Many of the Elite choices available for Ork armies are unavailable as models to be bought over the counter. However with a little discerning use of the parts on the basic Boys sprue Kommandos, Flash Gits, Skarboys and Ard Boys can be effectively represented.

Whilst more convincing and characterful elites can be constructed using other parts of the range or even archive models this article will look at representing such troops using only the basic plastic set. Indeed with a basic sprue can be made to make a reasonably convincing member of each of the four elite units mentioned with no extra parts or tricky conversions (though some items have been clipped or filed as explained later). A total newbie should be able to put together elites along these lines just as easily as they would a Sluuga Boy or Shoota Boy. Modelling is only the start of making these orks look distinctive though. To further their elite status an appropriate paint scheme should also be employed. The Parts. To the left are all the various components available on the basic plastic Ork sprue. The idea is to look at the different components and decide which is the set of legs most suited to a Flash Git, the set of arms most suited to a Kommando, which heads look like Skar Boy heads and what accessories an Ard Boy would carry.

Ard Boys.

The easiest of the Elites to realise are the Ard Boys, just use the parts which have the most armour on them. This means torso T4, which has large armour plates on the back and the front, one of the helmeted heads (H4, H5 or H6), the shoulderpads (X3 and X5) and the Iron Gob (X7) will be necessary to make your Ard Boys look the part.

Also note that L4 legs have metal shinpads which will also make the Ard boys look a little better protected.

Painting:

Just paint Ard Boys as you would your standard Boys.

Kommandos.

The Kommandos were constructed with the opposite philosophy to the Ard Boys. instead of looking at the pieces with the most armour on look for the pieces with the least, in this case torso T2 has the least armour, any of the legs without shinpads should be used along with the helmetless heads (H1, H2 and H3 - though H1 might look a bit sneakier with the topknot trimmed off).

As for weaponry I have opted to use the machete style Choppa (C3) as it looks like it has a wider utility than the axe Choppas, and is probably a deal quieter than the Chainsaw Choppa (I have a hard time imaging a group of Orks sneaking up on an opponent with that buzzing away). The small pouches (X6) also look like the sort of thing special operatives would carry about, and has been added to the models' belts.

Painting:

Flash Gitz.

The Flash Gitz are probably the hardest of the elites to construct, as kustomised guns are harder to create without recourse to some serious conversions.

To me the Shoota that looks the most distinctive is SH2, as it has the square barrel and the drum feed ammo canister.

With the addition of the crosshairs gunsight this Shoota looks significantly more dangerous than the other ones.

The Ork itself can be made to look richer than other Orks by using the helmeted heads (H4, H5 or H6), the torso with the backplate (T3) and adding the ammo chain (X4) and the large pouch accessories(X9).

Skarboys.

Again the Skarboys are trickier to make look significantly more fierce and strong than the standard Slugga Boy. Using torso T1 can create a verisimilitude of height to the Ork because of the spikes. Head H1 has a very nasty scar which looks the part though I think the horned helmet head (H4) also looks rather grizzled and threatening. Skarboys have extra strength compared to normal boys and I think giving them the Chainsaw Choppa (C1) helps make them look like more serious close combat contenders. These Ork veterans will undoubtably have picked up trophies in the many wars they have fought in, and so make perfect candidates for the severed human head accessory (X10).

Painting: