Coming from building both HG Gundam Aerial and Lfrith, two of the latest Gunpla releases coinciding with the current broadcast of Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury, I decided to do a complete 180 and follow up with something that would need much more effort to look good. Especially given the almost 20-year gap between these kits.
If you’ve been building Gunpla for a good while, then these parts should be familiar. But if you’re not, then let me introduce you to the HG Force Impulse Gundam. Not the more recent HGCE release, but the original HG back in 2004 when Mobile Suit Gundam SEED DESTINY was on TV. And based on what you can see in the photo above, I’m doing quite the prep work prior to assembly.
Having said this, you’re probably wondering why I’m doing a double build of this kit. Yes, it has a transformation, but it doesn’t require a complete disassembly like the HGUC Zeta Gundam kits or something similar — and you are correct in asking that question. Well, I already have two copies and if I’ll just use the second kit for extra parts, it would be quite the waste. So, aside from building the open configuration of the shield, I am using the second copy to build the Impulse Gundam as its individual components — the Chest Flyer, Leg Flyer, and Core Splendor. It also means I’ll need to put double the effort into what’s already a kit that requires a lot of it.
The bulk of parts needing paint mainly come from the upper half, mostly for the torso. I started with what I feel is the most complicated part to paint, the folded Core Splendor. While a good portion of it won’t be seen when docked within the Impulse Gundam, knowing that the thing isn’t painted would’ve bugged the hell out of me. Then there’s the torso and shoulder armor which didn’t need the same amount of paint, but building the kit twice makes the masking quite a chore.
Ultimately, no significant sub-assembly has been built but once all the prep work is complete, then the build should proceed accordingly.
