GQ Times Two
As a total toy-whore for all things die-cast robot, it’s only natural that I’d bust out the knee-pads for Bandai’s Metal Material Model series.
Now it’s official: the next entries in the line will be sold as GQ Models (the “GQ” standing, apparently, for “Gundam Quality.”) Hey, “Metal Material” always was a little clinical-sounding. And note that plural. In keeping with fine tradition, Bandai’s releasing not one but two distinct versions of the first GQ Model design.
If you’ve been following the saga up to now, you may remember the Force Impulse Gundam, some random-ass mechanical character from “Gundam Seed: Destiny” that I feel compelled to purchase anyway, drawn to its metal content like a moth to a flame, that appeared at a recent hobby show in Tokyo.
Now it appears that in addition to the new moniker, Force has a new buddy: the Sword Impulse Gundam, which features a slick red paint-job and two phallic-symbol swords.
Force Impulse is due to hit the streets in early December, whilst Sword Impulse will follow shortly thereatfer in January 2005. Both will retail for 5,775 yen. Alas, the actual metal content of the GQ toys appears to be limited to a fraction of that of of their zinc-rich Metal Material predecessors, but one can always hope…
