The first mob of GutKrumpa’s Killa Koptas. This was a  spontaneous project that was quite fun.

There’s a new threat facing the Imperium: a new ork warband that I call “Gutkrumpa’s Kill Koptas.”

Admittedly, this ragtag band of greenskins is a pretty minuscule threat at the moment. It consists of only 10 orks. But I have hopes for these guys.

To be honest, I shouldn’t be painting orks. The Gaffer has a sizable army, and I’m currently working on six armies simultaneously (Adeptus Mechanicus, Death Guard, Imperial Guard, Mutants (Genestealer Cult?), Necrons, and Space Marines).

But, a few years ago, I went to a gaming convention’s flea market, and this guy was selling a large-scale helicopter that he’d converted into an ork Warkopta. It was pretty cool, and I bought it on a whim.

I put the kopta on a shelf and forgot about it. But, recently, I was getting a bit tired with painting units for my existing armies, and I wanted something new and creative to work on. That got me thinking about a warband for the kopta, and The Gaffer gave me enough ork bitz to get started.

The Warkopta I purchased at a convention flea market several years ago. It’s a nice dirty red, which is fitting as every ork knows that “red” makes things go faster.

It has been a fun little project. I wanted my orks to look a bit different, so I did something I rarely do. Rather than use Games Workshop heads, I ordered some from a third-party vendor. Specifically, I bought some “orc desert dog heads from Spellcrow.

I chose these particular heads because they look vaguely like an arabic keffiyeh (a traditional arabian headdress). This fits with the desert theme of Hegira, a major war zone involving orks,

As I had limited bitz, the figures otherwise are unremarkable, Their skin color is slightly different. The color was decided by the paint I had available at the time. It’s a mix of washes of Deathworld Forest, Loren Forest, Gastallan Green, and Agrax Earthshade. The result is a skin tone that produces a very realistic flesh (albeit green) look.

My first mob is small: 9 boyz and a nob. This is enough for a Shadow War/Kill Team game.

But it’s only the beginning. Next on my list are three Deffkoptas to serve as “wing men” for my Warkopta. After that, I’ll paint up my warboss, Gutkrumpa, and then I’ll convert a second Warkopta and paint a second mob, this time using “orcs storm flying squadron heads” from Spellcrow. (Think the leather caps of World War I pilots.)

(Each of my mobs will have a themed head. For instance, I’ll find a beret or an army helmet for a Kommando mob.)

I think this is a 48:1 scale Huey gunship that’s been heavily ork-ified. I haven’t decided if I’ll stick to the Huey theme or, purchase a different helicopter kit from the local toy store.(Orks are not known for the consistency of their vehicles.) But whatever I decide, the conversion process should be a hoot.

My ultimate goal is a squadron of Warkoptas, each with three Deffkoptas in support. After that, I might add a Dakkajet for air support and maybe some Stormboyz that “Deep Strike” from koptas so high off the ground that you can’t “see” the models from the tabletop).

It will be a very bizarre and unbalanced force—not something you’d take to a tournament. But so what? In time, I’ll learn what the Kill Koptas can do with their totally air-based forces, and I’ll create scenarios where my orks and their opponents have an equal chance of winning. I see a lot of raid-oriented, hit-and-run, narrative types of battles.

This should be a hoot of a project.—TheGM

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The Corvus Cluster is a Warhammer 40K blog documenting our gaming adventures in the fantastical sci-fi universe of Games Workshop.