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.

Last month, we took a look at Part 2 of the Black Sector Global Interdiction Group releases, covering the Command and Support teams.

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.

Last month, we were introduced to Black Sector and specifically the Global Interdiction Group. As well as looking at the Assault Team and the Breacher Team, we also looked at some more of Gunslinger’s Lore.

This time, as we cover the Support and Command teams that make up the August release of Gunslinger over on the Flytrap Digital Patreon, we’re also going to touch on some other aspects of the Gunslinger Range, such as the impact of what modular heads can bring, the importance of Character models to the range and a little bit of the working process between Anton and myself when it comes to getting these figures made.

First up – lets talk about those heads.

A bit of a stone in our process this month was the need to redo the previous packs to support the new headless design we’re aiming for going forward. This first range is, in many ways the exploratory set, working out what works and what doesn’t and then adding improvements. With the heads, this was something we originally anticipated to be a request only by the more advanced users – looking at similar products, most of the printed examples you see use the default heads in the default position. However, even before the initial release, there was an overwhelming number of people asking for modular heads so we decided that it would be worthwhile to make the switch over.

Luckily, aside from making the patrons happy, there is a plus side to this re-work. Going for modular heads massively reduces the potential number of figures we have to make per range (we don’t have to do variants with things like NVGs raised/lowered for example) while at the same time allowing more flexibility in how the end users (aka you guys) will play with them. Black Sector, with their lightweight plate carriers and 416s, are ideal for a whole host of forces depending on the head you pick – maybe some CIA goons with baseball caps and face masks or a few hero operatives with some of our Character heads mixed in if you’re building a special team for a specific scenario. Even if you don’t start mixing and matching outside of a range, each faction will include a selection of heads over the three months, giving you plenty of options by the end of each quarter as to how you want to build each faction.

The separate heads also allow us to launch a different type of range coming in the next year, one that helps to take a concept that a few people have already tried but pushes it to the next level with all the Gunslinger ideals and design notes. Stand by for more details on something we’ve titled “Project Ubique” in the upcoming months.

With that covered, we can now move forward and start discussing this month’s release. The first big thing (especially for me) is that this was the first month I got to decide the initial concepts of what was going to go into the packs. Early on when talking about Gunslinger, we came upon the idea of using three months for a release, giving us the ability to provide a full range worth of figures rather than limiting options to only a single squad per design. With the core of the force completed (assaulters and breachers), the next step was to decide on the Support Weapons and the Command Specialists to augment the options for someone using the range on the tanletop.

Discussing support weapons brings us to how we arm and equip the Gunslinger figures. Despite building a fictional world, picking the specific weapons for a range still follows some rough guidance to keep them feeling realistic and plausible. Working from kit used by real-world teams is the first step – equipment used by DEVGRU is the starting point for us for Black Sector’s Global Interdiction Group, seeing as they have become an iconic look for Tier 1 Operators. They also do a good job of providing examples for pretty much every role (in addition to the baseline assault rifle) you’d want as a wargamer building a list – machine guns to provide your base of fire to allow you to advance, sniper or marksman rifles for precision fires, and launchers either for varied ammo types (HE or smoke) or specifically to deal with light vehicles. With them also being a close-quarters raiding force, there is also space for room clearing special equipment such as SMGs and shotguns, specialised tools you won’t see in every force (I have a bit of a bugbear about this that I’ll get into at some point). We included the DMR in the Breacher Team, so the Support pack would provide LMGs, Grenade Launchers and some Anti-Tank capability in the form of disposable launchers. This should mean it’s easy to build a full squad + attachments with various support options without having to repeat poses.

And speaking of poses, seeing as we decided to go with two figures for each piece of gear, it made sense for the pair of them to be in two different poses. One pose would have the operator using the kit, while the other would match the dynamic nature of the Global Interdiction Group to show the operators on the move.

For the LMG, we went for a variant of the MK46 (a modified version of the Minimi), taking some design elements from the earlier M249 SPW (such as the lack of bipod and the collapsing stock). As with all weapons in this set, the MK46 has got a suppressor, laser aiming module and a holographic optic, helping to give across the well-equipped feel. Both figures have had their plate carrier adjusted for their role, with mag pouches replaced by three belt boxes. While one gunner is laying down fire while advancing, the other is pushing up hard, grenade off the belt and primed ready to lay down a smoke screen so his team can advance.

The grenade launcher is the now ubiquitous M320. Following the modern trend, we decided to have them carried separately rather than the traditional underslung role it was originally designed for. On both the UGL figures, we replaced a chunk of their belt kit with 40mm pouches to really sell that these guys are loaded up and ready to drop the hammer on some distant targets. The grenadier on the move is posed giving the halt signal, ideal for running him as one of your team leaders.

Finally, for the Support pack, we lay down the LAW. The M72 is an iconic piece of kit that still has a place on the modern battlefield, thanks to its ability to be shoved onto a rucksack. It’s also not that outdated, thanks to the more recent M72A8 and M72A10 variants. We used the distinguishing caps for those variants the LAW gunner advancing, as well as including multiple tubes to show off the capability. The firing pose, with the launcher fully extended and rear sight up, includes a subtle rock to really sell the braced pose. Both of them are also Assaulters and so include the same kitted-out 416s as the first set to make sure they can pull their weight when technicals and fortified structures aren’t a problem.

Altogether, the support team should give you enough options when building a force, augmenting your Assaulters and Breachers while still fitting the feel of the high-speed raiding force.

The Command pack is somewhere we get a chance to add some more Character to the range, both literally (in the form of Ms Jensen) and also in terms of extending the designs we already have in the original two packs. In terms of gameplay, they also provide the force multipliers a force may need, both in terms of leadership or specific equipment.

First on the drawing board was two figures designed to be used as the Raid Leader and the 2IC. With the Raid Leader ordering a halt before the breach, he stands in contrast to the 2IC who is looking down at the chest-mounted tactical display while carrying a comms setup on his back. The original intention was to provide them with unique custom heads but due to the delays at the start of the month, you’ll have to wait until next month for the specific faces. That said, these guys look cool enough with the default heads, giving you a pretty cool pair of a NCO figure and a JTAC or drone controller.

To go with the original teams, we had to give you a pair of specialists. The original idea had just been two guys wearing bigger rucksacks but as Anton got to work they evolved into more distinctive poses. The Assaulter specialist has pulled out his tactical knife, keeping it ready for a close encounter while carrying a larger rucksack full of a whole host of possible kit combinations, making him perfect for taking the EOD or Medical role.

On the other hand, the Breacher Specialist looks like he’s dangerously close to going medieval with the hammer in one hand, his tactical display folded down. He’s also got a pack of extra breaching kit on his back, with plenty of pouches and even a tactical tomahawk. These guys give you some extra cool-looking poses to go with your regular troops, able to fit in and be run as just another pose or to stand out as Team Leaders or your custom characters.

There is also a fur missile. A hairy hand grenade. A military working dog, inspired by a Belgian Malinois complete with his Doggles and backpack-mounted camera. A few people have done MWDs (probably inspired by the presence of a dog as part of Neptune Spear or the fine actor Dita from SEAL Team) but I haven’t seen any of them wearing the eyepro you can see in photos. The fur texture might seem a little over top on the render but it’s there to make sure that it shows up properly once printed (something Anton has used to great effect on some of his Caveman vs Wild figures). He’s also in pose which should mean he’s pretty stable when mounted to a base while still looking ready for action.

Finally, we come to Catherine Jensen, the first character figure in the world of Gunslinger. I mention some of her lore in the release post, so here, let’s talk about her design.

The rough pitch for Jensen was to make a character that fit alongside the rest of Black Sector, but a careful observer would see that she has slightly different gear and stands out slightly. The visual we had was her turning up to the pre-mission briefing with her own kit bag, picking out the right gear for the job. This is the reason her head comes with the more advanced GPNVGs rather than the dual tube option but there are also a few other little things to make her different. She’s using a SIG MCX rather than the 416, her gear has many more grenades on it and she has a set of kit mounted on the rear of her plate. There is also the fact her pose is supremely confident, cracking her knuckles ready for action. Basically, she’s cool as hell. She also comes with a selection of heads, letting you use her for both day and night operations.

I keep talking about Characters but what does that mean for you guys? Well, the idea with Characters is to build an ecosystem of operators, usually with their own head sculpt, carrying equipment and providing capabilities to the rest of the range. These characters can then re-appear across different ranges, showing the way that this world has created an ecosystem of these operators, contractors and agents plying their trade. It also means we get to make some figures that look super cool, while also providing a fun project for hobbyists while still providing a useful part of a force for the gamer. We’re aiming for at least one Character per range and can’t wait to see what Patrons get up to with them.

If you’d like a set of these for yourself, you have until the end of the month (31/08/2023) to sign up and get them via the Flytrap Digital Patreon, available at the Gunslinger level or above. If you miss out, then they will be available from the Flytrap Digital My Mini Factory or Cults3d. There has been a little delay getting Release 1 up on MMF, but hopefully, by next month they should be available for ala carte purchase.

Next month is going to be the last release for Black Sector’s Global Interdiction Group. If you join the Flytrap Digital Patreon in September, you’ll receive the GIG Security Team, a pack of figures ideal for bringing a new style of play to the tabletop. It will also bring the first Character Team, giving you a four-figure pack in a brand new style for a brand new faction. Finally, we have a few heads for Black Sector that we sadly ran out of time this month to provide. We’re aiming to give you a brand new set of NVGs I haven’t seen anyone else use, as well as some additional variants for the mainline troops to make them look cool.

And once that month is done? In Q4, Gunslinger will be advancing into brand new territory, bringing a new faction up to the same level as Black Sector has achieved in the first three months. By the end of the year, you’ll have two ranges all ready to go up against each other, with a complete set of capabilities for each force. More details coming soon.

Long before I even came onto the Gunslinger project, Anton was hard at work making the figures to introduce the Gunslinger concept to the wider world. Picking a first range isn’t an easy thing – it’s going to be the benchmark that future releases are held up against, needing to give you enough space to really show off what you’re trying to do while also being a popular enough topic to get people to actually buy it. As much as some loud people might express their interest in something very specific and unique such as modern Peruvian Special Forces, the market of other people actually wanting to buy them means it’s unlikely to lure the masses in.

The ubiquitous look of “Fast helmet, NODs, plate carrier and AR-15” is not exactly an underserved market, with most sellers offering a smorgasbord of possible figures for that look (with many giving you specific figures for the multiple arms of the SOCOM as well as other friendly nations with tweaks between the models such as clothing variations or additional face protection). However, the look is a feature of the modern combat space, as iconic for the Ultramodern era as the M1 helmet and M16A1 was for Vietnam. And as someone developing a range, you’re always trying to be there to grab the newcomers but also want to grab the attention of the old hands by giving them a twist on the old and familiar. After all, it’s ubiquitous for a reason.

The question was… how do we make it fit Gunslinger?

Before we look at the figures, we should probably ask an important question – who is Black Sector?

Well, that was a question I also asked when I joined the project. Seeing as these figures were being designed and developed before the world around them had really crystalised under the pressure of that first meeting in York, this set would also be a prototype of the world we were about to design. There were a few basic concepts and design elements which had already been chosen (such as the equipment and weapon choices) but the rest was waiting for us to play with.

The world of Gunslinger is a future where the landscape of military power is augmented with a wider variety of private armies, ranging from small-scale teams of specialists up to forces capable of providing combined arms and logistic services for a price. Black Sector is on the larger side of this spectrum, with multiple different subunits that can provide a selection of services. Static site security, training for national forces and groups around the world, and even close protection details all fall under their portfolio. We’ll be covering some of the other subunits in the future – for example, a team providing static security in parts foreign is already in the design phase. But for now, though, let’s talk about our raid team.

The Global Interdiction Group is one of these subunits. It provides a rapid response Direct Action force for its corporate and national clients, taking advantage of the experience of many of its veteran operators hired out of SOCOM or similar organisations. Setup by a former DEVGRU Commander, the GIG was formed to replicate that organisation and its capabilities in the private sector. This move was controversial within the SOCOM community, leading to the Global Interdiction Group having a poor reputation with those still serving. However, the paycheck for going private is enticing, as long as you’re willing to be blacklisted.

The Global Interdiction Group finds itself deployed all over the world depending on its employer’s mission, either with the prep time required to properly practise the operation or as a rapid reaction force should the situation demand it. For those in the know, their arrival in an area is usually a sign that any and all operations are about to be disturbed by an unstoppable force that lets little get in the way of its objectives.

With the lore out of the way, let’s take a closer look at some of the design features on the models themselves. The inspiration for the figures themselves is, as you might guess from a glance, heavily inspired by the portrayal of Seal Team Six over the last few years. It’s safe to say that Zero Dark Thirty did a rather good job of marketing the look that people associate with the Tier 1 Operator now and it’s a visual we’ve taken inspiration from – however, there are other elements that are much more up to date, such as every figure having a tactical display on the front of their plate carrier. These guys would be great if you are making a team of highly trained and equipped special forces guys.

We have also done a few adjustments to maybe show that even though they have some gucci kit, they aren’t exactly the Tier 1 operators, mostly on the heads as you can see above. The older model of IR strobe (the MS-2000 rather than the more recent Manta Strobe seen elsewhere) helps to change the visual of the helmet while still being a piece of kit that is in regular use. We also decided to go with the more common dual-tube NODs rather than the fiendishly expensive panoramic systems. However, the mounting system does allow for one of the tubes to be swung up and out of the way, allowing operators to still use magnified optics.

Clothing-wise, all the Black Sector guys are running combat trousers with integrated kneepads and combat shirts. Lightweight plate carriers are festooned with all the equipment they might need, with dangler pouches adding additional space on top of the packed mag pouches. Belt kits have Glock sidearms in a retention holster, as well as grenades, gloves, additional mag pouches and chem lights.

In terms of weapon systems, the iconic 416 is on deck here for the Assault Team. They are all equipped with the attachments needed for fighting at night, with all weapons suppressed and mounting IR laser/illuminators and torches. While these figures are uniform in terms of their clothing, we decided to add some variety to them by giving each one their own arrangement of forward grips and optics. The holographic and magnifier combo rules the roost but a couple of the guys are running T1 red dots or just the holographic by itself.

As well as the attachments on the weapons being adjusted for each operator, we also adjust some gear positions on the figure’s belt kits. Additionally, some of the mag pouches on the belt kit already have magazines removed to show them in the thick of it. We’ve also mixed up the packs on the back, giving you a mix of guys running low profile rigs while others have additional kit in their tactical packs.

The Breacher element is split in two, giving both some CQB punch and some longer-range firepower. The four figures armed with MP7s have the same level of variety to their attachments as the 416s in the assault pack, with both red dots and holographic optics with magnifiers in use. Additionally, the presence of the Mosberg M500 with MEK upgrades provides you with a weapon ideal for door breaching before returning to the MP7. There is also a breacher bringing up a sledgehammer ready to take the door if needed, the stock on his MP7 collapsed to make aiming in close quarters combat easier.

The longer-range firepower mentioned above are the two figures with the SR-25 E2 marksman rifle. Suppressed and with all the equipment needed for night fighting, both marksmen also have their NVGs adjusted to allow them to use the magnified optic if needed

Of course, all the renders in the world won’t get you very far if you can’t print the STLs you’ve been given. These are some examples I supported myself (I missed a few of the NVGs) and then printed on my Elegoo Saturn. As you can see, even on a 4K printer a lot of the details in the renders have been maintained (including the hole in the magpuls), all ready for painting up.

I haven’t painted the entire force, but I did get a chance to try out these two test models. Thanks to doing some pre-shading, I was easily able to hammer these two through relatively quickly, taking a look at just two of the schemes that Global Interdiction Group might find themselves wearing.

If you’d like a set of these for yourself, today (31/07/2023) is the last day where you get them via the Flytrap Digital Patreon, available at the Gunslinger level or above. If you miss out, then from 15/08/2023, they will be available from the Flytrap Digital My Mini Factory or Cults3d.

In addition, anyone who has bought these models will be finding an update email them coming (hopefully) later this week. After feedback, Anton has managed to add a ball and socket connection to the Black Sector bodies, meaning easily swappable heads are going to be an option for all the poses shown above. In addition, modular heads will be standard with most releases going forward (there may be a few cases where it is just not practical). In this case, the modular heads will be ideal if you prefer to run your operators for both day and night missions with NVGs stowed.

However, that’s not all. If you join the Flytrap Digital Patreon in August, you’ll be receiving two more Black Sector teams releasing on 15/08/2023. For those of you wondering where all the firepower was in this first release, no fear! The Support Team will come with all the special weapons a Black Sector Assault Team needs, with light machine guns, grenade launchers and even disposable anti-tank launchers. The Command Team will give you a few additional specialists to lead and support your assault, including a very good boy to assist in clearing rooms. The Command team will also include Gunslinger’s first Character figure, who is on-site to oversee Black Sector’s operation for her employer.

Looking into September, we’ll get another Black Sector set designed to let you use your assault for another type of operation. And just in time… the first OPFOR Character Team will be making landfall that month as well, giving you all the figures you might need for a sneaky midnight clash somewhere on the Georgian coastline. Stand by for more details next month.