Kit Review

Straight build
+ panel lining + decals

Size comparison with a cigarette pack.
The Sword Pack makes it look even taller and sleeker.

Upper body close-up

Head

Backpack featuring the massive boomerang

Backpack surroundings

Arms

Slender legs

The swords on the back can actually double as ground supports.

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - The MG Impulse series comes loaded with weapons and accessories. And the Sword Impulse is the best

The MG Impulse series comes loaded with weapons and accessories.
And the Sword Impulse is the best of the bunch!

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - Impulse core body (1/3)

Impulse core body

The Sword Pack contents. Pretty generous, right?

A Sword Pack worthy of the MG line..

The boomerang is absolutely massive

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - The boomerang is detachable, and the locking pins are cleverly designed so it attaches and detaches

The boomerang is detachable, and the locking pins are cleverly designed so it attaches and detaches nice and securely.

The backpack has a rotating gimmick built in for combining with the Silhouette Flyer.

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - The swords slot into the fixing grooves on either side of the backpack, holding them firmly in plac

The swords slot into the fixing grooves on either side of the backpack, holding them firmly in place when stowed.

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - A feature unique to the Sword Impulse's swords! There's a sliding extension gimmick that lets you s

A feature unique to the Sword Impulse's swords!
There's a sliding extension gimmick that lets you shorten the sword length when mounting them on the backpack.

Stowed (top) vs. deployed as a weapon (bottom)

The detail is very MG-like..

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - Fixed hands are included for gripping the swords, but the swords are so heavy that the hand parts k

Fixed hands are included for gripping the swords, but..
The swords are so heavy that the hand parts keep popping off.
You'll either need to use super glue to tighten up the connection, or just glue them in place entirely, otherwise you're in for a world of frustration. ;;

Cockpit hatch open

1/100 figures with display stands included.
It's Shinn Asuka and Lunamaria Hawke.

Outer armor removed.
The Impulse's outer armor goes together fairly cleanly.

Internal frame

Torso frame

Head frame

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - Arm/leg frame (1/3)

Arm/leg frame

There are two cylinders at the ankle, but only the lower one is articulated.

Solid MG-level articulation.

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - Shooting action pose (1/5)

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - Shooting action pose (2/5)

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - Shooting action pose (3/5)

Shooting action pose

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - Dual-sword draw stance (1/4)

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - Dual-sword draw stance (2/4)

Dual-sword draw stance

Single sword action.

Mounted on the Action Base for some dual sword action.
Those swords are seriously long..

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - Dual-wielding Sword Impulse! (1/4)

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - Dual-wielding Sword Impulse! (2/4)

Dual-wielding Sword Impulse!

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - Dual sword action (1/3)

Dual sword action

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - In practice, the wrist joints can't support the weight of the heavy swords, so holding them horizon

In practice, the wrist joints can't support the weight of the heavy swords,
so holding them horizontally is nearly impossible.. They usually just droop downward like this. T_T

Dual sword action poses you can actually hold on its own.

Pulling the boomerang off the backpack. Looks pretty natural, right?

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - Boomerang action (1/4)

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - Boomerang action (2/4)

Boomerang action

Beam boomerang action

Core body separated into three parts and transformed

Chest Flyer

The Core Splendor shares the same molded colors as the Force Impulse.

Leg Flyer

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - The Sword Silhouette — Silhouette Flyer combined with the Sword Pack. (1/4)

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - The Sword Silhouette — Silhouette Flyer combined with the Sword Pack. (2/4)

The Sword Silhouette — Silhouette Flyer combined with the Sword Pack.

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - The Sword Silhouette doesn't have separate landing gear — instead it comes with a dedicated display

The Sword Silhouette doesn't have separate landing gear — instead it comes with a dedicated display stand like the one shown above.

Underside

Inserting the separate base connector pin..

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - Displayed on Action Base 1 (1/3)

Displayed on Action Base 1

The four flight vehicles of the Sword Impulse Gundam.

Group flight shot using four Action Bases.

Comparison with the MG Force Impulse.

Both have impressive backpacks.

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - The MG Force Impulse also came with one sword, and it's the same design as the Sword Impulse's swor

The MG Force Impulse also came with one sword,
and it's the same design as the Sword Impulse's sword.
However, there are quite a few structural differences between the two.

At first glance they look like the same sword, but..

For starters, the Sword Impulse's sword has the length extension gimmick for stowing.

The base size is different too, and the color separation on the grip is different as well.

Together with the MG Sword Strike.

The Impulse's Sword Pack feels a bit more generous and packed compared to the Strike's.

Together with the 1/100 No Grade Sword Impulse.
The difference in proportions is massive;;

It's like comparing a stubby little guy to a tall, slender one..

Sword Pack comparison.

First off, the MG sword is waaay longer.

You can clearly see the grade difference in the detail too.

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - The boomerang is enormously bigger. On the 1/100 the black sections were handled with stickers, but

The boomerang is enormously bigger.
On the 1/100 the black sections were handled with stickers,
but on the MG they're naturally(?) done with color separation.
The 1/100 may be a No Grade, but still... it really had zero detail to speak of..

Backpack comparison

MG Sword Impulse Gundam - 1/100 – HG – MG Sword Impulse Gundam. The Sword Impulse was already pretty great in No Grade and H

1/100 – HG – MG Sword Impulse Gundam.
The Sword Impulse was already pretty great in No Grade and HG form,
but as always, once the MG drops, the others just can't compete. ^^;

Straight build

As was easy to predict when the MG Force Impulse was released,
the Sword Impulse Gundam has now gotten the MG treatment as well. Unlike the MG Strike, which came with both the Sword and Launcher packs bundled together,
this one is a Sword-only bundle rather than a Sword/Blast combo — probably because the Blast Impulse was thoroughly ignored in both the HG and 1/100 lines as an unpopular option, so they just left it out of the MG entirely.

First off, the existing MG Force Impulse delivered quality well beyond expectations and gave us quite an Impulse (shock)... because it took a design and gimmick that somehow felt overlooked and elevated them into something genuinely high-quality. You could call it a complete victory for Bandai's development team. Since the unit's image tends to get overshadowed by the Strike, they went all-out on over-detailing and paid extra attention to color separation to rehabilitate its image, and the results really showed.
(If you want a more in-depth look at the core body, the MG Impulse Gundam, MG Force Impulse Gundam Reviewfor reference.)

Even back in the Strike days, I always felt the Sword Pack had more presence than the Aile Pack for some reason, and that feeling is even stronger with the Impulse. For one thing, the Force Pack feels like a bit of a step down in design compared to the Aile Pack.. (just my personal opinion) And I think it's because the image of the red Sword Impulse with those massive twin blades on its back just leaves a much stronger impression.

Maybe that's why the MG Sword Impulse feels somehow a bit more refined, even though it uses the exact same core body as the MG Force Impulse. Building on the excellent core body that even made the awkward transformation mode look decent, the addition of MG-worthy special features — like the ability to shorten the sword length when stowing — makes it feel even more polished.

To be fair, since the Force Impulse already came with one long sword, the Sword Impulse's impact is slightly diminished in that regard — but in terms of gimmicks and design, the Sword Pack's swords do feel a notch better. They share a similar silhouette with the Force Impulse's sword, but the detail has been upgraded, color separation has been added, and the length extension gimmick is included on top of that. And above all, there's just something about the sheer presence of dual-wielding two massive blades..!

Also, on the 1/100 and HG Sword Impulse, the beam boomerang mounted in the center of the backpack always felt a bit loose and insecure, but on the MG it locks in nice and firmly. The size and detail of the beam boomerang are also in a completely different league from the 1/100. (See the review photos) And of course, the somewhat tricky color combinations on the Sword Pack that were handled with stickers in other lineups are perfectly done with color separation here — which just makes you think, "well, it is MG after all.."

There is one issue though — because of the slim transformation gimmick, the shoulder joints aren't quite strong enough to hold up the large swords, and the fixed hand parts for gripping the swords have a weak connection that keeps dropping them. On top of that, the swords are so heavy that the wrist joints can't hold them up, making it nearly impossible to pose the swords horizontally.

Because of this grip strength issue, I ended up temporarily gluing the hand parts when posing for action shots.. which is a bit of a shame. With the Force Impulse it wasn't a big deal since there's no reason to hold that large sword with both hands, but with the Sword Impulse the problem shows up right away.. Fortunately, most of the rest of the body's joints are stiff enough that posing isn't too difficult, but the fact that you can't naturally hold the swords up is definitely a complaint. No matter how cool dual-wielding looks, if you can't actually pull off the pose properly, it's a bit of a bummer..

Still, thankfully unlike the Force Silhouette, the center of gravity is relatively stable compared to Force Impulse, so you don't have to worry about balance issues in stand mode — and on top of that, the long sword propping against the ground means it's unlikely to topple backwards. Either way, for those who were waiting for the MG Sword Impulse alongside the MG Force Impulse release, this seems like a more than worthy treat. :-)

MG ZGMF-X56S/β Sword Impulse Gundam
Category	Rating	Analysis
Seam Lines	★★★★★	Solid parts combined with smart part separation in pursuit of perfection
Molding Color / Color Separation	★★★★☆	Not perfect, but nice color separation on the chest's yellow V-shape, knees, and other fine details.
Proportions	★★★★★☆	The latest trend. An even cooler sword-equipped variant.
Articulation	★★★★☆	Solid, faithful articulation — but somehow feels just a little lacking...
Joint Strength	★★★★☆	Generally good, but the shoulders and grip strength leave something to be desired.
Internal Frame	★★★★★	Full inner frame + top-tier frame detail.
Detail	★★★★★☆	The intricacy and precision of the complex molding is top-notch
Weapons / Accessories	★★★★★☆	Even more impressive accessories than the Force pack — the best loadout yet.
Parts Count / Price	★★★★★	394 parts total. 87.9 parts per ¥1,000. Quite a hefty part count.
Uniqueness	★★★★★★	The complete transformation is realized in the Sword Impulse Gundam!
Dalong's Point : 102 pts.

MG Sword Impulse Gundam | 2009. 4 | ¥4,900

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.