"Was the idea a dream or a nightmare? I'm not too sure," UK based Warhammer 40k fan Mark 'TheTabletopSmithy' Smith wonders, as he tries to recall the origin of his latest creation: an Ork Gorkanaut war walker built around the chattering, blinking, rocking frame of a toy Furby.
"I've been watching a lot of content from creators like 'Slime House' and 'Bill Making Stuff' who do kitbashing and make retro toys", Smith recalls, plus "creators like Rogue Hobbies who experiment with Warhammer 40k models and bring a cuter, less grimdark aesthetic to the hobby". They've encouraged him to spend more time modelling and painting miniatures just for fun, which he says has been "a great reset for my mental health".
The "defining moment" that inspired him to add a Furby to his favorite Warhammer 40k faction, the Orks, was "scrolling through TikTok, first seeing 'GroundEffected' with a remote-control Rhino, and then another video where someone had hacked a Furby to sing songs".
For our younger readers, the Furby is a furry, electronic toy first released in 1998 that looks like the offspring of a guinea pig and an owl, with motorized eyes, beak, and feet, programmed to sing little songs. We'll leave it to you to decide if they're scarier with or without the addition of a Klaw of Gork and a Deffstorm Mega-Shoota.
"I think Furbies are the most '90s thing ever", Smith says, "they're a strange mix of childlike innocence and nightmare fuel". That mixture of nostalgia, silliness, and horror is a thematic match with Warhammer 40k Orks - and like an Ork Mekaniak struck by the creative urge, Smith knew exactly what to do.
"In true Orky fashion, the process started with attacking the Gorkanaut mini using a Dremel saw", Smith says. "The side panels of the Gorkanaut fit well with the height", he adds, and with that framework the rest of the model was "a case of filling in sections with bits from my left over sprues".
The Furby itself went under the knife. "I stripped away parts of the Furby that didn't quite fit, like the ears and the tail", Smith says, adding "I wanted to keep some of the fur, but decided early on that it wouldn't work". He plans to use it in games - with a custom Waaaagh! battle cry hacked into the Furby's cogitator using the tool 'FURble'.
You can find more of Smith's work in progress shots and videos on his Instagram, BlueSky, and TikTok.
What's your most extreme kitbash? Have you ever dismantled a Furby, and if so, was it for a repair, a conversion, or simply to silence it forever? If you're an inveterate model tinkerer, we'd love to chat with you in the official Wargamer Discord community!
For another great electronically enhanced 40k conversion, check out Ground Effected's jazz-playing RC Land Raider with real working flamethrowers. And for an absurd Orky creation, you've got to see the monowheel mega tank!