battle damage on tanks

[sheppy]

hi all dose anyone know of a good tutorial on how to show battle damage on tanks. I would like to know safest way to ding or twist the fenders.
thanks all
sheppy

[localjedi]

Hi sheppy!
Not quite sure what you mean by "safest way". When you bend the fenders you want them to look damaged, right? So I always just take a pair of pliers and bend the fenders. If you're afraid to break them off, maybe fenders made from PE parts are a better choice... They're probably easier to bend without breaking them off.

Best regards
Pete

[sheppy]

thanks for that could you use a heat source ie:- hairdryer or heat gun , to warm the parts so they bend easier. would love to know how Hamilkar Barkas creates some of the damage on his tanks.

[localjedi]

I wouldn't use a heat gun because I'd be too afraid to melt the plastic too much and ruin the details. Yes, Hamilkar has built quite a number of really good and realistic tank models. Just watch his tutorial videos on youtube or simply ask him, if you have a particular question about his techniques. He's a very nice guy and will give you advice.

[Stonkmer]

heated up screwdriver or round file perhaps? More control of the heat application...?

[MarkVerploeg]

i wouldn't use heat since styrene expands when heated
most of the times i sand down the the fenders untill the section i want to damage is thin enough to bend
use of photo etch fenders will skip that as they will bend very easy
but if you look at photo's of vehicles during a war and the second world war in speciffic you can see that on many tanks pieces of fenders can be missing completly this can be used as battle damage aswel
it will depend on the subject and kit if you will have to cut/saw parts
so i think.that you should.look.for some photo's of your subject and try to copy features you find
but just give.it a go on a cheap.kit like a zvezda t-34/76 wich.is.cheap.and has.some.problems but.gives a platform for experiments.
cheers Mark

[Trainboy153]

I just grab the fenders and slowly bend them. Im crude like that