HGGundam Build Fighters: GM's Counterattack

忍ノ参 Ninpulse Gundam

A shuriken-backpack ninja Gundam that poses harder than it stands.

MechaGrade Score

3.7/5

忍ノ参 Ninpulse Gundam · 1/144 · 2017

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2017

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this kit a lot more than its box art suggests I would.

It is a genuinely fun build with real personality, strong articulation, and a gimmick backpack that actually works. The catch is balance and finish, the rear mantle unit is heavy enough to tip the kit backward and the gold trim reads flat out of the box. Handle those two things and you have one of the more distinctive HGBF releases from this era.

Best for: Gundam Build Fighters fans and HG builders who want a ninja-themed kit with real posing range and don't mind a little post-build fussing

The full review

What it is

This is the HGBF Ninpulse Gundam, Nils Nielsen's ninja-styled Gunpla from GM's Counterattack, built off an Impulse Gundam frame dressed up with a long mantle, twin blades, and a backpack that folds flat into a giant shuriken. I went in expecting a reskin and came out impressed. The joints move the way you want a ninja suit to move, deep hip rotation, good shoulder reach, and a torso that actually twists, so the dynamic crouching and blade poses I wanted were there waiting for me. Snapping the backpack between mantle mode and shuriken mode is a small, satisfying moment every time.

The catch

The gold accents on the head and torso mold in a dull, slightly chalky tone that photographs and displays worse than the box art promises, this is a kit a lot of builders end up hitting with gold paint or panel liner to bring to life. The bigger issue is the backpack. It is large and back-heavy, and with the mantle attached the kit can tip over standing on its own, especially in anything but a neutral pose. A few small parts, the green wing pieces and the gold head ornament, are prone to popping off during posing sessions too.

Who it's for

Grab this one if you want a Build Fighters kit with a real identity, good joints, and a display piece that rewards fiddling with poses, and if you are willing to either paint the gold trim or just accept it as-is. Skip it if you want something that stands confidently right out of the bag with zero balance considerations, or if you are hunting for a straightforward mainline Gundam rather than a Build Fighters original design. As an HG at this price point, the part count and gimmick backpack make it a fair value for what it delivers.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

Runner cleanup is standard HGBF fare, nothing unusually fiddly in the gate placement, though the mantle and shuriken backpack assembly has more steps than a typical HG accessory and is worth test-fitting before final snap-together so the transformation hinge lines up cleanly.

The frame underneath is essentially an Impulse Gundam base, so the articulation ceiling is already solid, and the ninja-specific add-ons, the twin blades, the rear skirt sword conversion, and the shuriken pack, stack on top of that without robbing any joint range. For the price band this is a good amount of part and gimmick value for a single-suit HG.

Lore & trivia

01The Ninpulse Gundam belongs to Nils Nielsen in the 2017 original net animation Gundam Build Fighters: GM's Counterattack.
02Its frame is built on a ZGMF-X56S Impulse Gundam base, dressed with ninja-themed armor, a mantle, and bladed weapons.
03The backpack is designed to fold flat into the shape of a giant shuriken, doubling as both a cloak mount and a weapon silhouette.
04A companion release, the HGBC Ninpulse Beams kit, adds beam weapon parts that are compatible with this kit.