once again many thanks for the kind words guys i'm blown away by them

Steve for the metal tones i have been using mr. metal colours all the rest are tamiya.
Ernie, the wood look is the basic look described on here loads of times - it's where i learned it

basically i paint the part in a buff colour e.g tamiya deck tan - leave to dry, then brush over some burnt umber oil paint then get a fairly stiff brush and run it over the oil paint to create the wood grain effect. then leave to dry which can be the worst part as it takes ages

hope that helps you Ernie
cheers
michael