Gundam Sentinel

Welcome to final portion of my multi-part review of Mechanicore’s 1/100 scale Tief Stürmer. At last, the long awaited full review of this massive build.

As with most of my posts, enjoy a wall of text up front where I discuss the kit followed by a ton of photos down below. If this it he first time you’re checking out the review, and you’ve got a Tief Stürmer to build of your own, please check out the prior sections. In them I tried to write about all the issues I ran into during construction so you’ll be better prepared. Some of the issues I harp on about are more evident in the prior sections as well. read more

Welcome back to my multi-part review of Mechanicore’s 1/100 scale Tief Stürmer. In this section I’m going to talk about the stand and how things went assembling all the various components.

Review Menu:

• Part 1: Kit Introduction
• Part 2: Head and Torso (Steps 1 through 5)
• Part 3: Booster Pods and Rear Booster Module (Steps 6 and 7)
• Part 4: Main Gun and Radar (Steps 8 and 9)
• Part 5: Arms, I-Field Generator, and Secondary Gun (Steps 10, 11, 12, and 17)
• Part 6: Rear Boosters and Booster Legs (Steps 13 through 16)
• Part 7: Stand and Final Assembly (Step 18 and 19)
• Part 8: Final Kit Review

Common Issues

This is a quick list of the common issues on the build. They apply pretty much across the board and pop up so much that I’d probably go crazy trying to specifically mention each time it occurs throughout the build.

• Beware pegs and holes with fitment issues. Whenever inserting pegs watch to make sure that the peg actually fit. Quite often they’re too large for the hole they’re supposed to go into. This can be resolved by a properly sized drill bit (use an hand held driver instead of an electric one, or be very careful, to avoid going through the other side of the piece) or with a fine round metal file to widen it from the inside out.
• Beware pieces who’s sprue connection often coexists with an important piece. In other words, runners have been connected to the pieces themselves in areas that are also happen to be connection points to other parts of the kit. Never cut flush with the plastic to get it off the runner (which you shouldn’t be doing anyway. For the second cut, make sure you check out the part and how it’s going used to make sure you don’t lop off something important.
• Beware pieces with subtle flashing around the connection points. Connection points may have subtle flashing issues that result in a poor fit. If something doesn’t quite work like it should, make sure this is not the case before proceeding. Use of a hobby knife is recommended to clean these areas up.

Build Notes

• There are quite a few piece that really should be glued into place. Since I intend to go back and paint I’m holding things together with masking tape.
• Because I’m going back and repainting I’m not applying any of the metal detail parts at this point. When I finish the build, and add them, I’ll add any additional thoughts regarding their application to this review.

The Stand

The stand is rather well made to support the rest of the kit. It’s build from thick, semi-transparent black plastic. It’s nice and sturdy but you have to be careful when removing the pieces from the runners. Transparent plastic is generally more brittle than coloured plastic and more likely to have separation anxiety. That is, nub marks. Combine that with the added thickness of the pieces and you’ve got a recipe for some nasty nub marks. Don’t be wanker like I was rushing through construction, take your time and use a sharp hobby knife here. read more

Welcome back to my multi-part review of the of Mechanicore’s 1/100 scale Tief Stürmer. In this section I’m going to cover the rear boosters which consists of two large units that are incorporated in the legs and two smaller units that come out of the back.

Review Menu:

• Part 1: Kit Introduction
• Part 2: Head and Torso (Steps 1 through 5)
• Part 3: Booster Pods and Rear Booster Module (Steps 6 and 7)
• Part 4: Main Gun and Radar (Steps 8 and 9)
• Part 5: Arms, I-Field Generator, and Secondary Gun (Steps 10, 11, 12, and 17)
• Part 6: Rear Boosters and Booster Legs (Steps 13 through 16)
• Part 7: Stand and Final Assembly (Step 18 and 19)
• Part 8: Final Kit Review

Common Issues

This is a quick list of the common issues on the build. They apply pretty much across the board and pop up so much that I’d probably go crazy trying to specifically mention each time it occurs throughout the build. read more

Welcome back to my multi-part review of the of Mechanicore’s 1/100 scale Tief Stürmer. In this section I’m going to discuss the arms, rifle, and I-Field generator.

Review Menu:

• Part 1: Kit Introduction
• Part 2: Head and Torso (Steps 1 through 5)
• Part 3: Booster Pods and Rear Booster Module (Steps 6 and 7)
• Part 4: Main Gun and Radar (Steps 8 and 9)
• Part 5: Arms, I-Field Generator, and Secondary Gun (Steps 10, 11, 12, and 17)
• Part 6: Rear Boosters and Booster Legs (Steps 13 through 16)
• Part 7: Stand and Final Assembly (Step 18 and 19)
• Part 8: Final Kit Review

Common Issues

This is a quick list of the common issues on the build. They apply pretty much across the board and pop up so much that I’d probably go crazy trying to specifically mention each time it occurs throughout the build.

• Beware pegs and holes with fitment issues. Whenever inserting pegs watch to make sure that the peg actually fit. Quite often they’re too large for the hole they’re supposed to go into. This can be resolved by a properly sized drill bit (use an hand held driver instead of an electric one, or be very careful, to avoid going through the other side of the piece) or with a fine round metal file to widen it from the inside out.
• Beware pieces who’s sprue connection often coexists with an important piece. In other words, runners have been connected to the pieces themselves in areas that are also happen to be connection points to other parts of the kit. Never cut flush with the plastic to get it off the runner (which you shouldn’t be doing anyway. For the second cut, make sure you check out the part and how it’s going used to make sure you don’t lop off something important.
• Beware pieces with subtle flashing around the connection points. Connection points may have subtle flashing issues that result in a poor fit. If something doesn’t quite work like it should, make sure this is not the case before proceeding. Use of a hobby knife is recommended to clean these areas up.

Build Notes

• There are quite a few piece that really should be glued into place. Since I intend to go back and paint I’m holding things together with masking tape.
• Because I’m going back and repainting I’m not applying any of the metal detail parts at this point. When I finish the build, and add them, I’ll add any additional thoughts regarding their application to this review.

Arms

The arms are pretty basic. Aside from the shoulders, they’re pretty much ripped straight from the original MG S-/Ex-S Gundam. Now pointless transformation gimmicks and all. The TS does come with fully articulating hands, which is good, but no support for notched weapons, which is bad. read more

Welcome back to my multi-part review of the of Mechanicore’s 1/100 scale Tief Stürmer. In this section I’m going to review the main gun and the radar/ dome(?).

Review Menu:

• Part 1: Kit Introduction
• Part 2: Head and Torso (Steps 1 through 5)
• Part 3: Booster Pods and Rear Booster Module (Steps 6 and 7)
• Part 4: Main Gun and Radar (Steps 8 and 9)
• Part 5: Arms, I-Field Generator, and Secondary Gun (Steps 10, 11, 12, and 17)
• Part 6: Rear Boosters and Booster Legs (Steps 13 through 16)
• Part 7: Stand and Final Assembly (Step 18 and 19)
• Part 8: Final Kit Review

Common Issues

This is a quick list of the common issues on the build. They apply pretty much across the board and pop up so much that I’d probably go crazy trying to specifically mention each time it occurs throughout the build.

• Beware pegs and holes with fitment issues. Whenever inserting pegs watch to make sure that the peg actually fit. Quite often they’re too large for the hole they’re supposed to go into. This can be resolved by a properly sized drill bit (use an hand held driver instead of an electric one, or be very careful, to avoid going through the other side of the piece) or with a fine round metal file to widen it from the inside out.
• Beware pieces who’s sprue connection often coexists with an important piece. In other words, runners have been connected to the pieces themselves in areas that are also happen to be connection points to other parts of the kit. Never cut flush with the plastic to get it off the runner (which you shouldn’t be doing anyway. For the second cut, make sure you check out the part and how it’s going used to make sure you don’t lop off something important.
• Beware pieces with subtle flashing around the connection points. Connection points may have subtle flashing issues that result in a poor fit. If something doesn’t quite work like it should, make sure this is not the case before proceeding. Use of a hobby knife is recommended to clean these areas up.

Build Notes

• There are quite a few piece that really should be glued into place. Since I intend to go back and paint I’m holding things together with masking tape.
• Because I’m going back and repainting I’m not applying any of the metal detail parts at this point. When I finish the build, and add them, I’ll add any additional thoughts regarding their application to this review.

Main Gun (Steps 8.1 – 8.28)

From a build prospective the building of the gun is pretty straight forward until you start on the second half of the unit. The layout in the manual for this second half of the is all mixed up. On the first page, you have 8.4, then it leads into 8.5 and 8.6… and 8.4 is actually another view of a complete 8.5/6. Then it jumps into 8.2, even though there was already a step 8.2 on the previous page. There’s otherwise steps 8.7/8/10/11/12/etc so I’m not sure what went wrong here. Doesn’t really affect the build, it’s just weird. read more

Welcome back to my multi-part review of the of Mechanicore’s 1/100 scale Tief Stürmer. In this section I’m going to review the long booster pod things and the large rear booster.

Review Menu:

• Part 1: Kit Introduction
• Part 2: Head and Torso (Steps 1 through 5)
• Part 3: Booster Pods and Rear Booster Module (Steps 6 and 7)
• Part 4: Main Gun and Radar (Steps 8 and 9)
• Part 5: Arms, I-Field Generator, and Secondary Gun (Steps 10, 11, 12, and 17)
• Part 6: Rear Boosters and Booster Legs (Steps 13 through 16)
• Part 7: Stand and Final Assembly (Step 18 and 19)
• Part 8: Final Kit Review

Common Issues

This is a quick list of the common issues on the build. They apply pretty much across the board and pop up so much that I’d probably go crazy trying to specifically mention each time it occurs throughout the build.

• Beware pegs and holes with fitment issues. Whenever inserting pegs watch to make sure that the peg actually fit. Quite often they’re too large for the hole they’re supposed to go into. This can be resolved by a properly sized drill bit (use an hand held driver instead of an electric one, or be very careful, to avoid going through the other side of the piece) or with a fine round metal file to widen it from the inside out.
• Beware pieces who’s sprue connection often coexists with an important piece. In other words, runners have been connected to the pieces themselves in areas that are also happen to be connection points to other parts of the kit. Never cut flush with the plastic to get it off the runner (which you shouldn’t be doing anyway. For the second cut, make sure you check out the part and how it’s going used to make sure you don’t lop off something important.
• Beware pieces with subtle flashing around the connection points. Connection points may have subtle flashing issues that result in a poor fit. If something doesn’t quite work like it should, make sure this is not the case before proceeding. Use of a hobby knife is recommended to clean these areas up.

Build Notes

• There are quite a few piece that really should be glued into place. Since I intend to go back and paint I’m holding things together with masking tape.
• Because I’m going back and repainting I’m not applying any of the metal detail parts at this point. When I finish the build, and add them, I’ll add any additional thoughts regarding their application to this review.

Booster Pods (Steps 6.1 – 6.3)

Step 6 features the construction of four booster pod modules (not usre if there’s a technical term) which will later be attached to the rear of the kit (two off the rear torso and two off the leg boosters). read more

Welcome back to my multi-part review of the of Mechanicore’s 1/100 scale Tief Stürmer. In this section I’m going to review the head and primary torso components, sections 1 through 5.

Review Menu:

• Part 1: Kit Introduction
• Part 2: Head and Torso (Steps 1 through 5)
• Part 3: Booster Pods and Rear Booster Module (Steps 6 and 7)
• Part 4: Main Gun and Radar (Steps 8 and 9)
• Part 5: Arms, I-Field Generator, and Secondary Gun (Steps 10, 11, 12, and 17)
• Part 6: Rear Boosters and Booster Legs (Steps 13 through 16)
• Part 7: Stand and Final Assembly (Step 18 and 19)
• Part 8: Final Kit Review

Common Issues

This is a quick list of the common issues on the build. They apply pretty much across the board and pop up so much that I’d probably go crazy trying to specifically mention each time it occurs throughout the build.

• Beware pegs and holes with fitment issues. Whenever inserting pegs watch to make sure that the peg actually fit. Quite often they’re too large for the hole they’re supposed to go into. This can be resolved by a properly sized drill bit (use an hand held driver instead of an electric one, or be very careful, to avoid going through the other side of the piece) or with a fine round metal file to widen it from the inside out.
• Beware pieces who’s sprue connection often coexists with an important piece. In other words, runners have been connected to the pieces themselves in areas that are also happen to be connection points to other parts of the kit. Never cut flush with the plastic to get it off the runner (which you shouldn’t be doing anyway. For the second cut, make sure you check out the part and how it’s going used to make sure you don’t lop off something important.
• Beware pieces with subtle flashing around the connection points. Connection points may have subtle flashing issues that result in a poor fit. If something doesn’t quite work like it should, make sure this is not the case before proceeding. Use of a hobby knife is recommended to clean these areas up.

Build Notes

• There are quite a few piece that really should be glued into place. Since I intend to go back and paint I’m holding things together with masking tape.
• Because I’m going back and repainting I’m not applying any of the metal detail parts at this point. When I finish the build, and add them, I’ll add any additional thoughts regarding their application to this review.

The Head (Steps 1.1 – 1.3)

The head is the first part of the Tief Stürmer you build and it will quickly make you hate everything about the project. read more

Welcome to my multi-part review of Mechanicore’s latest release, the 1/100 scale Tief Stürmer.

Late last year I finished the Elyn Hobby 1/100 scale Kshatriya. It was a mighty big challenge in part because there were only a few English reviews of the kit out there and just a handful of galleries with photos suitable as a build reference. None of them really went into detail about trouble areas so I knew something was headed my way, just not sure what. My hope for this mega review is to provide that aspect for folks looking to pick up and build the Tief Stürmer. In photos of the built, from the first folks to build the Stürmer, I noticed fitment issues and resulting cracks. With any luck I’ll run into issues like that so folks building their own will be better prepared. read more