Lucky 7th – APE Knights

In the cramped tunnels of Gibraltar the most common death for an APE is by Sturmzombies, but only after their weapon has jammed or run dry.

APE Knights are being field tested as an alternative load-out for Grunt APEs. In place of the Browning .30 cal, they carry a massive APE-sized tower shield with steel thick enough to stop rifle caliber bullets.

It's too early to tell if APE Knights are more survivable, and so far only the most foolhardy have volunteered. Surviving Knights quickly learn to improve upon the Grenade Drill by shielding themselves from their own blast.

These are custom models I made for the US Lucky 7th faction in the Incursion boardgame.

They were inspired by the melee Terminators in Space Hulk (the ones with a Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield).

The baseball bat is obviously not as practical as the oversized pneumatic hedge clippers ... but it looks so damn cool!

Conversion Details

• The models are APEs from Incursion.
• The shields are Mechanical Shields from Max Mini. I filed off the gothic Warhammer 40K look from the front of the shields. I wasn't brave enough to try sculpting a glass viewport on the front of the shields (to match the viewport on the back). 
• I did a lot of finicky cutting, sanding, and pinning around the shoulder and elbow  to get the shield positioned in a decent way.
• The bases are from Dragon Forge Design. Read more about my scenic Incursion bases here.

Game Stats

APE Knight

Requisition Points	3
Action Points	3
Fortitude	6
Damage Points	4
Limit	2

Armaments:

• HTH Weapon – An APE Knight adds +1 to each DD for HTH Attacks it initiates.
  
• Grenades

Special:

• Unstoppable – See SNAFU page 10.
• Improved Grenade Drill – An APE Knight is immune to it's own grenade blasts.
  

 

Design Notes:

• APE Knights have +2 Damage Points compared to other APEs thanks to their shields.

SWD – Von X Clones

After revoking his loyalty to the Reich, Hugo found himself increasingly paranoid about who he could trust. In a spark of brilliance, he decided to clone his own children. Who better to trust than those of your own blood...

 

Gretel Von X Clones

 

Left to Right:

• Gretel 1 – Original Gretel. Armed with an MP 40 and Grenades.
• Gretel 2 – Armed with an MP 40, a Geballte Ladung, and a mean haircut.
  
• Gretel 3 – Armed with an MG 15 and Grenades.

The plastic weapons and bits are from Rubicon Models's German Stowage Set 2.

Ilsa Von X Clones

 

Left to Right:

• Ilsa 1 – Original Ilsa. Armed with dual MP 40s and Grenades.
  
• Ilsa 2 – Armed with a Panzerschreck and a Luger Skorpion Machine Pistol.
  
• Ilsa 3 – Armed with dual MP 40s and a Tellermine.
  

The plastic weapons and bits are from Rubicon Models's German Stowage Set 2. The Luger Skorpion is from SoTR's German Weapons Pack.

 

Hans the Hunter Clones

 

Left to Right:

• Hans 1 – Original Hans. Armed with a Harpoon Gun and Club.
  
• Hans 2 – Armed with a Shield and Club.
  

The shield is from Max Mini: Mechanical Shields. I filed down the front to remove the gothic Warhammer 40K look. I wasn't brave enough to sculpt a glass viewport on the front of the shield (to match the viewport seen from the rear view).

Bases

The bases are from Fenris Games, Dragon Forge Design, and Gadzooks Gaming. Learn more in this post: Incursion Scenic Bases.

Motivation

I always found it strange that when you kill Gretel in one mission, she can come right back in the next mission! (The same goes for Ilsa and Hans of course.) I know it's just a "game", but I like my games to lean towards believably when possible.

I thought long and hard about this problem, and in my own spark of brilliance I realized why not use clones!! It's the perfect solution.

Furthermore, there's already precedence in Secrets of the Third Reich for the Germans to have cloning technology:

SoTR G-DOOM03 Clone Tanks

Result

These are some of my proudest conversions! I'm so pleased with how these came out. Especially Ilsa with the Panzerschreck and Gretel with the MG 15. That MG-15 was such a PITA to stick in her hands.

Narrative Ideas

Imagine that the Allies don't know the SWD has cloning technology. The SWD knows this and uses this to their advantage. During the initial stages of the Gibraltar assault, the SWD carefully divides their clones along different "fronts" to hide the fact that they have clones. Then, during a crucial battle, the SWD unleashes an army of clones to gain the upper hand.

Once the Allied commanders learn the truth, they task the MI-13 with locating and destroying the cloning facilities. Similar to The Hive (SNAFU, pg 32) where the MI-13 have located a Drohne factory and are moving in to sabotage it.