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I'm going to be remodeling a Great Gargant that I built years ago. (Kinda like converting your own scratch-build.) I made the original model for the VDR rules when they first came out, and now I have a few good excuses to bring this behemoth into Apocalypse.

The first is my terrain thread. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/391965.page
The Gargant will live most of the time as terrain, getting built and destroyed over and over again in his factory.

The second reason is this thread wherein I pledged to have it done by next summer. http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/381018.page

Way back in the day, White Dwarf put out a series of rules called VDR, or Vehicle Design Rules. it allowed you to make pretty much anything, I fully believe it was the precursor to Apocalypse. I built this thing for that purpose, and he has seen a decent ammount of play over the years, even an Apocalypse game! He's showing his age though, so I wanted to tear him down and rebuild him, make him stronger. (hopefully you hear the bionic man jumping noise in your head right now.)

As if all that wasn't enough, I want the Gargant to have removable plates and weapons, so he can either be terrain or actually get used in Apocalypse games. I got some good ideas on how to do that, I ain't scared.

When I had to move down here to Louisiana, I chucked all my unfinished models into a giant box. basically, I used tanks as packing peanuts for the huge lug.





The Great Gargant is pretty big. his feet are the size of Land Raiders. here he is with a Baneblade for scale, and my barry can be seen sitting in the barrel of the main belly gun.



Welp, thats enough of memory lane! I ripped him apart. I started with pulling off his head, tearing off his titan-killing chainsword, and pulling his gun-arm off.



Next I ripped his shoulders off, and marveled at how I used to build stuff. The base is a three gallon bucket of water, with two lengths of PVC running from the shoulders to the feet for support.



The shoulders were made of a paper towel holder, thick sheets of plastic from an old typewriter, and twine that was superglued and hotglued. I used Magic sculpt for the first time on this model, I caked it onto the shoulders to reinforce the arm joints. I couldn't afford a lot of plastic back in the day, the framework is thick MDF!



Next I removed the engine. It looks like the engine was the gubbins from an old salad shooter, with the engine housing comprised of awesome Necromunda bulkheads. The main smokestack base was the salad shooter hopper and some PVC.



Here's the body with the engine plate removed.



Next, I took a cutting wheel to the main body, and started shearing off chunks. It turns out hot glue doesn't hold up after seven years, armor bits and plates went flying.



At last, it was fully dismantled.



I started rebuilding with the main body. I normally start at the bottom and build up, but I have new ideas for his shoes and I need to make sure he is centered and balanced onto the new shoe positions. this meant I had to have his bulk built.

Here is the old, hollowed out bucket.





I added all manner of crazy scaffolding to the inside. at any point this could be visible, so I need to build it and paint it in layers. here's the first layer.



I added a can of tomato paste and some basic details to make the cannons look like cannons from the back. I dont plan on having much visible when I'm done, so I didn't make it too detailed.



I then added a few more surface details, sculpted some clay to the edges, and then primed it. It will still need skirt plates, I'll add them once his feet are mounted.







Up next, More scaffolding! Followed by heavy plates to skin the scaffolding!

As in any of my threads, any and all thoughts/praises/critiques/insults/questions and commnets are appreciated and welcome!

Good luck with this dude! I can see this (and the factory) turning out to be another amazing piece of work from you!

See...now I thought it was pretty awesome to begin with, but you say you can make it better? Well now I'm really excited.

Well what can I say... Great work so far man..... Good to see you get started and I look forward to seeing more progress.

Wow I'm intrested now

This looks like it will be epic

Commander Cain wrote:Good luck with this dude! I can see this (and the factory) turning out to be another amazing piece of work from you!

Thanks, I'm gonna need all the luck I can get!

bunnygurl wrote:See...now I thought it was pretty awesome to begin with, but you say you can make it better? Well now I'm really excited.

Oh yes, we can make better. now with removable plates and battle damage! I may even go nuts and give him kung-fu grip in his power claw hand. The biggest upgrade in my opinion will be the paint job, I swear back then I just wanted to build build build, then throw paint on as an afterthought.

mullet_steve wrote:Well what can I say... Great work so far man..... Good to see you get started and I look forward to seeing more progress.

Thanks again! I am really having fun working on this, I forgot how much fun these bigger models are to work with.

BloodGenisis wrote:Wow I'm intrested now

I will make sure to keep it non-boring.

SilverMK2 wrote:This looks like it will be epic

Thats the goal, jaws hittin' the floor, followed by multi-million dollar job offers!

UPDATE TIME!!!

I've not been playing Dead Island so I can work on this thing, I'm really trucking along. (but not in Dead Island, I think I'm a zombie by now.)

Anywho, I got the base rust color done on the bottom of the Great Gargant. I will be adding more paint to the outside of the hull, but the inside is pretty much the final layer.









So I can build the infrastructure proppa, I detailed out and primed the outer plates. The only one I didnt do was the back engine plate, but I want to build it permanently into the hull so I'll be working on it as I build tomorrow.

here's two of the plates before I touched up the gubbins and sculpted the edges.



and all of them completed and primed.











Here is whats next. I have to build up the base scaffolding to be able to hang the plates in the right position. all the plates have basic detail on the back, and small eye bolts. the base structure will have hooks mounted into it that the eye bolts can hang from. That way I can take the plates off and use them as terrain, or mount them all and take out three thousand points of Ork death.

I'm also mostly done with his stompin' feet, I'll include them in the next update.

Holy crap that's awesome. Following for sure.

Well, the gargant is looking amazing! I didn't realize you were making the interior of a functioning idol of Gork... or is it Mork? That is very exciting. I take it all of the removable plates will count as structure points / wounds for the contraption?

The updates and new additions to your army and collection are chalk full of WIN!

I'll be watching (and waiting to loot yer stash!)

Ohhh the idea of removable plates for each structure point is a fantastic one I might have to steal that idea... Infact consider it Yoinked!

Looking very very good so far on this one, also the structure points idea is very clever indeed.

Joshh wrote:Holy crap that's awesome. Following for sure.

Glad you like it! And I thought I would tell you that due to your signature, reading your post was in the voice of Marcus!

The Good Green wrote:Well, the gargant is looking amazing! I didn't realize you were making the interior of a functioning idol of Gork... or is it Mork? That is very exciting. I take it all of the removable plates will count as structure points / wounds for the contraption?

The updates and new additions to your army and collection are chalk full of WIN!

I'll be watching (and waiting to loot yer stash!)

I love how you asked if the plates were for structure points, and then everyone else drew the same conclusion! I'll go with that, I was originally going to just make the interior so I could have it being built for my terrain project! However, the spectators have spoken, and if I count the two shoulder plates and the head/field generators, I will have all nine structure points represented! (or some other appropriate bit, I'll see as I progress.)

But yes, it is a fully functional idol of Mork. (or possibly Gork.)

mullet_steve wrote:Ohhh the idea of removable plates for each structure point is a fantastic one I might have to steal that idea... Infact consider it Yoinked!

Loot away, thats why I make these threads. On that note, I really skip a lot of steps while posting these days, if anyone wants or needs more detailed steps, just let me know.

bigfish wrote:Looking very very good so far on this one, also the structure points idea is very clever indeed.

Thanks! and yes, the structure point idea was fully mine, I take full credit! (I guess I'm a deathskull poster today!)

AAAAAAAND UPDATE TIME!


I built the interior. It's only the functional build, once I have everything needed structurally, I'll then go back through and add proppa "lived in" details.



In no particular order, here's all the plates mounted. Turns out this was trickier than I thought, it took about ten hours just to build the interior where I could mount the plates.











Once I got that all sorted out, I painted the interior so I could start the next step today.







Up next is the back plate, which will include the engine and force field projectas. The next few updates will be exciting, as I realized I made a grave build mistake, and will have to do something radical to overcome it! oh, and boots too!

pox wrote: The next few updates will be exciting, as I realized I made a grave build mistake, and will have to do something radical to overcome it!

"Tune in next time to see if Pox can correct this fatal error, or if it will fact be fatal! Can Pox overcome the rigors of Wargaming Building? Can the Gargant Build come together before the men in white coats come for Pox? Will the cat eat the Gargat's head? Find out next time! Same Dakka time, same Dakka channel!"

This is looking amazing! I can't wait to see more! MORE!

pox wrote: oh, and boots too!

I was just wondering how it was gonna march toward your squishy enemies.

I can't wait.

RSJake wrote:

pox wrote: The next few updates will be exciting, as I realized I made a grave build mistake, and will have to do something radical to overcome it!

"Tune in next time to see if Pox can correct this fatal error, or if it will fact be fatal! Can Pox overcome the rigors of Wargaming Building? Can the Gargant Build come together before the men in white coats come for Pox? Will the cat eat the Gargat's head? Find out next time! Same Dakka time, same Dakka channel!"

This is looking amazing! I can't wait to see more! MORE!

"Day 12: The darkness is spreading around me. I know that soon, I will have to re-build the titan close-combat chainsword, and I still bear the scars from ithe original forging. It is no mere hyperbole, I feel the pain deep in my wounds from where that accursed beast bit me eight years ago, it hurts when it rains or I pass a hedge-trimming display at the hardware store.

Day 13: I cant find the head. I looked around, but it is nowhere to be found. will I have to rebuild it? Everytime I ask the boy about it, he shrinks away from me, holding his cat as if to protect it.

Day 15: I have dicovered the grisly remains of the Great Gargants' once proud noggin. alas, he is no more as the fell-beast who has recived the title "Zippy" in the anchient tounge has devoured it whole.

(the actual error has been corrected, see below and thanks fer yer awesome post!)

The Good Green wrote:

pox wrote: oh, and boots too!

I was just wondering how it was gonna march toward your squishy enemies.

I can't wait.

I got some serious kicks for this dude, this is gonna be a HUGE update!

Today, we start with the huge error. what happened was I've been doing this a piece at a time, blissfully ignorant about how it will come together. What my error was is if all the Armor plates are removable, what the hell is going to support the shoulders? I figured out to just extend the scaffolding and dropped two heavy PVC pipes through the whole mess, but I have to build more stuff to cover the joints.

I am really good at planning out builds, but sometimes I like to make it all willy-nilly. You know you have worked too many hours in a row when you start thinking "well, how the hell would a Mek fix this?" You know you have worked too many days in a row when that works.

In order to drop the pipes through all the mess of plastic without sacrificing strength, I used these awesome new industrial Dremel cutting blades. these guys are super rippy, tearing through .080 plastic like it was a fat guy at a crawfish boil.

Once the pipes were dropped, I reinforced with more plastic.



I then added a half circle atop that the head and shield generators will sit. I'll have an armored gorget hanging down over the joint that will be removable. (I need nine removable plates for the nine structure points anyways.)







Once I had that all in place, I could add the final inside detail and paint it. it still needs a touch of rust, but It wont take any time to knock that out.













And now, boots!

Here were the old stompas, pretty boring.



I bought a few electrical boxes, and slapped them together.



Much improved, but they lacked style, and I thought they would be too small. I built some side and back pieces.





I remembered the awesome curled boots that the robots had in "Casshern," so I remade them for my Great Gargant. (you can see the boots on this video at about the fifteen second mark.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i--UUeGTMvo&feature=related



I think the boots are too big now with everything on them, they just look awkward on the Gargant so I'll probably just use the basic boot.

Heres a shot with everything



and a shot with just the basics.





I think the stripped-down version looks plenty big, so I'll probably go with that. I'll use the other boot-pieces to build the shield generators or something.

Up next, the back engine! also, are my updates too big?

That is one big kan ^^

Thats one big and ugly motha fu**er. Good work

pox wrote:
Day 15: I have dicovered the grisly remains of the Great Gargants' once proud noggin. alas, he is no more as the fell-beast who has recived the title "Zippy" in the anchient tounge has devoured it whole.

This made me laugh so hard! Thanks for that!

Gargant is looking great! I'm not convinced with the upturned clogs, but I like the "full Monte" shoes! the bigger the better. but you do what you feel is right, I'll hold off until see the results.

Looking forward to seeing the head (if it can be rebuilt) and arms!

Nice update. I have to say, though, I like the bigger boots. With just the tows, they look like cowboy boots... which could be super funny if you could work that in as a theme, but I think the stabilizers on the feet could be very important.

The whole thing is looking amazing and I love the "looking in" angles you have with that beast. Great work!

Aboucher wrote:That is one big kan ^^

yeah, it's a little silly. I think I've got some rules for him that will let me use it a bit more often, but in the end it's pretty much terrain.

The Epic Chaosdude!!! wrote:Thats one big and ugly motha fu**er. Good work

Thanks! wait till I get his ugly head done.

RSJake wrote:

pox wrote:
Day 15: I have dicovered the grisly remains of the Great Gargants' once proud noggin. alas, he is no more as the fell-beast who has recived the title "Zippy" in the anchient tounge has devoured it whole.

This made me laugh so hard! Thanks for that!

Gargant is looking great! I'm not convinced with the upturned clogs, but I like the "full Monte" shoes! the bigger the better. but you do what you feel is right, I'll hold off until see the results.

Looking forward to seeing the head (if it can be rebuilt) and arms!

Clogs rule! I'll hold off on deciding the shoes until the rest of the model is built, but I have a feeling its just gonna be the basic shoe. If I do go with the plain one I'll make something to go off the sides and back for looks, its just the pieces I have now fill the entire bottom of the bucket. I'll get a picture next update so you can see what I mean.

And if you thought the cat eating the head was good, wait until you see the fatal wounds from the chainsword!

The Good Green wrote:Nice update. I have to say, though, I like the bigger boots. With just the tows, they look like cowboy boots... which could be super funny if you could work that in as a theme, but I think the stabilizers on the feet could be very important.

The whole thing is looking amazing and I love the "looking in" angles you have with that beast. Great work!

Like I said above, maybe I just need smaller stabalizers. the ones on him are HUGE, but then again I'm not done with the whole thing, the arms and engine may add a ton of bulk.

UPDATE TIME!

I'm gonna try to update more often, but with smaller updates. I think they will be easier to write, and be less of a novel for y'all to read.

I got the first layer of the engine built and primed. I have to paint this and then I can add the next layer of gubbins.







I also decided I had enough metal rounds from the belly gun, so in keeping with tradition I'm gonna go lifta-droppa on the gun arm.

Here's the bare bones beginning.





I know it doesn't look like much now, but trust me I can make an energy gun look cool. I have about ten thousand points of scaven painted, and most of my Skryre war machines are scratch built. I got this, yo.

As usual, fire away with rabid insults, advice, and stuff.

Is that telephone wire on the back of the gargant there lol. still looking very nice here and i can'nt wait to see how you revamp the liftadropa

bigfish wrote:Is that telephone wire on the back of the gargant there lol. still looking very nice here and i can'nt wait to see how you revamp the liftadropa

Gah, it's actually carefully placed wire and hard plastic tubing. I wish I had just used a telephone cord, haha. Lifta-droppa phase two is completed!

UPDATE!

Well, like most things I do, this is quickly spiraling out of control. I will prolly be using the big feet attatchments, this thing is getting huge.

Lifta-Droppa is up first though.





The 3/4 rings will be painted to be looted Chaos gates for extra Zzap in my Lifta-droppa cannon.

Here it is primed. I still have one more layer of wires and tubing, along with rivets.





I also got the back engines mounted, and by Gork they stick out further than I was expecting.







Lastly, a quick shot of the gun mounted. It looks a bit weedy because theres no gubbins, shoulderpads, or armor plates on the arm, and the back of the Lifta-droppa is still missing. I'll need to address that though, as it needs to look good with a lot of that stuff stripped off.



Well, thats it for today!

Nice stuff here!

A very inspiring thread, what an upgrade! My only critique would be that the shoulders seem a bit too wide now, but it may just be my preference for dumpy gargants.

Your buildings are also very impressive... have you seen the Adepticon terrain contest? If you click on the 'see all ads' link, there is a banner with a link in there... check it out you could do well!

Wow.

I really like that power plant, I'm not sure how I feel about the energy gun, It almost looks to chaotic. But hey, it's your gargant.
The scaffolding is a great touch.
Great job so far!

It's looking great! I really like the lifta/droppa! The idea of the chaos gates is cool! And the engine is just WOW!

Ogryn wrote:Nice stuff here!

Thanks! I read that in an voice that I imagine your avatar sounds like.

MajorTom11 wrote:A very inspiring thread, what an upgrade! My only critique would be that the shoulders seem a bit too wide now, but it may just be my preference for dumpy gargants.

I agree, and changed it. At first I was gonna go huge shoulder pads and have longer arms to give it a more dynamic look, but after taking another look, I decided to go with the Snakebites adage "The old ways are the best." It looks classic so far, changing too many things will make it look wonky. I'll save new designs for later projects. (keepin' the clogs though!)

Your buildings are also very impressive... have you seen the Adepticon terrain contest? If you click on the 'see all ads' link, there is a banner with a link in there... check it out you could do well!

I checked it out, it looks neat! I've never been to Adepticon, maybe this will be a good excuse to go. oh, and thanks!

Norn King wrote:Wow.

Again, thanks! nice comments keep me going when I want to quit.

Primarch_of_mechmarines wrote:I really like that power plant, I'm not sure how I feel about the energy gun, It almost looks to chaotic. But hey, it's your gargant.
The scaffolding is a great touch.
Great job so far!

I took a hard look at it, and I agree with you. I made a lot of changes for the next layer of detail, see pictures below. I also dropped the broken chaos gate idea. I have ideas for looted Daemon engines, but this isn't the right model to do it. I re-looked at both old and new Ork energy weapons, and made some changes to bring it more in line.

RSJake wrote:It's looking great! I really like the lifta/droppa! The idea of the chaos gates is cool! And the engine is just WOW!

I'm glad you like it all! I did change the lifta-droppa, take a look below.


UPDATE TIME!

I made a number of changes, all on my own with no exterior imput, because I'm a genius. <----(pictures these ideas mysteriously painted blue.)

First up I ran out and bought new couplings for the arm joints. One of the reasons I wanted longer arms was so the titan chain fist could actually hit Baneblades and Brass scorpions on the ground! What I decided was to compromise, I'll add a traditional slug thrower arm, and add the chain fist below as a weapon attatchment. it matches older artwork, adds a gun, and will look great.

lifta-droppa arm.



Follwed by a quick mock-up of how the left arm will look.



I also took another stab at the lifta-droppa design. I dropped the Chaos gate idea, and instead added some Ork teeth in the style of the new Forgeworld lifta-droppa design.
I also added more gun casing, and I will have two more swiss-cheese style sound bafflers to glue over the energy cannon part once this part dries.







Thats it for today, next up is the final touches on the lifta-droppa, and the start of the left arm.

Yeah, that's still cool and all, but I liked the Chaos Gate idea. I thought it was very original. Still, it looks great! Don't let my dissapointment cloud the level of awe I am in! I am not getting a clear picture of what you are talking about with the left arm, but I will sit and wait until it is more clear to me. Keep it up! It's looking amazing!

i might just have to make one myself now