APE stands for Armoured Personal Exoskeleton; which is the name for the USA’s battle armour in Incursion.

Incursion is a Wierd World War 2 game, set it an imaginary universe where WW2 didn’t end and instead things got wierd. There are a number of such settings, both in pop culture and miniature gaming. For example Wolfenstein 3D, Iron Sky and Hellboy. The setting is dark, but usually very pulp with overly heroic Allied heroes and diabolically evil Axis villans. Incursion is no exception, it’s set in Westwind’s Secrets of the 3rd Reich universe, and the year is 1949. Nazi chemical and nuclear weapons (that’s right – here the Nazis create the first atomic bomb) have laid waste to most of Europe, but the fighting has continued and so has ‘science’. The Nazis have developed Zombies, werewolves and various other monstrosities. While the Allies have developed diesel powered battle armour and giant robots (the Germans have these too).

Incursion itself is a 2 player board game where one player is the US Lucky 7th (all in their A.P.E. battle armour) and the other the German super science division with Zombies, Werewolves, the Von X twins and more. It’ played on a board with a square grid that dictates movement, ranges and LoS. Looking for something to compare it to, I’m always drawn to Space Hulk. But the rules are cleaner/simpler and playing the bad guys (Gene Steelers/Germans) is a lot more fun. The boardgame, miniatures and other Secrets of the 3rd Reich stuff is available from Westwind.

As I post some of the minis from this game you’ll start to get an idea of the feel/vibe of this game. Spoiler: it’s really pulpy and the USA is the good guys.

Incursion is one of those games I really want to play, I have a bunch of stuff for, but no person near me who is interested. Given Melbourne is still, at the time of writing, in strict lockdown there’s no socialising and so no playing. So there’s no pressure to paint something that will go on the table: a perfect time for this type of project.

Captain ‘Slugger’ Murphy

First we have Captain ‘Slugger’ Murphy. He leads the Lucky 7th, the US Army’s APE equipped unit. Like all good pulp leaders he has dispensed with his helmet and instead sports a cigar (that’s how you know he’s in charge). He also has a melee weapon, again because he is a commander. Armed with a .50cal revolver and basebal bat (named Bambi and Thumper) he’s in charge and tough as hell. For his painting I’ve tried to include a bit of a stubble look on the face, it’s subtle but I reckon it’s there. These are all painted fairly similarly, so there’s not a huge amount to say about each one, so I’ll put a little below.

Sarge in Charge

Next up it’s the second in charge: Sarge – he’s who is really in charge. Because he’s a commander we can see his face and he has a melee weapon. But this time it’s an axe and a mounted M1948 Browning MG. There’s also an underslung grenade launcher for when a machine gun does quite express enough displeasure for what’s at the other end of the room. I decided to add some interest to the axe by going with a NMM blade. I’ve not done a heap of NMM, but I’m happy how it came out and I think it looks like quite a fine axe.

Grunt APE

This guy is your standard APE: LMG and a power fist. There’s nothing special about these guys, unless you count wandering round in diesel power armour with a mounted machine gun as special. But we don’t, so they’re just grunts. Armed with a mounted Browning 1948 MG, but absent the grenade launcher given to Sarge. I’ve gone with another, but different hued NMM on the shovel. It’s not a massive effect, but I’m pretty happy with it.

I’ve also had one of these sitting around for a while, like more than 5 years a while. The colours are similar (well the main armour colour at least).

HMG APE

This guys is the first of the APE specialists. Not special enough to have a name, but special enough to be given a different weapon and not wear a helmet. He’s got a .50cal heavy machine gun that provides enough lead down range to make one hell of a mess of anything it runs into. His backpack is also specialised to carry all that ammunition rather than food and other non-essential stuff. He’s got the power claw, just in case something comes from a different direction than the gun is pointing. I’ve gone for an NMM effect on the claw as well; it’s in a similar colour to the grunt’s shovel above.

Flamer APE

Another specialist APE, but this time with a flamethrower. He’s special enough to not have a helmet, but no one’s stupid enough to have a flamethrower and not wear a helmet and gas mask.

Colours

I’ve gone for a classic US army green for these guys. They are crazy enough that I just don’t think you need to go even further by adding whacky colours. So it’s fairly muted, with different bits and pieces of the armour picked out in different colours. I also used decals for the US Army and Lucky 7th insignias. These aren’t available any more, but were produced for a Kickstarter a few years back.

• Armour:
• Base: XB-518 Russian Postwar Green (A.MIG-083)
• Highlight: Tenere Yellow (SC10)
• Shadow: Inktense Black (SC79)
• Pistons:
• Shadow: Eclipse Grey (SC16)
• Mid-tone: Graphite (SC03)
• Highlight: Nacar (SC02)
• Hoses & joints:
• Shadow: Anthracite Grey (SC04)
• Mid-tone: Graphite (SC03)
• Highlight: Arctic Blue (SC05)
• Air tank:
• Shadow: Sahara Yellow (SC11)
• Mid-tone: Sol Yellow (SC40)
• Highlight: Tenere Yellow (SC10)
• Shoes:
• Base: Shadow: Eclipse Grey (SC16)
• Wash: Inktense Black (SC79)
• Leather:
• Base: Black Leather (SC32)
• Mid-tone: Orange Yellow (SC28)
• Highlight I: Iroko (SC27)
• Highlight II: Birch (SC25)
• Skin:
• Base: Basic Flesh (SC20)
• Highlight I: Golden Skin (SC19)
• Shadow: Indian Shadow (SC23)
• Highlight II: Light Skin(SC18)
• NMM Steel:
• Shadow: Caspian Blue (SC07)
• Mid-tone: Berin Blue (SC06)
• Highlight I: Arctic Blue (SC05)
• Highlight II: White (SC01)
• Wood:
• Base: ??? (SC)
• Filter: Inktense Chestnut (SC81)
• Grain: Brown Leather (SC31)
• Concrete:
• Base: ??? (SC)
• Wash: Inktense Black (SC79)
• Dry brush: ??? (SC)
• Base Rim: Brown Violent (VMC 70.???)

I think the most pleasing thing is looking at them next to the one I painted a while back, I remember him taking me ages. So while these weren’t exactly quick I’m really happy with how they look, and I think I’ve gotten quite a bit better.