Quick Crate Pile Detailing

I picked up an ebay lot of 16 pre-painted resin crates last week for under £10. Although completely usable as they were, I decided to spend a little time to add a little bit of weathering and detail.

Step 1: Sub-assemblies

As much fun as 16 individual crates can be, the reality is that most of the time I want more sturdy piles. Having some glued together means they're quicker to set up and more stable during a game.


I glued the crates into some useful blocks:

These can be stacked in a variety of different ways:

Step 2: Details & weathering

I added some stencils to give the sense that these have been marked up by the shipping company or merchant. The rectangle and triangle were cut out of a piece of scrap paper with a hobby knife, and then I stippled onto random surfaces with red paint using an old big brush.

I did the same thing on some crates with an off-white into a circle stencil (made using a hole punch). After the stencils, I used a scrap of blister foam to dab dark grey paint at random onto the crate surfaces, paying particular attention to the corners and edges.


Finally, I roughly stippled a dark brown on the bottom third of the crates to suggest some dirt and grime.

Finished Crates

The finished crates aren't going to win any painting competitions, but for a time investment of around 15 minutes, I'm pretty happy with the results.

Expect to see these appearing in scenic shots in the near future!