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Debbie Bailey

We have just uploaded the FAQ 1.0 to the forums. We're keeping it there rather than the downloads page as it is a living document and it's just easier that way. Pop on by and take a look here. PW is our FAQ keeper. If you have questions, please post them on the forums.

In other news, we're still working diligently on Gracie and hope to show something soon. Apologies for the long wait. We certainly hope it will be worth it!

In yet other news, John and I would like you all to welcome John's wife Debbie Bailey to the Grindhouse crew. Debbie is taking over management of day to day business operations as she is trained for this sort of thing and we are not. We've just been making it up as we go :-). We just had our first big step up as Grindhouse has moved out of my house and into conditioned warehouse facilities with a loading dock. We haven't moved the beer fridge and Grindhouse posters in yet but we may do that by this weekend! It's a pretty great space. My architecture firm actually did the retrofit design of the historic building about a decade ago so I feel right at home. Anyhoo, y'all will likely start to see emails from Debbie as you put in orders and do business with us. Make sure and make her feel welcome. Send her an email: deborah@grindhousegames.com and say hi!

That's all for now...

Jim

The new print run has arrived at last. Europe and North America are completely restocked. As part of the print run we ordered a few extra loose boards and counter sheets because you people demanded it. Pick yours up now in "The Game" page of this site.

Jim

We here at the Grindhouse implore all you folks to get out and bug your FLGS owners to carry Incursion. We 100% support the FLGS. Previously it has been difficult as our distribution channels were quite limited. That is no longer the case. Steadily, distributors have been picking up the game worldwide. Over the last few weeks we have developed some major new relationships so every game store out there, anywhere in the world can now easily carry Incursion. No excuse! :-)

Just in time for the new print run and MI-13. Yes, we have bitten the bullet and done another print run of 2,000 copies of the board game. We thought we were done at 1000 but response has been really great. Lots of new friends have emailed us to send their supportive comments and purchased the game and miniatures. Looks like this thing might have legs after all. Still holding almost a 9 rating on Board Game Geek as well…even after people play it :-)

How your retailer can get Incursion:

In North America, your FLGS can get the game and miniatures from us directly but we encourage them to support our distribution partners primarily: Warpath Games (and FRP Games), e-figures.com (and the Warstore), and …drumroll… Alliance Distribution! There is a great 2 page article on Incursion in the upcoming issue of Game Trade Magazine by Diamond Comic Book Distribution so tell your FLGS owners to check it out! Alliance is accepting orders now for Incursion stuff.

In the UK and Europe, West Wind productions is your distribution channel as well as a retailer. They supply all the biggest game stores in the UK and abroad including Battlefield Berlin in…Berlin :-), Star Player in Paris, Wayland and Maelstrom Games in the UK and many many more in most countries in Europe. If your Favorite store does not stock Incursion, please let them know that it is available and you want it.

In Australia/NZ/Far East, we’re proud to announce Little Soldiers as our distribution/retail partner. Martin has been up and running for quite awhile as an ebay store but is in the process of expanding Little Soldiers into a distribution hub for select products down under. In addition to being a great guy and devoted hobbyist, he has chosen to focus on Incursion as the core initial offering for the newly revamped retail and distribution company. Watch the space as the website is just getting underway and they have many more lines planned. Little Soldiers is, like Grindhouse Games, the little engine that could! Frankly, I’ve been wanting to make this general Grindhouse worldwide distribution announcement for some time but waited for Martin to get the new WIP Little Soldiers site up which it now is. Australia rejoice! No more insane shipping costs getting your toys direct from us. Thanks to all you folks who have bought direct from us though over the last year. You have been instrumental in allowing us to move forward. You know who you are and you know I know who you are :-)

Check out Little Soldiers here all you Aussies and Kiwis…and pardon their dust as they are under construction:

http://http://www.littlesoldiers.com.au/

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Note that Gracie is not complete so we have no photos or art just yet. Rules and a stand-in card are included in the pdf though. Will update as soon as these bits are available.

Tom Schadle is working away and has sent us some previews of the painted MI-13. Very nice :-). Should be complete and posted in the next week or so.

Remember, the MI-13 infantry models are available in the store here on this website and through West Wind.

Much of the art gets cropped for the cards so below are a couple of Keith Lowe’s new MI-13 bits.

Enjoy!

This pre-release pack is only available as a set. It will be available any day now at West Wind in the UK so keep you eyes peeled. Orders from this store will ship next week. All models will be available through individual clamshell packs as well as the boxed starter set within the next couple of months as we finish our mountain of tasks and gear up for retail release. Get your pack now…

Beta test! We’ve posted up the beta rules here. I assume all you folks are waiting for your MI-13 models before jumping in and giving some feedback :-). Note that we have taken into account what feedback there has been, especially as it pertains to naming and the inclusion of a Corporal. Rules will shortly become final and official so get your two cents in while you can…

Please note that our stock of 30mm resin bases is very limited. If you order Fenris resin bases along with your models, please send us a note saying that you are okay waiting until we get re-stock in a couple of weeks before we send your models.

Jim

Here we are below in all our faded glory. This is your one and only chance to see a picture of John Bailey. I’m not kidding, he doesn’t do photos so this is a rare treat. Note how a nimbus of ethereal light plays about his head. Be scared… I’m in that pic too with dark circles under my eyes from working too damned much and being old. New beard as well. Surprised that it is so gray! Wife thinks its sexy so maybe I’ll keep it :-) Left to right: Todd Rumbach, Mike Stone, John, Me, Justin Balusik, Isaac Garcia, and Alex Bailey at the bottom. Alex is my nephew, John’s son, and is a wicked as hell Incursion player.

The day was tons of fun. Over the course of several hours we had four games going constantly and about 25 new players partaking. I was really heartened by this. Every single player was incredibly enthusiastic after playing. Some stayed all afternoon and taught others to play. Dragon’s Lair sold a bunch of copies of Incursion and I am even now corresponding with some of the folks who were blown away by the experience and want to help make this deal grow. What follows are a couple of quick pics John took. We thought you folks might be interested. This was really early in the day. It got nuts by late afternoon with lots of yelling and gesticulating…

T-shirts are to be delivered to us tomorrow as predicted. We probably won’t get them out in the mail until Monday though as we have a very busy weekend doing a launch event and other stuff. Just a reminder, there are a couple more L and XL shirts left. Two of each to be exact! You can pick them up right next to the new resin tab in the store.

Since the models are on the way, it’s about time for a public beta test of the MI-13 rules. We have done extensive internal testing but here at the Grindhouse, as you know, it ain’t real until the fans have a crack at it! Check out the rules on the forum here

Thanks again!

Jim

Well, the Grindhouse is a grinding. New shrink-wrap equipment is working like a dream and we just got the freshly minted US and German starter boxes in today along with a truckload of pre-cut foam! The boxes measure 8"w x 4.5" tall x 2.5" deep and project quite a presence. They are hefty suckers on 18 point chip with gloss aqueous coating. Y’all convince your pals to buy lots of new toys so we don’t feel really stupid about ordering up a truckload of boxes, okay?

All Incursion starter sets, worldwide will be shipped in this packaging henceforth. Well, it may take West Wind a couple of weeks to get all the new gear in order but essentially, this is a true statement :-)

We have some new greens to show you…but not yet >-) Not until they are perfect anyway. MI-13 is on the way. Between Simon Remis and Ian Brumby, we think we have one hell of an MI-13 boxed set in the works. Oh, rumor says Snurg is working on a big armored monkey too…

Remember to order your t-shirts by Friday!

Without further ado…

Please order by midday, USA central time this Friday, March 5. That’s when the order goes in to our printer. The shirts will not be available after that unless we just happen to have some extras. The great news is that these are being printed at Circle R in California with whom we’ve done probably a dozen runs over the last few years for club shirts, Warhammer events, etc. The date is solid. None of that China nonsense! (cold shiver)

Sorry for the short fuse…

:-)

That’s all! Just a friendly public service announcement from your pals at the Grindhouse!

Jim

All orders through West Wind have shipped as that stock has indeed arrived. Furthermore, I have asked Wendy to go ahead and ship all European orders that came through this store (that do not have an additional miniatures component) from her stock and those have also shipped. Thank you Wendy.

For those of you in the North America, Australia, (and one order from Indonesia), I ask for your patience just a little longer. We will ship the day after we get the stock. I am happy to offer refunds if you just can’t wait but I imagine there won’t be any takers on that :-)

Here’s the worst case scenario: We ship worldwide from the European stock. That would bankrupt the Grindhouse so I’m calling it the nuclear option! I’m confident we won’t come to that but I just wanted you all to know that your confidence is well placed with us.

Jim

“Hi Jim,
Just to let you know three pallets came in just now, all in good condition.
Andy’s comment – “Game absolutely gorgeous!”
Off to pack some boxes now………….."

Now, just awaiting the US shipment. Looks like Wednesday.

Jim

Quick update: US shipment is due here at the Grindhouse next week. UK shipment is due at West Wind later this week/early next week. Things are still on track from my last blog entry. The waiting is unbearable!

In other news, Ian at Fenris has developed some lovely resin 3D upgrades for your 40mm counters. These will not be available for a few weeks and we have not set a price yet but I thought you folks might want to join me in drooling for a bit. In Ian’s words:

“Three sets – 5 x generator control panel(set of 5); doomsday device, hidden tunnel, zombie pinger and cave-in markers (set of 5); and faction/side markers (set of 9). All based on 35mm squares to suit 40mm boards, and easily adapted for use as generic SF/pulp objective markers.”

Enjoy! :-)

Hope your holidays were swell. On my end I must say it was nice to spend some time with the family. January is upon us so it’s back to the grind!

I have just received notice from the shipping company that our precious was delayed at the port of Shenzhen for 2 weeks but has been en-route since last week. I wish the story was more exciting. Maybe a typhoon or the ship was attacked by Indonesian pirates or something but no.

Anyway, the US shipment will be at the port of Los Angeles on January 19th and here at the Grindhouse the next week. We have all the sets of miniatures in tins, resin bases and doors and free miniatures sitting here in great big stacks, ready for shipping when the precious gets here. Shipping labels are printed, customs forms are filled out, and shipping boxes assembled. Giant bags of foam peanuts await their duty!

Not long now!

Jim

This morning, at about 9:30 am, Jenni called me and said “it’s here”. Almost two years after this mad quest for the Incursion started, “it’s here”. Unfortunately I was stuck in client hell at my real job and couldn’t open the fedex box of the advance copy for two whole hours!

Here’s an iphone shot of the proud papa:

I couldn’t even bring myself to open the shrink wrap but all of my supportive colleagues at Alamo Architects were gathered around and made me do it :-). It’s fantastic people, simply fantastic. It took two months of trading paper and stock samples and discussing print sheen and paper tooth and weight and coatings and durability planning and lots of really technical dialogue about pre-press stuff. Don’t tell anyone but I sent “Age of Conan” to the manufacturer as the “match this or do better” starting point ;-). IMO, it’s better! This sucker is heavy. It clocks in at about 4 pounds: the stock is all that thick. The silky sheen is magnificent.

Here’s a crappy iphone shot of the box:

I look back over the development of this thing and I am deeply humbled. So many people worked so hard to make the little dream happen. Without all of you who have supported this madness, our merry band of designers (see the “about the team” page) would have been just jousting at windmills. I thank each of you so very much for what you have done. Your supportive emails and posts got this thing through the dark times and your faith in us as shown by your massive pre-orders sight-unseen has made it a reality. YOU made this happen. I am still in disbelief about the volume of orders for a product that did not until this minute exist…and no distribution network! Thank you for your trust.

We’re not over the hump yet. This is just a little run (but a massive financial risk) that will bring the whole venture to break-even and finally get the Grindhouse out of hock:-). There are about 300 copies left of the run so get yours now if you haven’t yet. Please spread the word. Let’s get this thing going, do another run, and get it into every game shop around the world. Let’s show the powers that be that the little guy CAN! Anyway, stock is being loaded into a shipping container for January delivery to UK and USA as promised…

We’ll get some professional photography done at some point soon but for now, because I can’t stand not sharing…as you probably know by now, here’s another crap iphone shot of the unboxed game. Note, the plastic stands are invisible down in the vac-formed tray because they are all black :-)

Thanks again everyone!

Oh, ps: vote for Incursion minis at TGN!

By February 15, 2010, post pictures of your entries on the forums in the appropriately labeled thread! You may enter any infantry unit of 5 or more models that is legal in either SoTR, Incursion (at least 5 models from one side or the other), or the Berlin or Bust beta OoB. Dioramas are cool! All entries, to be elegible to win, must contain at least some West Wind or Grindhouse elements on every model. This could be just heads for example. Winners will be chosen by the community on the forums as is our tradition. You must sign your name to your vote :-). You may not vote for yourself when voting time comes around. Note that since the judging is by the community, technical painting is not necessarily king. You just have to put up pictures models that all your peers want to take home :-)

Let’s have some prizes. Winners may claim their prize from either the West Wind or Grindhouse online stores.

1st place: 45 pounds or 70 dollars worth of whatever you want
2nd place: 25 pounds or 40 dollars
3rd place: 15 pounds or 25 dollars

Cheers!

If you have already pre-ordered your game from this website, you can add a set of doors to your order at no extra shipping charge by sending $20 by paypal to jim@alamoarchitects.com . Note that these doors are not required to play the game as lovely stand-up doors are included in the box. This is an upgrade set!

Please note also that if you forgot to order your sets of 30mm and 40mm resin upgrade bases when you placed your package deal order, you can do the same. Paypal $8 per set to the address above.

Please send a note along with your payment with your name and address so we can get the orders matched up correctly.

And we’re still taking preorders! About 350 copies left…

Jim

Bowing to extreme peer pressure, we have posted a pdf of the final rules pamphlet to the downloads page for you guys. It’s only mid quality resolution because the print-ready file is about a gig.

500 sold and we’re only 6 days into pre-order. Wow. You guys are really making this thing happen. Thanks to all of you for your support and words of encouragement.

Should have an advance copies by second week of December. Will share photos when they get in.

Jim

West Wind will have a pre-order button up in the next week or so.

The final proofs and whiteboard mockup were approved and sent back last week. Production began in earnest on Monday. It’s even nicer than I expected. Production is estimated to be complete by December 11 and delivered to us mid January.

We’ll put up photos of the finished product when we get our advanced copies next month.

Please note that there is also a special package deal that you can opt for.

Just a smidgen of an update here. China is on the ball AT LAST. I have been engaged primarily this week with them on the specifications for the vac-formed tray. It would blow your mind to know how complicated coordination is for any one component. My hat is off to all the cats who do this every day for a living :-). The good news is that the whiteboard mockup has been shipped. I should have my grubby mitts on it and the proofs in a few days. In the interim, here are a couple of bits of fun.

First, the new supplement for our insurgently successful tabletop wargame: Secrets of the Third Reich, Doomsday, is now available for pre-order on the West Wind website. If you are an Incursion fan, you’ll find all the rules for the Incursion cast of characters there in this 80 page book as well as another 75 or so pages of the ultimate in Weird War II goodness :-) Even if you don’t play tabletop games, you Incursion players should consider picking up the SoTR 1949 core book and Doomsday just for the background. After all, this is the world where Incursion is set! Check it out here

In other news, Ian at Fenris games has just sent over some photos of their new resin doors for all you hardcores who are building your Gibraltar environments from scratch or for all you guys who want to upgrade (in a major way) from the lovely die-cut chipboard pieces that will be in the box. Shots of the models both unpainted and painted follow. If you have not seen Fenris pieces in person, you are missing out. Photographs do not do them justice. The Fenris dudes are some of the best resin guys in the business. We will have them soon in the online store here at Grindhouse but if you are jonesin’ for them right now you can pick them up here

The die is cast and the contract is finalized. 1000 copies of Incursion will hit the market. If you want yours, you’d better darn well watch this space as preorders will start up in the next week or two for January delivery. Unfortunately, shipping by sea from China takes a month and a half :-(. 1000 copies is all we can afford to print. My guess is they will go almost immediately but we can’t afford further risk as we are doing this thing out of pocket on the heels of two years of massive out-of-pocket development investment. If you want a copy, you guys better keep checking this site :-). We’ll open up for preorders as soon as the proofs and mockup are coordinated…could be next week? Seriously, these will go really fast so you guys need to be on the ball.

To whet your appetite, here is a super low-res, not-to-scale shot of the front side of one of the four die-cut sheets. 1.5 mil laminated chip printed both sides then further chemically and heat laminated with matte film. The red lines represent where the steel cutting dies will stamp the sheet This is hardcore stuff :-).

Cheers! Y’all come back now…

Jim

We are still wrangling with the manufacturer but getting closer every week. The timetable has been pushed out by about a month due to some foot-dragging by the manufacturer. If I could snap my fingers, and have the goods in front of me I would but alas, the process must run its course.

Thanks for being patient folks. I would like to reiterate that we’ll start taking preorders through this website in the USA and through West Wind in the UK just as soon as I have proofs in hand and I’m confident that there won’t be further major delays. Don’t want to take anyone’s money until we’re sure when we can deliver…though we very deeply appreciate all of you who have offered!

Watch this space.

Jim

Incursion is going to print.

After a long and exhaustive search, we have been incredibly fortunate to find a reputable overseas manufacturer that is willing to take on a short run of a complex product. What? Complex? It’s just paper, right? Yeah, that’s what I thought when we started all this nonsense ;-) Negotiations have been finalized and we are doing a short run of 1000 copies of the Incursion boxed game. It will retail for $50 US. The pre-press work is done and all art is being uploaded this week. We should have proofs and whiteboard mockups within a couple of weeks with photos of the finished product in a month or so and final delivery by the last week of November (or about two months)

The board art is the same but everything else has been re-done to the nines and the rules have been slightly tweaked based on copious player feedback. This is a real treat. The art is beautiful. All stock and papers are of the very highest quality. As good or better than you will find in top products from folks like FFG, AEG, and Asmodee.

The components are as follows:

1. Rigid two piece box covered in art
2. 28 page rules book
3. Card rules summary/playsheet
4. 4 sheets of two-sided heavy-duty die cut pieces (132 total) including counters, doors and stand-ups for all the models.
5. Heavy duty two-sided six-fold game board
6. 87 cards including the full deck of battle and all model cards in multiples where appropriate. Also includes the unreleased Drohne card ;-)
7. 3 dice
8. 50 plastic stand-up holders for doors and “models”
9. Vac-formed plastic holding tray
10. More fun than you can shake a stick at!

We will begin taking pre-orders as soon as I have an advanced copy in my hands. Preorders will likely get a free goody. More on this when pre-orders are announced in about a month.

Drohne soon! Promise! Simon has been feeding us shots of MI-13 as well…

Thanks everyone. Will probabably post up some teaser stuff when I can find time…

Jim

Hop on over to the store and pick your sets up now. There is a set of 12 30mm bases in the German section of the store and a set of 8 40mm bases in the Allied section of the store.

Just a bit of an update… well, quite a bit of an update actually:

We will have the Fenris Incursion bases in stock very soon! Yours truly has acquired a sample set and they are most excellent. Unfortunately I was browbeaten by the owner of our FLGS here in San Antonio (Central Command Games) into giving up the first batch for his own collection :-). Ian at Fenris is talking crazy. He’s spouting about doing a full 3d board for sale! Don’t hold your breath but he’s just nuts enough that he might do it if there is a huge demand.

The sacred band of die hard fans have been mercilesly and continuously playtesting Incursion, especially locally. We thought it was pretty perfect already but we’ve found a couple of minor bits that need tweaking. Check out the forums for a couple of minor rules revisions.

If you haven’t visited the forum for awhile, you need to jump on into Gregory Privat’s “Close The Door” contest. Greg has developed some resin moulds for a set of massively cool doors. He thought about producing them for sale but in the end, had a much better idea. By September 15, you need to build your own section of 3D board that is clearly in need of doors and post pictures on the forum (or email and we’ll post them for you). Greg’s rules: “The best picture in my opinion will get 10 resin doors. The second best picture will get 10 resin doors too. The third best picture will get my admiration, as will all the other pictures” Good luck!

Drohne: Soon! It’s done and mastered and gorgeous. Awaiting painted version before we release. Possibly next month.

Where’s my MI-13!!!!??? Yeah, we’ve gotten alot of emails. Well, more than alot actually. We had hoped to get the boxed game published prior to sinking all the production costs into MI-13. They were envisioned as the first expansion. It looks like they may get kicked off sooner rather than later. The rules for them still need a ton of playtesting for Incursion but they are ready to go for SoTR and you know, the new SoTR book will be out shortly. Speaking of which, Andy Cooper is doing some pretty great things graphically with the new Secrets of the Third Reich book that Grindhouse wrote. I think you’ll all be impressed. Who’s sculpting MI-13? Well, master Seth Nash did Paddy but it looks like the superman from Spain, Simon Remis is taking up the challenge of building the range. Developing…

In other news, our favorite Belgian David Ausloos has taken up the gauntlet of developing all the print-ready art for an Incursion boxed game release. He is melding his own brand of cool with the design standards set by sister Tammy: Tears of Envy. He’s taking all the hamfisted layout done by yours truly, keeping the precious bits by Tam, and building us a truly world class graphic design package. All hail David Ausloos! You know, I just picked up the new Conan boardgame from Fantasy Flight (cos I’m a sucker for Conan) and compared what David is doing to it. Wow…that’s all I can say. It’s got nothing on this (besides plastic components :-)) Perhaps we’ll hit you with a few previews beyond the cover art shortly.

In closing, I want to personally thank each and every one of you for your support. I am so happy that I’ve come to know such a wonderful group of gamers around the entire world through this project. All the emailed well-wishes keep me and the other folks going on this thing. That’s good cos there ain’t no money :-). Every order you guys make from us or purchase you make from your FLGS helps us take this one step further. You are all part of this insurgency whether you like it or not >-). Fight the power! Make a homegrown deal real…

We’ll hopefully have more news on the boxed game soon. Take care, and bless you all. For now, here’s David’s front box design utilizing Tammy’s logo and general direction as well as Keith Lowe’s totally hip illustration:

Oh, ps! Starter sets shipped from this website still get tins…

Achilles over at Guerilla Miniature Games has posted up a very cool step by step how-to with some really creative ideas about putting together your very own set from the free pdf.

Check it out here

Starter Tins:
As described in the previous blog post, we are exploring the notion of packaging our starter sets in metal tins. We have a limited number available. Until we run out, every German or Allied starter set that is ordered from the Incursion website (only) will be sent out in tins as pictured below. The art on the back of the tin is the same as in the previous blog post. There is a layer of sturdy grey foam in the bottom of each tin and they are tall enough for your miniatures to stand up in. We have been using them to cart around game components, miniatures, and all sorts of other crap. We are carefully manufacturing them by hand at the moment as they are not being done in quantities large enough to warrant factory production. If any of you die-hard fans who have already purchased miniatures want either or both of these tins, send us an email to sales@grindhousegames.com. Individual tins sans miniatures are $6 US apiece.

Here are some pics of the Allied and German tins:

Next up on the fun, yummy list: resin bases! Our pal Ian at Fenris Games UK has developed a series of excellent Incursion bases that are an homage to Alden Miranda’s concept bases and dovetail nicely with the board art from David Ausloos. Check these bad boys out! We’re awaiting higher res photos from Ian and will post when we have them. These bases will soon be available from the Incursion online store and possibly from West Wind…and discerning retailers. For now, check out the Fenris Games ebay store and look up their “military industrial complex” line here

Here are some low res photos of most awesome stuff…

Thanks all. More developments forthcoming :-).

Jim

Note that this is English language only at the moment. We’ll catch up with French and Spanish soon.

Jim

Should have the prototypes done up in a few days. Will post pics…

Jim

Jim

You can find this version on the downloads page.

It’s been a very long 14 months in the making. It took lots of really late nights and long weekends by a whole bunch of dedicated people to make this a reality. Most people on the team worked for free or for very reduced rates in order to just make it real. It has been brutal but it has been a labor of love. We all hope you enjoy yourselves with this game.

I can’t thank everyone who worked on this here but I would, in particular like to call out my friend Tammy (Tears of Envy) who was always there to prop me back up when I started to fall. Also, without the expertise of Andy and Wendy of West Wind Productions, this thing likely would not be…

So, we have at last reached the end…of the beginning!

As a small consolation we have added Hans and the Blitzhund to the German starter pack on this website and discounted them appropriately. You can get the equivalent of the Mega Deal by purchasing both the Allied and the German Starter packs albeit at only about a 12% discount :-) Every little bit you guys buy helps us take this thing to the next level.

Keep your eyes on this space. The game is coming quite soon.

Jim

Still cranking away. All we lack at this point is a bit more work on the board and diagrams derived therefrom. Literally everything else is done and ready to release.

To celebrate the imminent free release, we have added a limited offer “Mega Deal” to this online store. It is composed of one of every miniature in the Incursion line for $100 as opposed to the normal price of $158. This kind of stupid discount is totally unsustainable so it is limited to 20 total Mega Deals. You can pick the Mega Deal up in either the Allies or Germans section of the store. When 20 have been sold, this item will be removed from the store. Note that it is ONLY available through this webstore.

To further whet your appetite for the final version, we present some of the board art below. David is really going all out. Enjoy! Patience people. We’re looking at days, not weeks. My mind is already wandering off into expanded missions and new models :-)

The indomitable Gregory Privat continues to grind away on the French translation and Juan Mieza is doing the same for the Spanish version.

We have a couple of more miniatures that are already sculpted/mastered but we have been so utterly and completely consumed with getting the game out that we have not had the time to bring them to market. This summer perhaps :-)

There have been thousands of games of Incursion played now and vast amounts of feedback. This thing is clean as a whistle! We’re certain you will all be impressed by the final version. Initially at least, release will be free. We are negotiating with various entities and printing houses as I write this but a print version, if it comes, will take months. We can’t hold this back for that long from all you die-hard supporters who are ready to get going so pdf it is for now.

Best check this site daily for the next couple of weeks. In addition to the imminent lauch, we will be buffing up the German starter set and doing a first come, first serve mega deal at a stupid discount. There won’t be many though.

Gotta go. Back to photoshop and Indesign hell :-)

It’s so close I can taste it…

Jim

Well, things are moving along nicely. Beta testing is complete for the initial go and the rules and game pieces are in final layout. The card and counter sheets are done and Tears of Envy is working wildly on the floor tiles. We have also begun layout on the rules pamphlet. Shouldn’t be too much longer now! June, as projected, is looking very real.

Just to confirm, the game will be released for free as a series of pdf downloads with instructions to print either on the cheap or at a professional level as your budget allows. We are messing around with prototypes now to determine how best to print your set for maximum effect. While we would prefer to bring a fully packaged and printed product to you, it appears to be, in the wake of this global economic meltdown, undoable. This may be a gift horse we’re looking in the mouth though. We get to take the next step down the road in our vision quest and you folks get some stuff for free! Furthermore, we’ll be providing counters for all the models so you hardcore gamers who don’t dig on models don’t have to actually buy anything at all from us. Please do though…we need the cash :-).

Incursion will be released in Spanish and French as well as English. Both translations are well underway. Juan Mieza has done a great job so far doing the Spanish version but he has much more work to do to hit the final. Gregory Privat is doing the French version with a team of volunteer editors who stepped forth from a call to arms in RAVAGE magazine. Greg is an incredible hobbyist. He has worked with us on Secrets of the Third Reich for some time now and is tearing into the translation with incredible gusto, just as Juan is. The Spanish and French versions will likely follow the English version by a few weeks as all the documents have to be heavily edited and the graphic design modified to accept the translations.

In other news, Keith has been playing catch-up with illustration and has rounded out the complement for model cards and counters. Check out the APE shots below. WOW!

Thanks for sticking with us friends.

Jim

HMG APE

APE Blazer

APE Sarge

Here’s the dog:

Anyway, Tears of Envy has been a bit tied up of late but she has just passed on the prototype for the Model Cards. The German and British cards will be a slight variant of this. The German cards will likely have a red background and the British, a blue background.

Check it out.

Jim

Time to hunt some APE!

Note: the Blitzhund pics are actually WIP. Seth added a small bit of fur to the nape of the Blitzhund’s neck, running down the small of his back for the final production mould. I hope to get pics of that little additional bit up for you all soon. The barrel is being painted just like Tears of Envy’s art in the gallery :-). The model is in 3 pieces: barrel, torso, and legs with a meaty ball-joint between torso and legs and a tight pin joint at the hand and barrel meaning assembly is easy but you can choose to have your Blitzhund vaulting over something other than a barrel with no real cutting required.

Check the Germans area of the online store.

New toys, yay!!!!

At any rate, I think this latest offering from Tears of Envy falls into the category of “MO”, but then I’m slack-jawed at everything our beloved illuminator from across the Atlantic devises. Three cheers for Tammy! May we see many more…

In other news:

Blitzhund and Hans should be released in the USA by next week: good lord willin’ and the creeks don’t rise. Just awaiting paint by the eminent Alden. Hurry up you pokey bastard! Alden keeps promising to make available through this website, resin versions of the bases he has created for the studio models. We must forgive him as he has a significant other that he is working to keep :-) Look at that jaw he has! Must be easier for him than the rest of us shlumpy mortals…

We have released the public Beta and are getting a great deal of feedback both privately and in public. Yes, there are a couple of holes! But not many…at all >-). We are pleased to welcome to our ranks of internal testers the indomitable Andy Dunks of the USA and Juan Mieza who recently translated the Beta Incursion ruleset into Spanish. We continue to work on all the new units and missions as well as refining everything you see in the Beta. Please don’t hesitate to jump right into the conversation. We think you’ll find that our crew is just in it for the glory of this damned thing…for pure perfection. No egos, no agendas…just pure perfection…and we desperately want to hear what you have to say.

Next up: Adepticon USA! Grindhouse Games has partnered with Adepticon to provide an APE model to every single player. We have created a special production mould to produce 800 Grunt APEs: one for each and every participant on the 40k side. Watch the Adepticon site next week for all the gory details. Well, there aren’t many more gory details actually… John and I, as organizers of the Alamo Warhammer GT, Indy stronghold and official circuit event are proud to sponsor our brothers at Adepticon. Seth is just along for the ride, bless his heart:-)

Enough rambling. Without further ado, the poster:

Here is a high-res version of the poster for all you crazy cats who’d like to print it out at large scale for your own wall or to print out some flyers at 8-1/2×11 or 11×17 to impress all the the girls or, more likely, the goons at your favorite local gaming store. We encourage this! If your gaming store is already carrying Incursion or you really really want them to, contact us and we’ll send you some flyers for the counter :-)

Movie Poster 1

Feast thine eyes oh Grinders:

We have set up a sub-forum specifically for our Spanish speaking friends over at the forum to discuss the Beta.

Juan will moderate this forum and translate any questions or observations for the benefit of the design team.

Incursion Beta en Espanol

Incursion Beta en Espanol

Thanks Alden!

Jim

Jim

Jim: Ok Billy, we’ve just written this new character into the movie. Actually, I kinda think he’ll be pretty important. It’s Zip Kelly, the Hurricane: British superhero. The writers are getting pretty excited about the idea. They say he can only have tights if we pre-modernize him with stuff like boots and belts and a trenchcoat. They keep going on about Miller and Mignola and how that’s what THEY would do. Nobody but the big DC and Marvel guys get to wear tights without accessories anymore. Shame, really. Anyway, I think Zip Kelly is this total badass. We gotta get Clive Owen for him. Clive’s jaw is most excellent.

Billy: This is great. What are his ‘powers’? Love the trench.

Jim: Dunno. He’s just sort of generically “super” at the moment

Billy: Played by Harrison Ford kind of “super” then…. Perhaps just really lucky…

Jim: Nahhh. Clive Owen. And Paddy Mayne is Daniel Craig, right? Or better yet, Sean Bean.

Bill: Sean Bean, is he the guy in that crazy car/killer whatever movie? Looks kind of like Jason Statham?

Jim: He’s been in a bunch of stuff. He was Boromir in Lord of the Rings.

Billy: Sheffield’s finest! Now I remember him. He was in National Treasure. You’re the director, so it’s your call, but I think he’s too pretty boy for Paddy. You need a guy that looks like he’s been in a few pub brawls. JMHO….you’re the artist….

Jim: So, can we get Clive for Zip Kelly? We gotta nail down Gretel too. She’s huge.

Billy: Clive Owen. Okay. I just cut two months out of your production schedule and reduced your budget twenty percent. Turn in that crack pipe, Jimmy. Off to lunch!! (“Albert, Grey Goose up with a twist, please”.) Get busy, sweetie. Seriously.

Later:

Billy: Jimbo, we tried to get Brad and Angie to do it, but it ended up that Phillip Seymour Hoffman was free then and we were able to score Peneope Cruz for the Gretel von X thing…whaa?? Oh, come on, baby, I know what you’re thinking without even being there. I mean she’s a salon away from being blonde, and anyway she and Phil as Zip will have tremendous chemistry …really… honest…. I mean she’s already got AN accent…work with me here.

Jim: I was really thinking Gretel was more like Reese Witherspoon. And what do we do about the APEs? Moretti and Rackley and the other guys? I suppose you just go through the Band of Brothers/ Private Ryan lineup…

Billy: Well, Scarlett can be ugly, I must say. Just turn the part down, bitch, don’t stuff it down my throat. Two weeks with Sofia in Japan and she thinks she’s an Indie Goddess. Fuck her. I don’t know….We may have some hard sell to do on this one Jimmy. I need a treatment quick, and no more little e-mail scattered notes. We need to also find Zip’s “troubled side” in case we need to go with Val Kilmer. He’ll also want the front of the tights exposed, so don’t plan any gear to hang over The Senator, if you get my drift.

Reese: cute idea!!

You can’t afford Reese on your budget. Stop now and take a deep breath. Go into Mountain Pose.

If we can’t get Penelope, and I have to say she’d be KRA-ZEE at this point in her “career” to turn this down, I think we might, MIGHT be able to get that woman who plays Grace on “Will and Grace”…oh, what’s her NAME??....crap…ORRRR….hmmm, okay go with me here: How about Candace Bergen…okay, OKAY I hear you, she’s a little old, but she’s got that winsome engenue/ballbuster thing down, she’s blonde, or could be…again…and probably would be very free to meet our timetable….just sayin’…of course you have com-PLETE creative control, but….

As for the apes, well, we can’t afford any of those Band of Brothers guys or the Private Ryan guys, though an “open casting call” in North Hollywood might get us some of the extras from Saving Ryan’s Privates, with any luck….just sayin’…hey, do the apes wear tights?

Later:

Billy: Jimulator- back from a VERY GOOD MEETING with, and get this, Steven SEAGAL!! He is VERY INTERESTED in the Paddy Mayne character, though not old and no cigars. Steven is a raw food vegan, so we’ll have some issues if things have to be eaten on camera. But look – you could be just like Tarantino – The Resurrector!! I’m smelling Oscar. Go with me here: Think crypt-ready Travolta! Think totally forgotten Pam Grier! I’m feeling really good about this kind of, oh, return from obscurity approach to casting. Of course the savings is just an aside here, it’s really just the artistic idea. But then I guess I’m dabbling where I shouldn’t.

Do you think we can find a place for Charles Nelson Reilly? I know it’d be some work butching him up, but the thing needs a lite side, don’t you think? Oh, Jeez, again here I go butting in on the artistic side. Well, let me know your thoughts. I’ll be out tonight. Barbra’s throwing yet another fundraiser for Obama, even though he’s been elected for weeks now. Need to dial up the meds Barb!

Ciao

Jim: Bill, we’re not casting a straight to video movie here. This is art. This is serious. We’re going to shoot the moon with this one. You need to convey this, okay? I’m counting on you Billy. I realize we have a somewhat limited budget but we’re going all the way to the top and people need to get onboard before the train leaves without them. We’re tee-ing this one up for a home run.

Sorry, mixing my metaphors again aren’t I?

And we haven’t talked about Slugger yet. Can you focus in on him for a minute please? Who’s Slugger Murphy? Big square-jawed cigar chewing, 5 oclock shadow, burly sergeant type. Brian Dennehy maybe?

Stay tuned for more

All of you who are planning on making your own 3D board, give me a shout as I have a bit more info to pass on than this. It is information that is really only relevant if you intend to go 3d though so please restrain yourselves from asking if you don’t intend to go 3d but instead plan to play the game as a board.

Please read the introduction carefully before beginning.

Thanks so much for your support everyone. We look forward to tales of glory and fun!!!

Jim

So the notion of the Zombie Bomb was born. At the time, 9/11 and the rampant suicide bombings in Israel were much closer than they are now so we all felt a bit nervous about the idea but somehow, it was really okay for zombies to be explosives delivery devices. It would put the poor bastards out of their misery anyway and would surely be better for their unfortunate victims than having their brains eaten or guts gobbled while they still lived. The image below is of the most excellent Zombie Bombs that Andy Cooper of West Wind designed and produced for Secrets of the Third Reich, painted by yours truly (you understand now why guys like Alden are doing the painting for Incursion :-)). These are the very first of their kind, are the progenitors of the Bomberzombies, and all further permutations of the concept yet to come!

Zombie bombs were designed by the SWD to act primarily as assault engineers. They are tasked with blowing fortified bridges and emplacements as well as tackling enemy armor. Their usefulness does not however end there. They are first and foremost, weapons of terror. They are sometimes fitted with biological agents such as V-gas canisters, reactor rods for dispersal of radioactive elements, high explosives, and even common pathogens such as the black plague, killing influenza strains and other airborne killers that are strengthened in this time of madness where antibiotics are worth their weight in gold. The zombies don’t mind.

Another time as we gathered about the Grindhouse design table, John said, “wouldn’t it be most excellent if these guys were like seriously giant walking bombs, like naval mines”. I giggled, “like explosive Weebles? Naval mines with little zombie appendages sticking out?”. He said, “yeah man, exactly”. At this point we were laughing so hard I was dribbling beer out of my nose. Not sure if it was the idea that was funny or the twelve-pack I had downed during the design session but anyway we were off and running. Well, along comes Incursion in May 2008 and then we’re not laughing so much. It sounds like a hell of an idea. What better to tackle Allied destroyers and aircraft carriers? Guided mines. That meant that Gibraltar would need a high bandwidth pinger to control these guys and that high frequency heavy transmission would be the allies first clue that something serious was down in the depths.

Into the picture steps Dan Pacey. Dan’s done a bunch of work for GW and is a fantastic concept artist and a hell of a zombie sculptor, bless his heart. The Grindhouse crew is utterly merciless in its internal criticism. Poor Dan would draw something super cool and we would all tear it to shreds. Everything any one of us writes, draws, or sculpts is subjected to the most intense, soul-searing, god-awful criticism known to human-kind. I think you folks would be shocked at the hell we put each other through in the pursuit of excellence…all in a spirit of comraderie though. We’ve all become accustomed to it and I think the product says that we’re doing the right thing. Anyway, here comes Dan doing the first Bomberzombies in the “Weeble Method” (tee-hee):

We were all feeling a bit goofy about the concept but that’s never stopped us before. We posted up a couple of the “Weeble Methods” on the forum and got a pretty mixed reaction. A number of folks said “Hell yeah!” but enough folks expressed restrained support that it was clear a new direction was needed. Dan does the back bomb! The sketch below is of a more realistic version of the Bomberzombie than the Weeble. These sketches really show off his technical proficiency and are incredibly characterful. None of us felt that this was quite there despite the endearing nature of the vignettes.

Dan Pacey vindicated! Dan’s first rough sketch back in Spring of ’08 was of a zombie totally laden with explosives and the first glimpse of the fist detonators. None of us really “got it” but after all the Weebles and the backpack bomb, I guess he’d had enough of our knuckle-chewing and hand-wringing and did one incredibly evocative sketch that sold us all on the concept. Dan Pacey wins. The gut bomb and ragged face he drew are only part of the picture however. The other really innovative bit is the prosthetic detonators that are the Bomberzombie’s fists that are a recurring theme thoughout his sketches. This turns the BZ into a true “Panzerfaust” which translates to “tank-fist” in German. Works well against ship hulls below the water line too! The first image is Dan’s very first concept sketch followed by the very grainy bit that finally became the Bomberzombie:

Next comes the most talented Keith Lowe’s technicolor rendition of Dan Pacey’s final concept. Keith has been tasked with illustrating all of the concepts of the design team in a cohesive and immediately recognizeable format as dictated by Tears of Envy. He is a hell of an artist as well as being a really talented concept guy himself. We’ll give him more space to talk later but he did Ilsa von X all on his own and Seth and the others were all so taken by it that Seth made Ilsa in Green Stuff and John, Agis, Tom, and I wrote her into the game. This is just one example of how the team works. We’re a dynamic black box of ideas and only the best stuff stands…but I digress.

So finally we have Dan Pacey’s most excellent Bomberzombie masterpiece sculpt painted by Alden Miranda. The unique character of this model is self evident. You can really feel this poor guy’s sadness and malevolent disposition. Seth Nash then stepped in to do a conversion of Dan’s original and threw an even more irreverent twist on it. By slightly hunkering the model down and giving it both a steel skull and a raging open-mouthed silent scream, he has made something quite special. Mean Machine anyone?

We all know that zombies are the bacon of wargames because EVERYone loves that stuff. Well, if that’s the case then Bomberzombies are breaded, chicken fried bacon with white gravy on the side :-)

Thanks for reading. As I or others on the team find the time, we hope to share more insights into our design process with all of you.

Jim

Hans von X is the eldest of the von X children. Hugo’s early experiments on him went horribly wrong and a monster was created. Hans is at peace wandering the channel floor of the straits of Gibraltar, losing himself in the contemplative loneliness of the briny deep. He is melancholy and childishly sweet but prone to fits of blood rage and insensibility. He is at the vanguard of the bomberzombies as they make their attack runs on allied shipping and keeps a collection of frogmen skulls he has harpooned at Gibraltar’s undersea gates. In the tunnels, he hunts APE.

The photos attached below are for the remaining APEs: Grunt APE II, APE Blazer, APE Sarge, and HMG APE.

He was deep, that much he knew; below sea level. Water dripped here and there from the stained concrete ceiling and every surface carried a light sheen of damp and mold. This was uncharacteristic of the Germans. Maybe the dehumidifying equipment had broken down? He started to light a smoke when the V-Ger started a slow staccato tick in his left ear that increased rapidly in frequency until it sounded like static from the old wireless radio back home that they used to sit around and cheer on the Dodgers. “Damn” he whispered under his breath, then he clicked over the speaker on his radio; “Sarge, we got company. Northwest, comin’ in fast.”

Cold sweat beaded on his face and back and his hackles rose as he saw a scuttling movement in the dark down the corridor ahead of him. He opened up with his packed .30cal. CHUD CHUD CHUD CHUD CHUD , his gun thrummed. The shakes subsided as he screamed “on me, ON ME, we got ZEDS!!!”

A bit of an update on things:

The sculpting team is getting back into the swing of things. Hans von X (who you guys have not seen yet) is done and ready for mastering. Drohn is moving along nicely as well.Seth is already at work on the Blitzhund.

Tears of Envy is hard at work on the board layout. At the moment the biggest challenge is how to deal with perspective on a large board while not obscuring intersections between playable squares. Once we get over that hump, things should move fairly quickly.

Playtesting continues. We’re finding fewer and fewer holes every week. The next task is to begin testing all the german reinforcements. I expect that the month of February might see a beta be released. Possibly early march depending on how thing go.

Anyway, enjoy Ilsa. Here she is!

“ T O H C ”
No one knows how it began but many Veteran British soldiers now have it written on their neck collar. It supposedly means that if they die in the field, they want their head cut off to prevent reanimation as zombies for the enemy. Rumor has it that the TOHC stands for “Take Off Head Chap,” but no one knows for sure. The four letter message has begun spreading to American and other allied units, as well.

Quote from Benjamin Nesbitt, correspondent.

Guess this guy’s buddies got squeamish. Let this be a lesson to you all.

When Jim brought me on board and described Incursion, one of the first
questions I asked myself was, “how can I make the design different”? By
virtue of its DieselPunk/Weird War II theme, the game has similarities
to titles like Tannhauser, Crimson Skies and Dust. I wanted our
publication to sit along side these in terms of quality, but to be
distinct in its look.

These other works have tended to use a common visual theme of wartime
paper ephemera. Best articulated by Tannhauser, they use a scrap-book
like presentation which works wonderfully. So, how could we be
different? The answer came from our company name: Grindhouse. I chose to
explore a more cinematic design inspired by 1940s propaganda films,
1950s “Duck & Cover” information reels and finally the exploitation
cinema that gives us our nom de guerre. This is articulated by the use
of celluloid strips, distributor and laboratory logos, warning stencils
and film poster layouts. It has sometimes been a struggle for me not to
pull things too far in one of these three directions, but so far I think
I have restrained myself.

So, what can fans expect in the future? The answer is: more gorgeous
artwork from Keith, more opulent layouts for rules and decals and
eventually a box and rulebook that will blow you away. I leave you with the
three “mood boards” I did last summer to show Jim the direction I wanted to
go in to set the mood of the game.

Lights! Camera! Action!

Tears of Envy

Hopefully you might take that sort of emotion from the Stahlsoldat. As
an illustrator, you’re always trying to capture some kind of feeling
from the character you’re working on. For the Blitzhund it was a
fierce and raw intensity, the Lucky Seventh – a power and heroism, and
from the Sturmzombies – an undead… well… zombie creepiness! You can
achieve this through the posing of the character, through facial
expressions, or even utilizing dynamic lighting. It can be challenging
to find this and make the character of the art supplement the model
it’s based on. This challenge is made much easier when you have
photos of those lovely minis to work from, and the Incursion
sculpting team was able to provide just that! What a wonderful set of
figures you have to look forward to. Certainly big thanks from me to
them for their steady stream of photo reference.

In the end it’s been a joy to have the opportunity to paint so many
different kinds of characters. The Incursion team has really done a
great job of creating a wide variety of character types. Zombies with
naval mines in their tummies, American GI’s in powered armor suits, a
former British rugby player turned war hero, and of course mutated
German women with machine guns. There’s always been an element of
surprise when I look in my inbox and see what I might be working on
next!

It’s been great to be able to play a small part in the production of
Incursion. I hope you enjoy the art as much as I have enjoyed making
it!

-Keith

Enjoy

Jim

Notice the Louisville Slugger logo on the bat. We’ll be moving on to completing the paint jobs on the German line next prior to finishing up the rest of the APEs.

Note the rank badges and spade squad markings as well as the division marker on the right shoulder pad. The left pad is reserved for personalization and I expect we’ll see some interesting stuff by Alden as well as some cool transfers by Tears of Envy.

Without further ado, Grunt APE 1 !

Jim

The eagle eyed amongst you will have seen that it’s the rock of Gibraltar that plays host to Hugo Von X and his minions. A former British stronghold, it has been overrun by the Axis powers and converted into a research post. So what does this place look like? I want to take it further than the obvious fortified tunnels and labs that the background suggests.

The first thing I would like to express is multi levels. This is tricky as the board game, by its nature, is set on one floor. However, I think by using shafts, grates and apertures it is going to be possible to view the levels below. Thus I hope to make it plain to the audience that they are exploring one level of a much bigger structure.

Another theme I would like to articulate is the place’s naval heritage. As a coastal fort it will have sluice channels, subterranean dockyards as well as the obligatory bulkheads and pressure-sealed doors. Given that Hugo needs to pump the detritus from his experiments somewhere, I would imagine the seawater at the foot of The Rock will be less than pleasant.

I am very fond of the work of British sci-fi writer Nigel Kneale, most famous for his Quatermass stories. In a number of his works he explores the idea that a place can be bad – that cursed sites have a history of sorrow, pain and fear dating back hundreds or thousands of years. I think this is certainly the case with The Rock. Who knows what secret conclaves of the Holy Inquisition it might have hosted, or what petrified remains might be embedded in its limestone strata? Just because Hugo values his soul too much to open Vault XIII is not going to stop Slugger and his squad from taking a shortcut…

I look forward to exploring and articulating these themes (with a surreal streak that I cannot seem to suppress) in glorious photo-realism next year. I hope to deliver a high quality board for what is sure to be the “must have” game of 2009.

Have a good Christmas and I leave you with a present from The Rock that you really don’t want to step in!

Tears of Envy

We’re up and running! A big thanks to everyone involved. This website is a work in progress and we intend to add some new features over time but the fundamentals are all here.

A little bit about the Grindhouse for those of you who don’t know us:

Our primary design goals are to develop an unparalleled gaming experience, create a unique miniatures catalog of the very highest quality, and do good art. By good art, we mean that we intend to push the limits of what many may have come to expect from the genre of Weird WWII and give you, the audience some serious meat to chew on.

Be warned! We’re pretty irreverent in our approach. We’re doing a comic book viewed through the lens of a seventies Grindhouse flick so don’t expect much in the way of realism. You can, however, expect excellence :-)

Check out the Wave I releases in the store. The Incursion game will include many more miniatures choices than what you see here. Wave II is even now underway and we intend to release models as they become available. Note that we have a few unpainted models out there. Our painters are working furiously and every few days we should have more images of painted models up for you to see. We expect that the game will not include miniatures in the boxed set so start painting now to be ready for the June/July 2009 release! Just wait until you see what else is on the way!

Well, that’s all from me for now

Thanks for visiting the site. I hope you’ll check back every now and then to see what we’re up to. If nothing else, you’ll probably find me or one of the other gang here ranting on the blog :-)

Oh, and buy some toys!

Jim