so with the Friday email for 1/10/2025, we got thisl ittle update:
so it looks like a Quar invasion is coming. that's command and specialists for both of the existing armies, plus light tanks for each and the start of a 4th plastic army (the arnyarans). which combined with the Fidwog that just went to preorder and should ship near the end of fhe month, will give Quar players 4 factions.. two royalist, 1 crusader, and one Neutral*.
frankly if these continue to sell well, hopefully it'll mean we'll see an Arnyaran command set and a plastic Daen-fen Tractor kit.
we know the command set is going to have parts for officers, a standard bearer, a musician, and (so i've heard) a cook. i din't think we know what the specialist boxes will have yet. but i get the feeling it won't have trench raiders or sharpshooters, since i suspect those are better left to resin packs given the low number you might need. perhaps some sort of heavy weapons teams? maybe a pykpyk handler?
other tractors have been released as STLs on Josh Qualtieri's myminisfactory page, most recently being the Coftyran Paerydyn heavy tractor. once released they'll eventually make their way to the zombiesmith and strange plastic storefronts as 3D prints.
one big release on that front is the recent Kryst Sandstalker bundle, 10 figures scanned from the old metal figures.
from the recent friday email, in the "Upcoming Pre-Orders!" sectionL:
Coftyran Command (T1 March 2)
Crusader Specialists (Tooling)
Coftyran Specialists (Layout)
Crusader Command (File Prep)
Coftyran Chyweethl Tractor (File Prep)
Crusader Ailthean Tractor (File Prep)
Western Arnyaran Infantry (File Prep)
interesting that we're getting coftyr command first, but the specialists (iirc, trench raiders and Anti-tank/LMG teams) first for Crusaders.
hopefully the rest move quickly, would be nice to have the command and specialists out before summer. also hopefully the tank kit's won't be too expensive.
a few points of note; the order of work on the command and specialists boxes have been rejuggled so now the coftyr and crusader boxes for each type are being released as pairs, rather than it being one command box and the specialist box from the opposite faction. i think this will go over better.
the Tractor kits have been pushed back further in the queue, no doubt with the experiance WGA now has from working up the sprues for the Damned's mauler truck. this is probably good, since it means more time for them to iron out how they do vehicle kits. still hoping the sprues will be done in such a way that they can easily release kits for the other tractors using the same parts, like the Wanamoch gun tractor (a modified Chyweethl with a different hull design) or the Creevish Mogyn Light Tractor or the Crusader Raewyr Support Tractor, both of which use the same tread assemblies as the Ailthean.
also we have another new faction being added to the queue for plastics, with the Creevish Ryhflers. which means we'll be gettign the bowties and kneebreeches of the Gwyldyfin trench watch. which gives the Western Arnyarans their main opponents.
Quick question: are those dates next to the middle couple of kits the time they are predicted to go on pre-order, or something else I'm too dense to figure out?
@FOD287 those are the T1 dates - first (and usually final) test shot. So add another month or so after that for release. Sometimes longer depending on the schedules.
@Hudson Adams thanks for the clarification.. that actually answers a question i've seen on other forums and social media about what those dates in the weekly updates mean.
With the tractors being quite small for 28mm kits do we anticipate there being more than one person box, at least for the initial ones? Maybe two or even three if we are lucky, or are they just going to be one kit per box?
personally i'm assuming only 1 per box until i hear otherwise. given the shapes involved i'd guess that each tank would probably be at least two full sprues each, and we've seen they'll do 2 full sprues to a single box.
@Mithril2098 Thanks! I guess those would be useful if you want multiple or more customization. Any idea if we'll ever get 28mm models for cavalry, since I think that'd be a really cool niche?
no mention has been made. whenever it comes up in the discord, headzombie generally says that it's planned, but not for awhile. i get the feeling that we wants to get the basic infantry options and some vehicles out for all the western iron factions before tackling things like cavalry
@Mithril2098 Ah, fair enough. I do hope they come soon though, as they are a really cool unit, and would be essential for the rumoured new mass battle.
Honestly I'm mostly hoping we get the Arnyaran autocycles at some point in this release wave. Love their whole vibe, with the cute goggle helmets and the chonky motorcycles. Hoping it turns out to be an easy next step, since their infantry section is already in the line-up.
In the infantry kit like the Fidwogs tractor would be an excellent idea. Maybe if not with the coming infantry then they could be on the frame for command or specialists when the boxes are done? Or on the same frame as their first tractor when it is done in plastic, though I would hope to get them before then?
Any schedule updates on when specialists are due to be released, ora link to where we can look it up ourselves? The last one was 18 days ago which is over two weeks now.
@Duncan Sargent I doubt it'd be in the command or tractor, since that just seems too fiddly to do, and neither of them are on the timeline, but it's a pretty core unit. So yeah, probably infantry, blister, or specialists at a pinch.
based on the most recent weekly update, i'd guess that the specialists will show up for preorder either late may or in early june. they're already in the box design stage, which means they're pretty far along in production.
Crusader Specialists (Box Design)
Coftyran Specialists (Box Design)
Western Arnyaran Infantry (April 16)
Coftyran Chyweethl Tractor (April 23/28)
Crusader Ailthean Tractor (May 16/18)
Creevish Rhyflers (Layout)
WAAQU013 Fidwog Specialists (File Prep)
looks liek the arnyaran infantry have moved ahead of the tractors again, so it'll be a toss up as to whether they come first (with a T1 date for mid april, figure about 1-2 months after that before they hit sales.) or the tractors will.
assuming nothing goes wrong i'd guess: specialists in May, Arnyarans in late june. tractors by july. with the Creevish ryhflers possibly showing up by august.
@Mithril2098 Ok, that'd explain why we haven't seen the specialists yet. Any ideas what blisters would come with the Creevish Rhyflers, as the artwork for them looks really cool?
@pafbraed287 no idea. that's more a question for Mr. Qualtieri, who handles the design work for the quar, and also production of the resin side of thing by way of strangeplastic.
no problem. it is a bit different being able to talk directly to a game's creator, after dealing with big corporation made games. though if Mr. Qualtieri wants to hire me to be his spokesperson i'm not going to say no. 😄
weekly update btw:
Crusader Specialists (Box Printing)
Coftyran Specialists (Box Printing)
Western Arnyaran Infantry (April 19)
Coftyran Chyweethl Tractor (April 23/28)
Crusader Ailthean Tractor (May 16/18)
Creevish Rhyflers (Layout)
WAAQU013 Fidwog Specialists (File Prep)
looks like the Ailthean hit a bit of a snag or had some change, since it's dropped out of lockstep with the Chyweethl in the projected test dates.
also the arnyaran infantry having another test date suggests that the first test two days ago might not have gone ideally.
@Mithril2098 Well, thanks again. Yeah, the Ailthean seems weird, since that's technically the second delay it's had. I wonder if they're having some trouble with it?
I guess the Chyweethi is much simpler potentially being just two sides a top and bottom hull, whereas the Ailthean has two distinct parts with the track unit and turret separate. Probably a much more part intensive frame to layout. Also I wonder if they are including the option for variants? Not sure what they are called but I have seen images of the crusader tractor with slightly different top hull arrangements. Not sure if they would do that at the start, but you never know. I guess we need to see the frames to know for sure!
@Duncan Sargent Yeah probably, I guess it's just because WA doesn't have much experience in vehicles. I definitely do hope they are made so you have a lot of options, maybe with the tracks on a different sprue so it's easier to make different patterns/homebrew tractors.
It's possible they're putting parts for the wanamoch and the raewyr in the same kits as the chywheethl and ailthean but I'd guess the biggest limitation on that is that they're both open top variants, which adds a lot of potential complexity on modeling the insides of the chassis (including maybe needing to add additional models for crew members). It could happen, but I'd be surprised to see it in these given they're the first vehicle kits.
@Duncan Sargent there are at least 2 other vehicles using the Ailthean's track system. the Maer Braech Raewyr Support tractor, which is basically an Ailthean with a different turret, creating an open topped semi-APC armed with a bunch of machineguns.
and the Mogyn Light Tractor, an early armored vehicle for the Quar that looks more literally 'a tractor' with an artillery gun and gun sheild mounted, and which is where the Ailthean's track system originated.
personally i could see the Wanamoch showing up in the chywheethl kit, but i think the Raewyr and Mogyn are different enough that they'd need their own boxes. that said though, i coudl see them working to ensure that the tracks section is on a single sprue and the Ailthean hull-turret is on a seperate sprue, so thet they could make the Raewyr and Mogyn by just creating new sprues to package with the tracks section sprue.
to be honest, i think of the two variants i'd want the Mogyn first, since we're gettign the Creevish rhyflers, and no doubt creevish command will follow on fast. but the creevish don't really have 'specialists' outside of the towed guns and the cavalry, so giving them their most common tractor first would be a logical idea.
@Mithril2098 yeah, I really hope that the first two vehicles do well enough for WA that it makes sense for them to expand into the (extremely cute) mogyn and daen-fen.
@Mithril2098 Yeah, I do hope these kits do well so WA has the motivation to make more. Honestly, the Creevin one looks really cool if they do end up doing it, and would be all the more motivation for me to make an army of them.
and the announcement for the specialists has a pic.. looks like we got a few new weapons options. after checking with the discord for confirmation it looks like the following left to right:
Crusaders (left):
some sort of pump action shotgun, the splagen torpedo, a rhyfler with a 'bogen type C' with bayonet, a trench raider with his shotgun derringer, and the H-11a light machinegun.
Coftyr (right)
trench raider with SMG, and ap air of marksquar modelling two of the new head options, boonie hat and scrim covered helmet with foliage camo.
no soign of the RCO in the coftyr side, but perhaps it just isn't being shown?
Could be like the Fidwogs though, they have 6 per sprue with that little tractor, so it really depends on how much kit they want to include. If they have the field gun then that does not leave a load of room does it?
I"very just ordered a box of each so no doubt will see in a mo th or so when they arrive! How are people getting the command squad figures? Mine have not yet been dispatched even, despite ordering on 11/04? Any got them already?
