HGAd Stella

CFP-013 Heindree Sturm

A mobility-focused HG that trades a stable stance for real shelf presence.

MechaGrade Score

3.6/5

Heindree Sturm · 1/144 · 2023

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2023

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is a genuinely good HG that gets let down by one dumb design choice: the feet.

Everything above the ankles is a treat, sturdy peg joints with no poly caps to loosen over time, clean color separation on the armor, and a booster backpack that actually changes the silhouette. But those small feet make the finished kit noticeably tippy on a shelf, which is a real problem for a suit built around dynamic action poses.

Best for: WFM completionists and HG builders who want a snappy, low-sticker build and don't mind a display stand

The full review

What it is

The Heindree Sturm is one of the background combat suits from The Witch from Mercury, built by Grassley Defense Systems for the kind of corporate-military work the show's Dominicus Corps actually do, and Bandai gave it the full HGTWFM treatment rather than a budget reissue shortcut. I like that the kit does not lean on stickers to sell its color scheme. The armor plates are molded in the actual colors and layer cleanly over each other, so the finished suit reads sharp and disciplined right off the runners. The neck and torso use ball-and-socket joints instead of the usual peg hinges, which gives the upper body a looser, more natural lean than most HGs in this price range manage.

The catch

The elbows and knees only bend to about 110 degrees, which is fine for standing poses but starts fighting you the moment you try anything more dynamic. The bigger issue is the feet. They are small relative to the bulk of the backpack and booster units, and once the kit is fully assembled it genuinely struggles to stand on its own in anything but a neutral pose. Builders have also flagged that the purplish armor parts show nub marks more readily than the darker plastic, so cleanup on those runners needs more care and a sharper blade than you might expect from an HG.

Who it's for

If you are working through the Witch from Mercury HG line or just want a suit with a distinct mobility-unit silhouette without paying MG money, this is worth the shelf space. The beam rifle, beam saber, and turnable front shield give you enough loadout variety to pose it as more than a static background mob suit. Skip it if you specifically want a suit that can hold aggressive lunging or one-footed action poses without a stand, the feet just are not built for that. Budget-first buyers looking for their one WFM kit should probably start with a mainline Gundam or Aerial variant instead.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

The runners go together quickly with the usual HG snap-fit logic, but budget a little extra time on the purple-plastic runners specifically, the nub scars show more on that shade than on the darker armor pieces, so a sharper nipper cut or a light sand pays off more here than on a typical HG.

The ball-and-socket neck and torso joints are the standout engineering choice, they let the upper body tilt and lean in ways peg-hinge HGs cannot match, and combined with the lack of poly caps the whole upper frame holds a lean without sagging. The turnable front shield and swappable beam rifle and saber round out a loadout that outperforms the price point, even if the small feet undercut the payoff on dynamic full-body poses.

Lore & trivia

01The Heindree Sturm is part of the Heindree series of combat suits built by the fictional corporation Grassley Defense Systems within Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury.
02It released in Japan in May 2023 as HGTWFM entry #22 in Bandai's Witch from Mercury High Grade line, at a list price of 1,760 yen.
03'Ad Stella' (AS) is the calendar era used in The Witch from Mercury's setting, not a faction, it marks the timeline where corporations dominate space development.
04The kit's shield has a movable mount that lets it swing from a side-guard position to the front of the suit, matching how it is used defensively in the show.