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STH-16 IO Frame Shiden

Teiwaz's dependable workhorse, built with a wedge-gate runner system that finally makes cleanup painless.

MechaGrade Score

3.8/5

IO Frame Shiden · 1/144 · 2016

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2016

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

This is one of the most quietly well-engineered kits in the whole Iron-Blooded Orphans HG line.

The Io Frame underneath is a genuine mini inner-frame, the wedge gate molding keeps nub marks off visible surfaces, and the riot shield stands up on its own without the model toppling backward. It is not flashy and it is not the main character's Gundam, but as a mass-production suit it nails the brief: sturdy, poseable, and satisfying to assemble.

Best for: IBO fans and newer builders who want a low-drama HG that rewards careful gate cleanup with a clean, tank-like finished suit

The full review

What it is

The Shiden is Teiwaz's answer to arming Tekkadan with something better than scrap, and the kit captures that mass-production, built-to-last feel. You get an actual partial inner frame under the armor, a double-jointed neck that lets the head tilt and swivel, and shoulders that swing forward and hike up for weapon poses. Snapping the visor down over the sensor is a small touch that does a lot of work for the finished look. Building it feels less like assembling a hero unit and more like putting together dependable field hardware, and that character comes through in how solid everything locks together.

The catch

The signature partizan and hammer are big pieces of plastic on thin joints, so heavy loadouts test the wrist and shoulder pegs more than you would like, and a few builders report the elbows loosening after repeated pose changes. Like most 2016-era HG IBO kits, color separation leans on stickers for some of the finer markings rather than molded color, so panel accents will need a steady hand with the seal sheet or paint if you want it fully clean. It is also a fairly plain silhouette next to the show's named suits, which is simply what a mass-production frame is going to look like.

Who it's for

Pick this up if you are building your way through the IBO cast and want a suit that represents the grunt of Tekkadan's arsenal rather than another named hero unit, or if you are newer to Gunpla and want a kit where the engineering actually teaches you something about inner frames without HG-level fiddliness. Skip it if you only want showcase-piece named Gundams or if sticker-reliant color separation is a dealbreaker for you. For the price and part count, it earns its shelf spot.

The build story

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

Runners are split cleanly and the wedge gate system means most nubs land on hidden inner surfaces, so a hobby knife and a little sanding gets you a nearly smooth finish without much extra effort. Parts snap together with confident, positive clicks rather than the loose fit some older HG kits suffer from, and nothing here fights you during assembly.

The double-jointed neck and forward-swinging shoulders give it a wider pose range than its plain looks suggest, and the frame underneath actually flexes at the waist and hips instead of being pure armor-on-a-peg. For the price point you get a rifle, an extendable partizan, a mace-like hammer, and a riot shield, which is a strong accessory count for a mass-production suit kit.

Lore & trivia

01The Shiden is a Teiwaz-developed mass-production suit built on lessons from the STH-14s Hyakuri and STH-05 Hyakuren, sharing enough design DNA with them to be considered a sister machine.
02Its Io Frame uses an Ahab Reactor salvaged from Calamity War-era debris, paired with newly developed frame materials and construction techniques.
03Teiwaz prioritized Shiden deployment to Tekkadan in recognition of the group's combat record, sending instructors Lafter Frankland and Azee Gurumin to train the pilots on it.
04Bandai's wedge gate runner system, introduced around 2015, was used on this kit specifically to reduce visible nub marks without extra cleanup work.