Gunpla Builder Thursday #1-Sinanju Stein (Narrative Version)

Welcome, Dear Readers, to the first episode of a feature lonnnng overdue for a blog named after my favorite Anime Franchise.  As I’ve said in multiple posts before, I haven’t really been into Gunpla the way I should be and since Summer 2022, I’ve been working to rectify that.  As of now, I’ve built at least a couple dozen models from various series and various styles.  When I found myself mentally taking notes about one particular build, it got me thinking that maybe I should talk about my own Gunpla making experiences here at the Anime Corner.  This is what’s going to be filling out the week while First Impression Friday takes a breather.  Not sure how long this series will run but I’ve got plenty of Gunpla to talk about for days on end.  So let’s kick off the very first Gunpla Builder Thursday…with a Gunpla that isn’t a Gundam at all, but instead the build that inspired this idea in the first place.

 
Suit History

The Sinanju Stein is a customized model of the Neo Zeon Mobile Suit piloted by Full Frontal during the Third Neo Zeon War (as seen in Gundam Unicorn).  During the “Pheonix Hunt” in UC0087, a remnant Neo Zeon unit is dispatched to locate the long lost RX03 Phenex, which is also being sought after by both the Federation and Luio and Company.  Heading the Neo Zeon forces is Zoltan Akkanen, the highly unstable pilot of the Sinanju Stien.  Not only is the suit a variant of the original Sinanju, the Stein is also capable of docking with the powerful Mobile Armor II Neo Zeong, which increases its attack power exponentially.  With this weapon in hand, Zoltan causes massive damage to the Colonies and Federation forces in pursuit of the Phenex.  The Sinanju Stein’s reign of terror is brought to a close when Gundam Pilot Jona Bosta, with aid from Unicorn Gundam Pilot Banagher Links, enters the Phenex and uses its advanced Psycho Frame abilities to contain the Sinanju Stein and destroy it along with Zoltan. 

Build Experience

I’ll be honest, I’ve only seen Gundam Narrative once and only thought it was ok.  The story and characters had potential but overall I just fell that it was fine, not game changing but fine.  As such, I’d forgotten a lot about the mecha outside of the two Gundams, the Phenex and Narrative.  However, spotting the killer box art of the Sinanju Stein made me want to seek this Gunpla out and take a stab at building it.  I’ve got plenty of Gundams themselves but also feel like I should branch out to other Mobile Suits as well.  Once I started assembling the Stein, however, something caught my eye, and not necessarily in a good way.  The decals on the wrists and outer cockpit pop but not in the way I think was intended.  Most decals on a Gunpla are meant to enhance and blend in, feeling like theyre fused with the model in a manner of speaking.  The Steins decals feel more like stickers that don’t add anything and maybe could have been added more naturally by said, idk, making them pieces to be assembled and not stickers. 

But, while that design choice might be a bit of a flaw in my eyes, the rest of the Sinanju Stein is incredibly stellar.  The more I assembled, the more I felt how bad ass and ferocious this suit is.  The grey coloring helps reinforce this.  Personally I think it feels more natural for the Sinanju as opposed to the red given to its parent model that Full Frontal piloted (I’m also not a fan of Pretender Char anyway so I might be a bit biased).  Size wise, I like the height.  This thing towers over most other Gunpla I have and I feel like in a duel with most of them, it could back up its threat quite easily.  The one thing I was surprised I enjoyed building the most was the cannon.  The Stein Gunpla comes with two main guns that can be used separately or together.  On their own, their length indicates these things can wreck battleships as well as Mobile Suits.  Together though, yeesh it’s like Zoltan might’ve been compensating a little bit but he had good taste in bad ass weaponry.  As for beam sabers, I like the golden yellow options for this one, it helps break the constant use of red beams with most Gunpla models.

Conclusion/Rating
While Narrative might not be high on my must see Gundam radar, the Sinanju Stein is a pretty damn good Gunpla and one of my favorites that I’ve built so far.  The coloring, the height, the guns, that feeling of imposing threat, this suit is dangerous, even without the Mobile Armor attachement.  The decals are the biggest flaw for me as I don’t think they blend in well with the suit and could have been applied in a better way.  Still, for a first Gunpla to cover on this new feature, it’s pretty damn solid.  

I was wondering if I should score my Gunpla and I think that’s not a bad idea at all.  Ergo, I give the Sinanju Stein (Narrative Version) a 7.5/10, not bad for a debut.  See you Next Thursday for more Gunpla Builder Thursday, right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.