Hyde Log Cabin

This past weekend, my girls decided that they needed to get out of the house and go on a road trip.  With snacks and activities packed for the van, we headed north and landed at the Hyde Log Cabin in Grand Isle, Vermont.

Hyde Log Cabin

It started raining just as we neared the property, then stopped just long enough for me to snap a few photos.  The building is closed during the winter, but I was able to get a few shots of the interior through the windows.

Currently run as a museum by the Grand Isle Historical Society, the cabin was built in 1783 by Jedediah Hyde, Jr.  It is the oldest standing log cabin in Vermont, and is believed to be the oldest standing log cabin within the United States.

Informational Plaque.

From an architectural perspective, the building has some odd features, though it's difficult to tell how many are changes from the original building.  There are some obvious modern touches, such as the standing seam roof and window frames.  Other unusual features are the different sizes of windows, and the fireplace back built into the wall with the chimney inside the upper wooden structure.

3/4 View of the rear and side showing at least 4 sizes of windows.

Fireplace back with chimney on the interior.

The inside of the building actually looks incredibly cozy, with one large open space on the first floor, and a ladder/stair leading to what is probably an open loft space above.

Interior through window.

Interior through window.

Interior through window.

With its log construction and mud/daub chinking between courses, this is actually how I picture that the blockhouse of Moses Pierson may have looked, especially if it used the smaller rectangular windows like the one on the rear of the Hyde Cabin.

After a quick look around, the kids and I loaded back into the van, just in time for ice and sleet to start falling from the sky.  We may make a trip back after the building opens for visitors again in May in order to take a better look at the inside.

Detail of wall, eaves, and second floor support structure.

Detail of upper gable end.

Back rear corner with small rectangular window.

Front window next to what may have been on original window opening?

Survey Crew

18th Century Surveying Crew

For the past several months, I've had a minor fascination with surveying in the 18th century.  I've been reading a few books from the time period, teaching myself the techniques, and I made a short research trip to see some original survey documents.

A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing miniatures online, and realized that some of the artillery crews looked a bit like surveyors.  Remembering that I had an unpainted artillery unit, I dug out the figures and looked them over.  Sure enough, they fit the bill.  I decided to put together a vignette.

Before I get into the process, I'll walk through the final result.

Continental Surveyors.

Continental Surveyors.

First up, we have a couple of surveyors.  I painted these to be in the uniform of the Continental Department of the Geographer, based on images of the reenactment group that portrays those soldiers.  One is taking a sighting through his theodolite, while the other looks on, taking field notes.

Civilian Chainmen.

Civilian Chainmen.

Next are the chainmen.  I've portrayed them in civilian clothes, as if they had been hired from the local population.  The job of the chainmen was to measure distances using a Gunter's Chain.  In scale, a full chain would have been over a foot long, so I've severely compressed the length, but it still gives the impression.

Civilian Flagman.

Finally, there's the flagman.  His job was to mark locations that the surveyors could site to, and that the chainmen would measure to.

Perry Miniatures Artillery Men

I started off with a couple of figures from Perry Miniature's Continental Artillery aiming 6 pounder (AW102).  These had the poses that I was looking for for the main surveyors, but could use some small detail changes.  Namely, after stripping off their old paint, I sculped a small bit of paper into the standing figure's right hand, and I cut away the cannon adjustment lever thingy from the crouching figure (Artillery friends, does that tool have an actual name?).

Perry Miniatures British Infantry

Perry Miniatures Command Standard Bearer

For the chain and flag men, I had a couple of sprues of figures left from a box of Perry's American War of Independence British Infantry 1775-1783 (AW200), that I thought that I could customize.

Scraping Off the Cartridge Box.

Adding Hats and Changing Coats.

The civilians took a bit more work than the surveyors.  Since I was using uniformed miniatures for my base, the first thing I had to do was to scrape off the regimental lace from the lapels and cuffs of their coats.  Both figures featured bayonet scabbards, which I cut down to make into chaining arrow quivers, which would hold the markers used by the chainmen to mark out distances longer than their chain.  Since these men are civilians, and not soldiers, I next carved off their cartridge boxes and straps, then resculpted the backs of their coats to add in some folds.  I opted to leave their canteens.  They likely wouldn't have carried military canteens, but I wanted the workers to stay well hydrated.  The final step was to add their caps.  The Perry sprues come with riflemen's caps that are cocked up on the side.  For one figure, I turned the cocked flap to the rear, carving the interior a bit to fit the head.  I also scraped off the bit of decor that was attached to the flap.  For the second figure, I cut two of the riflemen's hats in half, then glued them together and resculpted a bit to make a single round cap.  The arms of both figures were originally carrying muskets, which had to be cut away and the hands reshaped a tiny bit.

The flagman received a similar treatment.  His lace was removed, and a civilian hat was added.  Since he had started out as a standard bearer, his arm position was perfect.  I cut away the top of the flag pole, adding it to the bottom of the figure's hands to create the staff.  A small target orb was added to the top.

The theodolite was scratch built from bits of sprue and toothpicks.  Being more than a bit fiddly, this went through a few iterations before the final version.

Here's the final modified crew before painting:

Raw Survey Crew.

After priming and painting the miniatures, the final step was to build a base.  Originally I laid out a flat base with the intention of adding some scatter terrain to fill in the empty spaces.  After priming the ground, I had the after-thought of adding a couple of small hilly mounds.  In retrospect, I'm glad that I went with this direction, as I think it makes the scene look more nature.

Crew Primed and Ready for Painting.

Initial Base Layout.

Let's Add Some Hills!

For comparison of the figures, here are some up close (occasionally fuzzy) images of each miniature

 

 

Crouching Surveyor - As Found, Before Priming, Finished.

Standing Surveyor - As Found, Before Priming, Finished.

Trailing Chainman - Before Priming, Finished.

Leading Chainman - Before Priming, Finished.

Flagman - Before Priming, Finished.

Scratch-Built Theodolite.

And here's the finished result, sitting proudly above my desk.

Nice Decor for My Desk.