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Currently, I have a mad idea rattling around my otherwise empty head, which involves building a multi-tiered gaming board which is in fact the internal area of an Orky Mega-Gargant.

It will have 5 decks, each slightly smaller than the other, with the 5th being in fact the head of the beast. Conceptually, I envisage each deck having it's own Necromunda style Gantries and Walkways etc to really up the ante on the players.

Ideally, I want it to be able to stack together so when packed away, it is just a Mega-Gargant. This is all fairly easy to achieve given time and dedication, but the start is what's proving problematic.

Namely, just how big should I make the bugger, in terms of 'foot print'? 2' square sounds a little wussy (especially when you consider each level gets progressively smaller), and 4' square just seems ludicrous. 3' square however, makes me worry whether or not the upper tiers will wind up too tiny.

The end result will hopefully be a beast I can hawk round the other GW stores, and possibly even appear at Games Day, so it's build needs to be fairly sturdy to stand up to all that travelling around.

So, any suggestions of where to start? Ultimately, I would like the head to be the size of a Stompa (in fact a suitably converted Stompa will be the head!), so if anyone can suggest dimensions based on that I would be very grateful.

A list of reccomendations include such things as.......

Materials, dimensions, a visit to the doctor to have my bumps felt and any kit bitz you think might help.

LOVE the idea, the implementation might be tough...

I'll have a think about anything that might be helpful in your project but for now I was wondering how the game would be played keeping track of which ladder leads where, etc. Had a bit of a bright idea with a big, orky, 'spine' that would connect the 5 areas together. It would be segmented so each field would slot into it and you could potentially use it to make a spiral staircase display where you would just swivel the 5 areas around and make a giant gaming board.

Liek dis!

This way the whole thing would have 'walls' and could snap back together to look like a genuine Mega-Gargant for display purposes, while also being detachable for transportation. Support would obviously be an issue but maybe some pop-out columns could work?

Other than that, all I can say is good luck and I'd love to see the finished product!

DoW

This would be a cool idea. A cool idea indeed. I dont think the insides would shrink all that much on the way up. A mega gargant is rather boxy. I think the 3 foot, foot print would be pretty decent in size. The head is really where the size difference would be. only a small squad or 2 would be able to fit inside.

Good luck tho, and post some pictures if you get anything started

Hopefully, if I populate the bugger right, a couple of squads will be all thats left when they get to the head!

Liking the swivel spine idea, and yes, drop down legs for support should do the trick. Either that, or have 4 columns to slot it together deck by deck, and make those the lifts/stairs upwards.

I really do want to do this. Ambitious as it is, and more so because I've never even attempted a small scratch build before, it WILL come to pass! Could even make it a kick ass Apocalypse game, with the attackers having to knock holes in it to gain access to the upper levels!

Now that sounds like a cool ass mission to me lol.

I figured you were going for the whole, start off large and have an epic show down at the end. Im excited!

5 levels of 3' square (gradually shrinking, sure) will take an awful lot of table space to play - is your gaming table that big? Maybe 4 levels (including the head) of 2.5' down to about 2' might be more practical?

Re linking the levels, I'd suggest colour-coded lifts, e.g. the green lift on level 1 leads to the green lift on level 2, etc. Lifts should all only go up/down one level, thus forcing units to fight through each level.

To build them, I'd suggest wooden boxes with removable lids - that may sound a bit clunky but will make storage and transport much easier. You'd line the insides with plasticard then add detail.

For laughs, make one level look like a SpaceHulk board

Haven't even considered how I'm going to do the internals. I suspect that oddly Imperial looking bulkheads from the various building kits might well figure into it.

Other than that, trip to the two local non-TTG Model shops in town ought to give me a few ideas!

Think the Bottom Deck is going to have some kind of vehicle garage. Or even cooler....Killa Kan holding Pens....The longer the attackers take, the more Kans the Grotz can wake up, making their life harder and harder.

Dude, you're blowing my mind, man. First I read that you're doing stand up, and then you have this absolutely blood brilliant idea. I bow before you.

In practical terms, in order for it to stack you're probably going to have to have walls on the outside of each board (especially if you want it to look like a gargant when stacked) which limits the height of the terrain on the board (not everyone is tall enough to reach over a wall on the gaming table). Just a thought when it comes to the 'necromunda style gantries'. Unless you left open spots in the floor above for the gantries to fit into (which would, I'll admit, create a real multi-level look.

Playing on this beast seems to me to be a bit of an issue. Would it be on the table, or would you put it on a separate, smaller table? (well, until you hit the head, in which case you could stack the whole gargant on the floor and leave the 'cap' off.

Google Gargant Owners Club and click on the Gargant Construction. It will give you an accurate size for what your Mega-Gargant should be. I was going to great one also and I was going to use errector sets for strength and stability of the model. Also, it would take care of those pesky rivets.

With all the towers you are looking at closer to 3 1/2 feet tall by close to 2 feet wide and 2 1/2 feet deep.

Buy a Epic Scale Mega-Gargant first, it is easy to put together and will give you an idea on how to construct this beast. I figured that it was going to weigh close to 45 to 50 pounds when all said and done. I put a halt on the plan when I was having a hard time finding materials strong enough but inexpensive to build with. Plus, unless you have access to alot of cheap errector sets then it is uber difficult and expensive prospect.

I abandoned the idea of building a gargant for lack of space.

table pipboy was talking about

you can find it here


http://gargant-owners-club.tripod.com/id6.html

Erector sets? Whats them then? I guess it's like Meccano or some such?

Yup, it's the American version of Meccano. The only downside of using this is that it's a very recognisable look and so _might_ spoil the MegaGargant orky look - but no doubt others might find it very cute and orky.

maxdamek wrote:I abandoned the idea of building a gargant for lack of space.

table pipboy was talking about

you can find it here


http://gargant-owners-club.tripod.com/id6.html

mmm I dunno, he saysa mega gargant is 21 inches tall. That seems a BIT on the short side for a destroyer or worlds type of machine. BUT you can see however what I was talking about doc. The mega gargant is more squared, so the only real part it shrinks on is right at the head

mmm I dunno, he saysa mega gargant is 21 inches tall. That seems a BIT on the short side for a destroyer or worlds type of machine. BUT you can see however what I was talking about doc. The mega gargant is more squared, so the only real part it shrinks on is right at the head

An Imperator Titan can fit on the table..... SO A MEGA GARGANT CAN!!!! ORKS ARE BETTER... sob sob sob sob


Automatically Appended Next Post:
wait a sec, how small is your table man?!

rofl... No no... I was joking... I just looked back and I wording it wrong... I meant you cant fit it on the table if it was actual real life size Im agreeing that 21 inches is rather small when a warlord is much bigger Plus you wouldnt use one except in apocalypse so probably be using multiple table! Im actually thinking about starting a mega gargent although probably not till like february when I can actually get a job

Clang wrote:Yup, it's the American version of Meccano. The only downside of using this is that it's a very recognisable look and so _might_ spoil the MegaGargant orky look - but no doubt others might find it very cute and orky.

I could use it as a Skeletal structure for strength and integrity, then 'wrap' it in Plasticard?

Though just found this on Ebay. Typically far too late to buy it, but hey. Will keep eyes peeled for similar things. Good for embellishing such a large kit!

Meccano is certainly stronger than just plasticard, but might not be sturdy enough for storage and transport too. But I certainly agree some sort of skeleton (e.g. wooden boxes) 'wrapped' in plasticard is the way to go, if you want the model to last.

Yarr, lasting is everything! Testament to my erstwhile genius needs to stick around!

Once things are settled, I shall begin!