Wethering plastic to make it look like dented metal

Hi Fellas, can anyone direct me to a post to explain how to make partsof my tank look bashed about. I am wanting to rough up the exhaust stacks on my Tiger model, is it just a case of melting them a bit with a candle, or attacking them with a grinding tool, they are already on the model.

I am sure there must be some instruction somewhere on the forum.

Cheers

Andy

Hi Andy, dont take a candle to your model,the best way is to scrape the back of the piece to thin out the plastic then push it in to form a dent best done before you glue the piece on. as you have already glued it on you could thin the front of the plastic using your knife then sand it smooth, the edges of the covers would be easier as you can get behind them still. Its a good idea before you start your kit is to plan how you want it to look then you can dent and bend all your pices before you glue. hope thishelps

John gives some good advice above Andy, another way you could get away with is using a dental burr in a rotary tool (very slow rpm) and just lightly bounce it of the surface that you want damaged. I would suggest that if you do it this way is maybe try it on a piece of scrap first so you get the feel of it.

Craig

Hi Andy - as John said above

Even better is replacing the part with thin metal (I use pewter and copper) and actually denting it but since the parts are in place my suggestion would be as follows for small dents:-

blank plastic starting point

grind in some dents with a ball end grinder bit - be careful to not melt the plastic and think how you want it to look - I've just bashed in some random holes here

rub over the entire thing with a scotch pad in a circular motion - cheap source is those foam pan scourers that have the pad on one side, usually about 20 for £1

The idea is to smooth the sharp edges out and blend the dent with the surrounding area so it looks more dent like than gouged hole

I recommend trying it on a spare part or under the hull where it won't be seen to see if it gives the effect you are after

Hope it's of some use

SimonT

I'm planning on denting the fenders a bit on my current wip StuG III C/D - nothing OTT but just some dented corners etc.

I've been playing around with the piece of fender that I removed from the right hand one as I wanted to show some completely torn away, exposing the Friuls. I find that flame is far too risky, one fraction of a second too much and all you get is a mess! Have you ever tried strectching sprue!

I like the hot-lamp method. My buddy Andy uses it to great effect but until today I hadn't tried it. I have a small desk lamp with a 100 watt bulb in it that you just hold near the edge to be bent and do a few seconds at a time until the plastic softens enough for you to bend it how you want but not enough to make it too soft to work with (I also hear that a hot hairdryer works equally as well).

Try it - it worked for me!

All the best,

Ben

Edited By Ben Hinks on 06/05/2012 14:26:55

I tried the hair dryer technique on my is2 it doe work but you have to be very carefull with it as it can melt the plastic and ruin the model completely.and it,s so easy to do.

Bent fenders is one thing. Can anyone elaborate on how to get oil drums and larger solid objects to look dented? Is it a case of sculpting away with a scalpel and sanding or can you also heat these too. Daren't try it on the limited stash I have. Do have a few resin ones but can you heat resin or is it sanding only?

Pete

Edited By Peter C on 06/05/2012 17:13:34

Thanks for you help I will post photos if it is anything like when finished.

Cheers chaps!

Hi andy

My advice don't try a candle or a hair dryer. The candle is too hot to control well, unless using it to stretch sprue for ariels etc. and the hair dryer way too big, heating those parts you don't want too.

Instead use an incense stick. See this video for a "how too" Shame its not in Englsh for those of us that don't speak Japanese but the picture do all the explaining. Just one of many on You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74YfgP5yZOA

Hope it helps

Alan

Edited By Alan Mckenzie on 08/05/2012 01:11:40

Thanks Alan,

He obviously knows what he is doing!

Andy