July 2023 Patreon Release

Hey there all!

I hope every one of you is doing well and having a good month so far - and hopefully this post will make it a little better too!

Now, longtime patrons here will probably notice that this month's offerings are unusually slim, and if you've not been keeping up with the posts last month, it's because there has been a lot of admin stuff going on in the background - file organisation, taking stock of where everything is at, and plans for future, not to mention preparation for a migration of material from MyMiniFactory to the newly established Printed Wargames site. On that last note, this has not happened quite yet, which is why this release has appeared first on MMF, and the MMF store has stayed open - it will stay open for now, until such time I'm set up on the Printed Wargames site.

In addition, 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. Later this month, all being well, this will translate into an automated process, and when it does, I'll update this post to reflect that.

Anyway. Onto the good stuff!

This month sees the release of two all-new kits, and one slightly older kit with a huge update of parts! I think we should start off with that last one, so please witness the newly expanded Skjalos Hazard Troopers kit!

Originally, the Skjalos Hazard Troopers came as a unit of five, with an option of either Grenade Launchers or Pulaski axes. This new revitalisation now comes with an additional five new unique body poses, plus a huge amount of new weapons: Anti-Materiel Rifles, Assault Rifles, Battle Maces (and Blast Shields for their opposite hand), Flame Lances, Rotary Guns and Shotguns. Each ranged weapon comes with four readied poses and one pose with their weapon at rest, to distinguish unit commanders. In addition, each weapon is also included as a separate file for kitbashing too!

Next up, let's take a little deviation from infantry for a minute!

Last month, the Hastaxii refresh was released, and with that, I realised there was a little more I could do with their aesthetic - and, honestly, I felt like a lone kit such as theirs needed an appropriate leader.

Most of the leaders of the Covenants of Astyri tend to be infantry or cavalry, commanding legions of infantry and constructs much larger than themselves - however, as a breed so very apart from the main Astyrian houses, the Hastaxii deserved a different kind of leader - the kind that strikes awe as much as fear into the opponent, and leads the Hastaxii clans as a marshal of destruction and death. With that in mind, the Hastaxii Irenarch was born - the unholy combination of a Hastaxii Praetorian and the enslaved intelligence of a Stykaria Construct rebuilt in a monstrous shell of steel and fury.

The Irenarch is the fate of many a Secutor Construct captured by the forces of Kolym Hysta - stripped for parts and broken, its machine-pain echoing in an unending scream, it is reborn as little more than an engine to exact ruination on further of its kind. The Secutor mind is still there, conscious and aware, but contorted and chained to the will of a Hastaxii under the direction of Kolym Hysta.

Appropriately, then, the Irenarch arms are entirely compatible with those of the Stykaria Construct, which means that future arms will be added to both kits simultaneously!

Lastly for this month, we have our second entry into the Skjalos Guard - the Wraith Troopers!

The Skjalos Wraith Troopers are companies comprised entirely of warriors otherwise fated to a lifetime in a cell, or those deferring the noose. Murderers, deserters and thieves, and all other manners of other such undesirables who would break Sykaran Law are offered a choice of their punishment, or induction into the Wraith Trooper Corps - so named for their almost certain impending death. Wraith Troopers are not, first and foremost, a military unit, but are instead equipped with tools such as ice axes, for clearing out areas and performing services to maintain the Skjalos Empire - however owing to the huge populace of Wraith Troopers, a number of Penal Companies have been developed specifically for war. Bearing simply boiled leather plates and trousers, the lifetime of most Wraiths is short in the unforgiving wastelands, but it is for most a better life than the punishments their crimes would deserve. However, should any decide they are unhappy with their lot and decide to try their luck at escape, the control braces around their necks make for a slow, unavoidable and agonising toxic demise via injection canisters.

These guys are a set of ten models, as above, all equipped with ice axes, and hopefully in future as inspiration comes, further sets will appear with more weapon options to make more diverse units. Until such time however, I think there's enough diversity (especially with poses mirrored in your slicing software) for a fairly substantial force!

Well, that's odd. That's all for this month. But don't worry, progress has still been made in the background.

In the coming days, I'll be putting up a roadmap and plans for this month and for the rest of this year - and I know how you guys love a good roadmap!

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!