August 2023 Release

Hey there all! August already, where did this year go?! I mean, I also almost entitled this post 'August 2022', so that shows how awake my brain is!

Now, I know last month you guys didn't receive as many new kits as usual, but for those of you who've continued to support me through that dip, I can't understate my gratitude. To accommodate for that, this month gets you an absolute tonne of stuff, and I believe to date the month with the highest number of entirely new kits introduced in one go. As a note on that, if you're new here, you'll receive your files via MyMiniFactory, either through an email invitation to redeem your files through their site, or if you already have an account, it'll get added to your library automatically - don't worry if you don't get your files right away, however, as it might take me a little while to issue them, as it's a manual process. From the end of this month onwards, however, you'll receive them via Printed Wargames instead, as I intend to dedicate some proper time to actually setting that up, now that I've provisionally gotten the hang of their system. 

There's a bunch of information on what to expect me to be up to next week at the bottom, so do read that, if nothing else!

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Anyway. Let's get started, shall we? With the newest thing first, I should think.

This month sees an addition to the Aventine Dynasties, in the form of the first ever hoverbikes to grace this Patreon. One-man vehicles equipped with either rotary cannons, flamethrowers or harpoons to snag and drag back large targets or hold them in place in squadrons for other units to dispatch with greater ease, these are versatile craft who can assist Mamba and Viper squadrons in large numbers.

The Asp Squadron comes as a set with three unique rider poses, and bikes split into the rear fuselage and three front variants with their respective weapons, plus a flight stand and flight stand mount, which is left optional for ease of creating dioramas and scenic bases.

Next up, let's take a look at some new infantry. Oh, and an entirely new faction? Oh, well, if you insist!

Say hello to the new sherrifs/beefcakes in town - the Marshals of Ioke are the newest additions to the Promised Land army roster, and they're premiering with their all-new Enforcers, heavily armed and armoured biologically-enhanced warriors. Bigger, faster and more resilient than any normal man, the Enforcers are the predominant soldiers of the Marshals of Ioke, though such enhancement comes at a cost - with each Enforcer taking years and a great deal of resources to develop, their numbers are distinctly fewer than that of the other powers in the land, though they make up for it with their tally of victories.

The Enforcers come as a set of five bodies with separate rifles and helmets, and an optional plumed helmet to distinguish their leader, the Gallowmaster. These guys tower over other infantry, as you can see here. 

I can appreciate leading with five elite dudes and a squad of bikes might not feel like much, so how about these?

I did say I wanted to revisit the Taekolta once I had a slightly more consistent vision to them - and now, the realisation of that vision has begun, with their first new infantry unit, the Kohora Wardancers! This is a set of ten fully modular models, with interchangeable arms and heads, and a separate torso for future-proofing for additional upgrade kits - though they are, as of right now, fully equipped for rampant murder with two Kohora Warblades each.

I know I have, particularly with the Skjalos and Astyri kits, a particular tendancy to release a lot of poses of very stalwart, resolutely immovable infantry models, and with the Taekolta this will be rather a change of pace. Rather than heavily armed and armoured battalions, these instead are fast, light and stealthy, ready to emerge from the shadows like a knife in the dark. A number of the poses included here harken back to their name, as they are inspired and reflect dance poses.

This kit comes with a total of ten unique heads, with an intended mix of ethnicities and backgrounds to both reflect the wide spread of the Taekolta across the land, and also just to provide more diverse painting opportunities.

Oh, not big enough infantry for you? Pfft, fine, how's this?

I suppose they're still technically infantry, but the new Sykaran Ymirae are absolutely huge, standing up to 6cm tall, but neatly fitting on 40mm bases. The Sykaran Ymirae, known colloquially as the Northland Orcs, make up part of the Skjalos Guard shock troops. Though thought by many outsiders to be animalistic brutes, little more than feral killers, the Northland Orcs are intelligent, cunning creatures, and all the more vicious in battle for a sadism only sentience can grant. Though among the Skjalos ranks, the relations between the Guard and Ymirae are, as they have always been, balanced on a tense knife edge, on the field all internal conflicts are put aside and few can withstand a combined charge of the Skjalos Guard accompanied by these Orcs. Wielding their Sykaran Gauntlets as both a shield and a bladed weapon to deadly effect, and using their huge spears to block off and impale swathes of foes, each Ymira is a fighting force on their own, and nigh unsurvivable in groups.

As can be seen below, where one Ymira has effortlessly impaled one of the Kyporii with its claw.

Okay, you're not a fan of infantry? It's not big enough? Alright, let's see how you do with this!

Another entry into the fledgeling Kingdoms of Mikaelhelde faction is the new Aviarch! I'm sure those of you who are subscribed to The Makers Cult have already been introduced to this, but for those of you who haven't, the latest unit added to the Kingdoms of Mikaelhelde is the Aviarch - a huge winged beast ridden by an Acolyte. Coming in presupported in its standard form, it also includes a feral version without a rider, to go wild and eat people. You know, like all good monsters do!

That's not big enough?! Okay, well, let's try these!

Oh. You can't see the size from there. Wait, how about this instead:

Ah, that's better. The Phykonite Tyrants are a revisiting of an older kit, Khayalos' Tyrant, which built one monstrous betentacled creature. This, as I discovered firsthand, was a really cool but ultimately awful kit to construct, as its feet were very fragile and trying to make a pose without preset fittings was really not an enjoyable experience. This new kit, the Phykonite Tyrant, following feedback from a number of people who printed multiples of this kit off, is designed to make three models, with pre-set pinned poses - but because all the bodies are at an identical elevation, you can swap any of the arms from the front pair, middle pair and rear pair. Each set of legs (front set, middle set, rear set) all have specific pins on them, so whilst they're easily swappable with a bit of clipping, you can't accidentally put the wrong legs in the wrong sockets.

In addition, the body has been recut, so each side armour panel is on now separate with a slightly wider tolerance, and the spinal armour panels are a separate from the body for ease of airbrushing, and so that any print markings will be completely hidden when it's assembled. Also, with 18 uniquely posed tentacles, you have an insane number of potential poses, so you shouldn't get bored anytime soon with it!

Wait, you're not serious. That wasn't big enough?! Fine. You win. I give up. Giant robot, coming your way!

By far the most popular and successful model I've made was the Asamus War Construct, and whilst it proved to be a favourite both among and apart from you patrons, since its release just over two years ago, I've had a lot of practise making models.

Now it returns with an all-new sculpt. And by all-new, I mean all-new in a very particular way, and that is that every single part of this model has been rebuilt from the ground up, maintaining the overall look of the original model, but giving it a new breath of life: more consistent detail and easier construction, plus a whole new optional carapace weapon platform!
The feet have totally been rebuilt with new toes, an arching rather than flat foot, and new pistons consistent with those present on the Kaliakos have replaced the old ones- optional armour panels to cover these will appear in the subsequent release!
Each leg has been totally up-detailed, and all the armour panel splits have had rivets placed all along each divide (which I'll tell you now, took far longer than I'd like to admit), and the shin armour is now asymmetrical - shorter on the inside than the outside, allowing for more variety of leg poses. All of the armour panels and the head have been remade with substantially higher poly levels and smoother surfaces, so you will never have visible polys on any of your prints.
The torso has been completely transformed. The rear triple-engines have been rebuilt to deliberately echo its previous incarnation, but with cylindrical cores to make it more consistent with the Kaliakos and Nyphia. In addition, new circular vents have been added along the middle of the torso, behind the shoulders, and an entry door rests beneath the engine with a small platform doorstep. The torso also, as I'm sure you'll have noticed, has an all-new platform gun, and the first entry in the series of carapace weapons is a missile array which has, admittedly, been borrowed from the Üdaji Heavy Missile Tank and slightly modified. The carapace armour and shoulder plates have accordingly been modified, but fear not! If you like your Asamus Constructs carapace-weaponless, the next installment will feature the original armour plates modified to fit and completely cover the carapace mount.
Also as a final note, all the armour panels have dedicated plugs which fit in with a little wiggle room for printer settings. Importantly for those of you who've tried to build any of my robots in the past, you'll know I'm a big fan of putting a couple of spheres in for armour panels to sit on, and following feedback, I've decided that enough is enough. Henceforth, armour panels will have plugs that fit into dedicated recesses with a large flat contact point to make assembly as little hassle as possible!

So, this body, legs and head will be part of this month's release, but next month will see the return of updated claws and ARM-MOUNTED GUNS! I know. I finally caved. If you're very lucky I might also do a new carapace weapon, and if the stars align, maybe a new head! If you're lucky!

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So, just as some notes about stuff I'll be working on shortly. I know a big thing for a lot of you has been the lack of support for presupported files - sorry about this, but I'm getting on with it now! I have tried over the last week to allocate more time to it, and will do so going forward. As it is, almost ready to upload are the presupports for the Sykaran Ymirae and Taekolta Wardancers, and last month's Skjalos Wraith Troopers. As soon as I've ironed out the kinks, they'll be uploaded (likely on Monday afternoon). 

Next up, the Covenants of Astyri filecheck is first on my priority. Last month I got through most of my files' checking and reorganisation, but because I only have so much time in a day, I had to delay some of it. This means that, next week, the long outstanding issues with the Phykonite Vedette will finally be amended. Sorry it took so long!

Instructions for the Asamus and Kaliakos will be prioritised before I begin any new modelling for September's release! Shortly following that, points for all current Skjalos and Astyri units for gaming in The Promised Land will be made available, and points and rules for Secutor Constructs will follow!

Next month's modelling plans are, provisionally, as follows - with a little change from the proposed list in the roadmap.

Covenants of Astyri – Synota Destroyer Construct
  - Refresh of the Synota Obliatus Drone kit with multiple weapon and pose options.
Kaliakos Anathema Construct (Retributor-Class Heavy Carronade)
  - Primary weapon upgrade – super-heavy mortar.
Kingdoms of Mikaelhelde – Acolytes (Expansion Kit)
  - Acolyte kit expansion to 20 unique models.
Secutor Constructs – Asamus Secutor Construct (Arms)
  - Refresh of the Asamus War Construct kit.
Marshals of Ioke - OMA-H62 Executioner Battle Tank
  - New faction – Assault tank/transport unit.
Skjalos Guard – Ourona Heavy Assault Tank
  - Heavy assault tank unit with turret.
Taekolta – Kohora Outriders
  - Cavalry unit with combat weapons and assault rifles.
Taekolta – Meridarka
  - Character unit with multiple options.

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As a final note, I hope you very much enjoy this month's stuff, and thank you all for your support! If you want to show off your finished prints and models, I'd love to see them in the channel #my-solwyte in my Discord!

Thank you for reading, and thank you for your support, everyone!