Author Topic: Projects by Jmash - WIP (Read 6943 times)

Jmash · « **on:** September 11, 2021, 04:41:27 PM »

Hello all,

For some time now I have been wanting to create a WIP thread to share my progress with the good people of this forum, I've had it on the backburner but it has suddenly dawned on me that if I didn't pull my finger out and do this soon, then all the work will be completed and I wouldn't have any progress to actually share with you!

As I've had a day to myself this weekend I've finally put some effort into getting my WordPress blog-thing established to a degree where I'm relatively happy with it; I've now added a link to "Projects by Jmash" jmash91.wordpress.com into my signature below and hope to start adding some content into it from now on - I can't promise it will be regular like clockwork and the blog is in itself still WIP but I'll try to update with anything significant as and when I can.

To be honest most of the stuff I'll be putting on there will probably be mirrored in some way on here too, but do feel free to pop in from time-to-time in case there's anything that doesn't make it onto here - I do have other armies and collections that may not be relevant for posting on the Empire forum so might not make this thread - we'll see.

If you do take a look at the blog or follow this thread then thank you for your time - hopefully you'll find some of this stuff to be of interest.

Cheers - now watch this space...

Jmash

Jmash · « **Reply #1 on:** September 11, 2021, 07:33:15 PM »

New post just added to the blog-thing but the gist is...

The aim with my Empire army was to collect as much as possible – generally at least 1 of everything – from around 6th ed onwards but this has also reached back a little bit beyond that to include some older minis too here and there.

So far the full desired list of items in my army goes more or less as follows…

Lords & Heroes

The Emperor Karl Franz himself;
Mounted Elector Count;
Emmanuelle von Liebwitz;
Kurt Helborg;
Ludwig Schwarzhelm;
Marius Leitdorf;
Markus Wolfhart;
+/- 11 or so varied Generals/Captains;
2 – 3 Battle Standard Bearers;

Clergy

Volkmar the Grim incl. War Altar of Sigmar;
2 Arch Lectors – Kaslain & Aglim;
Luthor Huss;
+/- 10 or so Warrior Priests;

Wizards

Balthasar Gelt;
Battle Wizard Lord on Great Eagle – considering this to be Gregor Martak OR Berndt Aberwold;
+/- 9 or so Battle Wizards (at least one from each of the colleges of magic);

Core Units

85 Halberdiers (across 4 units);
40 Spearmen (across 2 units);
70 Swordsmen (across 3 units);
18 Manann’s Blades;
40 Crossbowmen (across 2 units);
60 Handgunners (across 3 units);
20 Nuln Ironsides;
75 Greatswords;
20 Archers;
24 Huntsmen (across 2 units, 1 of which is Wulfhart’s Hunters);
+/- 60 or so Militia;
30 Flagellants;

Cavalry

6 Demigryph Knights;
12 (maybe more) Reiksguard Knights;
12 (maybe more) Knights Panther incl. Grandmaster;
12 (maybe more) Knights of the Blazing Sun incl. Grandmaster;
12 (maybe more) Knights of The White Wolf incl. Grandmaster;

Artillery / Gunnery School

5 Outriders;
5 Pistoliers;
3 Great Cannons;
3 Helblaster Volley Guns;
3 Mortars;
1 Helstorm Rocket Battery;
2 Steam Tanks;
Master Engineer on Mechanical Steed;
+/- 5 or so Engineers;

Miscellaneous

Celestial Hurricanum;
Luminark of Hysh;
Teutogen Guard;
Priests of Ulric;
Sisters of Sigmar;
Witch Hunters

And many more!…

At this moment in time I reckon I’ve actually got in my possession a good 90% + of that listed above. I don’t have a huge amount left on my shopping list to complete the units still outstanding, most of the items I’m still looking for tend to be the older metal footsoldiers and command models to round out the partial units that still have incomplete numbers, and those sort of things, really just bits and bobs now.

The years have been spent rounding up and keeping track of all the things I wanted and at the time of writing this, all core units of infantry have now been prepared with mould lines removed, weapons and arms all assigned. My tasks now are working through the various command elements for the infantry so Champions, Standard Bearers and Musicians and then to assign heads and accessories to all.

Anything not infantry has generally also been planned, prepped and is either blu-tacked together or in the case of the big things like KF, the War Altar and Magical War Machines they remain on the sprue awaiting their time in the sun.

As I move forward from here I hope to document more of my progress and the works I’ve got ongoing my worktop. Watch this space…

Thanks,

-Jmash.

Rowsdower · « **Reply #2 on:** September 11, 2021, 10:06:41 PM »

I remember trying to assemble the command group for the first time and giving up as I didn't have the proper glue

Jmash · « **Reply #3 on:** September 11, 2021, 11:11:44 PM »

Quote from: Rowsdower on September 11, 2021, 10:06:41 PM

I remember trying to assemble the command group for the first time and giving up as I didn't have the proper glue

Well those guys above were actually the simple ones ( with the right glue

), just using the metal command bits provided. The ones I'm currently working on are from the new plastic State Troops and Greatswords, some of them are getting some minor conversions and tweaks here and there to set them apart a little bit. I'll try to show a few of them soon

GamesPoet · « **Reply #4 on:** September 12, 2021, 01:09:11 AM »

Oh my ... Jmash gets a thread of his stuff going.

(GP ... what about you?)

Yeah, yeah, someday I'll finish getting my word press site going, and start posting photos too.

In the meantime, we get to see all the mightiness that is Jmash's Empire army, and it seems to be moving full speed ahead with all sorts of conversions, and good stuff!

Zygmund · « **Reply #5 on:** September 12, 2021, 07:43:51 AM »

Over 500 infantry alone!

Do you have a time table for doing this, or is it a leisure?

Early goals? Like a playable 2000pt army (whichever edition). Midway goals?

-Z

Jmash · « **Reply #6 on:** September 12, 2021, 11:15:53 AM »

Quote from: Zygmund on September 12, 2021, 07:43:51 AM

Over 500 infantry alone!

Do you have a time table for doing this, or is it a leisure?

Early goals? Like a playable 2000pt army (whichever edition). Midway goals?

-Z

Haha I have always been very infantry-centric, even with my Imperial Guard I tend to end up with hordes of troops and the tanks stay unfinished!

It kind of spiralled from wanting at least one of every variety of everything, from every/most editions. Halberdiers for example have the new plastic guys, the old 6th ed plastic guys, the full compliment of the metal footsoldiers and (unexpectedly) I got a full unit of the monopose heroquest style guys too, so just that example alone has stacked up 85 troops! Now copy - paste that scenario across most of the range and you soon see the numbers rise!

It's honestly just being done at my leisure, I don't play any games so it's purely just a self-indulgent showpiece and it gets done when it gets done. It sometimes feels like a slog given the way I've approached it, basically pretty much everything is getting advanced at the same stage together i.e. rather than prep a unit, build a unit, paint a unit then move on, it's more like prep the army, build the army, paint the army! hence it's taken me so long just to get to this point.

Everything now has mould lines removed, all arms and weapons etc. assigned or currently being converted, so this in itself feels like a milestone. Once all the heads go on the final painting stage will be in sight and at that point I'll probably start putting the bigger stuff together in tandem with painting the infantry, for a bit of variety.

Sharkbelly · « **Reply #7 on:** September 19, 2021, 02:25:40 PM »

I really enjoy seeing so many classic models. I can't wait to see more!

Jmash · « **Reply #8 on:** September 20, 2021, 10:06:57 AM »

Quote from: Sharkbelly on September 19, 2021, 02:25:40 PM

I really enjoy seeing so many classic models. I can't wait to see more!

They are on the way my friend! Might be a very slow march to the front, but they'll get there eventually!

Jmash · « **Reply #9 on:** September 21, 2021, 09:47:54 AM »

So last night I tested a new method of paint stripping, a product called Fuze Biostrip 20. I have previously soaked minis in dettol for about 24hrs but that was always incredibly messy and stank to high heaven. After a bit of Googling somebody suggested this stuff so I gave it a try.

The consistency of the stuff is a little bit like PVA glue and it has a slightly almond/marzipan type smell but it's not very strong at all, I sat and did it in the kitchen with no ill effects at the end, dettol would have rendered the house uninhabitable!

Application was miles easier as I just painted it on with a brush. I initially left them for about 30mins before dunking in warm soapy water and scrubbing with a toothbrush but I think I'd painted it on a bit thin and hadn't left them long enough because at first scrubbing they didn't do a whole lot. After drying I slathered the stuff on a little thicker and gave them a full hour before scrubbing - the results were much better and they look practically brand new now.

The only downside is that on the FW resin Nuln Ironside, some of the very thinnest bits of the resin have gone a little bit soft and 'spongey'. I was worried about that happening which is why I tried this new method in the first place, I have heard dettol makes resin minis go soft because the resin is porous. All in all though I'm calling this a win, it really is only the tiniest of thin surfaces (the very edge of one of his tassets and a little bit of the fancy detail around the arms on his breastplate) that have softened and they've not gone floppy or droopy, they are just a bit soft to the point where they can be moved a bit with a tool before springing back to their shape. The rest of the guy when prodded with a steel dental pick feels eeever so slightly softer than maybe he should but he's still 99% solid. I think a thin application of liquid green stuff might help to harden the softened thin surfaces back enough to keep them from being an issue.

This evening I'll tackle the other 4-5 of the Nuln guys, probably just leave them for 40mins or so and see if they fare a little better.

Michael Stockin · « **Reply #10 on:** October 13, 2021, 10:48:27 AM »

Jmash · « **Reply #11 on:** October 13, 2021, 11:05:12 AM »

Quote from: Michael Stockin on October 13, 2021, 10:48:27 AM

Nice!!!

Just followed the blog.

Why thank you sir

I can't promise regular updates but I have been thinking a post is probably overdue...

Jmash · « **Reply #12 on:** November 29, 2021, 12:42:09 AM »

Hi guys,

So this weekend I've turned my attention to a few colour tests and trying out some of the new contrast paints. I tried out Wyldwood, Snakebite Leather, Flesh Tearer's Red, Guilliman Flesh, Black Templar black and Space Wolf Grey. I tested all of these on both a Grey Seer and a Wraithbone base.

Also - apologies for the crap pictures, I was working in the kitchen today and only decided to take some pics and do an update on a whim!

Wyldwood, Guilliman Flesh, Space Wolf Grey and Snakebite Leather...

Snakebite Leather (x2 coats on the left) and Black Templar Black...

First thoughts are that I'm liking the GF and the SL, especially on the GS basecoat. WW is a bit crap atm and just looks like a thin, splotchy coat of regular brown paint, not a lot of definition but this might be user error at this stage, will test a little more. Same with BT but that at least is a little better than just a flat coat of black that I've used before.

Finally, my last tester is getting along the right lines. This guy (can I say that when it has no arms or head?) has x2 coats of FT red on the torso, one leg actually has a layer of Dark Reaper as well and then both legs have a wash of Nuln Oil. I do like the red but it's still a bit vibrant, I might end up trying out some other methods for the red using traditional layers and washes but the greys are definitely on the right track.

I think the next stages of paint testing from here will be to strip these guys down again, add some heads and arms and then focus on some more targeted methods with subtler variations rather than the wide-approach of this weekend. I think the final style is very much going to end up as a bit of a hybrid with some parts being contrast paints, and others having the tried and tested base-shade-drybrush approach. Hair tones will also be on the cards as well as some other tidbits like hat feathers, white socks and maybe some metallics too…

If anybody is interested I've blabbed on a little bit more in the link below but you get the gist

https://jmash91.wordpress.com/2021/11/29/time-to-fly-the-colours/

Cheers!

Jmash · « **Reply #13 on:** November 13, 2022, 06:48:20 PM »

Hi all, I haven't updated anything on my Wordpress for a long time but I've just added a new post now that I've got myself a lovely new display cabinet!

It's nothing special but do feel free to have a read below if you fancy;

https://jmash91.wordpress.com/2022/11/13/cadia-stands-on-display/

For anyone who can't be bothered to follow the link I've uploaded the pics below to show off my old Cadians that have been brought out of their foam padded cells to finally see the light of day in my cabinet!