Team Fortress 2 Sentry Mod

Support Class

Now, remember that this is a full-size mod – not some cutesy little miniature Gatling gun for kids! As such, it needed some beefy supports if it is going to do anything other than just sit on the floor and look forlorn.

The Sentry Gun in Team Fortress 2 stands on five metal legs and rotates on a central column, constantly seeking out new targets (Don't wear Red near it then! - Ed). My mod isn’t going to be able to go that far, but it still needs to look the business yet not collapse under it’s own weight.

I'd used a mixture of materials thus far, but eventually chose to use pine to make the legs out of. Wood is an incredibly flexible material and is often easier to work with than plastics or metal for tasks like this – the legs that the Sentry rests on are an unusual "dogs leg" shape making it that much harder to get the grain, cuts and balance right.


A careful look at the legs of the Sentry though reveals that these legs don’t actually offer all that much support – they are intended for stability more than anything else.

In actual fact, most of the weight lies on a central column which runs up to the rocket launcher and acts as a pivot for the guns to rotate around and aim from – until some sneaky Spy puts a Sapper on the back of it!


A selection of parts were used to make this central column – some sturdy tubing and extra pieces of wood, mainly. Above, you can see these being assembled to form the main structure that the Gatling guns and rocket launcher will rest atop of when they are finished.