MSiA ZGMF-X56S/α Force Impulse

Height: 9.5cm to top of head, 11cm to top of Force Silhouette fin.

Articulation: 24 total points of articulation: ball-jointed neck; 6 points in each arm: double jointed shoulder, pre-elbow swivel, double jointed elbow, ball joint wrist; ball-jointed waist; 5 points in each leg- ball-joint hip, triple jointed knee (standard double-joint plus ball joint in calf) and ball-jointed ankle.

Accessories: Beam Rifle, collapsible Shield, Beam Sabers with removable blades x2, "Folding Razor" knives x2, Core Splendor, Force Silhouette, Silhouette Flyer, Extra hands x4

Colors: Molded white, blue, gray, and black. Painted light blue, red, yellow, white, green, and black(inked-in detailing on legs, skirt armor, and face).

Release Data: Released October 7th, 2004 in Japan at a price of ¥1500. This item is still in production as of this review (October 24, 2004).

Gallery: 11 images.

Author: RAC

The Figure

The first action figure release for Gundam SEED Destiny, Force Impulse Gundam has a lot in common with its predecessor Aile Strike Gundam, both in terms of construction and concept. However, it's best not to think of it as a "repeat" of the Strike- Bandai has taken the foundation of the Strike Gundam and produced an even better action figure.

The Head

Impulse Gundam's head is a well-sculpted variation on the traditional Gundam head design, with a double V-fin like those of the Strike and Freedom Gundams. The head can tilt freely in any direction, but the gray collar on the torso interferes with swivelling from side-to-side somewhat if the head isn't tilted far enough back.

The Arms

The double-jointed shoulders give a good range of forward and back movement, and the shape of the shoulder armor doesn't interfere with movement in any way. The mid-arm swivels on the rounded upper arms move freely and easily. The elbow is double-jointed and the forearm can lay parallel with the upper arm- that's as flexible as an MSiA arm can ever get. Each forearm has a slot on the outside to mount the shield. Overall, the arms move freely, and hold the weight of their accessories well.

The Torso

The torso is somewhat similar to the Strike's, though slightly more ornate. Front-to-back movement is good, though rocking the upper torso too far forward may pop the ball joint in the waist out of its socket. The side skirt armor blocks side-to-side movement noticeably, but you can go about 45 degrees in either direction before the ball pops loose again. The back of the torso is essentially hollow, with a number of attachment points for the Core Splendor and Silhouette packs.

The front skirt armor is flexible enough to stay out of the way of the legs, though as most MSiA owners probably know all too well warping may be a factor with extreme poses. The side skirt armor is similar to Strike's, complete with opening compartments for the folding knives, but these are shaped better and hold the knives in place firmly. There's another slot on the rear center skirt armor for storing the beam rifle.

The Legs and Feet

The hip joints are a standard ball-and-socket affair, well-shaped and very mobile. Impulse Gundam's knees are something special- for the first time, both styles of MSiA knee joint are combined, with both a double hinge joint and a ball-and-socket joint in the calf. The result is a Gundam figure with superb flexibility- it can kneel, lean, even touch its heel to the back of its head (without the Force Silhouette attached, of course.)

Complimenting this knee are deceptively well-made ankles: without popping the foot loose, you can't see the double ball-joint. But it's there, and it allows Impulse to lean further forward than any other MSiA I've seen, beating even the Strike by a small margin. Want to put it in a near-squat as though it just landed from a jump? Impulse can do that, and looks better doing it than the jointed Second Version feet allow for. I truthfully cannot say enough good things about these legs.

Paint and Detailing

Force Impulse is well-decorated, with no major paint or molding flaws- the most noticeable roughness is in the white paint on the dark blue shoulders, and white paint on a dark surface is always problematic. It's worth noting, though that the Impulses' panel lines are not inked. Details on the head, skirt, and legs have been inked in- pretty much the same as the US line. I'm torn on this development- while a well-inked figure looks great, not all of the expensive figures I'm forced to buy blind from online sellers are inked perfectly.

Articulation gets 10/10

Sculpt and Deco get 9/10

Accessories

-Beam Rifle

Fairly large but very rectangular, with a secondary grip that doesn't move. It doesn't look like it was designed to move, however, so I'm not holding that against the figure. The butt of the rifle is shaped to brace against the shoulder armor- a nice touch. The scope, as always, is adjustable, and there's a tab that can be used to store the rifle on Impulse's rear skirt.

-Collapsible Shield

An attractive design, and fairly complicated as shields go. When open, a pair of small pins hold the side fins in place. To close the shield, remove the red pieces, slide the side fins in, and reattach the red parts so that they meet at the center of the cross. It seemed a bit shaky at first, but when all the pieces are pressed firmly into place it's far more stable than other folding shields I've encountered. The shield attaches to the arm with a combination of a handgrip, which folds flat when not in use, and another thin rectangular tab on a ball-jointed mount. So far it's held better than most shield tabs, and for once the mounting point is on the side of the arm rather than the back. Though it could be used on either arm, the handgrip is made in a way that it seems more appropriate mounted on the left arm. There are a pair of phillips screws on the back of the shield, which is unusual on MSiAs or their equipment.

-Beam Sabers with Removeable Blades

A fairly typical grip design in the style of the RX-78's Sabers, these fit snugly in the appropriate hands and attach to the Force Silhouette when not in use. What sets them apart are the hard clear plastic blades. These are firm, fit in the Sabers easily, would likely snap before they would warp, and have been far too long in coming to the MSiA line. They're a bit paler than traditional saber blades, but I don't know if this is intentional, or a limitation imposed by the new plastic. It doesn't look bad, either way- just less "vivid," for lack of a better term.

-"Folding Razor" Knives

Like the Strike, the basic Impulse Gundam stores folding combat knives in its side skirt armor in lieu of Beam Sabers. However, the Folding Razors are superior to the Strike's Armor Schneiders in almost every conceivable way. They're slightly longer, but thinner, and both blade and grip have molded-in detail. The blade also stops at the open position and doesn't flop around like the Schneiders. It stores in the skirt armor in a very specific position so it won't flop around and jam the door shut or open. And, it fits the open hand exceptionally well. I'm just about 100% more likely to ever pose Impulse with the Folding Razors than I would be to pose Strike with its knives.

-Core Splendor

An extremely complicated little ship for its size, this sets into the back like a G Gundam-style Core Lander. To turn it into the Impulse's cockpit and backpack, you fold the tiny tailfins down, fold back the wings, fold the nose of the ship under, and then the cockpit area down as well. In the end, the Splendor attaches to the back of the Impulse Gundam firmly, and doesn't obstruct the Force Silouette at all. It's a nifty accessory, and my only complaint is that the wings shift around a bit in backpack mode and can hamper waist movement.

-Force Silhouette

The Force Silhouette is Impulse Gundam's answer to the Aile Striker pack. It attaches firmly to the back itself, above the Core Splendor. The Force's body is slimmer than the Aile's, as are the ball-jointed binders, but the wings themselves are wider, front-to-back, and firmer- as with the Saber blades, I think it would break before it would warp. The much lighter backpack also offers minimal interference with the Impulse's balance. The Beam Saber mounts don't move at all, but Impulse has no trouble reaching them. Much to my surprise, the thrusters on the back of the Force Silhouette seem to be ball-jointed. This is a nice touch, since their shape and design don't really require any articulation.

-Silhouette Flyer

As the name implies, this remote transport carries the three Silhouettes used by the Impulse Gundam. It's bigger than the Core Splendor, but smaller than the Sky Grasper support ship from Gundam SEED. The main thruster is adjustable, which I'm sure will help with the attachments of the other Silhouettes. The Force Silhouette attaches firmly and detaches easily, and makes for a nice, sleek-looking craft.

-Extra Hands

Six hands in all are included: two fists, two gripping hands, and two "trigger-finger" hands designed for firearms. All fit their intended accessories very well, though the Beam Rifle is a tight fit in the trigger-finger hands. Once it's in though, it's a firm grip and you needn't worry about the rifle slipping or changing position.

Accessories get 9/10

Closing Remarks:

There are three versions of Impulse Gundam coming out- the third, Blast Impulse, will be out in November. If you only want to get one, stick to your favorite, but it's a figure that you wouldn't mind having three of. Since it's only available by import currently, you're looking at a price of $15 and up per figure, with $17-18 being an acceptable average. I paid roughly $18 after shipping for Force Impulse, and I'll gladly do so again for Sword.

Force Impulse Gundam exceeded my hopes and expectations in nearly every regard. The only downside to this figure is the omission of panel lines, but those are a matter of personal taste and, in my opinion, the luck of the draw. We've been extremely fortunate lately with the quality of MSiA Bandai has been releasing, but this figure is clearly a cut above even the best of those in terms of articulation and accessory design. I give Force Impulse the overall rating of State of the Art.

-RAC, 10/24/2004