Operation Maelstrom

Welcome to the front lines, pilot! This is Forward Outpost Charlie, your home away from home here on the Frontier. Command’s claimed this planet for the United Star Systems – only problem is, the ‘Gangers think it belongs to them. Remnant forces fold in on the regular to pepper us with beam cannons. You’re going to see some serious action sooner rather than later…

Speak of the devil! I’d give you the full tour, but them klaxons are telling me them tower controls are lit up like a Christmas tree! Gear up and scramble, we’ve got incoming!

Operation Maelstrom was a Kickstarter campaign that 2nd Dynasty Launched in June of 2023, primarily featuring eight aerospace craft, a modular air base, and 28mm pilot and ground crew miniatures. It completed on July 13th, 2023. The pledge manager was hosted on MyMiniFactory and went live on July 17.

The eight craft from Operation Maelstrom: Left to right – Gaeru Barth, Gaeru Zalg, Hornet, Stinger, Firefly, Astrofire, Spidercrab and Lamprey

The first four craft premiered on 2nd Dynasty’s Tribes rewards, starting with the Stinger, followed by the Firefly, Spidercrab and Gaeru Barth. The remaining four craft were created from these designs, with their own unique parts and design concepts.

The pitch film for Operation Maelstrom

A special offer was made for Tribes members to offset the sunk cost of having backed for the months in which certain craft featured.

In addition to the craft, a modular prefab outpost was designed that is easily printed and expanded upon. The chief inspiration for this was Whiskey Outpost from the 1997 film, Starship Troopers. A control tower and landing platforms were added to give the airbase feel.

The Outpost, or a variant of an outpost – the design is very modular

Flight Deck Accessories including tankers, personnel movers, point defences, ladders, gantries and spotlights were available as an add-on along with Ground Crew and Pilot Miniatures sculpted by Kyoushuneko Miniatures and Koni Machado respectively.

The campaign included an all-in pledge with all of these options, and a total of 20 stretch goals were unlocked, including four additional aerospace craft and another 15 28mm character miniatures, 8 miniatures of the craft at 1:185 scale, and a variety of accessories.