Alas, all good things must come to an end and this time we’re going to cover the final releases for this quarter, wrapping up the figures for Black Sector with the Security Team. However, it’s important to note that we also get to cover my favourite release in the range so far Burya-156, the first figures for a brand new faction Blockade and the first Character team.
(As an aside, you can thank Urban Scatter Gaming for the scatter propers in the header image)
Before the specifics, let’s talk about the Big Plan. Black Sector has really been the prototype for how Gunslinger is going to work going forward – three-month release cycles, two themed packs in month 1, two themed packs in month 2 and finally in month 3 a Security team for the theme and a Character team (to either be pitted against the theme or enhance it). This is the rough outline we’ll take for each quarter moving forward.
That said, we’re not tying ourselves to the exact makeup of each pack or even the same names – for example, future factions may replace a breacher element with something more suitable for their composition while Project Ubique releases will go for an entirely different setup to accommodate it’s own goals. What doesn’t change is the focus on getting playable figures in your hands, providing you with plenty of options to outfit your force.
This month, we also renamed the head packs to HYDRA Release. Not just because it’s a funny play on most of the packs including 5 heads (the traditional number of heads a Hyrdra starts with) but mostly because it shows a little bit of a change as to how we handle heads. True, each pack is designed for the range they are released alongside but honestly, the biggest bonus of moving to modular heads is providing the hobbyist more, letting you take our figures and create your own forces by combining different parts. Nothing should stop a Gunslinger from taking the Black Sector figures we’ve released and combining them with heads from a range we release in 12 months’ time. We’re also thinking about using this split to allows us to perhaps release some additional heads as their own HYDRA packs, as every piece expands what we can do with the figures we’ve created.
Finally, a big thing to mention is the addition of Dan from Desk-Ops to become the third part of Gunslinger’s team. Dan, as well as bringing on a third voice to the creative project, more importantly brings someone who can focus on making sure the final models are well supported and are going to print properly across a wide variety of machines. Getting someone else to take a look at the models on a technical level also helps to spot any mistakes or issues before the customer gets their hands on them, acting as a good sanity check, while Dan’s expertise help to catch a few things that went fucky between ZBrush and the scaled STL. He’s also been able to really knuckle down and do all the test models, spotting some potential weak points that needed adjusting to improve printability.
Dan has also been killing it on getting the rest of the models supported and ready for wider distribution. Supporting our patrons is the number 1 priority but personally, I’m also quite keen to get the figures out to the wider population, either by ala carte STL release on My Mini Factory or providing a Print-on-demand for those who don’t want to mess around with the messy job of 3D printing. The easier it is to get your hands on Gunslinger figures, the more people will get a chance to see what we’re doing with the releases and get them on the table.
The Black Sector half of this month’s release is the Security Team. We started discussing this particular element even back to the chat in the hotel bar just outside York, commenting on how few people release dedicated sentry figures despite how common stealthy operations feature in common media and how many people play solo games or dedicated systems such as 0200. Anton and I really wanted to make some sentries that look like the type of enemies you’d encounter in a Splinter Cell or Metal Gear Solid, to really evoke the feel of goons for your operators to sneak around or drag into the bushes. This meant we chose to go a bit past the non-combat figures that are already on the market and build up a few who push much harder into the vignette look, to really sell the idea that these guys aren’t just taking a pause, these are guys who have been pulling guard duty for a while.
Now, when the Security Team was released, there was a bit of a conversation – after all, for a project talking a lot about playable figures, the Security Team are very much focused on their role and for some people, these models may not hit the tabletop. As much as we can try, we’re not going to please everyone with every release – we definitely prioritise making the figures we want to make over pleasing everyone. That said, we will definitely endeavour in future to make sure that people know what the security team will entail before they spend money on it.
Despite this little controversy, these figures nailed the brief that Anton and I had discussed. We’re going to include the Security team in every range moving forward, with a few tweaks for them depending on the range they are included in.
The Security Team also has the final HYDRA pack for Black Sector, giving you some additional heads for your operators. My big priority for these guys was to add some more variety to the regular troopers, giving you goggles, glasses and a version of the head with the mask rolled down. Anton sneaked in the other two, giving you two heads for the more relaxed guard types – a balaclava and headset combo for the line troopers and one slightly more characterful head for your NCOs. These items will give you plenty of options for when you’re building your force, as well as expanding the general pool for Hydra releases.
The other half of the release was another piece of the range Anton and myself have been looking forward to. We’ve come up with plenty of ideas for cool figures that maybe wouldn’t really fill a whole 3 month range but are perfect to build as small squads. Even better, we’ve managed to find places to fit them in with the ranges, tying our releases further in with our lore. More importantly, some of these ideas let Anton really take the gloves off and get to dive in to go hard with the sculpting.
For Burya-156, the idea was to build a scenario using the Black Sector guys and deliver them an OPFOR. We could have gone with the Black Sector team leading a raid and kicking the doors in, but the addition of the Security Team set up something in the aftermath of a raid, our door kickers being jumped by someone meaner and nastier in the dark.
Blockade, the new faction, is an Eastern-based PMC that acts as a covert arm of the Russian state (as it stands in 2030). By acting as a naval security contractor on worldwide cargo ships, Blockade operatives can move around relatively freely before deploying on special operations utilising specialist weapon systems and state-of-the-art equipment.
We decided to drop down to only a four-man team – this meant that Anton could spend that extra time on each figure to make them really special, pushing the level of detail. We also decided that, with these guys and girls being named characters, we would go with fixed heads – in contrast to Jensen, whose head options meant she could be used for a selection of roles, this team is a specific group of individuals during a specific operation. More practically, it meant Anton could work pretty unrestrained, without having to worry about the constraint of finding space for the socket joint.
As you can see above, I broke out the moodboards to try and get a rough idea of what the team was going to be. Originally, the first image was inspired by a certain level from MW2. However, as that game is from 10 years ago, there was a need to update the equipment to the modern day/near future as well as specifying certain specific tweaks. These docs are definitely a starting point, an ideal rather than a hard and fast instruction. There are certain areas where I’ll bow to Anton’s specific skills (mostly poses) or limitations of the process (getting weapons from Nick, our weapon specialist, requires some planning in order to give him plenty of time to gather references and build the models. This is doubly hard with near-future equipment, hence why sadly we didn’t manage to include the SVCh rifle. Although it will be coming).
This process is also one with plenty of back and forth, as we work through each figure and collaborate. For example, the planning doc originally had everyone using the AS VAL rifle. However, thinking more about how Blockade are supposed to be in the near future with all the best kit, a rifle from the late 1980s felt out of place. This meant we got to have a deep dive into the sort of newer items that have been released or are on the horizon, the 2030 setting giving us a little more leeway. Luckily, Kalashnikov has developed the AMB-17 rifle, an updated rifle using the same subsonic rounds as the older VAL. It’s a much more advanced-looking rifle and a single image sent over chat had us in agreement to change it over. I think it definitely helps the team look and feel much more near future, as well as getting to play around with a cool-looking rifle.
The squad itself is a four-person team where all the poses are designed to both work together but also stand out strongly by themselves. They are also focused on selling the story of these covert warriors, having just emerged from the sea, dumped their rebreathers and are preparing to breach and clear. Each of them is a hardcore individual here to do a job, and so every element is there to show it off. They each have their own unique head sculpt designed to make them easily visible at a glance to work out who is who. Each of them is a strong pose, but it’s safe to say Valentina with her pistol and knife drawn is definitely leading the pack when it comes to being people’s favourite.
This is a special set for me personally – it’s the first that I’ve been involved in that went from idea to printable object and I’ve been there each step of the way. Getting to see a core concept adapt and evolve is awesome. I’ve also learnt a lot about what I need to do to get to this stage – providing references, giving Anton all the tools he needs to nail the visual and make a figure set that conjures up the feel that we’re going with with Gunslinger
Having reached the end of the quarter, there is another set of releases to talk about – that of the Hazardous Duty Incentive. We wanted a little something to tempt people to stick around on the Patreon, as well as rewarding those who continue to give us support month after month. For this reason, we’ve come up with effectively a loyalty reward system. At the end of each phase, we’ll prepare a bonus release just for those who stuck around month by month.
So, let’s see what everyone who was around for July, August and September are getting in the next few days.
First things first, we have a little something to expand on the core range itself. While Anton was building the Security Team, I commented that the sitting poses could be handy for anyone wanting to show Black Sector en route to the objective, perhaps sitting in the back of a Humvee or hanging off the side of a Little Bird. Well, Anton being Anton, that quickly spun off into creating a whole other set, with seated figures armed with a selection of weapons we’ve used in the range. These guys use the same modular heads as the rest of the range so are the perfect little add-on for force building. Not every release will be a transport-focused pack – sometimes we may release scenario figures suitable to the story we’re telling or may even some alternative sculpts. It all depends on what suits the range the most and what we think the patrons will enjoy as a little bonus.
The plan with this pack (and similar ones in the future) is that they will relatively quickly come to a general release. By sticking with the Patreon though, you will get them for free and much earlier the wider sale.
Second, we have a bonus HYDRA pack. This brings the heads Anton sculpted for Blockade to a modular format, letting you take them forward and play around with the rest of the Gunslinger range. No matter if it’s building a team of hero characters from Black Sector bodies or just doing alternative looks for Jensen, these four heads took plenty of work from Anton and I’m happy to see them being able to be used by Loyal Gunslingers for their crafting.
That said, these heads are going to be a little more carefully curated. Characters are a key part of our ideas for the Gunslinger range, and we want to have a little control over what these heads are used for. Additionally, there is always a little concern about assets disappearing into the ether and reappearing on other models outside of the Gunslinger. For this reason, there is going to be a major delay on these being released to the wider public as we’ll be holding them back for a special occasion.
Finally, we have what I think will be the most exclusive model in the Gunslinger range. From what was originally sent to me as a joke and a sculpting exercise is soon going to be a way of marking out your route through the Gunslinger. At the end of each quarter, you’ll receive a Micro-Tactical operator, designed after the phase it’s part of. These static one-piece figurines are designed to deploy to your desk or secure your display cabinet, letting you show off your role in keeping Gunslinger alive. Plus, they are pretty damn neat.
The only way to get these guys is going to be by receiving the Hazardous Duty Incentive pack after each phase. We have no intention of selling these on My Mini Factory later or via Print on Demand.
Overall, the Hazardous Duty Incentive is a focus on rewarding the people who support us every month. As much as we’re excited to get the figures out to a wider audience, at the end of the day the patrons keep the lights on and Anton sculpting every month. So for this reason, we’re going to focus on keeping them happy and incentivised to stick with us for as long as they want to.
If you’d like a set of these for yourself, today is the last day to sign up and get them via the Flytrap Digital Patreon, available at the Gunslinger level or above. r
If you miss out, then they will be available from the Flytrap Digital’s My Mini Factory from the 6th of October (a slight delay from the originally intended 4th due to some technical issues). This release will also see the first two months go up online as well, letting you pick up the whole Black Sector range and get printing them yourself. The plan is to release figures to MMF quarterly (both to save on admin time but also allow us to double-check for any potential issues within the smaller community), so if you want the figures immediately (and for the best price), it’s best to be a member of the Patreon and get them month by month. In terms of purchasing them, the figures on MMF will be available as either individual teams or as a bundle (with a little bit of a discount compared to buying them all seperately).
Additionally, Desk-Ops will be starting their Print on Demand offering on the 6th of October as well. All of the first three releases will be available on that date, giving you an opportunity to get your hands on these figures if you don’t have a 3D printer.
If you’ve enjoyed these deep dives, we actually have another information drop coming soon. Signals: A Gunslinger Retrospective is a series we’re going to run alongside the figures, getting together at the end of each phase to chat and talk over what we’ve released and what’s coming next. We ended up chatting for roughly 90 minutes (plus the faffing around beforehand) and I’ll be uploading it soon. I get to write about this stuff endlessly but hearing it straight from Dan and Anton’s mouth should help to show exactly what we’re up to.
Signals is also going to show off some information on the next quarter’s release, so if you want a sneak peek of what’s coming soon, this is the place to hear the early news. Otherwise, I’ll see you all next month – all ready for something distinctively gritty as we prepare to give Black Sector some OPFOR.
