The operator asked brokkr-smithy to look for a smaller Qwen3.6/3.8; brokkr reported
none exists and that both 27Bs are the same hybrid kernel path one size up. Verified
independently against the HF API rather than adopted, and it holds -- with two facts
brokkr's note did not carry.
1. No official Qwen3.6 or Qwen3.8 below 27B. The listing is Qwen3.6-{27B, 35B-A3B}
and Qwen3.8-{27B, 2.4T-A95B, Flash-Next}.
2. Neither family publishes a -Base checkpoint AT ALL. Every Base newer than Qwen3
is Qwen3.5. Since the regime requires a non-instruct carrier, that rules the
3.6/3.8 lines out on its own, independent of size.
3. Qwen3.6-27B and Qwen3.8-27B both report model_type qwen3_5, 64 layers as 16 full
+ 48 linear-attention, vision tower present -- confirmed as stated.
So the dense Qwen3 ruling is not a compromise against a better available option; it
is the only dense Base option. Also recorded as insurance, not a proposal:
Qwen3-8B-Base and Qwen3-14B-Base exist, so the sweep can extend past 4B without
changing family if the carrier curve has not flattened there.
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