We finished the biggest model GW makes! | The Manta Saga: Finale

Nick shows off the completed T'au Manta after working on it over the past 8 months!
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[@FireRevanShadow]

As a Tau player, this brings me great joy. I think a kill team game with this as a set piece in a hanger would be awesome to "play on".

[@mr.mammuthusafricanavus8299]

That'd be a fun game, I could totally imagine Steve sending in a space marine kill team to steal info from the manta :P

[@Scarytoaster1809]

you could have the manta as the _whole_ kill team

[@FireRevanShadow]

Also obligatory Space Marine Steve vs Chaos Marine Steve in a mustache narrated by Steve when? If we can work in Storm Trooper Steve, I'll take it.

[@AdeptusRidiculous-2025]

Agreed!!! With the new Killteam terrain to boot!!!

[@mr.potato2223]

Cough cough tabletop time cough cough

[@nobodyimportant5417]

I think it looks great. LEDs in legos is a giant headache, I can't imagine the amount of struggle you went through to do that with solid resin. The orange and white looks clean and noblebright, too. Well done.

[@trotgun1563]

Do you need to worry much about heat ?? I'm just looking to play around with LEDs i just have zero experience with em .

[@daringdarius5686]

@@trotgun1563 I've worked with LEDs before and the context matters. Edit: This entire comment is basically just a "you shouldn't need to worry about it, unless you're doing something crazy". I don't know why I made it so long. :/ If you're using just a couple LEDs in a resin model, and the LEDs aren't going to be on for much longer than an hour at a time, you *should* be fine. Worst case scenario, try drilling/leaving a little more room for heat to escape, as LEDs do give off a fair bit of heat, but generally it isn't an issue. If you're using a lot of LEDs packed in the same compartment of a resin model with little to no room for air to escape for an hour or more at a time, I would be a little worried. At the end of the day, it's almost a "Common sense" question. If I put 50 LEDs inside of a balloon and leave them on, will the balloon pop? Yes, most definitely. If I put a single LED inside of a balloon and leave it on, will the balloon pop? Probably not. If you have LED christmas lights, go and turn them on, leave them on and then hold them. They get considerably warm, but not "blazing hot". This is mostly due to them being surrounded by room temperate air they can vent to, but in essence it's the same. If you're putting 2 LEDs inside of a leviathan, you shouldn't have any issues. 4-6 LEDs in a baneblade or something? You should be fine! You try to fit 10+ LEDs in a rhino? You might be getting some heat issues. Just make sure the rhino's back door can be opened, and have it (partially?) open for excess heat that gets trapped in the interior to escape, no issues! :) 30+ LEDs in a chimera? There's an issue :o

[@trotgun1563]

@@daringdarius5686 thank bro I appreciate the lesson.

[@flanker152]

i led lit my fire raptor and that was scary, id be really nervous trying to mod a manta that much

[@samhescott348]

LOTS AND LOTS of pre planning, which is super hard when you have a cool model in front of you just want to paint

[@hedonistic_goblin7390]

You might be able to put cross beams between the rods to help stability Maybe have a solid(kinda heavy compared to the Manta) base to lower the center of gravity Can't have the imperials knocking it over

[@roberttanguay8532]

You could even hide the "cross beams" with cotton simulating the Manta soaring above some couds

[@HeroesBosses]

I was thinking that too. Cross beams on the bottom to keep the rods from splaying out.

[@Boxvoko]

Since we get to see two great channels assemble a Manta for free I'd say the audience are the real winners here.

[@DarthAxolotl]

Nicks excitement about this is infectious.

[@Writh811]

I would recommend connecting those legs with some acrylic rods halfway up to make a stabilizing triangle. It won't increase the foot print and it SHOULD greatly reduce wobble. That Manta is intense!

[@phillipsuttles1926]

that is a very good idea, dude!

[@christianbyatt4549]

It looks great I can’t bring myself to paint my grey knight terms, let alone that beast. I followed yours and squigmars vids and they both look brilliant can’t wait to see what you do with them.

[@matthewrolfe23]

Same I have a quote motivation "If you don't feel like painting mini, just create a new character that wants to paint mini" Or just finished the other models before buying a new one

[@SirLolcat]

That is so weird, I've got the exact same problem with my grey knight terminators. Decided to paint the FW grey knights dreadnought first instead lol

[@Geostationary0rbit]

@@SirLolcat perhaps it’s just because they are so cool you don’t want to mess em up, I remember the terms being by far the coolest figure in that force back in the day, but they were metal back then if I’m not mistaken so not sure what they look like now.

[@nikosuba6376]

Thanks for all your hard work everyone at PlayOn - Nick you personally have inspired me fully into the hobby. Assembled and ready to paint - over 1k points for the greater good. If not for your enthusiasm I wouldn't be doing this. Thanks again

[@PlayOnTabletop]

Awesome to hear! Thanks for watching!

[@brucehemming9749]

The manta looks amazing well done on persevering through to completion… thanks for sharing

[@raphwalker9123]

Amazing job ,and you did win the challenge all the other channels have these big construction projects but are taking their sweet time ,so good job keep it up.

[@MrCai01]

Looks great Nick. For support you could do with some triangle pieces between the acrylic stands part way up to give it some rigidity

[@timtheterrific7280]

I want glamour shots of this as a screen saver: forever cycling through those beautiful pictures!

[@jimmysmith2249]

You are happy, then that's all that matters. Better than I could ever do. Looks amazeballs!

[@grimdarkroast]

Seeing you bust out the paint roller for this "mini" just made me crack up. So awesome to see this massive project finished. Well done!!!

[@robparker79]

Nick the manta looks fantastic. The empire is proud of your contributions to the war effort.

[@keithmenzer6454]

That thing looks so amazing and intimidating! You can see how big it is with you standing next to it…it’s like a flying couch cushion! That stand looks way too fragile and spindly though!! Makes me scared 😱 Maybe clear plastic stands that are I or H beam instead, and one larger base? Just very worried that such an undertaking could be harmed

[@JimJones-ur3el]

When the Manta takes off into space in the piano music kicks in all I could think of was butterfly in the sky I can go twice as high take a look it's in a book a Reading rainbow

[@Daantje256]

It looks very good, enjoy playing with it. The idea of bringing a army within is a very cool and original idea.

[@chaosjimthevoidlord3762]

Big models like this really help encapsulate the scale of 40k on the tabletop. It’s one of the reasons I play knights, they’re so much bigger than anything else I have, and I can’t wait until I have the money, skill, and patience to do a titan one day. You guys were the reason I got into this amazing hobby, and you continue to inspire me to do better every day. Play on everyone, Play on.

[@Flowfully]

I think this project completion just made Tau Nick a "Tau Superstar", and i bet you Games Workshop will see this and be like "Wow, Tau Nick did it!"

[@roberttanguay8532]

Bet Tau Nick Split Fires the Manta in Every shooting phase 😳 🤣🤣🤣

[@mantis114]

WE DID IT EVERYONE!!!!!! FOR THE GREATER GOOD!!!

[@wingnoot048]

This channel is the only place where I can FULLY SEE the benefit of memberships. Amazing work, much love from australia!

[@chrishandy9172]

This is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.

[@danielhenderson8000]

Absolutely awesome, and always great to see a project reach it's conclusion. You guys do great work and can't wait to see this beast in action. Honestly, I feel like I could go on forever with suggestions on what to do next. You are the BEST channel when it comes to making gorgeous cinematic boards and there are so many options for you to do! Obviously Horus Heresy is the current hype and your mention of a Burning of Prospero board would be magnificent. But more AoS would be sweet as well! But really, ANY project you do is just inspiring and I can't wait to see more. Play on!

[@ritambanerjee4912]

Adding rigid acrylic arches between the legs will make ur Manta stable and make sure the base acrylic rods are not at a 90° instead slant them so that the centre of gravity is at the centre

[@lobsterharmony]

Oh, and its not even broken. Looks great!

[@paxxxnan1231]

I would put some acrylic bars in between the already existing one to help stabilize it. Great work!!!

[@futuregamedev-zc8gf]

Looks awesome Nick. Also just want to say following play on. Has made me a better 40k player and gives me inspiration on how to paint my thousand son's. Glory to /Tzeench.

[@jacksmith4460]

Respect to you for using more advanced masking to do the Orange "decals". I dont see enough 40k people using masking effectively, the Manta looks stunning

[@MyrFrost]

So, I think to stabalize the base, you could run some more acrylic rods between the three horizontally to add a support structure. Also it looks amazing! Job well done

[@stainsbykingsby1889]

This looks amazing! So happy to support you all on Patreon!

[@p5eudo883]

I don't play tabletop. I just play 40k PC games. But even I can appreciate what a feat this is. Fantastic work and such a cool model to put that work into.

[@texanjoecoffeehouse8141]

It's absolutely gorgeous! The love and hard work is evident - did amazing job Enjoy wrecking havoc with it! As to where to store it - make a secure clear case hanging off the ceiling so it's flying above every game menacingly

[@andrehas82]

This looks so cool! You guys are a true inspiration to the hobby!

[@General_Dave_1]

The fact that you had to bring out a friggin PAINT ROLLER, like I use painters tape for like the super specific stuff but like, A PAINT ROLLER. Good lord this thing is a colossus. Good job man,

[@sniperlemming]

Would be cool if you could hang it over the battlefield on a pully system, then you could "store it" over the table 😛 and lower it when it's time to blow up everything. Also just wanted to say Fantastic Work Nick, i have been waiting for this reveal since you announced you were ordering it and I have to say you really pulled it off. This is has got to be one of the best looking Manta's in the world. The lighting is really amazing 10/10, can't wait to see what you guys do in the future for another big build.

[@starnostras]

Thinking about the support rods and a wee idea came to mind. Some have mentioned trusses or supporting rods linking the rods already there.. Could disguise them as missile contrails, like the manta has launched them downwards - with wires and so on.

[@davidmanwarin221]

It’s very pretty. So awesome to see it complete

[@BlackBugDefiance]

I know, that Nick is very proud of making that Manta, and I know that in fact he must've been really careful with it, but boy, what do I had an anxiety attack when he was throughing his hands up in the air and again when he talked excited about Manta... standing half a feet from it.

[@kmungal]

take it of the stands, and put spot lights on the bottom; that way you can hang from a crane to make it more mobile and also have it hang around your studio.

[@falgrim136]

Kudos. This is amazing. Congrats, Nick, on the achievement of finishing such an epic and difficult project! And congrats, Play On team!

[@Duppyman695]

An 'Air Cast' of epic proportion! Great Job.

[@ghostarmor100]

So rad !!!! You guys have the best videos out there by far !!!! I look forward to every battle report ....keep killing it

[@brentfu1119]

Awesome job Nick. Can't wait to see some gameplay with it.

[@matiasyannuzzi9655]

I'm so glad to see Nick so happy with the work he put on this model. It looks amazing and he improved on an already impressive model. It's truly the pinacle of any player's collection, well done!

[@Clasteau]

A beyond worthy effort. DUde, it's amazing.

[@OliverBack]

Some perpendicular bars between each support will stop the wobbling, you have good vertical support, but the horizontal support is minimal, look fantastic though!

[@thatepicwizardguy]

Youre no longer Tau Nick, youve ascended to Greater Good Nick ( GG Nick).

[@Dr_Evil_Prime]

Well done Nick. You guys are truly are the best Warhammer KZbin creators. Future idea for a battlefield: Working STC battle ground, would be good for the upcoming league of Votann.

[@adrianstutes]

Man that thing looks so cool. I think you did great

[@israelmorse9900]

Good evening Nick my name is Israel. I got into Warhammer 40K because of a friend that is now deceased. He was a Pretty Great Guy, his name was Eric Wright. He started his Warhammer 40K career in I think 3rd Edition but he had 1st Edition rule books. He had like 6 or more compete armies. We were both in the United States Army. My first Army was Dark angels, then I bought his Necrons right before 5th Edition dropped. The he got me into Tyranids! We had a few Epic Apocalypse Games with Tyranids and Imperial Guard/Space Marines. Eventually when I finish painting and assembling newer Tyranids I would love to 1 do an Army Showcase, and 2 play against your Tau! Hope all you guys at Play On Tabletop are doing well! My friend had early Eldar, Necrons, Chaos( Every Sect), Orks, Imperial Guard, Tyranids, Space Marines and Idk if that was all. But he was a pretty Amazing Guy his Window and kids are doing well as far as I know up in Alaska. Love if you guys could mention Him in a video in the future. I think his kids would really get a kick out of that. Just now seeing this video, sorry I am subscribed but idk why this one finally showed up in my feed.

[@MichaelEntwistle]

Superb. I think a killteam custom game would be cool. Like elevator levels in games where you have waves of mobs attacking. Stealth suits have to protect and hold out as daemons warp in for example. It could be part of a wider campaign and if the stealth suits hold out it influences the renforcements you get.

[@LeoxandarMagnus]

I think it came out beautifully. Great job Nick and co.!

[@MNeilGri]

Congrats fish-stick Nick. Big accomplishment and looks great

[@MunitionsDudTester]

gluing some acrylic rods horizontally, connected to the vertical rods near the manta itself (minimum of 1/2 way up, better if around 3/4 or 4/5 the way up) should help immensely with the stability issues

[@Muenni]

Ryan Taubert's new Aero immediately and well incorporated - nice! :D

[@Khorzho]

Congratulations on this amazing build. This is completely amazing, awesome, and superb. You said your modeling and painting is good? Well, then Nick - you just elevated to master level. Can't wait to see it in action.

[@alphariusomegon3965]

Imagine going to a match at a your local hobby store and your opponent pulls out a manta.

[@DJROCKSTAZ]

"Wait, YOU BROUGHT A MANTA?! ...OK, that's it, I'm killing that first!"

[@alphariusomegon3965]

@@DJROCKSTAZ that what I’m thinking to but that damn thing can pop most of guardsmen before we get close enough to get shots off.

[@DJROCKSTAZ]

@@alphariusomegon3965 Is Guard your only army?

[@alphariusomegon3965]

@@DJROCKSTAZ yup I started a alpha legion but there barley over 500 points.

[@DJROCKSTAZ]

@@alphariusomegon3965 ....Then MAN, you'd be in trouble against the Manta.

[@TITAN_101]

Good Job, only LED models I've seen myself IRL is the few my dads put together since he went on retirement, to bad he doesn't play 40k lol (more into old 90's PC games) For those wondering: he's building a Star Trek Sovereign-Class ship model atm, had to drill out around 700 window holes for the light to shine threw & trim the warp nacelles too (think his last one was a landed Voyager display)

[@jerondiovis6128]

The best part of this story always was to see how happy Nick is)

[@douglas4285]

You have truly done amazing justice to this absolutely crazy miniature. It's perfect!

[@daringdarius5686]

2:58 the cotton: "I'm FREEEE!" (just found it funny and am really glad it made it into the final cut xD)

[@paradox7358]

Pure creativity and passion. Well done sir.

[@authenticmikejones]

Congratulations guys, loved watching these videos. Keep up the great work.

[@KiwiSpartan01]

The whole model and paint job looks awesome. This is one hell of a job. You and your team did an amazing job

[@Marshallo.o]

Love it. The in particular, the LEDs help bring it alive!!!

[@DJROCKSTAZ]

YOU ABSOLUTE MADMAN, NICK! Congrats on building this MONSTROSITY of a ship!

[@GeneralRasp]

The manta looks amazing and you did an excellent job!

[@Ainalom]

God it's so big you could play a kill team match with guys on top of it. Put some cranes around it in a hanger. Maybe a bunch of crates and computer stations on the top. Lol What a pleasure it has been to see this process and very happy for all the hard work you guys do. Keep up the good work and Play on!~

[@PlayOnTabletop]

Its so huge! We are totally thinking we need to do that!

[@gavinjames1145]

A Kill Team battle on top would be cool! Beautiful lighting!

[@Thingymabob1000]

It honestly looks really good. From my shoes the most daunting part seems like all the planning for leds. Because if you mess it up and drill a spot you weren't supposed to and what not. There is no undoing that.

[@AdeptusRidiculous-2025]

Here's an idea bro! Put this ontop of an HD TV, then scroll a moving Aeronautical top view, down on it, then play Aeronautical Tacticus with it with moving clouds, Vexing Aircrafts with Surface to Air missiles for ground countermeasures, the same for the mantis...just play it like it was 1949...the Arcade, Shootem up version and yur done!!

[@PlayOnTabletop]

We are going to need a really big TV

[@Andrewc87563]

"Happy with this" is best Painting standard for anyone!

[@PlayOnTabletop]

Well said!

[@marcusstaat6735]

IT Looks so cool. When i think about seeing IT on the Battlefield, IT blow my mind. Wanna get IT too...

[@ralpha.dollar5047]

Awesome build Nick! Someone suggested bracing between each leg to help make it stable. You could instead use an acrylic sheet as a "shelf" to stabilize the legs while also making an area for Battlesuits to "drop from the Manta". Anyways, great work as always guys. I can't wait to see what else ya'll have lined up.

[@jonbauml225]

Wow. Big job done well. lots of tricky tedious work, but you stuck it out

[@thecowofeternalflame5291]

You might be able to fix (or at least lessen) the stability problem if you add some cross-bracing between each of the rods. You could also potentially add an additional support to each of the wings to make it less likely to tip. This turned out really well, I can't even fully imagine just how much work you'd have had to put into a model of this scale

[@Clasteau]

Stay at home dad without the disposable income, WISH I could support you guys. One of the best Patreon groups out there.

[@francescogulisano2917]

Congratulations, Nick, biggest win of the year for sure!

[@WingsaberE3]

That’s one big fish

[@beerenmusli8220]

Wow, that is such an epic model!

[@isaacbenrubi9613]

Congratulations! She's a beauty! For the next beast of a build, you should kit bash a Chaos Manta!

[@rocketman429]

My god, that is breathtaking. It's incredible. I am so goddamn happy for you guys, and especially for Nick! I'd love to see if you guys can come up with any way to stabilize it further, because I agree - that absolute titan needs to be high in the sky where it belongs!

[@Tartan_Spartan]

So happy to have seen this build from start to finish, it looks amazing Nick you should be so proud of the final product! Feels great to be a part of Play On history with being on Manta hull as well. Can't wait to see more game content now with it!

[@brushstrokesandbattles]

You should be happy with this! Alot of hard work and effort went into it and it looks amazing!

[@ryanlowes3164]

It has been an honor to support your craft..thank you

[@keeganhuffman4308]

man this looks awesome!!!! very cool, glad the journey is finally over. Great job!

[@andrewwarner2357]

just gotta throw some supports between the 3 acrylic rods, that'll make it more stable, so bumps wont bring it down

[@unico3705]

Congrats guys! The dedication is unreal and the result is stunning! Can't wait to see how you guys will use it in the future. 😁

[@TNAralwaysfun]

Congratulations and awesome work. Can't wait to see it on the board

[@johnbrogan6583]

that looks like an outstanding build and can win awards in building compitions

[@trotgun1563]

Thats one beautiful piece of resin lads ! Nice work .

[@PlayOnTabletop]

No plastic here! All resin.

[@trotgun1563]

@@PlayOnTabletop corrected!

[@jamesv.7041]

Dude says he paints to a play-standard and isn't a pro, part of the reason I love Canucks so much xP. Haha, if you are table-standard, I am sit in a crawl-space-standard; you're humbleness is appreciated but dude, you blew it out of the park! Hold your head high, be proud and just wow! I was already blown away by the paint job and then with your lights, customizations, attention to deal, etc. friggin awesome guys. Please never stop, you are bringing people back into the hobby and giving us all great things to aspire to and be inspired by - even if it is the "benevolent" bovines xD.

[@izumideva]

Tau would have to design bigger ship, that's the answer. Your Manta loks AMAZING. Really, really great job with it! Can't wait to see it in action

[@StrictlyStarsky]

Nick, you out did yourself! awesome job 👏👏👏

[@PlayOnTabletop]

Thanks so much! glad you liked it!

[@dalekayse4916]

I started 40k around the time you started this model. It's insane that it's finally done. It looks glorious!!

[@ericventures2788]

Congrats, Nick! You've done your fellow Tau players proud. For the Greater Good!

[@MrGilmo88]

A shrimp hey? Is that a fish joke? Great job! Looks amazing!

[@enigmarius8631]

I would love to see a GIANT BATTLE! Jerry vs Manta!

[@scorpioncoreuniverse8981]

It looks great. Great job.