This month saw the launch of a brand new faction in the Gunslinger world, stepping away from the ordered and professional operators of Black Sector’s Global Interdiction Group and heading in a slightly more ragged direction. Kojoti is a range that both Anton and myself got really excited about when we first came up with the idea (and then Dan joined in when he got the first model to support), and after seeing the eventual result, it’s once again a release we’re proud to put out there.
And speaking of being proud, I need to start by talking about the painted figures you’ll be seeing in this article. They were painted up and photographed by Dan over at Desk-Ops, the man responsible for both supporting the figures Patrons receive each month and running the exclusive Print-On-Demand service. You can see he’s absolutely nailed the look of these guys, not to mention actually getting to use physical figures rather than renders shows off exactly what these figures can look like.
Before we delve into Kojoti and the figures, let’s talk a bit about the background to the next few releases as it’s currently planned. One thing that I personally get very excited about when designing these ranges is establishing some narrative to them. We’re not just building generic teams, we’re giving you a specific force in the Gunslinger setting (that also just happens to work for more current situations if you’re not willing to join us in 2030).
For the next three releases, we’re taking you through an arc set in the Iraq/Syria/Jordan border. I’m sure many people’s collections are focused on the Middle East/North Africa region, so this area made sense to hit pretty early on. We’ve got a set of three forces that, combined together, will let you play out a specific theatre in the Gunslinger timeline, as well as providing a selection of models and heads for your stockpile.
After the collapse of their major defence partner in 2027, the Syrian Government was forced to look for alternative support elsewhere, becoming one of the first nations to heavily invest in the new wave of Private Military Companies. Kojoti were quick to take over the protection of various mining and oil produciton concerns in the southern regions of the country, with their base at Tadmur/Palmyra.
However, site protection was not the only role for which Kojoti had been procured. Unoffically, Kojoti would be responsible for forming flying columns in light armoured vehicles and modified civilian trucks to strike into regions of Syria still not controlled by the Government, such as heading south towards the Jordanian border or operating on the northern bank of the Tigris. Particularly, Kojoti’s actions were directed at foreign non-Govermental assets in the region as well as striking settlements forming self-defence groups to prevent them forming a threat to the regime’s control.
Team Chernobog is one of these unofficial units – under the command of a disgraced former British Army officer Alexander Wallace, this particular team has found itself operating on the wrong side of the Syrian border in both Jordan and Iraq, specifically targetting remote covert research locations run by several major Western corporations. The results of these raids is mostly facilty destruction however ContractWatch believes that Kojoti might be using these actions to cover industrial espionage actions. It is only a matter of time before the corporate entities being hit in these attacks respond to prevent this operation.
– ContractWatch Bulletin, 2030
This background lays down the background for where we’re going in the next few releases, as well as revealing the character figure coming next month with the Kojoti specialists. It should hopefully inspire images of these lowlifes rushing through the desert, overruning remote research outspots and FOBs before disappearing back into the desert, the howls of the coyotes echoing as they drive away.
With the background covered, let’s talk about the figures themselves and Kojoti. I think the inspiration for these guys is pretty obvious, especially if you’ve been watching the news for the last year. A particular Russian PMC seems to have cornered the market in the ragged look and by looking at reference photos of their activities worldwide, we were able to get plenty of inspiration for the rough look that we were aiming for.
A problem with covering ultramodern troops is that a lot of different groups now look basically the same apart from the weapons, thanks to the saturation of high-cut helmets and lightweight plate carriers (for good reason). So one of the big things we had to nail to how we could make these guys stand out from the Black Sector figures. The helmet design was the first stage, giving these guys the low-cut look of the TOR M or the Chinese-made MICH copies that Wagner (and Wagner’s former boss) have been pictured wearing. The second was to make them look as ragged as possible. An advantage of 3D sculpted figures is that, with a core body and assets already assembled, Anton is able to spend more time getting the pose and the little details nailed down. This included adjusting elements of clothing – removing sleeves, swapping in kneepads for a few of the guys or even using a variety of footwear and trousers, the sort of equipment even a member of the Meco might choose to get their own version of for their own comfort. We had to have a limit on how varied they were (otherwise they no longer look like a consistent force) but with a few varied parts alongside the core helmet and vest, it ties the release together into a cohesive force. This variety did come with a cost, however – with the time required for each figure, we weren’t able to hit the heights of the 6 figure packs of Black Sector. On the other hand, Anton had far too much fun making heads for this release, hence we were able to include a unique one for each pose.
The same comes when we talk about the Meco (the Meat) and Copor (the Pack) figures. This was always a key feature of the range from the initial concept, something pulled from reality while also adding some visual variety to the team. The main thing I wanted was to not make this split quite as varied as it is in real life – ideally both the Meco and Copor should be able to provide the same capabilities, even if we all know that the Copor are more than happy to use the more numerous Meco to absorb the firepower. The main way we were able to show this variety was down to both the clothing and the weapon systems. We’ll discuss the weapons more below but the main thing was the Copor don’t have quite the same ragged look as the Meco – the pair of Copor in this release were left to last as Anton was having too much fun with making the grunts look as crusty as possible. We’ll see more of the Copor next month (as you might guess, the Specialist pack will feature them heavily) but for now, they work well among the lower
With the overall picture out of the way, let’s discuss the two packs we included in month 1 of Kojoti. The first release of any range has to give you the basics, enough fighters to build the basics of the squad alongside enough fun stuff to give a flavour of the range. With these first two teams, we went for a Meco-heavy list, both sets including a single Copor to lead the team and then a set of the lower-tier guys to provide the firepower.
The Rifle Team was the first set Anton got to work on, and these guys were really the “safe” end of what we wanted for the Meco – hell, these guys even have sleeves for the most part! As you might expect, the Century series AKs are the core of the force, with a mixture of attachments for the varied look (even if the red dot one of them is rolling is a touch on the cheap side). The Rifle team seemed a good position for us to include the RPK, giving them a touch more firepower without touching figures that would be better suited for the later Fire Support release. Giving a Meco a plain RPK and the Copor a slightly more upmarket variant with all the furniture means you can pick the exact style of force you want. The posing was also an important thing to get the feel for this set – in combat, keeping low to make the best use of cover, putting firepower down for the rest of the force.
For The Assault Team, it would have been easy to say “slap them with some SMGs and shotguns, call it a day”. However, in the fiction of what these guys are up to, I felt that the close-quarters tools were actually not really appropriate for this team – these guys will need to able to engage the opposition at a reasonable range in the semi-open desert before closing in to finish off (SMGs and shotguns are specialist gear for a reason). To assist with this, the Close Assault team gets all the toys for kicking in doors and blowing things up. Most of the opposition in the region are not exactly rolling in armoured vehicles, so disposable AT launchers that two of the team are carrying are more likely to be used to engage machine gun positions or strong points. Primary weapons are mostly AKs but we added some more variety – a stockless version for some real close-in-action, an AK-15 for the slightly better-equipped Meco and then one with all the trimmings for the Copor leading the team. When placed together, they are ideal for sweeping and clearing.
If you’d like a set of these for yourself, you have until the end of the month to sign up and get them via the Flytrap Digital Patreon, available at the Gunslinger level or above. This gets you access to a Dropbox link that is live up until the release of the next set of figures (although access to them can always be requested from the Flytrap team). It also gives you access to the Flytrap Digital Discord, the best place to get hold of sneak peeks before the rest of the world gets eyes on them.
Your next chance to get hold of them will be via our Print on Demand partner Desk-Ops releases them early next month. This is ideal if you don’t have a printer or just really want to get your hands on them. They are being sold as a complete team, as well as a selection of heads. Dan’s figure quality is fantastic, so I definitely recommend them to get your hands on them.
If you miss out on that (or want the STLs to print for yourself, then they will be available from the Flytrap Digital’s My Mini Factory at the end of the quarter. 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 separately).
Next month we’ll see the next set of Kojoti releases, providing you with more firepower and more Specialists to lead. We’ll get to meet the mysterious Mr Wallace, and perhaps hear a little bit about what’s about to happen to him after such a successful operation. It might involve a set of figures that I am very excited about.
Leave a Reply