MGCosmic Era

ZGMF-X56S/γ Blast Impulse Gundam

The Impulse core done up as a stationary gun platform, and it earns the bulk.

MechaGrade Score

3.8/5

γ Blast Impulse Gundam · 1/100 · 2020

GradeMG

Scale1/100

Released2020

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

I like this kit a lot more than its P-Bandai exclusivity would suggest.

It takes the 2008-era Impulse Gundam core body, which is still a genuinely good frame, and straps on the Blast Silhouette, a backpack of long-range beam cannons and a rail gun that actually flip and deploy into firing poses instead of just sitting there as dead weight. It is not a transforming kit like the Force or Sword versions, so what you get is a heavy-artillery variant that trades mobility gimmicks for presence and firepower theater.

Best for: SEED Destiny fans who want the Impulse's core frame reworked as a heavy-weapons variant, and collectors chasing a specific P-Bandai release

The full review

What it is

This is the Impulse Gundam's Cosmic Era core frame carrying the Blast Silhouette, a support pack built for stand-off firepower rather than melee. The Kerberos long-range beam cannons and the Deluge rail cannon both wedge and swing out into deployed firing configurations, and the beam cannons hide non-removable beam javelins under flip-open panels, which is a small but satisfying surprise the first time you find it. Building it feels like getting two kits in one: the familiar double-jointed Impulse legs and arms underneath, and a completely new arsenal riding on top. The core splendor chest detail and the poseable skirt armor both carry over from the base frame, and they still hold up.

The catch

The core frame is the same mold Bandai used for the 2008 Force Impulse, so you inherit its known quirks: the torso barely bends because of the core splendor mechanism sitting in the chest, and the foot piston details are genuinely loose pieces that pop out if you are not careful handling the legs. Stickers on the base kit have always been criticized as plain, mostly ZAFT lettering and stencil numbers, so color separation on marking details leans on decals rather than molded color. This was a Bandai Hobby Online Shop exclusive at around ninety five dollars, and once it sells out there is no guarantee of a reissue, so secondary market pricing is the real cost of entry now.

Who it's for

Grab this one if you already like the Impulse Gundam's underlying engineering and want it wearing the biggest gun rack Bandai ever built for it, or if you are building out the SEED Destiny Impulse variant family and Blast is the piece you are missing. Skip it if you want a transforming kit, because Blast does not transform the way Force and Sword do, its whole identity is the deployable weapons pack. Skip it too if loose torso articulation and decal-only markings are dealbreakers for you, since neither of those base-kit issues went away in this release.

The build story

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

The legs and arms build like the familiar Impulse core, clean gate placement, straightforward nub cleanup, nothing unusual for anyone who has built an MG before. The Blast Silhouette backpack is where the kit gets interesting, since the cannon assemblies have their own hinge and wedge mechanisms that take a bit more attention to fit correctly during dry assembly before you commit to final placement.

Articulation on the frame itself is strong for a 2020 release built on a 2008 base: head swivels on a ball joint with a C-clip pivot, shoulders raise and swing forward, and both elbows and knees are double-jointed. The backpack weapons are the real value driver here, since the deploy gimmicks and the concealed beam javelins give you display options a static weapons rack never could, even if the torso itself stays comparatively stiff.

Lore & trivia

01The Impulse Gundam was piloted primarily by Shinn Asuka in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, later also by Lunamaria Hawke.
02The Blast Silhouette is a stand-off artillery loadout built around the Kerberos high-energy long-range beam cannons and the Deluge hyper-velocity rail cannon, distinct from the transforming Force and Sword silhouettes.
03The MG ZGMF-X56S/gamma Blast Impulse Gundam released in January 2020 as a Premium Bandai (Bandai Hobby Online Shop) exclusive, reusing the core Impulse frame introduced in the 2008 MG Force Impulse Gundam.