Jmd ww1 british tommy

[Kirky]

Dear all,
a new informal reveiw from a hobbyist perspective leading into a build and paint report.

JMD miniatures WW1 british tommy is a well composed study, the figure is well cast with minimal clean up work required.

Figure comes with a set of steps for the piece to sit upon.

JMD advertise this as a 54mm figure , however to my mind it seems larger than 54mm figures from other companies, this is fine and enhances the fig, would only be an issue if pairing up with other manufacturers figs.

sculpting and casting are fantastic very detailed...... the face is full of charector and the uniform rank stripes , campaign stripes etc are hopefully going to be easy to paint up
kit comes well packaged with painting guide, in the form of photos of complete kit and photos of period uniforms and equipment items.historical text is only in french...

i have began to prepare this peice using Calivin Tans technique od sprayed black undercoat and subsequent drybrushing, i am new to this technique after reading his painting waffen SS guid, initial results are promising, i will blog the rest of this paint job.

my first ever JMD kit , initial opinion is wow a quality piece of sculpting and casting, i only hope that i can do it justice on the paint job - well reccomended

best rgds to all

Kirky

 

[megroot]

thanks for the revieuw. I have this one in my shelff and gonna follow you on this new painting technique.
Further i can only agree with you over the quality of JMD.

Marc

 

[gothicgeek]

i have admired this figure since i first saw it!

i will follow your progress



mark

 

[jacksparrow1979]

thanks for the revieuw. I have this one in my shelff and gonna follow you on this new painting technique.
Further i can only agree with you over the quality of JMD.

Marc

Where is there a publication or somewhere online that explains Calvin Tans painting method?

 

[Kirky]

Reference material for Calvin Tan drybrushing technique

Dear all,

The reference source that i have started using is Calvin Tan "modelling waffen ss figures" by osprey modelling, it is number 23 in the osprey range.

It is mainly about converting and sctratch building figs in 1/35th however he lays out a painting style that uses drybrushing and washes / tints over a sprayed black background. i have tried it on the brit para and SS schutze in my album and it seems to work okay on larger scales as well as 1/35th, like anything else practice makes perfect. - will keep you all posted on Vbench step by step (slowly cos i work full time and we have a baby ! - i got the book from amazon - it has been interesting and usefull
Best RGDS

Kirky

 

[tonydawe]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the review. This is a fantastic figure. Don't forget that the red triangular divisional insignia on the top of the right arm has been sculpted upside down.

 

[billyturnip]

Tony, I'm not sure if this does have the triangle sculpted on or not. Maybe Kirky can let us know.

Nice figure Kirky thanks for the review and I'm looking forward to seeing it come together.

Roger.

 

[megroot]

Tony, I'm not sure if this does have the triangle sculpted on or not. Maybe Kirky can let us know.
Roger.

Roger,
Indeed, there is no triangle sculpted. It will be a nice touch to do it.

Marc

 

[Kirky]

Progress report JMD WW1 tommy

Here is an update of the JMD tommy figure, my last sunday before returning to work. .............
have made a good start with him, the Calvin Tan drybrush and wash technique worked ok on the uniform and kit , but i used some oils on the face, good figure to paint - still lots to do, i would describe this as the scruffy intermediate stage although my photos should reflect some of the different steps....
The wall does not come with the kit, i rummaged in my bits box to find something for the groundwork,,,,,,,,,,,, works for me

The piece does not have any kind of divisional flash and unfortunately i do not have much ww1 ref material other than what came with the kit, does anyone have any info for the leicstershire regt of this period as my great grandfather (Thomas radford) fought and died with the tigers during the great war...... there cannot be many europeans who did not lose an ancester in this conflct , any help for additional detailing from you history buffs would be most welcome, thanks to all who have replyed or commented for their support and interest in a new forum member - this is a great supportive forum

Best Regards to all

Kirky

 

[billyturnip]

Looking very good so far Kirky.

I took the liberty of using the info you supplied and did a little search. Do you know if this is your Great Grandfather?

RADFORD
Initials: T
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private
Regiment/Service: Leicestershire Regiment
Unit Text: 6th Bn.
Date of Death: 28/03/1918
Service No: 21936
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: II. E. 4.
Cemetery: RIBEMONT COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION, Somme

If so I might be able to help with the Div. insignia etc.

Roger.

 

[Kirky]

thanks for the info Billy

Dear Billy, thanks for your comments and for doing some digging, i think that this may be my great grandad as i know that he was a private and that he died in the last year of the war, my grandad Pete Radford has more knowledge of him particularily service number etc and he has visited his grave ona number of occasions , so i shall email gramps and ask him.

Amazing how you found this info out !! any reference help that you can give would be gratefully received, the figure can be a tribute to that particular battalion of the Leicsters......... i think i remember my grandad saying that the div flash was a yellow circle ?

Thanks so much for taking the time to do some digging

Best regards

Kirky

 

[billyturnip]

Kirky, A yellow circle would be the correct Brigade flash for the 6th Leics Regt. at the time of your Gt granfathers death.

6th Leics were the senior battalion of 110th Brigade, part of 21st Div. from 7th July 1916.

The yellow circle was worn on the tops of the sleeves, insignia was also worn on the helmet and back of the tunic beneath the collar. I'll see if I can get more details of the helmet and back insignia.

Roger.

 

[rej]

Hi Kirky,

Welcome to the Planet.........just saw this thread now so I just sat back and read with interest the historical exchanges up to now......Great stuff!!!

Will follow closely and nice job you're doing on this character full figure from JMD........

Happy 2009 to you and yours.....

Ray

 

[Nap]

WW1 Tommy

Kirky ,
Great post , interesting way of doing things , had a look at Calvin's book , certainly gives good results , you certainly have got on with this one , I like the wall you have used very effective .
Thats a great bit of research about your greatgrandfather by billyturnip , the insignia is all spot on for the regt (from my references) , it will be a wonderful tribute to him .
A good reference book to start with is the Osprey Men at Arms series also the Schieffer series and of course fellow members on the planet !!!!!

Nap

PS I have sent you a message

 

[billyturnip]

Kirky, I will be away from the internet for the next month but good luck with the figure. Hopefully someone else will come along with some more details or pics of 6th Leics.

Dan Morton would be a good man to ask, Dan where are you, you're needed!

Roger.

 

[Nap]

painting technique

jacksparrow,
If you are after the book then its on e bay , I can advise you that the seller is 1st class , he is "flaxleyvernies" item number 370138681685 .

Hope this might help

Nap

 

[Kirky]

Thanks again gents

Dear all thanks again for all of your help and comments - this is a great forum, you can often find that our hobby can be a bit isolationalist, particularily with not having enough free time for club activity etc so its good to

A - show our creations to other likeminded people.
b- Share inspiration and techniques.
c- Get fantastic historical perspectives on the people and situations behind the castings so to speak.

Billy thanks very much for the info and confirming that i hadnt just imagined yellow circles as Div flashes, now i just need to find a reference relating to size of the badges and markings and decide wether to just paint as surface detail or to sculpt or add in relief - This peice and the forum activity has sparked an interest in WW1 so i think that JMD and the fusilier may do well out of me this year.............
WW1 and WW2 uniforms may seem a bit bland to some but with carefull painting painting they can be quite rich subjects to paint.
Anyway i have ordered some new figures for the next couple of months (after finishing the tommy they are
Alexander miniatures 1/35th para vignette i have ordered two wee freinds 1/35th scale paras to go with them , i have always dreaded 1/35th scale so results may be interesting !!, i have also ordered the 120mm S&T Productions luftwaffe field div anzio, i got the andrea 54mm red army soldier berlin for xmas.... will also post these as reveiws and progress reps
Finally does anyone have any experience with pizzaro miniatures ? as i am seriously considering buying the stalingrad sniper in the future, but i dont want to buy a turkey !!!!

This may be strange thing for grown men to ask one another but...............
May i add you all to my freinds list ??
will update the tommy at the weekend

Best Regards

Kirky

 

[Dan Morton]

Kirky- Before Roger Newsome went boating in the North Sea, he asked me to help with insignia for your fig. I'll be glad to do that but, alas, I too travel on business periodically. I'm replying via Blackberry from Los Angeles. I'll probably be here all week but can do some research when back home on Friday night or Saturday. OK?

Another option is for you to go online to the Great War Forum and ask questions in the "uniforms" section. In any case, provide please as much detail as you may have about your grandpa including, if you know it, the year you want to depict with this figure. Your choice on this would be limited by the sculpting. 1916 to 1918 only if you want historical accuracy.

All the best,
Dan Morton

 

[Kirky]

progress......

dear all,

Have been back to work this week and ill at the W/E, Dan thanks for the offer of ref help, i guess 1917-1918 would be great, particularily div markings , here are some photos now that the oils on the face have dried. thanks again
Kirky

 

[Dan Morton]

Kirky - Sorry I've taken so long on this. Got sidetracked on other things.

See http://www.1914-1918.net/21div.htm. My other reference is Mike Chappell's British Battle Insignia, MAA 182, pages 14 and 42.

The 110th brigade aka the 'Leicester Tigers', including the 6th Leicesters, transferred from 37th division to 21st division on 7 July 1916. To the best of my ability to determine, they stayed in the 21st for the remainder of the war. SO - the yellow circle would be the wrong division symbol for 1917.

The 21st division symbol is a circular flash with 3 bent L's meeting at the center of the circle. The L's are red and the circle is black, I believe. You can see an example on the web site. The division symbol would be on the upper sleeves below the arm-shoulder seam, on the middle top of the back and on the helmet. Next would be the the battle patches indicating the brigade and battalion. The 62nd brigade would be the senior and its' patches would be red. The 64th brigade would be next in seniority and their patches would be green. The 110th brigade would, I believe, be the junior brigade, so its' color would be yellow. The patches could be circle, rectangle, square or triangle, indicating one of the four battalions in the brigade. The triangle is actually more of a "V" with an open top. They would be worn below the division insignia on the sleeves and the back.

Finally, sometime in 1917 (couldn't figure out when) the Leicesters changed from the curved brass shoulder title "Leicester" worn on the outside of the epaulette on the service coat to a curved black cloth strip in the same place - yellow or gold letters.

Hope this helps!

All the best,
Dan