gundam.
The head comes in 5 parts. The difference from many other HGGS models is that the face is together with the front half of the head. The V-fin is entirely yellow, and the head sensor is left in the color of the plastic: white. What I particularly like about the head is the ball joint to the torso. It allows for movement forwards and backwards, allowing the head to look up even when the torso has a collar that could impede articulation in previous models.
The torso is slightly more complex than usual. There are joints in the
shoulders to simulate the crossed-arm stance taken by the Chest Flyer before docking with the Core Splendor. The torso also accommodates the Core Splendor which is essentially 4 pieces of white plastic and a polycap. due to the complexity of the torso it also happens that there is a white part attached to the hip so that the waist is faithfully replicated from the anime - white, red and blue.
The shoulder armor on the arms consist of 2 pieces of blue plastic. Thus there is a need for painting of the light blue and white areas on the
shoulder. Both arms have a notch to attach the shield brace on. As usual the elbows are single joints. There is a need to be cautious while pushing the shoulder joints into the torso as they are very tight and it would be quite a problem pulling out a short pin from the torso since the polycaps in the upper arm would have slipped off during the pulling.
The legs use double joints. However a change from previous models would be that the gray double joint is permanent. There is no way to detach the lower and upper leg from the joint as the polycap is wedged inside the knee part. The double joint greatly improves articulation and lets the leg recreate the Leg Flyer pose and various kneeling poses. The front armor pieces are completely white and light blue stickers are provided for the bottom part of the armor plates. The feet are attached to a ball joint which is also articulated at the ankle. The front half of the feet have polycaps so that the feet can fold up during the transformation.
Shield-The shield is a simple piece of work. One red piece for the closed shield used in the Blast and Sword modes, and 1 bigger red piece for the Force mode. Lots of painting is required. High-energy beam rifle-The rifle lacks an articulated secondary handle seen in the HG Aile Strike Gundam. However there is a short pin to attach the rifle to the back of the Impulse Gundam. Force Silhouette-The Force Silhouette also includes the unmanned Silhouette Flyer. Due to the thinness of the plastic wings they are black and come with red stickers. It is noted that the kit lacks translucent pink beam saber blades and combat knives.
Overall there's a feeling of deja vu as the transformation and Silhouette system remind us of the Core Block system and the Strike Gundam. However fans of Shinn Asuka's machine could probably get it to accompany their potential collection of the other SEED DESTINY Gundams. Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars <<back to Gundam |
