Hello All!

Quick question... what colosr do you use to simulate wooden crates? I

have a couple of crate accessories that I will be placing on the rear of a STUG III G I'm working on, and would like some opinions/techniques before I paint them.

THANKS!

Jorge

You will get a dozen answers,all of them good,you need to pick one you like.I use Modelmaster Acrylic Wood,and then I lightly wash it with a darker brown to simulate the grain.

I paint the whole thing very dark brown. Then I drybrush on the actual box color from the Lifecolor Weathered Wood set.

Hey, as Anthony C. said.... a dozen answers...!

And you've already seen some fine ones, IMO!

My suggestion is to think first about what that (or those) crate(s) are supposed to represent.

Fresh wood crates may be much as described in above responses. A crate which has been carried around on the back of that StuG for a while may be both pretty battered and dirty or dusty, and may not show much "wood" colour at all! A crate which has been sitting around in the depot could be pretty weathered and actually mostly greyish in colour. Depending on the crate and what it was used for - folks often painted them. For instance, the launch-and-toss- 'em disposable shipping crates used for 28cm rockets were often painted a green colour at the factory. Ammo crates, as for tank-gun rounds, were also often factory-painted. Spare-parts may well have arrived in raw-wood crates with paper labels or stencils. Re-cycled crates would probably be dark and stained or maybe very worn looking?

My point here is that you have many options- new or old, weathered, dirty and stained, dinged-up or nice and fresh, painted and marked or naked wood. Your choice!

My approach is to base-coat with a lighter colour- deck tan, wood tan, etc., followed by applying a thin wash of a darker shade ("leather brown" on tan, darker green on a lighter green crate, dark grey over light weathered grey, etc.) to bring out some grain. I follow this with a thin pin-wash of dark umber or raw umber to hi-light board joints and nails. For those dark crates I base with mid brown or dark brown (Floquil RR Tie Brown is pretty neat) followed by a little light tan knick and gouge for exposed wood, and the black pin wash for joints. I end this with a light grey or light earth dry-brush for dust hi-lights.

Just my opines, of course!

Cheers!

Bob

Got it, Guys!

Thanks!

Suggestions for light wood, as in a new packing crate (pine?) anybody? I've got a couple of sets of Accurate Armour's big machinery crates, and they really need a plain unvarnished shipping crate look. On those with removable lids, the interior is shown to have a layer of wood shavings/sawdust, so any ideas for getting a realistic look on that would be welcome too.

Hey guys, the flyboys have a pretty good way of dealing with this.

woodgrain demo