
New month, new update time. This one is a little less action-packed than last month due to several real-world reasons (including seeing tanks) but it’s all set for what should hopefully be a productive time.
Tech Update

I had written up 600+ words about the process of fixing my 3D printer but on second reading of it, I’m not sure it’s really needed. To trim it down, The good news is that I have repaired my Saturn and it’s all back to 100% working order. It involved drilling through the plastic lens to reach the bolts underneath and a quick second disassembly to put on some thermal paste I had missed. The whole process was relatively easy to do (aside from the issue with the screws stripping that led to the drilling) and is a reminder that, although these machines are able to perform some impressive feats, it’s still relatively simple to keep them running if you have the spare parts.
With the printer back up, it’s going into action printing off some Dwarfs for the Dastardly Regular Opponent and then I’ll be putting it to work on my own projects.
Ultramodern
Speaking of Own Projects, let’s talk Ultramoderns. There hasn’t been a massive amount of progress this month in terms of painting models, with most of the hobby time spent on planning and Patreon stuff. The big upcoming thing is getting troops and terrain ready for Shyluz. Unfortunately, a lot of this required the 3D printer back at full strength so I’m calling this month a bit of a write-off for advancing the Ultramoderns on the practical side.

However, something I have started working on is changing how I assemble the modular figures from Combat Octopus. Rather than printing the component parts and assembling them physically, I’ve been experimenting with assembling in Blender and then printing whole figures, which lets me assemble small details (such as the pouches) with needing tweezers and a steady hand or play around with minor modifications such as the optics swaps you can see above. There will probably be a whole post on this later this month once I have even more time to play around with what can be done.
Old World

Old World saw some action this month – I assembled a few more units and then we got some figures on the board. After that game, I continued assembling some of the plastic kits, as well as updating my list based on the findings. The Demon Prince is losing the Demon Sword (it’s very good but more than likely self-destructive with how I roll) while the marauders are getting split into two units and losing their command. Aside from that though, very much looking forward to playing some more Old World when I get a second.
Project Blender
As well as the Blender work mentioned as part of Ultramoderns, I’ve also continued work on on buildings for BPRE28. I’ve embedded a video above with my first proof of concept, showing off the three-part design (roof/upper walls/lower walls and base). There is still a chunk to do and a few troublesome elements to tweak (mostly about making sure that the pieces fit together), but as an initial concept, I’m happy with how it’s coming together. Next step will be adjusting the fit and adding a few more details to the walls.
The Patreon
Over on the Patreon, two big posts last month. The first was covering Shyluz’s neighbours. This introduces the other players that will inevitably show up in the final book. The Tsardom, Rettung and The Bazi Empire each interact with Shyluz in a different way, and I hope these encounters will be a good starting point for setting games and scenarios in the world.
The second, and only available currently to the ChargeReal Researchers, was the first draft of details on the Shyluz Airmobile Platoon. This document covers all the oddities of how the airmobile platoons are setup, such as the manpower, loadout and even the alternative transportation the platoons find themselves using. I wanted to have included some graphics but ran out of time, plus I’d like to save my visual elements until the core setup is done. However, it was also fun to write and I’m looking forward to making a force based around it.
Finally, there is the little announcement that I’ll be doing some smaller ChargeReal publications with the aim of releasing them much sooner than the full lore tome. ChargeReal Researchers have been given the first description of what’s coming up in a post just for them, but I’ve been planning out the details already…
End of Project Update. See you all next month.