Any idea what colour crates of 'government stores' were in the 1970's?

[C126]

Rather a silly Sunday question, but as I start to churn out little crates and boxes to go on pallets ready for a military train of Bachmann Vanwides, I wonder if anyone can tell me what colour such goods were, please.

 

It does not really matter, but I would like an excuse not to have more 'NATO Drab olive' or wood colours in my Goods Yard.  If there is someone out there who helped load/unload such wagons (or sheeted Opens) and can tell us, I would be most grateful.  I have not forgotten @Fat Controller 's mention of a filing cabinet as a military load on one occasion: this is being modelled also.  Thanks and best wishes as ever.

[Siberian Snooper]

Our boiler tubes, came in  plain wood finish crates,  about 15 or 16 foot long, the other dimensions varied according to tube type and numbers..

 

 

[Siberian Snooper]

Further to my last reply, somewhere, normally top or end, a black square/rectangle with the NATO part/stock number and stores description in white stencilled letters and numbers.

 

 

[C126]

11 minutes ago, Siberian Snooper said:

Further to my last reply, somewhere, normally top or end, a black square/rectangle with the NATO part/stock number and stores description in white stencilled letters and numbers.

 

Many thanks for these replies, and so promptly.  I hoped mention of the dreaded 'stencilling' would not occur, but I am going to have to attempt a 'OO' scale effort after all, I fear...  All good wishes.

[Siberian Snooper]

By the time you reduce 20 to 25 mm stencilling, I doubt you could see the tiny gaps.

 

 

[Bernard Lamb]

Wooden crates with a natural finish and stencilled lettering for most small parts.

Some items would be put on pallets and wrapped in polythene with a ply or card board with the appropriate stencilled identification.

Large metal parts would be banded together in bundles again with a ply or card  board for the stencilled lettering.

At times when steel prices fluctuated the MOD would buy wide steel coil and hold it at stock holders marked up as MOD property if you want something a bit different,

Things tended to go to CODs in fairly large quantities and tended to leave in smaller packs. It depends on what part of the operation you want to replicate.

Bernard

[BR traction instructor]

Another vote for brown/natural wood shades of crates etc as seen in a pic of open wagons in the Ernesettle RN trip in the early 70s.

 

BeRTIe

Edited March 7, 2022 by BR traction instructor

[C126]

Thanks also to @Bernard Lamb and @BR traction instructor for their votes.  I wanted to model supplies to a fictional version of Crowborough Army camp on the Sussex Weald, although was never really sure what went on there.  I was going to go for small A.F.V.s, ammo of all sizes (although would they have had a large firing range for field guns, mortars, etc.?), plus the usual 'domestic' items required to keep a camp going that might arrive by rail from somewhere like Bicester: uniforms, medical supplies, field kitchen equipment and tents, vehicle spares, small arms.  Anything else anyone can suggest that would go on a pallet and look good on a drop-side Foden?  Thanks for giving this your attention as ever.

[Bernard Lamb]

1 hour ago, C126 said:

Thanks also to @Bernard Lamb and @BR traction instructor for their votes.  I wanted to model supplies to a fictional version of Crowborough Army camp on the Sussex Weald, although was never really sure what went on there.  I was going to go for small A.F.V.s, ammo of all sizes (although would they have had a large firing range for field guns, mortars, etc.?), plus the usual 'domestic' items required to keep a camp going that might arrive by rail from somewhere like Bicester: uniforms, medical supplies, field kitchen equipment and tents, vehicle spares, small arms.  Anything else anyone can suggest that would go on a pallet and look good on a drop-side Foden?  Thanks for giving this your attention as ever.

I did not deal in dangerous stuff but have seen it on site usually in dark green metal boxes.

There were two main CODs, Bicester and Donnington. Exactly which dealt with what equipment I know not. Donnington certainly was responsible for clothing as after one of the fires there was a bit of an embarrassing situation when it was found out just how much stock they had of certain items.

A couple of anecdotes totally OT.

A colleague had to visit an RAF base and he was left alone in a building and told to stand outside the door when he had finished but not to walk away. He soon found out why, as there were guard dogs and one of them took a very close interest in him. He had an uncomfortable few minutes wait until he was rescued.

I had to visit Upper Heyford and one day I was taken to a small brick building way out in the middle of the air field. A US marine stood next to me armed with a rifle and a pistol and if I took a step he did the same and remained very close to me. Inside the building there was another one and he followed me up the stairs to the mezzanine floor. The penny dropped as I looked around . I was in the base armoury surrounded by more guns and ammo than I had ever seen. I had to say exactly what I was going to do and what I was going to touch as I carried out my survey. The two marines remained totally silent and expression less.

Bernard

[C126]

Thanks, @Bernard Lamb .  Last night I started scaling down a crate 20x7x5 mm. to contain L1A1 self-loading rifles, to be made out of drinks stirrers, pondering how to do 45-degree chamfers on the pieces, and how many would be stacked.  Common sense set in, and I realised these would not be going by 'Speedlink', but I assume by police-escorted military convoy.  I will have some 'larger green boxes' then, interspersed with stencilled wooden crates of various sizes, so can still get some practice with my chamfering.  Best wishes to you all.

[phil_sutters]

Are these of any interest? S&S models are a small company that I used to buy from in my military modelling days. I know their products are 1/72nd but the difference is not that great. https://sandsmodels.com/product/palletised-loads-pack-of-6/

I used some of their ammo pallets on this rather basic conversion of a KeilKraft Foden tipper.

 

[C126]

41 minutes ago, phil_sutters said:

Are these of any interest? S&S models are a small company that I used to buy from in my military modelling days. I know their products are 1/72nd but the difference is not that great. https://sandsmodels.com/product/palletised-loads-pack-of-6/

I used some of their ammo pallets on this rather basic conversion of a KeilKraft Foden tipper.

 

 

They are indeed!  I am an eejit; it is their Foden I have chopped around to make the flat-bed.  [Insert 'head-banging' emoji here]  They also do ammo boxes, as well as general pallet loads.  A thousand thanks.

 

[2mmMark]

9 hours ago, C126 said:

Thanks also to @Bernard Lamb and @BR traction instructor for their votes.  I wanted to model supplies to a fictional version of Crowborough Army camp on the Sussex Weald, although was never really sure what went on there.  I was going to go for small A.F.V.s, ammo of all sizes (although would they have had a large firing range for field guns, mortars, etc.?), plus the usual 'domestic' items required to keep a camp going that might arrive by rail from somewhere like Bicester: uniforms, medical supplies, field kitchen equipment and tents, vehicle spares, small arms.  Anything else anyone can suggest that would go on a pallet and look good on a drop-side Foden?  Thanks for giving this your attention as ever.

When I went to Crowborough Camp in the 1970s on ATC training assignments, it was very much a general training camp for foot soldiering .  As I recall there was an on-camp firing range for small arms but nothing much larger.  The training comprised classroom work and outside exercises in the local surrounding Ashdown Forest.  Vehicles I saw were soft-skinned transport types, minibuses, trucks & land rovers etc.  I don't remember anything to do with artillery or mortars.  Knowing the area, I can't think of where these could be safely used.  For that you need a big area that can be safely closed off, such as Salisbury Plain.  The Ashdown Forest sees a lot of general public visiting for walks etc.

It's possible that stores came in from Crowborough & Jarvis Brook station as it's fairly close by but equally possible that supplies came in by road as well as the camp is on the A26 main road.

Big marker pens were popular with us cadets owing to the plentiful provision of signs to Uckfield.