-- Series-wide Notes ---------------------------------
The Gundam SEED Destiny 1/144 No Grade series followed up on the original SEED 1/144 line, with a total of 14 kits released between 2004 and 2005, priced between ¥300 and ¥600 as entry-level Gunpla. The basic construction is similar to the SEED 1/144 series, but you can feel a step up in terms of detail, and they use an evolved dumbbell-shaped ball-joint polycap. Each joint moves on both ends, so articulation has improved — but since the elbows and knees are still fixed, the range of poses you can pull off remains limited.
That said, the proportions are solid and comparable to HG, and while color separation is limited, the molded colors are actually pretty decent. Each kit also recreates its own transformation gimmick or key feature. The parts count is more complex than the SEED 1/144 kits, pushing the average price up to ¥500, but overall quality has gone up along with it. True to the No Grade label, these are good entry-level Gunpla — reasonably priced for a fun build or some painting practice.
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<Individual Kit Notes>
This kit is the first in the series — the 1/144 Force Impulse Gundam. It uses 5-color molding plus seals to recreate the color scheme, but the original colors are surprisingly complex, so it's hard to shake the feeling that it looks a bit plain.
The proportions are well done and on par with HG, so with a paint job it could look really sharp — but as a straight build on its own, it feels a little bare. Still, it holds its own significance as the lead suit of the series. Compared to the 1/144 Freedom Gundam — the star of the previous series — the drop in overall quality is a bit of a letdown. :-)
AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.
