Kit Review

Straight build + Stickers + Panel lining

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - Detail shots (1/4)

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

Rear view with the Force pack removed

Back view with the Core Splendor removed as well

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - The Core Splendor comes with two separate forms — block form and flight form — but as you can see

The Core Splendor comes with two separate forms — block form and flight form —
but as you can see, there's absolutely no color separation done on either.

The Silhouette Flyer that connects to the Force pack also has no color separation.

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - The shield doesn't fold — instead you have to swap out the back panel by disassembling and reasse

The shield doesn't fold — instead you have to swap out the back panel by disassembling and reassembling it.

Shield in folded and unfolded form

Rear view of the shield

The beam rifle can be mounted on the rear skirt.

Articulation is excellent, as you'd expect from a newer kit.

Thanks to the transformation gimmick, the shoulders can raise all the way up.

The Force pack's wings also move up and down.

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - The wing hinge was loose, so I applied some glue, let it dry, then reattached it to tighten up th

The wing hinge was loose, so I applied some glue, let it dry, then reattached it to tighten up the joint strength.

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - A pretty cool aerial firing pose (1/4)

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - A pretty cool aerial firing pose (2/4)

A pretty cool aerial firing pose

Aerial defense pose

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - Beam saber action pose (1/3)

Beam saber action pose

Transformation

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - First you separate it into 4 pieces as shown above and transform — but as everyone knows, calling

First you separate it into 4 pieces as shown above and transform —
but as everyone knows, calling it a "transformation" is generous; it's really just a matter of bending the joints.

The one gimmick that's actually essential to the transformation is the knees bending forward.

Transformed into 4 separate flyers

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - Even in this new release, the Chest Flyer still looks a bit sad (....) (1/3)

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - Even in this new release, the Chest Flyer still looks a bit sad (....) (2/3)

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - Even in this new release, the Chest Flyer still looks a bit sad (....) (3/3)

Chest Flyer
Even in this new release, it still looks a bit sad (....)

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - Leg Flyer (1/3)

Leg Flyer

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - Force Silhouette (1/3)

Force Silhouette

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - Core Splendor (1/3)

Core Splendor

Joint parts for mounting the Chest Flyer and Leg Flyer on a stand are included as extras.

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - All 4 flyers can be displayed on a separately sold stand. (1/4)

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - All 4 flyers can be displayed on a separately sold stand. (2/4)

All 4 flyers can be displayed on a separately sold stand.

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam - Together with the HG Force Impulse Gundam released in 2004. It's had a complete makeover 12 years

Together with the HG Force Impulse Gundam released in 2004.
It's had a complete makeover 12 years later, now up to HGUC-level quality.

Together with the HGCE Aile Strike Gundam.

Straight build

The HGCE series brings non-Universal Century suits like those from SEED into the HGUC-level lineup, and this time it's the Force Impulse Gundam from Gundam SEED. It's a fairly prominent suit from the latter half of the series, so an HGCE release makes sense — though it's fair to say it doesn't quite match the popularity of Strike or Freedom.

First off, as befitting a renewal after 12 years, the overall quality is remarkably solid. The build experience is clean and satisfying with no fuss, the color separation and proportions are excellent, articulation and joint strength are great, and the separation/transformation gimmick is faithfully reproduced with care. One thing worth noting: the newer polycaps used in 1/144 kits tend to cause shoulder pop-out issues fairly often, but this kit uses dedicated plastic parts instead of polycaps for the shoulders — thanks to the Impulse's unique shoulder transformation gimmick — so the shoulders stay firmly in place without popping out at all.

On the downside, the Silhouette Flyer and Core Splendor are molded in a single color, so they don't look great in a straight build without painting. The shield's transformation gimmick also requires disassembly and reassembly, which is a bit of a hassle — though on the flip side, it does hold together very securely, so there are trade-offs either way. Joint strength is solid overall, but the wing hinges in particular tend to loosen up after a few poses, causing the wings to droop, so a little maintenance seems necessary. In my case, I applied glue to the wing hinges, let it dry completely to form a coating, and that tightened up the joint slop nicely.

The separation into 4 flyers is well-executed too, though the "transformation" itself was never really much of one to begin with — it's basically just bending the joints into position. If anything, the shoulders raising 90 degrees upward and the knees bending forward in a reverse-joint fashion are the only structural additions specific to the Impulse's transformation process. It's not exactly what you'd call a clever engineering feat.

All that said, this kit is significant for bringing the Force Impulse Gundam to 1/144 scale in near-perfect form, and it's a high-quality kit I'd happily recommend to anyone with a fondness for Gundam SEED. :-)

HGCE Force Impulse Gundam | 2016.6 | ¥2,100

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.