Crafting a Working Crane for D&D, 40k, AOS or Necromunda 

Quick point you might have noticed - I slightly mixed up the measurements for the base of the crane in a really obvious way. Instead of needing two 1/2" strips and 4 3/8" strips for the first bit you build (the base of the crane), you need four 1/2" strips and two 3/8" pieces. This is pretty obvious if you're watching the video, you need 4 of the wider strips to put on each side of the two thinner strips :)

Looks like Daniel Radcliff and makes fully functioning machines out of practically nothing... I'm convinced this guy is just a straight up wizard now

Would love to see how you would craft a ballista or catapult. The catapult could even be using the same base or something. Both are ‘big stationary’ things.

Outstanding scratch build. My jaw really dropped seeing the final result. Well done, sir!

The chances of me ever building this crane are close to zero, but the wealth of outrageously clever ideas in this build will remain with me throughout my crafting journey. Thank you for everything you do.

This would be awesome for the boat crane in Skullport in Dungeon of the Mad Mage!

my personal #1 in terrain crafting.

You have the power to transform cardboard into iron. Using magnets to control the crane is very clever !

I love the build, and I might have to start making stuff like this when I get my own place again. I do have one note for you though, while you would intuit that Superglue is the strongest of the glues, good old Elmer's glue is actually far stronger, given that Superglue is extremely brittle. Tacky Glue or Elmer's glue soaks deeply into the card and forms a strong, slightly elastic bond. I've built dozens of architectural models for uni, and both me and all of my classmates can confirm that PVA models are stupidly durable. The card will rip before the glue fails, where as superglue often breaks at the seams. That said it is still amazing, keep doing what you are doing! 😉👍

This is one of the best scratch builds I've ever seen. Absolutely superb. Well done.

they also had giant hamster wheels with Donkeys inside. I saw a still working one a few years ago. quite stunning. This is a fantastic build I would like this for a Dwarven mine/underground city ( I've been building this for ages don't ask!) but with some Dwarven bits on it, it would look cool.

AMAZING BUILD! - what a genius concept - that the crane is fully functional is just over the top - the bolts/nuts are a great detail - precision built with a subtle but basic paint scheme that looks great

Amazing scale modeling! You are truly a craftsman! What a fantastic build. Something to be proud of. Thank you for sharing it with us! It did indeed give me happy memories of childhood builds with Erector Sets. Cheers!

I'm continually amazed at your craft and am amazed you don't have more subs! Thank you for sharing this with of art with us!

This is just amazing. I love the look and functionality of this piece, not to mention how inexpensive the materials are!

Ok. THAT is a beautiful piece of miniature engineering right there :) Looks great too, thanks for the how-to!

I love all the adds you get for automotive shop engine hoists when you watch this vid..lol. awesome build this gave me so many ideas

This is pretty epic. Looks amazing and really adds to any dock or large smithy encounter. Well done.

That was slick using the magnets to keep the arm from falling back down.

Ok, from this single video I gained a) an instruction for building a really neat piece of terrain, b) a great inspiration for an entire combat+puzzle section I am gonna throw into my next campaign and c) actual knowledge regarding medieval building techniques... god damn hamster wheel cranes were an actual thing... who would've thought. So yeah, thanks a bunch =D

Whoah! Brilliantly conceived, and beautifully executed!

I have a 3d printer and it does alot of this stuff for me but man oh man your skill makes me wana try my hand at crafting! Very impressive.

I love it! really love it! This is my favorite build so far... And No, I didn't notice the mixed up measurements.

hands down the best crane model on yt probably you can use one tuna can for the hamster wheel. next week i will built it.

Thanks a lot for these videos. As if I didn't have enough problems with storage space and lack of spare time. Now I have a huge urge to start crafting these things. But jokes aside these videos are awesome and I really hope more people will find your channel and get into the hobby. You have a really good way of presenting. Calm, fun and also I enjoy how you present the functionalities or just show off the end results for a while. Its a breath of fresh air in this hyperactive youtube world where apparently something has to happen every three seconds or people lose interest (hard to believe, but seems like it.) Anyway, too much babbling, terrific job on this and all other videos (I have been binging them lately) and I hope I will get into this hobby soon enough.

I don't know if anyone has pointed this out, but a bit of a tip with drilling: if you need to drill through something, having a sacrificial piece of wood on the bottom side of the hole that you can drill into will both prevent nearly all tear out and will give you a bit of feedback when you hit the dissimilar material. It's also much safer. Great content, by the way! Just discovered you and subscribed to your Patreon =)

These bolts!!!! Amazing Idea.... oh my... all that new possibilities for details in the 40k terrain world

For the record, I am *not* an old Warhammer player, but now that you say so, I too, refuse to call Tin Bits anything but Tin Bits. It's such a good name!

man did i love tin bitz as a colour back in the day. easily my favourite alongside enchanted blue and snot green

Beautiful. 👍

This is just amazing. Once again you produce extreme quality content. Thank you for this!!

Indeed, it was well done! A masterpiece!

Very impressed with this! Amazing work.

this is brilliant

Totally dig this. Congratulations on the job well done

The pot Padme was in is called a crucible. I see a scene with this holding up a giant shark and a proud adventurer posing for a portrait.

Looks awesome, hope the video is awesome. I'm trying to learn howto model mechanical movements so the title popped my eyes.

Really epic build!

As always an amazing work! Outstanding! And I have to thank you a lot because you inspired me to invent my own modular tiles with their specific set of attachments and accessories!!! You're an amazing creator!!!

Very, very creative... I am amazed at the details and the use of materials. Thanks for sharing!

Outstanding work well done Sir:)

For all those bolts and nuts, if you were to do this again, I'd recommend getting The Chopper from MicroMark. It's made my life so much easier for cutting small, repeating details like that from styrene stock, and it can also cut chipboard and cardstock just as easily.

Excellent project.

Great stuff as always! I have been using your videos to start making stuff myself. Thanks for being such an inspiration to me!

Fist time viewer (and now, subscriber!) Very inspirational build. I'll be looking both forward to - and backward at- your creative projects. Thank you much!

This is great, can’t wait to give it a go. One modification I would make is a small platform under the hand wheel. That way the person controlling that mechanism doesn’t have to get down and step back as the crane rotates.

Once again great job. Magnets used as locking mechanism is brilliant much simpler than pegs or latches. I especially like the versatility of that crane as you mention it fits to fantasy as well as Sci-Fi but you can also swap platform to cage, wrecking ball, mechanical grippers or simple hook.

Very cool! I have similar setup, but for opening/closing castle gate/bridge... And I always wanted to create a harbour, so this crane will fit right in place! One day... Anyway, realy detailed! Greetings from Belgium

A fantastic build! Also makes me think how you could use similar techniques to build metal bridges/gates that can be moved around and changed to alter the layout of a dungeon/terrain Imagine a vast cavern that can only be crossed by the party rotating several bridges to navigate between small outcrops of stone, or a canal crossing through a treacherous gorge, where the party has to escort a convoy of barges and open each set of canal locks So many brilliant ideas and inspiration just from this one build! Can’t wait to see what the future holds for you and your channel :D

Great Build Matt, well done. Each week i'm amazed on what you make with the simplest materials, this was well worth the wait. it'd be awesome to see a showcase video in a few months time of a whole table set up with everything you've built (similar to a war gaming board).

Nice job ,to cut perfect circles use a band saw .clamp a board down to the table with a nail through the board facing up on the small table top band saw . drill a hole through the center of card board or wood what ever ur trying to cut into a circle ( obviously ull cut it square and slightly bigger than the circle u need to minimalize wasted material) adjust clamps / the jig u made to get the size circle u want by moving it closer or further away from the side of the band saw blade put the board, card board,plastic or what ever material ur using on the nail u put on ur jig u made for the band saw through the up against the edge of blade of the band saw then just spin that square board u mounted on ur jig the nail.becomes a stationary pivot point and it will cut u a perfect circle every time , these table top band saws are very inexpensive at ur local home depot ,lowes /lumber big chain tool and construction material stores . box nails , roof nails work great for this jig because they hav a decent size flat head but really depends on the thickness of what ur trying to cut for the lenght of the nail . Note if cutting plexy glass u wanna put duck tape on both sides of the plexy where ur gonna cut through with the bladedont be shy wrap it around the peice it peels of easy after , it it stops it from splintering or shattering plexy will require a finer blade like a blade that cuts metal for a band saw with teeth that r closer together to prevent splintering of the plexy. And ull hav to lightly file or sand the edge to de bur it after removing the left over duck tape .

This is amazing and also for the hydraulics you could get away with it in an elderscrolls-esque scene

This is an amazing build. A simple concept and yet such a complex look and feel. I will definitely build one (or two '^^) for my Moria/Khazad-Dûm gaming board. Many thanks for this thorough tutorial!

Now THAT'S cool! :)

This would be a great opportunity to incorporate some 3D printed aspects into your builds. I should have some time over this summer to draft up some files and may make some .stl files with your general build in mind and send it to you over on patreon in case you want to offer it up for your patrons. Doing this, I can add wood texture, steel, and a replaceable wheel so it is more modular for other settings.

This looks amazing! The only thing I'd change would be the platform for adding stuff, since I'd prefer some rigidness there myself. But other than that the thing looks great, and this is -easily- the best thing I've seen in a long while. Seeing how its functional easily makes this way better than it has any right to be.

26:13 oh wow look at mr moneybags over here jk! Great build Matt!

Really great work, must have taken ages

I gotta make this for the junk yard fight in Outlaws of Alkenstar!!!

Im not sure of using medieval tech in sci-fi setting, but the work is amazing (and it would fit seamless in a steampunk game)! The same structure made of balsa wood wood be awesome in fantasy skirmish games (like Frostgrave or Mordheim).

Wow, just wow. You mate are just incredible. I am just starting out in 1/12th scale and your vids popped up. Just in awe of your talent. Any help how to convert your scale to 1/12th would be much much appreciated. Ta love

That's incredible! You've definitely inspired me to try this and other builds. Thanks for all the effort you go to. You definitely have another patreon member 👍 on a side note I have the same hobbyzone modules as you and love how you have your tablet above you WIP box. How did you manage that if you don't mind me asking. Great work again!!

jeez dude this looks real lol

We call it freedom fries board.

I used maybe a dollar and a half in pennies ( US ) as base weights for my modular wall set.

Yes, that paint is TinBitz. Should never have changed.

I posted on how to make a small jig to cut smaller circles using a small table top band saw previously..To cut really big circles u might just want to quickly build a square table top surface with thin ply wood maybe with trim boards around the edges so you can clamp these together from the under side of table of the band saw .when putting these surfaces up against each other then drill holes in that table top jig u just made with a screw so that screw is removable to move to different wholes to cut different diameter circles and now that screw is ur stationary pivot point now. u can even label the wholes on the table top with a pencil so u know what size circles you will b cutting in the future . last but not least put 4 legs out of some scrap wood for ur jig affix them to the jig so the band saw table & jig sit at the same height and cut circles all day long .. hav a great day..:) there are a few different ways to make these jigs

Tin Bitz!!

Somehow I don't think medieval cranes had magnets 😊 The locking mechanisms are pretty much the easiest part of the build, saving a *bleep*load of magnets. Nice build, I'd just approach it somewhat differently, that's all. 👍

I find it interesting that you do things in Inches rather than the metric system.

PVA (aka "White") glue is actually stronger than super glue for paper, card and wood.

Amazon work men 😮😮😮

I believe you are referring to a Crucible, when you say "Forge Bucket"

Any thoughts on how to adapt to a magnet free version? I have very stupid cats...

I'm guessing (since you put a still of this near the beginning of the video, I'm just 5 minutes in btw) that the open wheel was to put a miniature in to represent slave labor, or just a job someone gets paid to do.

wow only one dislike? good job!

The molten metal is moved and poured into a crucible

All of the things you build look so cool but I have no idea where to start. I’m not crafty enough to be able to make them look so good.

Impressive as hell, and way past my skill (or patience) level.

I just wish measures were in mm... :)

I just watched the excellent Absolute History 5 part series on castle building, so I recognized the hamster wheels immediately! Well done, this is awesome! For anyone interested, it's an excellent watch: /watch?v=SURsW7BpCNc&t=1s

Looking at the stack of unit blocks used as a base, it looked funny /wrong/ all of a sudden. In real life, the courses would be staggered, like with building Lego. You would never stack the blocks with the seams all lined up in a plane. I think your building system should account for that.

Nice buld i like

but my setting doesn't have that amount of metal

step 1: get a hot glue gun step 2: just deadass make one using what u have no hate, but for these kinds of construction videos, idk how to search but like I'm looking for cool "mechanics" that u can use or new ways to use them, like magnets, or hot glue as see through materials or crystals, or LEDs or camp fires using LED tea lights. Any idea where to find more ideas like those? or like black lights on maps with hidden secrets.

would be nice if you also converted to metric... you know the measuring unit 96% of the world uses...

Watching you cut all that chipboard without a metal straightedge gives me serious anxiety.

*Your Patreon page NO LONGER shows downloads, sadly.*

I love your projects! Why do YOU have to be in the videos making faces at the camera? Your projects are amazing your faces are annoying