1:35 Wine barrels and farm accessories

Wine barrels and farm small items 1:35

The resin castings in 1:35 scale include barrels and other fittings of the kind that belong in a yard or in a vaulted cellar. The maker is the Italian brand Royal Model and this is an accessory to a scene, not a kit.

Barrels in wine country

A wooden barrel drawn together with metal hoops was as self-evident a part of a farm in southern Europe as a milk churn is elsewhere. It stood in the cellar, on the bed of a wagon and outside under a lean-to, and it survived dozens of harvests, so its surface tends to be grayed and marked with dark patches where the wood soaked through. Objects like these draw attention away from the equipment in a scene and convince a viewer that they are looking at a real place rather than a backdrop built for the sake of a model. The barrels also solve one of the most tiresome difficulties of smaller bases: they fill an empty corner without adding another figure.

Painting the wood and the hoops

Build the staves separately, each a shade differently, so that no uniform surface appears. Darken the hoops and add small patches of corrosion by the rivets. You imitate the soaked areas with a dark run drawn from top to bottom, because spilled liquid always runs the same way. Finally dust the barrels with pigment at the bottom, where the most dirt collects, and leave the top ends lighter, because the rain washed them.

Where the barrels stand out

• wine-growing and southern European scenes
• farmyards and supply depots
• on the bed of a wagon as a load
• small display compositions
• filling the empty corners of a small base