The Comm Guild Maelstrom's Edge

SecDef forces excel at rapid insertions and mobile strikes against enemy positions. Sometimes though, even these elite troops run up against opposition that is too well entrenched for a normal assault. Against these targets, boostpack-equipped Rapid Intervention Teams are brought to bear. Selected from amongst the most skilled SecDef veterans and armed with twin Araldyne CB22 Assault Carbines, Rapid Intervention Teams use the greater mobility afforded by their boostpacks to outflank and surprise enemy defenses, quickly overwhelming them with a hail of deadly short-ranged firepower. Where an extra punch is required, Rapid Intervention Teams are equipped with Araldyne CF13 Clingfire Sprayers or FG19 Flakk Guns: more effective and streamlined versions of these ubiquitous weapons, typical of the improvements Araldyne is able to create.


A SecDef Rapid Intervention Team from the Forthrast Reconnaissance Division assaults a patrol of Broken insurgents.

This digital model pack contains STL files for 5 Epirian SecDef Boostpack Troops, used in Epirian forces as Rapid Intervention Teams. Includes both supported and unsupported versions, and multiple equipment options.


The included components.

You can find the rules for using SecDef Rapid Intervention Teams in your Epirian force in the downloads section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here.

Start building your elite army of defensively secure doom by grabbing your troopers from the webstore here!

Promoted from amongst the most capable veteran sergeants, SecDef lieutenants are level-headed combat experts on both a tactical and strategic level with extensive financial and material resources to hand.

SecDef Medics are combat veterans who have received additional training and equipment to administer first aid in the field. Known for being level-headed under fire, medics accompany SecDef tactical teams in the field, where they need to be equally competent at using their carbines or treating wounded squadmates.

Originally released in resin, these two SecDef character models are now available to purchase as STL files for 3D printing, from the Maelstrom's Edge store here!



This digital pack includes both supported and unsupported files, and two different weapon options for the Lieutenant.


The included parts.

You can find the rules for fielding these models in the downloads section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here.


3D printed examples, painted to a tabletop-ready standard - printed on an Anycubic Photon using Siraya Tech Fast resin at 50μm using Lychee slicer.

Printing results will vary depending on your printer, resin and settings.



Start building your elite force of corporate doom by grabbing some SecDef models from the Maelstrom's Edge webstore here!

SecDef, the Epirian Security and Defence force, are the elite amongst the varied Foundation military. The men and women of SecDef are better trained, better armed and better equipped than the Contractors that make up the majority of Epirian defences on frontier worlds. SecDef take only the very best recruits, typically recommended by a trustee after a number of years of dedicated service as a Contractor. Those promoted into SecDef spend over a year training at dedicated off-world bases on Foundation worlds throughout the Spiral Arm, where grizzled veteran instructors inflict a brutal schedule of combat, security and fitness drills. Many recruits wash out during this gruelling period of indoctrination, and only the best of the best become members of the SecDef's feared infantry squads. The Foundation likes to play up this robust selection and training system, because the SecDef are a source of both great pride and great profit. The SecDef are billed by their corporate owners as the ultimate in precision combat. Even one SecDef squad is a honed killing machine, clinical and effective. Rich companies and individuals alike across the galaxy look to hire SecDef infantry as the finest mercenary units, working as bodyguards, military escorts or even leading attacks on rival corporations or hostile alien worlds.



A SecDef unit moves in on a Broken battle line.

SecDef soldiers wear augmented power-assisted exoskeletons, with servo motors boosting the power of their arms and legs. As well as enabling antigrav aerial insertions from high altitude, the exoskeleton also allows them to wear thick ballistic armour without losing full mobility or movement. Their helmets are equipped with state-of-the art targeting and threat-identification heads-up displays, which when coupled with their years of advanced training and experience gives them an unparalleled instinct for tactical action on the battlefield. SecDef infantry sport the most advanced maglock weaponry produced by Araldyne Systems. The superior craftsmanship and state-of-the-art materials in an Araldyne AR60 assault rifle or G20 pistol makes it lighter to hold and more precise, with targeting optics linked into their helmets and a more expensive deadlier armour-piercing round made from rare earth metals. A squad can be supplemented with sniper or machine-gun armed specialists for specific combat roles, whilst the SecDef Annihilator team, armed with two Araldyne CG100 Chainguns, is capable of taking on even the most heavily emplaced fortifications. The combination of intense training, advanced exoskeletons and cutting-edge weaponry makes the SecDef the finest fighting forces in the Epirian Foundation - or for those with the resources to purchase their services.


A SecDef Lieutenant (left) and Medic, holding a strategic location

Promoted from amongst the most capable veteran sergeants, SecDef lieutenants are level-headed combat experts on both a tactical and strategic level with extensive financial and material resources to hand. Often taking on the most difficult (and therefore highest paying) missions with their platoons, the aim of most lieutenants is to accrue enough backpay to purchase a field commander commission, and the heavy combat rig that goes with that position.

SecDef Medics are combat veterans who have received additional training and equipment to administer first aid in the field. Known for being level-headed under fire, medics accompany SecDef tactical teams in the field, where they need to be equally competent at using their carbines or treating wounded squadmates. Equipped with an advanced diagnostics and treatment device and requiring weeks of additional training, medics represent a not-insubstantial investment for SecDef Commanders. While most still attribute significant cost savings to a medic's ability to save the lives of expensive SecDef troopers, the return on investment tends to be carefully monitored by SecDef administration. It's not uncommon for units to be refused additional medics where higher-than-normal attrition rates suggest that high recruitment costs would not be sufficiently reduced by the presence of medical personnel.


SecDef Rapid Intervention units are experts at speedy assaults.

SecDef forces excel at rapid insertions and mobile strikes against enemy positions. Sometimes though, even these elite troops run up against opposition that is too well entrenched for a normal assault. Against these targets, boostpack-equipped Rapid Intervention Teams are brought to bear. Selected from amongst the most skilled SecDef veterans and armed with twin Araldyne CB22 Assault Carbines, Rapid Intervention Teams use the greater mobility afforded by their boostpacks to outflank and surprise enemy defenses, quickly overwhelming them with a hail of deadly short-ranged firepower. Where an extra punch is required, Rapid Intervention Teams are equipped with Araldyne CF13 Clingfire Sprayers or FG19 Flakk Guns: more effective and streamlined versions of these ubiquitous weapons, typical of the improvements Araldyne is able to create.


SecDef Field Commanders are a one-man army.

The SecDef value nothing more than completing the job they're assigned to in a timely manner, regardless of what it takes to do so. SecDef Field Commanders are the ultimate representation of that mantra. With prototype machine-assisted armor with the strength of several men, firepower equal to a whole squad and advanced targeting and comm systems allowing them to monitor several different feeds simultaneously in real-time, Force Commanders have all of the tools necessary to decimate the enemy.

As with all SecDef units, Field Commanders tend to carry high-end sophisticated Araldyne weaponry, but in their case, these weapons are mounted onto advanced machine-assisted arms, allowing multiple weapons to be fired simultaneously with ease. Each Field Commander is given complete leeway to choose their own weapons load-out to best support their particular fighting style: Hydraulic Fists to rip the enemy apart at close quarters, Araldyne FG19 Flakk Guns obliterate targets at short range, Araldyne LM14 Machine Guns to mow down foes by the dozen and Araldyne LS99 High-Intensity Lasers to melt through even the toughest armor. Not to mention the option to take either back-mounted cluster missile pods or advanced targeting systems.

Dominate the battlefield with your own SecDef force! You can pick up the SecDef model range from the Maelstrom's Edge webstore!

While you're there, you can download the V2 rules from the Trial Rules section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here. The Beta rules documents contain all of the rules for playing V2 games, but keep in mind that these are just 'preview' documents - some rules may be revised based on feedback, and the final layout including background material for the factions and the Maelstrom's Edge universe, artwork and other 'flavor' material is missing.

If you have any thoughts on the new rules, pop on over to the Comm Guild Facebook group, or start up a thread in the Maelstrom's Edge section on the Dakka Dakka forums. We welcome any feedback, and would love to hear how everyone's forces stack up in the new rules!

- by Iain Wilson

My long-awaited Army Painter Speedpaint Starter Set finally arrived last week, and I was impatient to give them a test run. I've had a bunch of plastic SecDef models assembled for a while, for a little side-project, and figured they would be perfect for the job. So I grabbed the first squad of models out of the hobby box and set to work!




I started off with a basecoat of Army Painter Matt White spray. I did experiment on a couple of initial test models with a plain white basecoat and a zenithal base using white and purple, but decided that the zenithal basecoat didn't make enough of a difference to the end result to be worth the effort.

(A zenithal basecoat is where two layers of colour are used - a darker colour in the recesses/undersides of the mode, and a lighter layer sprayed down from above. This can be handy when combined with certain painting methods, particularly using thinner 'glazing' paints to accentuate shading and highlights.)



For the uniform, I went with Highlord Blue, applying to any visible cloth areas and trying to avoid too much spillover onto the armour plates. I also added the blue to the raised surround on the helmet.



After a quick touchup where necessary with some Matt White, I painted a layer of Hardened Leather over pouches, straps, boots, gloves and face, and then went back over the face with Crusader Skin. The double layer on the skin was to give a darker skin colour - my initial test showed the Crusader Skin to be a bit more washed out than I wanted, but layering it over the Leather gave a nice, dark tone.



Next up, I painted over the weapon, belt, exoskeleton, and helmet commlink, targeter and chinstrap with Gravelord Grey.



For the armour plates and helmet, I went with a coat of Zealot Yellow. This settled nicely on the lower areas of the plates, providing a lovely contrast against the blue uniform.



To finish up, I added some Blood Red over the goggles, and while that was drying added some gravel mix to the base. Without a dark brown in the starter set, I used a 1:1:1 mix of Hardened Leather, Blood Red and Hive Dweller Purple over the gravel, giving it a drybrush of Tanned Flesh and Ash Grey (regular acrylic paints) when it dried. With a quick run of Matt Black around the base rim and some white specular highlights on the goggles, he was ready for the table.



The unit assembled - regular SecDef models, with a custom made energy mortar using some plastic tubing and parts from the 2nd Maelstrom's Edge terrain sprue.





They're not perfectly neat, but for a quick, table-ready paintjob these paints are fantastic, giving some perfectly acceptable shading and highlights with a single coat. I'm looking forward to getting the rest of this force painted up!



To have a go yourself, pick up the plastic, multi-part SecDef kit from the Maelstrom's Edge webstore!

While you're there, you can download the V2 rules from the Trial Rules section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here. The Beta rules documents contain all of the rules for playing V2 games, but keep in mind that these are just 'preview' documents - some rules may be revised based on feedback, and the final layout including background material for the factions and the Maelstrom's Edge universe, artwork and other 'flavor' material is missing.

For other modeling ideas, tutorials, army spotlights and conversion walkthroughs, check out the Hobby section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here.

What are you working on? We would love to see your models and terrain in the Comm Guild Facebook group!

While StackaRack moves on towards completion and production following the successful Kickstarter, we're also hard at work on new releases for Maelstrom's Edge. In the coming weeks, we'll get back to the usual modeling articles here, but in the meantime, here's a short spotlight video on one of our favourite Epirian miniatures - the SecDef Lieutenant!




You can find this fantastic resin miniature in the Maelstrom's Edge webstore here.

The Epirian SecDef receives another reinforcement this month, with the addition of a new SecDef Medic! This high quality resin kit contains one Epirian SecDef Medic model with a CB22 Assault Carbine and field diagnostic unit, and a 25mm base. This is an add-on model for SecDef Tactical Teams.



SecDef Medics are combat veterans who have received additional training and equipment to administer first aid in the field. Known for being level-headed under fire, medics accompany SecDef tactical teams in the field, where they need to be equally competent at using their carbines or treating wounded squadmates.



Equipped with an advanced diagnostics and treatment device and requiring weeks of additional training, medics represent a not-insubstantial investment for SecDef Commanders. While most still attribute significant cost savings to a medic's ability to save the lives of expensive SecDef troopers, the return on investment tends to be carefully monitored by SecDef administration. It's not uncommon for units to be refused additional medics where higher-than-normal attrition rates suggest that high recruitment costs would not be sufficiently reduced by the presence of medical personnel.




SecDef Medic Rules Card

You can find the SecDef Medic in the Maelstrom's Edge online store here!

- by Iain Wilson

I've been playing around with speed painting a lot lately (so much to paint, so little time!) and have been having a lot of fun experimenting with inks to achieve quick and easy shaded, table-top level results. This week I decided to see what I could do with some Army Painter Quickshades and the new SecDef Lieutenant model.





To start out, I basecoated the model with a flat, cream coloured spray.



I then gave everything except his head a coat of Military Shader.



Once that first layer of ink had dried, I went over the armour plates with a second coat of Military Shader, and boots, pouches and gloves with two generous coats of Mid Brown. On the pistol and the exo-skeleton on the arms and legs, I used Purple Tone, which over the green resulted in a nice, slightly bluish-tinged grey.



I decided that there wasn't quite enough contrast on the plates and exo-skeleton, so went over them with a coat of Dark Tone.



For his head, I painted on a generous coat of Flesh Wash.



To finish up, I painted in his eyes with fine, white horizontal lines, and small dots of black in the middle. For his beard and some characterful head-stubble, I added a thin coat of Dark Tone. I also went over the lens in the targeter and the helmet lenses with white, then a layer of Red Tone, and then a highlight dot of white. Finally, I added some fine gravel to the base, and painted it with Army Green, a coat of Strong Tone, and then a light drybrush of Ash Grey, with a couple of grass tufts added for colour.



To take the paint job that little bit further, he could use a light edge highlight on the armour plates and exoskeleton, but for a quick, rough and ready job he's all set for the tabletop.



To start your own SecDef muster, you can pick up the SecDef Lieutenant, along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range in the webstore here.

As always, feel free to pop along and share your creations, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the Comm Guild Facebook page!

For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the Hobby section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here.

- by Iain Wilson

The Epirian SecDef received a boost right in the Command slot last month with the release of a resin Lieutenant model. This fleshes the SecDef out into a fieldable Epirian sub-faction in their own right, as you can now build a detachment solely from SecDef units. This week, I'm taking a closer look at this fantastic model, and some of the modeling options available to it.





The SecDef Lieutenant comes in five pieces (ok, six, if you count the base!) - body, head, targeter, and two different hand options equipped with maglock pistol or carbine.



The head and targeter both have ball joints for full movement range, so you can position the targeter lined up with whichever way the Lieutenant is facing.





The head is also compatible with the SecDef plastics, so you can use a regular helmeted head for a slightly more safety-conscious leader. On the below model, I've used a regular SecDef Tactical head, and also clipped the helmet off his belt and glued on a plastic pouch from the Epirian Handler sprue to cover over the clipped detail.



You can also easily swap in alternate heads from elsewhere in the range. Here's a commander with a little more facial hair, for example, with a head lifted from the Broken Infantry sprue.



Carefully sawing through the waist with a razor saw allows you to swap in alternate legs to switch up the posing. Here, I've used a set of legs removed from a SecDef Boostpack Infantry model, and also given him a capped head from the Epirian Contractor sprue.



Of course, the compatible heads work both ways, so you can also swap in the Lieutenant's venerable pate for a regular SecDef Sergeant.





To get some of your own super-soldier action happening, you can pick up the SecDef Lieutenant, along with the rest of the Maelstrom's Edge model range in the webstore here.



As always, feel free to pop along and share your creations, or ask any Maelstrom's Edge- or hobby-related questions on the Comm Guild Facebook page!

For other Maelstrom's Edge modeling articles, including tutorials and walkthroughs of a wide range of different building and miniature projects, check out the Hobby section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here.

This month, we're revisiting the Epirian SecDef, with the addition of a new SecDef Lieutenant! This high quality resin kit contains one Epirian SecDef Lieutenant model with two weapon options (CB22 Assault Carbine and G20 Pistol) and a 25mm base, and is available now from the Maelstrom's Edge online store here. The SecDef Lieutenant is a Command model, and lets you field a force comprised entirely of SecDef units!



Anyone underestimating a SecDef lieutenant is about to pay dearly for his mistake. Promoted from amongst the most capable veteran sergeants, SecDef lieutenants are level-headed combat experts on both a tactical and strategic level with extensive financial and material resources to hand. Often taking on the most difficult (and therefore highest paying) missions with their platoons, the aim of most lieutenants is to accrue enough backpay to purchase a field commander commission, and the heavy combat rig that goes with that position.



While technically tasked with safeguarding the same corporate goals as every other Epirian division, issues can arise when SecDef units are forced to cooperate with Bot Handler commanders in the field. Their philosophy, character and approach are almost diametrically opposed to that of the average Handler. The SecDef's innate distaste for bots results in them having little faith in the abilities of their robotic allies, having seen them fail once too many in their long careers where they believe proper SecDef infantry would have got the job done. Nevertheless, they are professional enough to let the deadly Hunter Warmechs profit from their shoulder-mounted target designator. Many a foe has perished under a hail of strike missiles shortly after a SecDef lieutenant is inserted into enemy lines, quickly identifying and painting the largest threat.




SecDef Lieutenant Rules Card

You can find the SecDef Lieutenant in the Maelstrom's Edge online store here!