Building The Hartwell Tavern Part 3: Painting the Buildings

 

  Now that the buildings are done its time to paint the kit.  The restored tavern is a dark brown in color.  It is not painted but stained.  Some of the trim over the doors and the caulking around the glass is white.  There is a field stone foundation which is gray in color.  

  For the main brown color I stained the building.  This has worked very well for me in the past.  I use Arax Earth shade From Citadel Paint for this.  If I want a dark shade I brush it on right out of the bottle.  For a lighter shade I dilute it with water.  For the tavern I used it right out if the bottle and brushed it on, two coats.  I then slightly sanded parts to give it a worn look.  But very lightly and sparingly.

  Next was the roof which I painted gray to represent the slate shingles.  I think  next time  I will invest in the pre made shingles sold by "TFTB" which are reasonable priced.  the chimneys were painted A dark red brown then dry brushed light red.

To paint the trim and field stones I tackled it each building at a time.  Time consuming but the end result is worth it.

You don't like my sign?
Then get off my lawn you darn kids!

  The final piece is the tavern sign.  On the downloaded instructions there is a Xerox of the original sign which you can cut out and paste on.  I decided to try and paint the sign myself.  How well it turned you you can be the judge. Personally I will not give up my day job.  And the noble looking horse looks more like a big dog.  So perhaps use the xerox instead!

  When done you have a beautiful model if the Hartwell Tavern as it looks today.  This is a very big model and scale wise will take up a lot of your table space.  Possibly better for a one on one skirmish game.  Also remember that only the tavern was in existence in 1775.  So you can put just the main building on the table.  The additions could be set up as a separate building. So you two buildings for the price of one!

Personally I am most pleased with this.  As I mentioned I spent a lot of time here during my time at Minute Man National Historical Park.  Its a excellent model and it was great fun building and painting it.  Come April when I traditionally do a few posts about April 19, 1775 I plan on using this as a back drop for a few stories.

The Hartwell Tavern Part 2: Gambrelle 1783 and kitchen 1830 additions

 

  After construction of the Tavern I set it aside to start the two additions.  The gambrelle addition was added in 1783 to give addition living space for the family.  A new kitchen area was added in the  1830's.   Because both of these additions are part of the restored building many visitors get the wrong impression thus was how the tavern looked on April 19, 1775.  Things From The Basement makes all three sections which you can buy together or separately.  Together these are a very large building for the Wargames table!  But, the economical player can set them up separately to have two or three buildings on the table.  

  In putting this kit together I would once again suggest you fit the parts before gluing. Follow the instructions and you should gave no problem.

  Starting the gambrell section I put together the interior sections of the chimney and stairs.  I added the previously constructed windows and doors.  Once done I carefully added the walls.

  Next was the second floor.  Again fit the chimney together carefully before gluing.  once done it fits snuggly on top if the main floor.  If you use these buildings for skirmish games this is a nice touch as you can remove roofs and floors to battle through the house.

  On the side of the addition is a ground level hatch for a root cellar.  This goes together easily.

The frame for the roof is rather tricky.  I fit it together first, then glued it and then added extra glue along the edges for strength.  Because of the unusual shape there is a lot more careful fitting and gently pushing into place.  Once done fit it into place.  Done!

Moving onto the kitchen wing.   Finish the smaller windows and the details on the doors.  Fit them in to the walls.  Next glue the walls and the support together.  

The roof is very simple and goes together easily.  Again it sits right in top.  You have to decide if you want to permanently attach the roof or let it lift off to put troops inside the house.

So here we are, both additions done.  Now onto painting the structures and sign post.

Snow day!

 

  Usualy, working for an airline it doesn't matter the weather you come to work.  Rain, shine, snow, below zero temps  you name it I have worked through it.  Part of the job.  What do we do during storms?  If it not too bad we are outside getting flights out. If too bad we wait and do what we can.  

 So all week we have been told it was going to be a noreaster, a bad storm and upwards of two feet of snow.  So this time the airline I work for cancelled and rescheduled flights .  Because there were no flights until very late in the afternoon the morning crew were given the day off!

Hurrah!  A day off!  I feel like I am back in school.  What a great day!

Update:  Fritz says I am not enjoying today!

"Well!  To check with this!  I am going inside we today!"

Building the Hartwell Tavern Part 1 The 1775 Structure

 

  "Things From The Basement" latest historical building kit is of the Hartwell Tavern.  The tavern is located in Minute Man National Historical Park in Lincoln Massachusetts. 

  The tavern is a typical late 17th early 18th century Salt box style  New England house.  Built along the Bay road that connected Boston to Concord and other towns to its west the building saw heavy traffic (for the time) passing by .  Being a typical "thrifty" Yankee Ephraim Hartwell converted the front rooms of his hone into a tavern.  Drivers brining cattle to market to Boston could stop, feed themselves and their cows before the final push to Boston.  On April 19, 1775 Colonel Smith's British troops marched passed it in the morning and heavy fighting took place around it later that afternoon.  It continued to be a private home up until the 1960's when it was bought by the National Park Service.

 The tavern was restored in the early 1980's to its appearance during the 18th century.  Two additions had been added to the house in the 1780's and 1790's and are included if you want to add them and make it like it looks today.  It was in one of these wings that I had my office during the summer months.   It was around the tavern that many of the parks costumed interpretation programs were staged.  

  First off the kit is very big and I recommend laying out all parts to familiarize yourself before starting.  Also download the instructions from "TFTB" website.  Make sure you have a clean workspace and some good glue.  I use a superglue and also a white glue.   Once done with that you are off and running!

First off are the buildings windows.  And there are lots of them.  Take your time lay our the pieces and put them together. Make sure they fit together nicely, otherwise they will not fit into the openings for then in the building.

Next you start on the main floor if the tavern itself.   The stair case is a bit finicky so fit it together before you use glue. The tavern was built around the big central fireplace.  Again take your time and cut the pieces together.

In the background my famous coffee mug.

Once done you can glue the walls of the tavern together. I first use a little superglue to hold it together. Then I add white gorilla glue along the edges for strength. This is also when you add the doors.  These are tricky and a set of twisers helps. There is a molding around the door that goes on last

The upper floor is mainly the chimney.  Again take your time fitting the pieces together first.  Add the stair case railing and you are all set.

Next the roof.  Carefully fit the rafters together.  I add some gorilla glue afterwards for added strength.  Then fit the roof to the rafters.  This will take a while to fit together.  Take your time.

While waiting for the glue to dry I put together the tavern sign.  This adds a nice touch to the set up!  The actual tavern sign is still in existence.  "TFTB" has a Xerox if the sign you can print, cut out and paste on.  Or you can paint it yourself.

Almost done!  Place the second floor and roof together and admire your house!

Next time in part 2 I put together the additions.  Then stain the structures just like the restored structures.

 

Lauzun’s Legion

One of the most interesting and colorful units of the American Revolution was Lauzun’s Legion. A mixed force of Hussars (some armed with Lances), infantry and artillery, they could provide a colorful and unusual element for your games.  They arrived in America in July 1780 as part ofthe French Army under  Rocheambeau.    They marched south a year later participating in the Yorktown campaign.  During the siege they fought a battle with Tarleton and his Legion.  Its a unit I have always wanted to add to my collection and its about time I did.

Lauzun's Legion was one (the 2nd) of eight foreign legionary corps to be formed by the Ministry of Marine for service overseas.  The project was abandoned after only three legions had been formed.  The 1st was sent to the Caribbean; the 2nd to Africa; and the 3rd to India.

Each legion was supposed to be made up of a company each of hussars, gunners and workmen as well as a small infantry battalion of one Grenadier company, one  Chasseur company and two Fusilier companies. There was also a "Compagnie Generale" (a sort of HQ formation),  of one company of hussars. This unit was thought to be the one armed with lances.

  The 2eme Legion became "Lauzun's Legion" around 1779/80.  The new Legion was composed of the 2nd Legion Volontaires Étrangers de la Marine and new recruits, was named Volontaires Étrangers de Lauzun (Foreign Volunteers of Lauzun).  This new Legion was made up of 800 infantry and 400 cavalry divided into 5 companies of infantry.  These included 2 companies of Fusiliers, one Grenadier, one Artillery and one Chasseur company.  Each squadrons of hussars were to be made up of two companies; one of French hussars and the other of Polish lancers.  The uniform of the Legion would be the same as the previous 2nd Legion except  that all  hussars were supposed to be dressed as the Compagnie Generale company.  As with all things in Lauzon Legion its doubtful that happened and a mix of the two Hussar uniforms probably occurred.

Hussars:

The first, and most famous part of the Legion were its two hussar squadrons;   the 1st Squadron of Hussars and the 2nd Squadron of Hussars. Both were supposed to have 150 men each.  Due to transport space issues the 1st Squadron arrived with 159 men while the 2nd Squadron arrived with 136 men. In addition at Yorktown Guessed from the 1st Legion arrived from the West Indies and possibly were added.   Because of the nature of supplies and the amalgamation of legions and recruits there appears to be two styles of Buscar uniforms.  The company's with Lances appear to have red trousers while the "French" style guessed wore yellow.  

Infantry:

The infantry of the Legion was supposed to contain a grenadier company of 100 men, a chasseur company of 170 men, and two line infantry (fusilier) companies of 170 men each.  When Rocheambeau’s force left France  there was a shortage of transport ships so the Fusilier companies were left behind. The Grenadier Company sailed with 116 men and wore a bearskin hat without a front plate. The Chasseur Company  sailed with 99 men and wore a black cocked hat with white tape (and not a helmet).  

Artillery :

The original establishment of the artillery company was supposed to be 171 men, so about half were left behind, which is probably why the artillery company got such a large number of the recruits originally from the Barrois Regiment. The guns consisted of four 4-pdr smoothbore cannons. The artillerists work a dark blue coat like the regular French Artillery, but with lemon yellow facings.

Wargames Organization:

I plan on addition the Legion to my table top armies.  They will comprise two squadrons of His wars of 12 figures each and a light infantry unit if 20 figures plus a artillery company.  

The Hussars will have one company dressed in the French style with yellow trim and trousers.  The second squadron will be trimmed in red and be armed with lances.  Each will be two figures per stand and a HQ stand to command the legion.  The infantry will chassaurs mounted 2per stand. A light four pounder gun and crew rounds it out.   All figures are from Perry miniatures.  With the figures ordered I will start to paint right away and I hope to have this new addition to my armies  on the table and fighting soon.  Stay tuned!