I have a feeling I'm going to regret answering this, but...
Before you start building your navigation you should perform a content audit. From there you can begin to categorize you content. This will allow you to break down your content into manageable chunks. From there you can start to determine how you should construct your navigation.
The approach you're using right now is starting in the middle. At least from a UX standpoint, but since this is the UX exchange I'm basing my answer on its principals. From a UX standpoint.
This being the case, the first question would be, why are you using this navigation style? There are many examples of what I would consider to be more effective navigation styles with such a large number of potential links. This article from Smashing shows quite a few of them.
The question becomes what information are you using to justify using this navigation? Are your users going to understand/enjoy using this navigation? Is it going to make sense to them. Does it fit within your demographic?
I'm sorry to answer a question with more questions, but like I said I knew I'd regret answering this. So let me rephrase to make this an answer.
Before you decide how to build the navigation determine what type of navigation is best for your content. Do the research, you asked for examples, I guarantee if you figure out what type of navigation is best for your content you'll find plenty. Once you do that do your user research and find which option is best for them. If you do that I have no doubt you will be successful.