Welcome To My Wooden Stocks Page Two.

This page is an update to my Wooden Stocks page, as I have by experimenting again found a better way to add a wood grain effect to my figure's rifles. For this I have used as shown below some Dark Mahogany wood dye to both repaint the rifles with and to add the grain effect, I have also used some Dark Tan shoe polish to add a bit of depth to the rifles. And once I have finished with these I use the Model Color No 540 Matt Medium to dull down the shine.

Important Note: Use only a water based matt varnish on top of the wood dye and polish, because the dye is petroleum based and if you use any thing like an enamel based varnish it will remove the dye from the rifle and ruin it.

And for your safety do not smoke whilst doing this, or have any naked flames around because of the dye vapours, plus it may be advisable to also wear a face mask.

The picture below left is of the DiD Stiner M1 rifle as it comes from the box, with the same rifle after it has been repainted with only the wood dye. Note: Please read all of this fully first, as I have tried my best to explain how I have done this.

DiD Stiner M1 Rifle Repaint

In the pictures below I will hope to show how I have repainted my rifles. Note: Always hold the rifle by the 'metal' parts, as the last thing you need is fingerprints in the paintwork.  In the first picture below left this is the new rifle after I have given it a very light sanding with some fine sandpaper for the dye to 'grip' better. In the second picture below right I have started to paint the rifle with the dye, and already you can see the difference that it makes.

These two pictures are of the rifle after only the first coat of the dye, to keep the light colour like this only add a little bit more of the dye to add the grain effect as it dries.

To get a darker colour as shown below, continue to add another coat of the dye as this will help to darken the rifle and also bring out the grain effect. The grain effect comes out by adding some more of the dye on top of the already drying dye with the paintbrush, because what we need here is a streaky effect with the darker lines. Note: Remember to always brush in a straight line along the rifle to add the grain effect, and wipe off any dye on the metal end of the butt.

In the picture below left I have deliberately pressed too hard with the paintbrush, to show how it can remove the dye that has already been applied. If this happens, load the paintbrush with a small amount of the dye and lightly go over the top of the lighter patch again. The repair is shown below right. This also helps to add the grain effect, as it starts to 'lift' the other almost dry dye, which helps to get the streaky effect.

With practice I have been able to add deeper grain effect to the rifle no matter what the colour, by letting the dye dry slightly and loading the brush up again and rubbing most of the dye off on the opening to the container. Then with an almost dry brush I drag it lightly along the rifle from the barrel to the butt, as this again partly 'lifts' the other dye to add more darker streaks.

These pictures show as above left and right the dried rifle with the grain effect on it. The pictures below show on the left the rifle after I have gently rubbed the shoe polish onto the wooden parts remembering to only rub along the length of the rifle, I used a slightly rough material cloth to do this as it helps to remove some of the polish to add to the grain effect. The final picture below right shows the same rifle after I have used a soft tissue to buff up the polish to a shine. And here you can see the grain effect better.

In all of the pictures shown below I have finished the rifles, and it shows how I have painted them with the acrylic Matt varnish to dull down the shine from the shoe polish. Note: I have found some rifles like the Dragon M1 one, will have a darker finished colour because of the original factory base paint.

I have also given the metal parts a dust over with some Tamiya Gunmetal Weathering powders, with a touch of Silver to indicate shiny worn parts.

Reminder: Use only a water based matt varnish on top of the wood dye and polish, because the dye is petroleum based and if you use any thing like an enamel based varnish it will remove the dye from the rifle and ruin it.

DiD Edward Stiner M1 Rifle

Dragon M1 Rifle

DiD Albert Ross M1 Rifle

Dragon German G43 Sniper's Rifle