Gundam Review: MG ZGMF-X56s/a Force Impulse Gundam

Good evening guys!

After 3 days, it's finally done :)) I forgot how time consuming it is to build master grades @_@ But here it is!

Before I start, I just wanna say how much I hate Gundam SEED/Destiny. I want to get that out of the way. The show started interesting but ended like a huge mess. SEED was ok, I guess but Destiny.. *sigh* The sequel had potential but the writers messed it up.. Turned everything into a huge migraine. The only thing I like about the series are the mobile suits, I gotta admit, the mobile suits looks awesome! I just wished that the show was awesome too.

Moving on, I have here the Force Impulse. To be honest, I like Shinn Asuka way better than Kira "jesus" Yamato. It's just a shame the writers f*cked him up... 

Let's go to do the review, a very lengthy one :3

Box art:

One of the most amazing box art's I've ever seen :D Look how big it is compared to little ol' RX :))

 

I bought the 30th anniversary version, that means it has clear parts :D Not all MG kits have the same type of clear parts. For the Force Impulse, it's the front skirts and the left leg.

Here's a box comparison. Look how it towers my Gundam MK-II ver. 2.0 box @_@ And to think that the MK-II had more parts... I think :))

 

The side part of the box, pretty the same with what you're gonna see in the manual.

The back side of the box, show's the kit's that got the 30th anniv. treatment.

Manual:

 

The usual manual design for master grades, the old ones at least. What I love about MG manuals is that they really give you the feel that what you're building is not child's play. It's like blueprints for a killing machine >:)

Another good thing about MG manuals, they show you what runner's you need to build a specific part. If I can only read japanese, I can enjoy all those info :))

Table of content's. Very nice if you wanna do a specific part :D

Runners:

Lot's of runners, expected for a master grade. If you can't handle it, stick with HG kits :)) Look at all of those nice color separation :3 Last pic shows the clear parts. As I said, each MG kit has a different part. This is a duplicate of the the runner for the left leg.

Decals:

Rub transfer decals. You only get these with MG kits. I'd be happy if they ever decided to give HG kits rub on decals. Water Decals are another story. I'll cover that some other time. 

Rub transfer decals are very delicate, make sure you don't touch the other side because they stick easily so make sure its always covered by that paper it comes with. The only sticker's you get are for the eyes, forehead and back side of the head camera. I forgot to take a picture of it :))

Aside from this, you will also get clear stickers, but it's pretty much the same with what you see here. It does have the "Faith" logo and ZAFT's logo. 

BUILDING TIME!!

I'm gonna the inner frame first before armoring him up.

Core splendor:

I apologize, the before assembly pic suddenly disappeared @_@ I really swore that I took a picture of it D: weird...... Anyway, here's the core splendor, has a sitting shinn figure inside, I didn't paint the figures because I'm bad at those :))

Very simple build. I painted the wing part's blue, the nose cone black steel, the missile tips gray and the cokcpit hatch white on the borders. There's suppose to be a bit of yellow on the tail fins but I didn't bother since it's not gonna be visible all the time.

Head parts:

 

Usual parts for a head, slightly more parts than the usual HG kit. All the parts are molded in color, the face itself is very detailed. There's a clear piping that runs from the forehead to the back side of the head. Did a bit of panel lining, not much just to bring out the detail.

Torso parts:

 

What separates MG kits from HG kits. An inner frame, this gives the kit more mechanical detail and realism. lot's of parts so make sure you don't lose one :D

Arm parts:

 

Lot's of parts again, don't rush, you'll make it worse if you do :D

*I skipped the waist because it's just 2 parts you stick together XD*

Leg parts:

In MG kits, the leg's tend to have a complex build. They have a lot of moving parts. Be careful not to forget the polycaps :3

 Final part for inner frame:

Look's weird huh? it's like a skeleton :3 The new Real grade line has this despite being 1/144 scale but I find those really delicate and prone to easy breakage.

Random post.

Let's armor him up now!

Torso:

 

Very colorful :3 All the parts are separated in color \m/ did a bit of panel lining. This is why I lvoe MG kits because even the tiniest detail is a separate part :3

Waist:

 

Mostly white, and it's really nice that the light blue trim is separate :3

Arms:

 

I love how all the parts in the shoulder are separate in color :3

Legs:

Be careful with the legs, there's a tiny yellow part for the knees, I almost lost one @_@

Final output:

I really find the Force Impulse to be the closest representation of the RX-78 in the SEED universe. 

Let's go look at the weapons/backpack now :D

Beam rifle:

 

I love it when the scope is a separate part :3 I wish they'd do that often with HG kits. Even the red detail is a separate part, they don't have to do it but it's nice of them :D The gun can be stored at the back skirt :D

Shield:

 

Seriously... something went wrong when I transferred the files... This also has a before assembly... I'm really sorry D: I'll just explain it then.. The shield has layer's of parts thus making it possible to retract and spread like it does in the show. Very detailed and but the moving parts are slightly loose, not much but it slides easily.

Amor Schneiders:

Same as the strike Gundam, it stores in the side skirts. I don't even recall the Force Impulse using them haha!

Anti-ship sword:

 

This would be my favorite weapon in this kit. I was surprised they included. A good reason to get the MG instead of the HG >:)) Make's me feel like I have the Destiny gundam :3 That sword is awesome! It's a bit heavy though but get the right angle and the hands will hold it right :D 

Silhouette Flyer:

 

A rather simple build compared to the core splendor. The HG kit doesn't have this too.

The kit gives you both Shinn and Lunamaria :D I wish I'm good at painting small figures :( they look like ghosts @_@

Force Silhouette:

 

It has a lot of parts @_@ Lot's of tiny ones too D: Also, they're thin, so be careful not to bend them. I love how it retracts and spreads :3 The HG kit can't do that >:) Also, those parts holding the beam sabers are secure as hell, so stiff, so be careful when removing them.

Optional parts:

Here are a few optional parts. A different back pack, it's used for connecting other backpacks like the IWSP from the STRIK-E or the Strike Noir pack. You will also get 2 fixed open hands, mainly for holding the Anti-ship sword. Although you can still grasp it with the regular hands and I find it more secure that way. 

Now the accessories are done, let's see the output.

I gotta say, that look's awesome @_@ The anti-ship sword really makes it look menacing \m/ I think it's taller than the gundam. 

COMPARISON TIME!!

Here he is next to his "brother". The Force Impulse is slightly taller :D

He's obviously taller than the crossbone gundam and he'll probably taller than F91 as well.

He's shorter than the gundam MK-II.

Compared to a HG 1/144, I use the RX-78 a basis in the HG area because its the average height.

Compared to an SD. Still thinking if I'll ever get the HG of that, maybe an MG in the future?

I'm sure everyone want's to see this comparison. The Strike Freedom looks menacing :D

*I don't have the Freedom built yet and I think I won't be able to because I'm about to leave for my intership for 6 mos. :(*

POSING TIME!!

Nothing looks angrier than a gundam with a sword that's bigger than him :))

Now let's see the transformation :D

This gundam has an infamous transformation and often criticized for how stupid it looks. I gotta admit, it does look weird and it still looks obviously a gundam. What's more funny is whenever he transform in mid-air, the enemy waits for him :)) Just like any mecha show, it's customary to give time to transforming robots. Anyway, if you have a few action base 1, posing them separately looks awesome. Unfortunately, I only have 3 so I can pose 3 at a time haha!! Also, a nice feature is that all the parts have landing gear :D

I posed him first before decalizing him because I might damage them while posing so.. Let's decalize him now :D

 

 

 

Here are the parts that I decalized, nothing fancy. I was suppose to only use the "Faith" logo on the shoulder because the Force Impulse doesn't really need a lot of decals to look awesome. As you can see, there are only a few that I applied. The set is kinda repetitive and not all look good. 

So, let's pose him again :D

That "Faith" logo complete's the look alright :D This is my current wallpaper haha!

I really wish Shinn Asuka was the protagonist of Deastiny.. It's always Kira.. How the hell did he even survive the explosion... *sigh*

Can you find him in my collection :D

Now that's done, let's review him.

Verdict:

Details: 10/10 - It's a master grade, of course the details are superb! Even the other side of the armor's have nice mechanical detail. All the parts are in color. You barely need to do any panel lining and painting.

Articulation: 9/10 - Almost perfect because the downside is the torso. Since there's a core splendor there, you pretty much can't bend it much. The joints have nice articulation though, especially for the arms because of the transformation. The legs needed to be aligned well if you wanna stand him all evenly. A lot of nice posing opportunities.

Accessories: 10/10 - You get what you see in the show and extra anti-ship sword! Nice! if it only has it's own action base. The SD has it's own display stand, why not this D: haha!! all the accessories are represented well, especially the shield! The Force Silhouette is a nice add-on too :D

Parts: 10/10 - All the parts are stiff so be careful when moving them, becaue you might force it too hard and end up breaking something. Barely any bad nub marks, the parts are easy to trim and barely leaves a mark when you cut them. 

Conclusion: 10/10 - This kit is what a master grade should be. It has a nice inner frame, nice color separation and nice articulation. It's a must buy if you only buy MG kits. So what, if you don't like the show or you hate Shinn's guts... Just think of Lunamaria :)) she's hot :3 Anyway... Lot's of posing options and with that Anti-ship sword, he will always look bad ass. 

For me, I personally like Shinn more than Kira. I only like Kira's gundams but not kira himself. I still wish they didn't change the script for destiny... Why does kira have to get all the attention :/

I hope you enjoyed this lengthy review, I'll update if I can build the Freedom in time before my leave... So there you have it, If you the chance to get this kit, get it! 

Oh yeah, I almost forgot...

There goes Kira "Jesus" Yamato bragging his toys again.