What is HCM Pro?



HCM Pro or High Complete Model Progressive, is a toyline of poseable figures made by Bandai. The line features small figures of various Mobile Suits from the Gundam franchise, specifically from the early UC, SEED, Wing, and 00 Gundam series.




HCM Pro are mostly made of PET, minor areas of PE, and PS for the parts on runners. These are small figures at 1/200 scale compared to their in show counterparts, and very well applied paint applications and details despite their considerably small size. There isn't a huge selection of these figures as only a small number of them were made during the line's production, as the line as very popular or well known in the midst of Gundam fans when compared to Gunpla, Robot Damashii, or even MSiA figures.




However despite their unpopularity compared to the bigger toylines they are neat little small figures that can be nice to have. They're quite poseable for their small size, and most figures can get into articulation that could even be up to par or superior to their 1/144 Gunpla counterparts. They also come with one or two accessories, usually pre-painted on a PS runner and molded with a hand holding it, however this does mean the nubmarks do show quite obviously due to the painted surfaces. Certain HCM Pro even come with clear effect parts for certain displays.




HCM Pro also have a wide handful of gimmicks on them. Some might have some gimmicks like moving guns, opening missile batteries, and areas where you can use clear effect parts for display. However a common thing that most HCM Pro have are certain areas of the figures with removable armor or hatches, which open up to reveal a surprising amount of carefully sculpted detail with small bits of metal paint apps applied on them. These bits of extreme details and the gimmicks of HCM Pro are really well done and do at least deserve merit for the precise application of them.




HCM Pro has a subline called Super HCM Pro, which were 1/144 scale like typical HG Gunpla, as opposed to 1/200 scale. These figures had more gimmicks, detail, and accessories than their standard counterparts, with some even coming with hangars, and the HCM Pro Unicorn could even fully transform at the small 1/144 scale. However, Super HCM Pro could be considered premium level figures, and their value is reflected in their high prices, however they are seriously great figures with a extreme detail, lots of accessories and good articulation to justify their prices. Another line worth mentioning is that HCM Pro itself was developed from the short lived HCM (High Complete Model) line, which is a very old toyline that consisted of figures with metal parts for stability. A majority of HCM were of Gundam MS, however they featured other old mecha like L-Gaim or Vifam. The line itself was not very successful and only made less than 25 total figures.




The HCM Pro line is certainly a bit of an underrated toyline out there, even for Gundam fans. These figures are seriously nice despite their small size, with their seriously extreme amount of details and gimmicks that they pack into a small 1/200 figure, with quite good poseability and overall great looking figures. These are a little expensive for their size, however when you consider the amount of effort detail, and poseability these figures do ease their prices if you can accept them. The hyper detail with HCM Pro are really nice things to see, and I do recommend considering them if you're interested, especially if you're attracted to the hyper detailing of these figures at their size. It's just something to experience if you're interested in adding them to your collection.

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