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How to make 1/16 wooden crate quickly

Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2017 4:09 pm
by Alfa Three Five
Whatever it is for a diorama or storage on a vehicle, boxes are always welcome.

Like this one:
crate 1.jpg
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I used balsa wood to create them.

Model 1:

Out balsa strip of 10 mm X 2 mm we will create the box itself.
Out of 4 mm X 1 mm we will create the lid and bottom.
crate 2.jpg
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You need to cut first 2 boards of 35 mm length and 2 of 16 mm.
crate 3.jpg
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Once done, glue them with cyanoacrylate glue (super glue). You can add some squared small pieces of wood in the corners.
Take great care to get the corners squared as well as getting them flat!
crate 4.jpg
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While it is drying, we can now work on the lid and bottom of our boxes.

For this, out of the thin balsa you must cut 4 boards of 35 mm length x 4 mm. Sometimes it is hard to get 4 mm strips, so you can use wider ones and cut them to 4 mm.

I'm using a piece of 1 mm/1 mm to get the lid centred allowing me to set the crate in open or closed position.

For the bottom it is better to glue them directly.
crate 5.jpg
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crate 6.jpg
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ET VOILA!

It took me between 4 and 5 minutes to do one, so that’s why I’m saying it is quick.
Of course now you can weather or paint them and get a result like this.
So what I’m doing is, when I have some minutes left in a day, I’m making one or two of them.
crate 7.jpg
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Re: How to make 1/16 wooden crate quickly

Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2017 4:36 pm
by jarndice
Brilliant, Very nice explanation, :thumbup:
Anything that adds to the realism of a diorama is welcome.
Shaun.

Re: How to make 1/16 wooden crate quickly

Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2017 4:39 pm
by Alfa Three Five
Hi Shaun,

Thanks to you, if you want to add some more realism, you can, as I did on some, put decals on them.

I used some from my spare decals box, even some are from 1/35 kits, they can do the job.

Re: How to make 1/16 wooden crate quickly

Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2017 4:48 pm
by PainlessWolf
Good morning,
Don't be afraid to think outside the box as it were ( pardon the pun please ). Storage on a tank is a great opportunity to bring realism with a touch of humor to light. Some of the gear on Crazy Joes M36B1 was modified with paint and permanent marker then given a coat of flats to keep it moisture proof. Boxes were completed using flat strip styrene or popsicle sticks. Pics:
regards,
Painless

Re: How to make 1/16 wooden crate quickly

Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2017 4:56 pm
by Alfa Three Five
exactly, as tanks, uniforms or boxes are or can be personalised.

I remember well, when I was in duty, we were "recycling" metal ammo boxes or other boxes. Some were even welded to the tank rack. Some were repainted, some like the one normally carrying ammos we just put some green paint over the yellow marks or on some others we have our tank call sign painted on just in case someone like it and decide to take it...

Re: How to make 1/16 wooden crate quickly

Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2017 5:05 pm
by Alfa Three Five
As you can see here on the turret rack:
l1.jpg