Mega Gargant W.I.P / Waaaagh GrimGor

[Obscura]

Ork Mega Gargant or How I Learned to Hate Myself

So, I recently moved ( bought a house ) and I've been digging through all my hobby stuff, bits boxes and everything that pretty much gets donated to me since I play Orks, "I can use this eventually." seems to be the common enough phrase that all my friends say to me when they give me gallon bags of partially used sprues/leftovers from FW/whatever.

Having participated in my LGS's last Apocalypse game, I figured the best way to immortalize the event is to create a Mega Gargant that showcases the Armies/players that played that day. Plus it'll give me an excuse to expunge my idiotic amount of bits boxes to create a showcase piece for my Orks and perhaps I'll be able to make a Datasheet for it for all the weird weapons and gear I'll slap onto it.

The picture above is to give you a taste as what I'll be throwing into this endeavor, I've been playing Orks since 3rd Edition when Choppas would reduce your best save to 4+ and Blood Angel Rhino Rush was the cheese of the day.

So, I got a lot of bits. . .

[Obscura]

Mega Gargant Checklist: ( W.I.P )

 

3'0 / 36" tall

Modular for ease of storage and portability 

 

Weaponry:

 

All of it

 

Rules:

 

More than likely some custom ruleset as I don't believe GW/FW have released rules for the thing.

 

Ideally I'd like to incorporate established rulesets from other Ork miniatures from GW/FW into it, given that I'll have to roll out ideas taken from other Knights/Titans that FW releases as I'd like for this Gargant to stand toe to toe with them in Apocalypse/one off scenarios.

[Obscura]

So a long time ago, I used to be a regular poster on The Waaagh and in hindsight the following posted back then was more than likely the main reason I'm trying to start and complete this project.

The Mega Gargant weaponry shouldn't be an issue, as I just have to make larger versions of what's already in production, so there isn't any guessing as to how I'll make a "Giant Bubblechukka" or whatever. The only issue I will have will be finding enough "gubbins" to fill in the details between the main pieces that'll turn it into a giant diorama that doubles as a game piece.

Given the aforementioned Gargant aesthetic, I'd like to reimagine the Mega Gargant alongside the aesthetic of a Gorkanaut, I'm still floating the ideas around as there aren't many completed projects on forums so I don't have any means to compare and contrast my ideas against whatever is out there. With that it seems like I may be one of the few people who are willing to start/complete such a project, which should be exciting in itself, but I find myself at a loss as I'd like to pick the brains of those who've tried before me.

But whatever, let's do it live.

Enough mad ramblings for now.

Most if not all of the larger Mechanicum Titans have an internal bodyguard that protect their mechanized charges with extreme and deadly prejudice, so why wouldn't the Orks create such a force to protect the effigy of their Gods made manifest? Now with that in mind, I'll have to make it so it looks like a ton of Orks can live and fight on their crude God-Machine. I'm thinking of having a troop capacity of 120, which is four mobs of 30.

Anyone have any thoughts, opinions or have you actually built a Gargant and have any pieces of advice that you wished you knew before you started this project?

[toaae]

Hella cool. Can't wait to follow along and see where this goes.

 

I haven't tried to build one, though I aspire to someday do it. With that in mind, I have thought of it and what it would entail. Some thoughts:

• Internal Bodyguard: I highly doubt there would be a dedicated force for this, though maybe a mad boy mob that had made an altar inside the belly of the thing. Otherwise, the sheer number of greenskins crewing the thing would be stupendous, and they would probably pose a large threat to anyone brave enough to try and force entry.

   

   

• Weapons: you've got it right that the large weapons could be easily upsized versions of current weapons, I think a telling detail would be how many big shootas and rokkits are mounted on the thing. Essentially, I would think orks would bolt on weapons on every surface they could find. On something this big, I'd expect the number of these guns to be staggering.

   

   

I'll be sure to post my thoughts in this thread as you work. This is a great undertaking and I can't wait to see what it ends up as.

[tychobi]

Possibly this project is a full 6 by 4 battle map? A huge head dominating the middle and the rest of the map representing the shoulders of the mega gargant seems like it would be to scale. Add house rules for random attacks by swarms of local grot riggers and voila! Narrative gaming paradise!

[Obscura]

tooae - There's going to be a staggering amount of boyz inside to crew the weapon, making "targeting solutions", loading munitions and to whip around anyone whose smaller than them and having them do all the hard work. I definitely want to make this Gargant big enough to hold the aforementioned and a ton of Boyz as they'll ride it into battle, whether to honor Gorkamorka or knowing full well that such a thing will draw the attention of everyone so that's where the biggest fight is going to be.

 

Mad Boyz could work, who doesn't like Pterrosquirrels and rusty bucket helmets that look like a crude effigy to a God? 

 

I think I found the perfect wooden base for this as well, had to go to a store that sells trophy head mounts, it'll be a solid base for the Mega Gargant.

 

tychobi - That's definitely an option for a Temple Gargant as they're far larger than a Mega Gargant, the one that I'm building is just three times larger than a standard Stompa, given the schematics/sizing scheme that Krooza created while on The Waaagh, to do what you suggested would be more along the lines of a Temple Gargant and I definitely plan to make a large staging area for the head/control room and to use the Zone Mortalis ruleset or even the new rules for City Fight.

[Akrim]

Ive scratch built both a Stompa and a Gargant years ago so i could lend this advice;

 

- Vital stuff: Hot glue gun (& a zillion glue sticks), plasticard sheets (even some non-corrogated cardboard like GW kitboxes can work), various PVC plumbing pieces, old electronic wires wires, CPU fans, thin chains. 

-Design: I found it easiest to draw up the main body first and then added the metal cladding similar to a GW Stompa. I used large size coffee cans then added the legs mounted inside the body (PVC pipe, feet from pink foam insulation sealed and reinforced with plasticard  & glue)

-Rivets: This can be mind numbing but it really sells the Ork aesthetic - there are lots of ways to do this but my go-to for big ones was chopping plastic rods ( weed trimmer wire, square rods)

 

All things considered it can be a fairly inexpensive project. Once you have the main body established the rest falls into place pretty easily.  

 

Rules wise Im not sure there has ever been 40K rules to my memory - I used a homebrew supplement from the Adepticon folks I believe - for Apocalypse V1 (very long time ago now)... Just spitballing but you could say combine a Stompa & Kustom Stompa into the same model - pool the wounds & points, add the weapons for both onto it, double the damage scale.

[Obscura]

Akrim - Appreciate the advice, I've got a nice stock pile of glue sticks and a few guns, on top of that I've got a bundle of polystyrene sheeting/scraps I've been hoarding for years and jewelry chain. I have to get my hands on some PVC piping ( have to stop by the hardware store and figure out dimensions as I'd like to make the core stable enough to make it modular ) and I'll have to root around some recycling areas to pick up wires/CPU fans and motherboards.

I'm definitely dreading placing all those rivets, I'll have to pick up some weed wire, square and round rods. I think there's a store out there that sells hexagon rod/rivets as well, I'll have to dig around so I can bring that aesthetic to life.

I'll look into the ruleset, but I'm going to put that on the back burner as I view the model itself to be far more important than the viability of the Gargant on the tabletop.

Forging the Aesthetic/narrative, yo.

I saw that missile rack and knew I had to make it, it'll probably be shoulder mounted.

The gun arm will also be a shoulder mounted weapon.

I have a few images I need to upload, but until then I'm tweaking them for aesthetic purposes.

[Magos Takatus]

What sort of scale are we talking about for the gun batteries on the front? Are they similar size to the siege cannons on the new Dominus Knights, or sawn-off Earthshaker cannons? Even the heads from Gorkanauts placed back-to-front could be the basis for a gun turret if they need to be smaller? That picture above looks more like a Stompa conversion than a Mega Gargant to me but the design of it looks awesome so I can see why you'd draw inspiration from it.

[Obscura]

Flame Boy - The scale is going to be "Heroic 28mm", I'll try to keep things on par with the munitions that'll be used, for instance that Type 63 Rocket Launcher rack monstrosity will be using Storm Eagle rockets taken from the Manticore alongside a few other things tacked on because Orks.

In so far, I'm just gathering and building the weapon systems that I'll install onto the Mega Gargant when I have the resources to hit up the Hardware store to pick up PVC piping to make up the core of the model itself.

I'm thinking the weapons will be on par with sawn off Earthshaker cannons, whether they're the actual stock model with a sawn off barrel or a mashed up idea of an Earthshaker cannon made up from Polystyrene pipes and salvage remains to be seen. I'd love to get the stock models, but that's going to be out of the question as my finances are already spoken for the foreseeable future and anything going towards this project will either be salvaged, traded for or donated from people I know.

Yup, the aforementioned image is of a Stompa, I think it's from one of the art books released awhile ago, but I could be wrong, it's just an image I found awhile back and kept it in my Ork folder.

I've got more lying around, right now I'm just building them up to the point where they're mostly whole before storing them in a plastic bag. I'm going to have a ton of Missiles by the time I go to bed.

[Obscura]

Today I got a boat load of random bits for my Gargant project, on top of that I rummaged through the items to gubbin up some other projects I've got floating around. I'm currently building more rockets and I believe I may have enough for the shoulders and one of the arms, but I doubt it because you can always use more DAKKA.

[Obscura]

If you haven't noticed by now, this is going to be one of those slow burn construction threads, especially given the fact that I'm still trying to figure out a way to make a modular Gargant that'll break down into six pieces ( Head, Body, Feet and Arms ) plus have the weapons be modular ( magnetic mounts, going to need a ton of rare earth magnets ) with all of that in mind. I present the latest I've cobbled together from the previous image of spare parts given to me today.

They're far from done, I'm digging around in another tote for some stuff to give them that Ork aesthetic, which is incidentally making it look functional yet be an OSHA violation made manifest.

So after awhile of just staring at these two pieces, I figured I'd do this. . .

I'm naming it "Da Git" after my latest game at my soon to be closed LGS, it's going to be painted in my friends garish colors ( Red, Yellow, Green and Silver ) as a tribute piece for all the bits he's donated to the project and it'll be hilarious to send that contribution back to him in the form of an Ork ICBM.

I still have to add more plating to the black polystyrene pipe, rivets and glyphs that read "Da Git".

[tychobi]

I am so jealous of your bits box. Epic. You need a mek to ride/guide the glorious and most impressive GIT. YeeeeWhaaaaaaahhhh!

 

Some blitz bommaz to flesh out a full on SOC (stratigicish ork command) could be fun. Orks and cold war era americans have a lot in common I think!

[Obscura]

tychobi - The bits definitely make this endeavor that much easier, especially since my polystyrene skills are lacking.

Funny enough I'm thinking of making the Ork version of a B-17 Flying Fortress as I already have four Wazbomb Blastajets in various states of completion and they could be a neat escort for the giant mobile command/bomber.

I'm almost done with the additional plating, but I'm going to have to finish it off with rivets ( will probably buy a spindle of weed trimmer and some polystyrene rod some time this week ) and a couple glyph plates. It still looks a little rough from the picture, but I've smoothed out a lot of spots where the glue pooled. I think once the rivets are in place it'll look the part.

Been distracted with a few other projects as well, hobby ADHD is kicking in, but at least I have some steady momentum on all my projects, so there's that.

[Obscura]

This is sadly not Gargant related, I'm currently taking measurements for the Gargant and gathering more materials to create the monstrosity. Besides some preliminary/rough sketches that aren't worth posting, I have this in its stead.

I'm rebuilding my old Warlord Drakon GrimGor, I've been remaking him over and over since '93, from the original Gorkamorka Nobs to the Pewter Warboss and finally up to what I sculpted in the early 00's, now that it's 2019, I figured now would be a good time to remake my Warlord.

I've got the arms squared away, magnetizing the right and the base is almost complete. From there I plan to build up the knees and legs since I have the feet already built, he's going to be a bit taller than my current Warlord as I follow the fluff that an Ork that doesn't die nor get conquered becomes larger with age, in many ways he's growing into his Power Klaw.

[Gederas]

Dude..... That Warboss is looking sick already. He's fully-sculpted aside from those GW gubbinz? That's awesome!

[Obscura]

Gederas - For the most part he's hand sculpted, there's a lot of sprue fill in to create the skeleton as I didn't want to blow an entire package of Prosculpt on this guy, there was heavy inspiration from a few other models out there as well, plus I borrowed heavily from professional body building and anatomy photos. The skullcap is taken from the Defiler, the Eye Bionics were taken from the Terminator Apothecary parts and the small fill in was just cut up sprue shaved down to fit. The two tusks were taken from I believe the new Bloodthirster kit, I may fill in the small ridges with liquid green stuff.

I still have to work on his abdominal muscles/six or eight pack, plus I need to add a few more cutaneous veins on the forearms, if it wasn't for the iron skull cap, I was tempted to throw in a bulging vein on his forehead. I still have to work on the transition between muscle groups, but I believe liquid green stuff will do the job once I file it down. There's some mold lines that I need to take care of on the Power Klaw.

The base itself is filled with random debris, it still needs a few more touches/details most of which is fine grain sand to fill in the voids, the boots will more than likely be over the ankle and armored, I also had to put tiny glyph plates on the outside of each boot ( Left:Teef / Right: Dakka = Teeth Kicker ), the base of the boot is from the FW Contemptor and the Toe Cap is taken from the Deff Dread. Now all I need to do is figure out how I'm going to do the rest of the boot and I'll more than likely sink a rod into the center up to where I think the knee will be and build the model up from there and if I do it correctly, the top and the bottom will mate together when I'm done.

[toaae]

That looks great. I hope to someday have an awesome warboss of my own making, and seeing yours is inspirational.

[Magos Takatus]

He's a bit short at the moment, but he's going to be amazing. Keep up the good work. :)

[Gederas]

Holy crap.... I never though of using the spare Contemptor feet you get from the Forge World kits to make a Warboss' boots. That is BRILLIANT, and just what I needed to see to figure out the last part of my Megaboss' armour. So, thank you! :tu:

[Obscura]

toaae - Just cobble together all the cool bits you have lying around and one day you'll have something great. If you're ever in the Bay Area, hit me up, I can donate some top notch stuff for your dude.

Flame boy - His upper half dwarfs the standard boy, it's gonna be hilarious when he's done.

( Family photo )

Gederas - You're welcome, glad to help. I rummaged through my bits for a long time as I didn't have it in me to sculpt shoe laces ( even though I could have gotten away with just using a thin enough wire ). Don't forget to increase the size of the toe cap for your Warboss as Ork Feet/models in general flare out to what is essentially a double wide toe cap ( the cap is just as wide as the heel ), otherwise it's going to look weird.

[Magos Takatus]

Okay, I take back what I said, he's already massive. I still mean the amazing part though. The detail down to the vein on his bicep is fantastic. 

[Obscura]

Flame boy - He's gonna be massive, I already have plans to do a Mega Armored Version.

Did some work on the boot, planted a few sprues as the skeleton, just have to wait for everything to dry and harden before I can continue, still need to add more detail to the boot/smooth out details.

[Obscura]

Minor update, been busy with work. He's got legs now and is massive.