What’s a good paint for rifle stocks?

[nheather]

Can anyone recommend a good single-paint colour for rifle stocks.

 

I’ve tried googling but all I find is advice for multi-layer recipes of bases, varnishes, oils to create wood grain effect.

 

I’m painting wargaming figures, in 28mm scale (about 1:56) and smaller, lots of them, Napoleonic and WWII, and I’m just after a single paint that looks about right.

[Rob G]

Something mid-brown, depending on how you want it to look.

 

You don't say what paints you use, so I'll  suggest some Humbrol colours:

026 Khaki

062 Leather

070 Brick Red

093 Desert Yellow

110 Natural Wood.

 

Mix them up in each unit and you should get a decent visual variety.

[nheather]

36 minutes ago, Rob G said:

Something mid-brown, depending on how you want it to look.

 

You don't say what paints you use, so I'll  suggest some Humbrol colours:

026 Khaki

062 Leather

070 Brick Red

093 Desert Yellow

110 Natural Wood.

 

Mix them up in each unit and you should get a decent visual variety.

Thanks, mostly Vallejo ModelColor, but happy to buy whatever.

 

I guess my problem is that I have plenty of browns but I have struggled to find one that looks right, they are either too yellow or red (like leather) or too flat and dull (like mud).

 

I’m being a bit lazy, I could experiment, but opining someone will come along and say - this one works really well.

[Space Ranger]

Humbrol Brown Bess, if you can find it.

[DocMark]

On 11/7/2024 at 9:11 AM, Space Ranger said:

Humbrol Brown Bess, if you can find it.

Or SMS Blaster Brown which has been produced as an exact as possible match Brown Bess. SMS paint are intended for airbrushing, so keep this in mind. 

[fatfingers]

I've had good results in the past using Vallejo Wood with Games Workshop Agrax Earthshade layered on top. Add more Agrax to darken the finish. Also used this for tool handles 👍

 

Regards,

 

Steve

Edited November 8, 2024 by fatfingers

[Black Knight]

British Napoleonic era Brown Bess muskets and Baker rifles used seasoned walnut wood

The French muskets of that era used un-seasoned Apple wood

The British SMLE rifle used seasoned Walnut wood

None of these woods show grain to any extent that its visible in our model figures

 

For the British I use Humbrol 10, with a semi-gloss/matt varnish

For the French I use Humbrol 29, again with a semi-gloss/matt varnish 

 

A picture of the lock area of a genuine Napoleonic wars era Brown Bess. Allowing for time and 200 years of polishing you can see how dark the wood is

[Big Dave S]

On 07/11/2024 at 01:11, Space Ranger said:

Humbrol Brown Bess, if you can find it.

Although that colour is discontinued, it's easy to mix with Dark Earth and Black.

A very useful shade.

[Rumblestripe]

I use Vallejo 70.828 "woodgrain" over beige - yellow - tan colours it is a translucent rich brown and works well giving a subtle variation in tone. In the revised Model Color range it is renamed "Mahogany Ink" but has the same reference code 70.828 so I guess is otherwise unchanged?

[Zephyr]

On 11/8/2024 at 6:39 PM, Black Knight said:

The British SMLE rifle used seasoned Walnut wood

None of these woods show grain to any extent that its visible in our model figures

 

Very true, if you sand back and re-finish an SMLE stock you end up with a lighter effect than they were originally, and no grain showing. With a clear coat they have a nice honey colour, much lighter than the original but either way, no obvious grain.

I've had a Mk III and a No 4 Mk 1, and a friend has a couple of jungle carbines, and the stocks are all very similar in colour- which is a good bit darker than the examples I've just found on the internet. They mostly look re-finished to me, and some of them show a grain pattern that wasn't visible on the examples I've seen.

I don't have Humbrol 110 as suggested above, but having looked at it on the web I reckon if you darkened it a bit it would look quite good.

 

[dromia]

The preferred military rifle stock wood was walnut. The Russians used other woods such as birch as well as laminated stocks as did the Germans towards the wars end.

 

Woods were usually treated (soaked and sometime pressure soaked so as to permeate the wood rather than be just a surface coating) with linseed oil and this tended to darken the the underlying colour. It gave a very smooth and satiny finish with could be buffed up to a high gloss but I doubt this was deliberately done in combat areas, although touch points at the wrist and fore-end would quickly become shiny.

 

Although the actual grain was not obvious it being filled and smoothed any figuring of the wood could be discerned and tiger striping and tonal variations were not uncommon. Blonde woods were also seen on some post war Lee Enfield No4 MKIIs for example which were almost cream coloured.

[593jones]

Rifle stocks can be surprisingly varied, see this collection of Lee Enfields: