Why No One Built a 1:1 Scale Sentry Gun

Only half a year, and I've figured out all the issues that anyone trying to make a 1:1 scale exact copy of the Team fortress 2 sentry gun would have. I would like to point out first that if you do for some reason decide to build a 1:1 scale model, you're going to enjoy all the problems I've had, but on a larger scale.
This is the TF2 sentry gun in its current repaired state. I've completed all six legs and corrected for the bending issue caused by the inherent design flaw of placing a massive weight on a thin moment arm.

Figure 1: A Force Analysis

Figure 1 illustrates the crux of the problem with the design. What looks aesthetically pleasing in the virtual world doesn't necessarily correlate to a practical design in reality. Left, we have the side profile of the sentry gun. The middle shows what the model essentially looks like from a force analysis: two "real" ground supports, one distributed load, and one concentrated load with a pivot at the intersection of both leg supports. The right shows the resulting problem: the rear assembly starts to deflect if the support isn't properly reinforced.

Figure 2: Support arm

Figure 2 demonstrates all the key points of interest in making the arm that supports the ammunition housing for the sentry gun. Due to the angled shape of the arm, there are multiple points of interest where the builder will need to take into account material shear and deflection. The bottom pivot pin takes on a substantial lateral load and not much concern for axial loading. Threading a rod through a circular ring solves the problem of shear located where the pin meets the support arm.

At a small scale, there are not many ways to reinforce a series of thin rods connected to cylinders. I've resorted to Loc-tite glue to be a pseudo welding compound. Works fine, but for larger versions of this model, the rods would need to be solid components with the cylindrical sections. The right half of figure 2 illustrates the only method of corrective action taken to counter the lean: reinforcing the arm base with a wooden rod. The component in that region had begun to deteriorate and delaminate. The rod strengthened the region.

I still feel that the sentry gun's legs are ridiculous. The rear legs with the large circular feet are almost purely cosmetic. They cannot bear a load well, due to the fact that they are not bearing loads axially with the leg supports, but actually causing a bending moment around their attachment point. This causes a great potential for shearing at that region. The middle two legs are actually the most important legs of the 6. They bear the greatest load being near the base of the support column, and don't have a tendency to split away from the other legs like a ladder without the center folding bracket.

What of the sentry gun's front legs? They're slightly worse than the rear legs, since they are actually held onto the main column with pin supports that are actually not rigid in position. Their structural strength lies in the support struts connecting the base of the front legs to the bottom of the support column. I would advise anyone making a 1:1 scale model to put extra consideration into the strength of the strut brackets and to actually convert the pin connections at the top of the front legs to fixed joints.