Review: HCM-Pro Force Impulse Gundam

HCM-Pro No.11-oo ZGMF-X56S/a Force Impulse Gundam
1:200 High Complete Model Progressive
Freedom VS Destroy VS Impulse Part II of 3
~ R E V I E W ~



01. I n t r o d u c t i o n

good day to everyone. as i promised the last time, here's the part 2 review for the HCM-Pro Freedom VS Destroy VS Impulse figures. honestly, purchasing this Impulse figure is what i call a "necessary purchase" in order to complete the set for the famous SEED Destiny scenes. "impulse-ive purchase" indeed. and we all know that we can't complete the scenes without this figure, right? hehehe. nweiz, special thanks to Xentar for getting me this figure. thanks bro. until our next transaction. ok, so much for that... on to our review...

02. P a c k a g i n g

standard HCM-Pro small box. this is the regular box of HCM-Pro since series 1. it also has cool CG artwork. again, hoping that the CG artwork is bigger. comparing this box to the recent release of HCM-Pro figures, this one fits all the figure and accessories -- no extra spaces like the recent ones. and if you're into collecting also the boxes, this is great because once you stack it up, it will look like books because of the layout on the side panel. visit Bandai's HCM-Pro Lineup Index, and you'll know what i'm talking about.

>>> Rating: 5 <<<


03. P r o d u c t & D e t a i l

Content: (1) Impulse, (1) Shield, (1) Silhouette Flyer, (1) Manual
In Sprues: (2) Beam Sabers w/ attached manipulators, (1) Beam Rifle w/ attached manipulators, (2) closed fist manipulators, (2) Folding Razor knife, (1) Force Pack and (1) ABS-made V-fin.

you can see here the figure along with the shield and silhouette flyer. and the rest are all in sprues to be built. the sad part here is the Beam Rifle.if you'll notice it has a built-in manipulator. meaning, you can't store the Beam Rifle on Impulse's rear armor skirt. it's not good to look at. hahaha! as if you cut an MS hands with your Beam Rifle in it, not removing the hands, then store it on your back. that's funny. hehehe. and that's a good point which Bandai did on their recent figure -- Freedom. it has 2 Beam Rifle handles. one with manipulator and one without.

now the shield. this is cool for a small accessory. it does open like in the cartoon. the red part splits, showing the black part of the shield, and the side part slides outward too. nice for a small accessory. wish it has a "slide" button so it will be automatic. hehehe.




Core Splendor. the Impulse with the Core Splendor unit. here's the next 2 photos showing the Core Splendor in fighter plane mode and core block mode. next the details and joint of the crotch and ankle parts. and lastly, the Core Splendor and Force Silhouette in flight mode. once again, another superb detailing from HCM-Pro line. just be prepared to ignore small paint chip that it has. yup, HCM-Pro is a small MG/PG kit. but remember to take good care of it. too much handling and playing, the joints will become loose. so prepare also your Elmer's glue palagi. btw, after i took some photos of this baby, the left crotch joint become loose. but, all in all i will give this baby:

>>> Rating: 4 <<<


04. A r t i c u l a t i o n s

sorry if i only have 5 photos for this section. got so excited playing with it and i forgot to take more photos. hehehe. ok, here we see that the shoulder joint is pulled from the torso. this in order to position the shoulder armor in place when it's in Chest Flyer mode. standard neck joints that moves the head in up and down motion. remember that some figures doesn't have an 'extra articulation' for up and down movements. and lastly, the famous Dalong pose. i gotta say, that this figure is light. why? because when posing it, i didn't need to lean the figure sidewards just to balance it.

>>> Rating: 4.5 <<<


05. Let's VOLT Together... L e t ' s V O L T - I N ! ! !

just playing around immitating the transformation sequence of Impulse. hehehe. enjoy!

>>> Rating: 5 <<<


06. Lights. Camera. A C T I O N !

ok, just like what the section title says, here's some cool poses that i did. again, i had fun posing it and playing with it even if this figure is so small. so i guess, same with my Freedom figure, i'll give this section 5 smileys for fun factor.

>>> Rating: 5 <<<


07. C o n c l u s i o n

another superb toy engineering from Bandai. yes. yes. yes. my only complain with this figure is just the scale. they're so small. it's like playing with gashapons. but only this time, they're articulated. i know everyone thinks why not go with their new line -- Super HCM-Pro, right? it's more detailed. mode articulated. more gimiks. and it's bigger. it's in 1:144 scale. so it's the same scale with HGUC kits na. but, we all know that a regular 1:200 HCM-Pro figure is expensive na, what more if the new Super HCM-Pro pushes through? see the recent release of Super HCM-Pro RX-78-2 Gundam? that figure is so cool. it's more like a PG kit now. i want to have one. but after seeing it... and after i found out the price... it's too much na for a 1:144 scaled figure. with that amount, you can buy 2 regular MG kits or Hi-Nu for that matter. if only they could lower the price...

nweiz, to finish this review, i will still recommend this Impulse to Seed/Destiny fans. it's a great figure. if Bandai decided to release the 2 other variants of Impulse, i will also get it, esp the Sword variant. heck, i will also buy all the Strike variants, if they decided to release it in HCM-Pro.

>>> Overall Rating: 4.5 <<<




Thanks for looking. ^^,