Review: RG Gundam Sinanju

The Sinanju is a favorite at Gunpla 101. We even love it in its teeny tiny SD Sinanju form! Now, contributor Daniel shares his thoughts on one of the most recent additions to the Sinanju family, the Real Grade version. Check it out and see if it’s the right next Gunpla build for you. 

First Impressions

The Real Grade Sinanju is the 22nd release in the Real Grade line, a class of Gunpla kits which emphasize making the kit as realistic as if it were created in real life. The hallmark of the line, the Advanced MS Joint, is a pre-molded skeleton that allows builders to layer armor pieces on top, letting details from the inner frame poke through in the final build, improving surface details. The RG Sinanju is in 1/144 scale, similar in size to an HG, but building it is more comparable to building an MG.

Color and Design

When I first saw the Sinanju’s appearance in the movie Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, I was impressed by its sleek and agile design as it zoomed through Federation mobile suits, effortlessly maneuvering around its protagonist counterpart, the Unicorn Gundam. I was enthralled by its sharp curves and crimson red color, which exudes royalty and elegance. Furthermore, the gold trim and black contrast of the Sleeves symbols give the Sinanju a regal yet menacing vibe, elevating its status as the main antagonist’s machine of war—especially when compared to the Gundam’s standard white-dominant scheme.

This kit’s colors include crimson red with extra shine around certain armor parts, such as the kneecaps, waist armor, shoulder pads, leg thrusters, and backpack verniers. It also features glossy black and metallic gold accents for the Sleeves symbols and additional details, glinting white for the back booster, and yellow for the vents. Additionally, there are gray and metallic gray sections for mechanical details, such as the hoses around the waist and pieces beneath the shoulders and inside the backpack. To break up the dominant red, builders are provided with a sizable decal sheet that includes metallic-coated pieces to highlight mechanical details, along with white markings for the Sinanju. However, the metal decals are prone to peeling, and the standard decals can be especially difficult to apply on curved surfaces, such as the leg thrusters.

Truly, I have no complaints when it comes to the proportions, aesthetics, and mechanical design of the RG Sinanju. The printed Sleeves symbols are a massive selling point compared to the HG and MG versions, which rely on stickers for these details—which can be frustrating for builders compared to the RG version. However, I must warn that, from my building experience, the red armor pieces are noticeably more brittle than others, making nub marks difficult to deal with. I suggest double-snipping the pieces and taking extra time to file and polish them. Additionally, the metallic gold pieces tend to attract dust and fingerprints more easily than other parts, so careful handling is recommended.

Difficulty

This is the part where the praise for the RG Sinanju ends as the RG Sinanju is notoriously known by the building community to be one of the worst kits due to its poor building experience (another big one being the RG Zeta). I definitely would not call this kit beginner-friendly as there were many fitting issues, loose joints and parts falling left and right.

For example, I had a hard time connecting E1-31 to H1-11 as the latter didn’t fully insert.

Not only that, it made inserting the two red side armor pieces (C-15 and C-16) difficult because the previous part was not in place.

Furthermore, many of the red armor pieces are not undergated which meant I had to spend a lot of time trying to sand and then polish the piece, however I couldn’t remove all the nub marks as there were some that were too large to clean up. Another thing with the kit is that there were a lot of small pieces around the vents and legs, while it is good for the colors separation, builders should be aware to keep track of small pieces.

Lastly, I want to include some notable loose parts that builders should glue to make sure not losing in the future. These include: the kneecaps, the lower armor pieces for the vernier, and the wrists.

Articulation

While this kit comes with a preassembled skeleton, it uses the same frame as the RG Mk-II, which was released in 2012 (and you can verify the release year on the MS Joint runner). Although I’m unsure why this decision was made, the biggest drawback of reusing this frame is that certain parts, such as the waist, were not designed to support the extra detail and weight of the Sinanju’s backpack. As a result, the kit requires an Action Base; otherwise, it will topple backward. Furthermore, the shoulders, hips, and knees offer some movement, but the kit’s size and weight make it difficult to hold extreme poses. However, the backpack thrusters are beautifully articulated, giving the model a dynamic presence—though, due to the aforementioned balancing issues, managing poses with the massive backpack can be a challenge.

Another issue is with the arms. While they provide full rotation, they tend to sag when holding the rifle or the Sinanju shield as the connection points are not capable of handling the extra weight. The hip joint movement is decent, but the kit cannot achieve a full split or deep crouch.

That being said, there are several impressive articulation gimmicks for the Sinanju, such as leg thrusters that can open to reveal additional details, shoulder pads that can lift up, and backpack verniers that can expand further for each of the thrusters. Additionally, the mono-eye can be adjusted by removing the top armor piece and moving the eyes itself.

Overall, the kit is poseable, but I recommend that builders avoid excessive handling and only change poses occasionally to prevent unwanted damages.

Extras (weapons, hands, effect parts)

Included in the kit are two beam axes, a shield, an underhand bazooka that can be fitted into the shield, and a beam gun. Regarding the shield, placement can be frustrating as the handle clips onto the back of the arm instead of connecting directly via a peg. This means the shield tends to fall off the arm, and the Sinanju can’t perform poses where it raises the shield. There is a peg on the shield to connect with the shoulder part, strangely, but the peg is very small, so your best bet is to attach it directly to the arm.

There are also many beautiful effect parts for the beam axes and beam sabers (I might add that they are even more detailed than the latest MG Sinanju Stein Narrative Version Ka) that can be held by the Sinanju or attached to the shield.

You are also given swappable hand poses, including two holding hands and one open hand for the left arm. Additionally, you can use the movable hands from the RG Mk-II but they are quite small compared to one made for the RG Sinanju. Lastly, you are also given a small figure of Full Frontal to display next to the RG Sinanju.

Final Verdict

I really like the kit though the building process leaves much to be desired. The reused inner frame meant the kit articulations are quite loose, especially around the waist, so I recommend builders use an Action Base 2 to keep the Sinanju stable. Even for a returning builder like me, the loose parts and joints took me two different tries across two years to muster the courage and practice to finish this kit.

Its stunning appearance and impressive details make it a must-have for fans of the Sinanju or UC-era mobile suits. However, its challenging assembly process and somewhat limited articulation due to its bulky frame may deter casual builders. For experienced hobbyists, though, the RG Sinanju is a rewarding build and a fantastic display piece that showcases the best of what RG kits have to offer.

Since the Sinanju is not a new kit, you can find tutorials like this one that show creative ways to adjust the kit and add new parts to the Sinanju to make it more stable. But expect it to be wobbly right out of the box.

Daniel Huynh returned to the Gunpla building hobby after taking a break from building model kits and has become an avid fan since.