Hey,

I've been modeling for about a year now and am still perplexed at the actual color of the cute little ration and supply boxes. The instructions call for buff, but to me that is unrealistic. I don't know about you, but I haven't seen any buff-colored crates in all the documentaries or model photos EVER. So, my question is what color do you paint your wood stuff? Is is a simple unmixed stock color? I recently purchased some Testors Wood Cote, but it looks the same in the bottle as buff. Thus, in my apprehension of ruining another load of crates, I haven't exactly seen it dry yet.

TIA

Paint your item (Box, crate, rifle stock, etc) either dark yellow or white. Then using artists oils put a small amount of van dyke brown on and gently pull the paint in one direction.

What this does is streak the oil paint and leaves some of the underlying white or yellow to show through. It also then looks like wood grain.

One thing to remember, though. FOr the US, crates and boxes would have been painted OD.

HTH
Steve

First I scribe wood grain in the plastic either with a dental pick or very rough sandpaper. Next I use a basecoat of Tamiya Desert Yellow and allow to dry. Next I start a series of oil washes, darker to lighter using Burtn Umber, Burnt Sienna, etc. Let dry and drybrush. Finish up with pastels to "fade" the wood color slightly.