Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I'm working on a sort of spider-battlewagon-ish thing, and it's not big enough to hold a turret without looking ridiculously top-heavy and un-orky. However, I still want to put a zzap gun on it, in the form of a sponson. However, I'm debating doing so as it may cause trouble with fellow players during a game in the shooting phase, because it wouldn't make sense for it to fire on some troops that are to the left of it while the gun is on the right side. Do you think it wouldn't be too much of a problem as long as we discussed it before playing, or should I just abandon the sponson and use it for something else?

Another idea I had was to create a second zzap gun and put it on the opposite side, but that would probably cause more problems than just having one. Should I just do that?

Any way to strap it to the bottom front or back? If it's spidery, how bout a thin scorpion tail to come up and around, and you could mount the gun in the tip? Do you have any work in progress pics to work around?

There's a simple solution to this problem.
Turn the model on the spot so the zzap gun faces your intended target. Do this in the movement phase and hey presto, true line of sight and you've followed the rules. Not just in spirit but to the letter.
FYI. I wouldn't have a problem with you mounting a sponson on both sides either. As long as you only fired one per turn. You could explain it as something along the lines of "the generators can only generate enough power to fire one OR the other.

I don't know how your model looks like, but would it fit better if you put a ork on top holding a totaly crazy converted zzzap gun? This would mean no turret any maybe a better space use.
And it would definitely be orky.

By the way can you put pictures up where you stand currently. Than we can come up with better ideas.

Two sponsons, each with a weapon, but only one mek operator, who therefore can fire one or the other in any one turn? I suppose a few rules lawyers might complain you're 'modelling for advantage' as it might give you an inch of extra range, but otherwise would seem pretty acceptable.

You mention a spider theme, by which i presume you mean it's a many-legged walker - so would it be possible to have a turret on the _underside_ of the hull?

Otherwise, a front-mounted sponson would be simplest, as it's fairly unlikely to want to shoot outside of the front arc anyway.

Pictures, as requested. Taken with my iPod, sadly. Can't find my camera.
Doomhammer, I think you can see what this spawned from.

Right side without sponson


Right side with sponson. Don't know if I'll actually put the sponson in that area, it's just tacked on.


Engine/back which is unfinished, and it needs more worky bitz! Not to mention exhaust.


Severely empty left side, so a second sponson would be very useful here actually.


And the underside which I'm detailing, and would rather not cover up.

Right now it's sitting flimsily on a pin and a piston on the defiler body, so I'm going to bulk that up so it sits better.

 btldoomhammer wrote:
I don't know how your model looks like, but would it fit better if you put a ork on top holding a totaly crazy converted zzzap gun? This would mean no turret any maybe a better space use.
And it would definitely be orky.

As you can see, that's sadly where the pilot sits! It's a good idea though, and I do have the looted lascannon/lasgun arm from the Lootas and Burnas kit.

 Boggy Man wrote:
Any way to strap it to the bottom front or back? If it's spidery, how bout a thin scorpion tail to come up and around, and you could mount the gun in the tip? Do you have any work in progress pics to work around?

A tail would be quite funny, but it would also ruin the landing-crafty effect it has.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

tomcat31 wrote:
There's a simple solution to this problem.
Turn the model on the spot so the zzap gun faces your intended target. Do this in the movement phase and hey presto, true line of sight and you've followed the rules. Not just in spirit but to the letter.
FYI. I wouldn't have a problem with you mounting a sponson on both sides either. As long as you only fired one per turn. You could explain it as something along the lines of "the generators can only generate enough power to fire one OR the other.

I could still make a big shoota or rokkit launcher sponson to balance it then, which would make it quite good! However, what will I do if I'm moving first and my opponent sees fit to move around?

You could solve the modelling for advantage issue by putting your gunner in the middle and measuring from him. That way it'd be as though the weapon is mounted centrally. Awesome model btw. Kinda looted defiler look to it.

tomcat31 wrote:
You could solve the modelling for advantage issue by putting your gunner in the middle and measuring from him. That way it'd be as though the weapon is mounted centrally. Awesome model btw. Kinda looted defiler look to it.

Would I measure from the pilot or just use one of the models it would be carrying? The pilot is more centralized and is an actual part of the vehicle, so I would suppose using him would be better.

Thanks! I was kind of disappointed that not many people have used defiler kits for anything other than a defiler, so I tried to pass that idea onto doomhammer in his CSM thread (which is wicked cool, link is in his signature), but I don't know if he's going to do this concept of it I drew for him (which is out of scale on a colossal level).


It's a very rough concept for a landing craft filled with slaves sat on top of a defiler. Instead, it's now a looted defiler with a landing craft sat on top full of orks and wobbling around.

 Deunstephe wrote:

Doomhammer, I think you can see what this spawned from.

I remember.

And i see your problem better now.
Here are a few creative ideas. You could add another platform onto and between those two pipe thingies going over the transport area. Lika i said a single ork holding a crazy contraption with a ton of cables running down attached to somewhere.
Alternatively you could build some side gun emplacements on both sides and magnetize the gunner in. Then build a railing/ladder/whatever so that the gunner with his gun could run over to the other side and shoot from there.

While mounting it below the body would work it would look strange.

Maybe build a gun emplacemnet in front of the driver hanging over the transport area so that it looks as if he can fire i from his position.

Or build some kind of tesla coil type weapon like in Command & Conquer. A orky contraption pointing upwards with a ball on top. You could mount it behind the driver - connected to whatever engine bits you'll stick there.


And while you have added those hydraulic bits i agree that the joint connecting the legs with the main body looks kinda weak. It is definitely orky and you can just see the main body wobble with each step the thing take. But maybe add a few more connecting hydraulic bitz or other techy looking stuff to fill the gap there a little bit more.



Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Deunstephe wrote:

Thanks! I was kind of disappointed that not many people have used defiler kits for anything other than a defiler, so I tried to pass that idea onto doomhammer in his CSM thread (which is wicked cool, link is in his signature), but I don't know if he's going to do this concept of it I drew for him (which is out of scale on a colossal level).

Spoiler:

It's a very rough concept for a landing craft filled with slaves sat on top of a defiler. Instead, it's now a looted defiler with a landing craft sat on top full of orks and wobbling around.

The idea is still in my head but my defiler project is on ice for now. I want to get the work on my possessed terminator done or at least on a good way before i restart it. (I also hope that i can persoade myself to buy a few other kits for kitbashing like for example a talos pain engine)

 btldoomhammer wrote:

 Deunstephe wrote:

Doomhammer, I think you can see what this spawned from.

Here are a few creative ideas. You could add another platform onto and between those two pipe thingies going over the transport area. Lika i said a single ork holding a crazy contraption with a ton of cables running down attached to somewhere.
Alternatively you could build some side gun emplacements on both sides and magnetize the gunner in. Then build a railing/ladder/whatever so that the gunner with his gun could run over to the other side and shoot from there.

Adding a platform on the pipes could be workable, and adding a couple planks/rails and connecting them to the pilot's seat would give it a somewhat multi-tiered effect.

add a few more connecting hydraulic bitz or other techy looking stuff to fill the gap there a little bit more.

Doing that, and probably going to add them at the front and back of the defiler body/chassis, since those areas are pretty flat and bare. Then I could measure from him like tomcat31 said, or turn him into a mek and build the second sponson like how Clang described.