is a novel set in the Universal Century timeline of the Gundam universe, originally serialized in Model Graphix magazine between September 1987 and August 1988. Gundam Sentinel became a cult hit, due to its super-detailed mechanical designs and an intricate story by veteran writer Masaya Takahashi. Set between the final phase of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and the early stages of Gundam ZZ in UC 0088, the story shows the Earth Federation's efforts to stop an insurrection of elite Federation officers. Gundam Sentinel took on a much more realistic, technical style of thinking and look at the Gundam universe, where mobile suits were seen more as fighter jets or military weapons. They were larger, had weapons more powerful than their predecessors', the characters were older, and the plot was on a smaller scale than what is usually found in other Gundam series. It also marked the debut of Hajime Katoki, who would become one of the franchise's most prolific mechanical designers. Gundam Sentinel is one of the most well known Gundam side stories to have been published, and is noted by Gundam fans as being one of the most mature stories in the franchise. The series was never animated (although a short animated television commercial for a model kit was made) or released as a manga, but the mecha have been featured in various SD Gundam video games, such as SD Gundam G Generation F. Production Bandai originally proposed to Model Graphix the idea of having the first "non-visual" Gundam, that is, a series totally devoid of animation production and manga as its source material. Model Graphix liked the proposal, since there was a model release vacancy between Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ and the next animated Gundam series, and it would be perfect to release their first model kit for the series, the FA-010A FAZZ. However, after the first few meetings, and with only part of the story and a few of the mechanical designs in place, Bandai began to lose interest in the project due to the anticipated release of Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack, and claiming that the simultaneous release of two Gundam stories would confuse fans. As a result, Bandai abandoned the project with Model Graphix, putting it on "pending" status. With only an alternate color version of the FAZZ model released, the fan community started to doubt the authenticity of Sentinel (due to the display of