RG 1/144 Destiny Impulse

The Destiny Impulse is a machine from MSV (Mobile Suit Variation), a spin-off project of “Mobile Suit Gundam SEED DESTINY”. It is positioned as a prototype of an integrated weapon system, taking the body of the Impulse Gundam — one of the show’s lead machines — and combining it with equipment from the Destiny Gundam.

What makes this machine interesting is its very origin. The Impulse Gundam is already a design in which multiple parts combine into a single unit. On top of that, it carries the large back-mounted “Destiny Silhouette”, so the result is an “everything loaded on” figure with as much equipment added as could possibly fit. Even so, the silhouette is unexpectedly tight and well pulled together, with a prototype’s rough-and-ready bulk and a neat, organised form coexisting in the same design.

This kit renders that machine in 1/144 scale as an RG (Real Grade), released in April 2023. The price is 5,060 yen (tax included). Because it is a Premium Bandai limited item, you cannot buy it over the counter at shops that carry plastic models.

I saw the Premium Bandai sales announcement and ordered on the spot. The setting itself — putting Destiny’s equipment onto the Impulse — had drawn me in, so I didn’t want to miss the chance to see it in three dimensions.

Product name

RG 1/144 Destiny Impulse

Scale

1/144

Series

RG (Real Grade)

Release date

April 2023

Price

5,060 yen (tax included)

Target age

15 and up

Materials

PS, ABS, PP

Sales format

Premium Bandai limited (not sold over the counter in stores)

Main equipment

Destiny Silhouette (large backpack), Flash Edge beam boomerangs, extendable large beam cannon, Chest Flyer, and more

Source material

“Mobile Suit Gundam SEED DESTINY MSV”

This is a kit that packs RG’s trademark fine detail work and articulation into 1/144 scale. As a limited item that never reaches shop shelves, getting hold of one means waiting for a Premium Bandai sales opportunity.

The box is the single-colour packaging you often see on Premium Bandai limited items. Since this is not a product lined up for sale in stores, the decoration is kept modest.

Inside, the bulk of the contents are parts moulded in colour (moulded colour) based on the purple and red that characterise this machine. Added to that is the full set of large Destiny Silhouette parts, plus water-slide decals for finishing (you soak them in water and slide them off the backing paper). True to RG, each individual part is small, and the colour separation is achieved through fine parts breakdown.

On top of the Impulse Gundam body’s separation and combination structure, you also have the large back equipment. The part count is correspondingly high, so spreading out the frames the parts are attached to (runners) and looking over the whole lot before you start makes the build go more smoothly.

I built this one out of the box with no paint, and assembly took about 210 minutes. Difficulty is four stars out of five. On top of RG’s fine parts structure, there are separation and combination mechanisms such as the Core Splendour, so it puts up a fair amount of resistance.

1. The body’s combination mechanism and the large backpack make for a long process: you first build the transformation and combination workings of the Impulse Gundam body, and then go on to assemble the large Destiny Silhouette. The precise, RG-style steps keep coming without a break, so I’d recommend starting when you have time to spare.
2. The connection shafts are small and densely packed: the shafts joining the movable sections and each unit are tiny and clustered close together. Unless you check the orientation and engagement of each part as you go, you may end up rebuilding sections later. This is a stage to take slowly.
3. The arm parts come off easily: this is a problem that continues after completion, but you can already notice it during assembly. The arms pop off very frequently while you are posing the model. Checking how the joint shafts feel as you build and adjusting them if needed makes the finished kit easier to handle.

There are a lot of steps, but I never found myself stopped and puzzled. The time it takes comes down to how fine the parts are and how carefully you need to check them.

The first thing I felt once it was finished was how well the silhouette holds together. Even though the configuration is “everything loaded on”, with as much equipment added as could possibly fit, the whole thing settles into a clean shape. A prototype’s rough bulk and a tidy design live side by side in this form, and that was the single biggest highlight of the kit for me.

The colour separation is superb as well. The purple and red colouring unique to this machine is reproduced as-is through RG-standard fine parts division. At the out-of-box stage with no paint, you could say there is nothing left to do as far as colour goes.

The gimmicks are generous too. The Flash Edge beam boomerangs on both arms, the deployment of the extendable large beam cannon, the separation mechanisms such as the Chest Flyer — there are plenty of elements you can move with your hands and check out.

On the other hand, there are two points that honestly bothered me. One is the range of motion. The potential of the body itself is high, but the large Destiny Silhouette on the back interferes. Because it looks as though it should move freely, actually moving it reveals a narrower range than expected, and getting big poses out of it took some know-how.

The other is the holding strength of the arms. While posing and playing with it, the arms pop off and drop very frequently. I had to reattach them again and again before settling on a display pose, so it takes a bit of effort to just casually move it around.

The proportions and colour separation are already completed to a high standard, so if you’re going to add work, it’s most efficient to focus on finishing.

1. This is a Premium Bandai limited item. You can’t buy it over the counter at shops that carry plastic models, so you need to keep an eye out so you don’t miss a sales opportunity.
2. The price is 5,060 yen (tax included), which puts it in the higher bracket among RG kits.
3. Assembly takes about 210 minutes. The fine steps keep coming, so it’s best started when you have time to spare.
4. The arm parts come loose easily, so it isn’t suited to a play style of picking it up and constantly moving it. Choosing it on the assumption you’ll enjoy it on display will raise your satisfaction.
5. The back equipment is large, and the range of motion ends up narrower than it looks. When posing, you need to work around the points where it interferes.
6. It takes up space once the equipment is spread out. Securing display space first gives peace of mind.

【Good】

1. Despite a configuration with as much equipment added as could possibly fit, the overall silhouette comes together cleanly. It’s a form where a prototype’s rough bulk and a tidy design coexist.
2. The colour separation is complete at the out-of-box stage. The purple and red colouring is reproduced as-is through fine parts division.
3. There are plenty of gimmicks you can check out by hand, including the beam boomerangs, the extendable large beam cannon, and the Chest Flyer separation.
4. For anyone who likes the MSV settings of “SEED DESTINY”, it’s a highly satisfying piece to keep on the shelf.

【More (points of concern)】

1. While posing and playing with it, the arms pop off and drop very frequently. Moving it casually takes effort.
2. The Destiny Silhouette on the back is large and interferes badly, so the range of motion ends up narrower than expected.

In a wordBecause of the large back equipment the range of motion is narrower than I expected, and the arms come off very frequently, so this is a kit that takes effort to move around and play with. Even so, the prototype-like silhouette that stays tidy despite carrying everything, and the quality of the sculpting, are exceptional, and for a fan of ‘SEED DESTINY’ it makes for a highly satisfying piece to keep on hand.

The RG 1/144 Destiny Impulse is a kit that demands care in handling. The arms come loose easily, and the back equipment interferes. Even so, the sculpting that keeps the silhouette coherent while piling on as much equipment as possible, and the colour separation that is already complete out of the box, more than made up for that effort. It suits people who like “Mobile Suit Gundam SEED DESTINY” and the MSV settings, and anyone who wants to enjoy a dense display in a standing or fixed pose. If you’re displaying it, adjusting the angle of the back beam cannon and the wings to avoid interference, then reinforcing the arm shafts and having it hold up its signature equipment, is the pose that shows this machine off best.