Year End - 2019

2019 saw my first full year of keeping this blog.  Posts are somewhat infrequent and scattered, but I've been able to stick with it.

On the reenacting front, I was able to attend 8 events in kit this year, and one as a spectator.  A couple of the gatherings were private get-togethers, and several were official Warner's Regiment events.  It's difficult to pick a favorite this year, though presenting a talk to the public while having a chicken standing on my head at Hubbardton does sort of stand out.

For sewing projects, I was able to complete an outfit for G to wear, though she keeps growing, so we'll need to do it again this year.  Another yearly ritual seems to be breeches.  This past year it was a pair for a friend.  This coming year I'll need to replace mine again.

On the gaming side of things, we have a few games of Wings of War, plus several board games, but no major games yet.  I did get a lot of painting done (for me), completing about 61 28mm figures, which is an increase from last year.  I also built a few small pieces of terrain.  This coming year I have a couple of focused projects to concentrate on.  The first is the Battle of Valcour Island, using paper-craft miniatures and rules from War Artisan, and the second is a go at a 6mm scale Battle of Hubbardton, at 1:1 figure scale (roughly 1,500 troops per side).  I've found a few guys who may be interested in playing some historical scenarios, so I'm going to put some effort into getting those games going.

Historical research this year was light.  Other than my usual general reading on various events and period crafts, I did get to visit the Vermont State Archives to look through Ira Allen's survey book.  That was a pretty cool moment.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to the School of Instruction in Pennsylvania, hosted by the Department of the Geographer to the Army.  I'd really like to attend that one day, so I'm going to look into it again this year.

Overall, 2019 was a pretty good year, hobby-wise.  I'm looking forward to continuing in 2020.

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.

Year End - 2018

"Soldiers Atop The Mount" - 2018

It's sort of traditional in the blogging world to create a year-end post, especially in regards to project type things like painting. With only a couple of days left in 2018, here's where I'm at:

First, created this blog. I've blogged a few times in the past, but never consistently. So far I'm doing okay with this one, and it's helping me stay motivated with my figure painting. I'm not as prolific as some, but I haven't abandoned this one so far.

Next, reenacting. I was able to attend five events this past year. Less than I would like, but often real life gets in the way, especially with four children to tend to at home. My wife and kids are starting to attend events with me, so this may change in 2019. One of the events was a “lifestyles” event, while the other four were military in nature. I enjoy both aspects of the hobby, though I really need to get into better shape to keep up with the younger guys on the field. Count that as a goal for 2019.

Sewing projects related to reenacting included a shift, petticoat, and jacket for my wife. I'm also currently working on a pair of breeches for one of the guys in Warner's Regiment. 2019 will probably see some more sewing for my wife, and some upgrades in clothing for the kids.

Learning about the Southern Battery during "Muster at Mount Independence."

Third, history. Most of my historical pursuits this year have been driven by interest in my reenacting unit and the locations where they were stationed and fought. This past fall I was able to attend a full day event at Mount Independence in Orwell, Vermont, where I learned a little more about the fortifications that were there, and the archaeology that has been happening for the last several decades. In particular, there was a focus on the Southern Battery, where our reenacting unit had been stationed during the past summer's “Soldiers Atop The Mount” event. It was pretty neat to hang out with state archaeologists, museum curators, and historians for the day, especially those who had been involved with excavations on the site. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the area, and the artifacts on exhibit in the site's museum.

1765 Surveyor's Field Notes at Bennington Museum.

My other historical pursuit has been researching and learning about 18^th century surveying techniques. One part of this involved a research trip to the Bennington Museum, in Bennington, Vermont, where I was able to read the original field notes of a surveyor from New York who was working in the area in the 1760s. Handling the original manuscript, written over 250 years ago, was a little surreal. Later, while at home, I started mapping out his field notes, and found that he had actually walked right across the property that the museum is currently located on. Pretty wild to imagine that the two of us were in the same spot, with the same book, a couple of centuries apart from each other. For 2019, I'm hoping to attend the School of Instruction in March, held by The Department of the Geographer, a group that reenacts surveyors for the Continental Army. This is a yearly event, and photos that I've seen from past years show it to be both a lot of fun, and very informative regarding colonial surveying.

Finished Miniatures for 2018, plus some old finds.

Finally, wargaming. This year I decided to put some serious effort toward painting up a set of miniatures that I've had stashed for several years. These miniatures became the 28mm version of Warner's Regiment as they may have appeared in 1777. I also completed some small terrain pieces, a few civilians, and started a set of British troops to pit against my Continentals. Within the last couple of weeks, I also found a second stash of older miniatures that I had purchased at some point, so I've added these to the “to do” box. My goal for 2019 is to finish the British regiment, repaint a cannon crew that I found, and then paint up the extra figures that I dug up (Three mounted Continentals, a few militia, and an extra sprue of Perry plastics). I'd also like to work on some more terrain pieces, including a ground mat to stage games on. Will I actually game? Who knows. I might attempt a couple of solo games if I can find the time, or perhaps wrangle some friends into a game some weekend. I'm having fun putting the armies and terrain together, so anything else would just be extra fun.

So, I think that sums up 2018 in regards to this blog's topics. On to 2019!