Bullet Holes

[Prons]

I don't have acces to a drill, and ive read in a fine scale modeler book that if you take a knife and push through the kit and spin around you can do some good bullet hole damage, how ever I think my knives are to weak or something, I can't push through a kit, I can cut slashes on them, but cant cut through them. so can anyone tell me some bullet hole tips?

[Jung]

heat up a pin, compass etc... than push into the plastic.

[ewilen]

I read in one of my modelling books (most likely Shep Paine's books on dioramas and armored vehicles) that it's a good idea to thin the plastic on the nonvisible side of the hole (I guess by sanding or using a hobby knife to partly drill through), then make the hole from the visible side. Not sure how this compares to the hot pin method.

Edited March 19, 2004 by ewilen

[VF19]

I take a sharp knife, kinda drill a hole where you want it to be, than push the knife into the edges, making a cut on the outside of the hole, then spread it out a little.

[Angel's Fury]

heat up a pin, compass etc... than push into the plastic.

Just like Jung said but don't stick it all the way through. Just do it slightly, then dry brush. You can paint the hole with silver & black to simulate burning or use a soldering iron to add holes, thereby making a melting effect that'll look like as if it were hit by bullets and melting the metal.

[tetsujin]

Since you're working with plastic, you don't need a power drill. You can put the bits into a pin vise and turn them yourself. (In other words, a screwdriver-style hand-drill) As for the bullet-hole effect... I'm not really sure, frankly. What you want is a hole with a small indentation around it and corresponding "paint loss" effect. Thinning the plastic sounds like the best idea I've heard for this, though probably difficult unless you have a dremel.

[Captain Angel]

I read in one of my modelling books (most likely Shep Paine's books on dioramas and armored vehicles) that it's a good idea to thin the plastic on the nonvisible side of the hole (I guess by sanding or using a hobby knife to partly drill through), then make the hole from the visible side. Not sure how this compares to the hot pin method.

you'd do that with a dremel tool, and be very careful.

If you twist the knife around as you press into the plastic it should make an hour glass shape, but that's ok, just spin it around unitll the hole looks a litle rough. make sure to use a sharp blade for small holes... for something like a Master grade kit with 90mm cannon holes, use a dull blade, or one where the sharp tip is snapped off. I use this method from time to time, It looks good on wargaming miniatures, so I think it should be ok for everything else. just don't overdo it.

[Prons]

How would I heat up the pin? put it in a microwave for a bit?

[ewilen]

Never put metal objects in a microwave. If you go the heat route, you'll probably want to use an open flame (gas stove, bunsen burner, candle).

[wasp]

Never put metal objects in a microwave. If you go the heat route, you'll probably want to use an open flame (gas stove, bunsen burner, candle).

Also make sure that you are holding onto the pin with a pair of pliers or tweezers. Pins are very good conductors of heat and get HOT really fast.

[scand]

has anybody tried to use a sodering iron?

[Jasonc]

I did, and it doesn't work very well. You want to use something that coold off to keep the plastic from pulling out when you push the hole through. Also, the pin method does give more control of the size and the way you want it to look. That's my experience and take on the whole bullet hole method.

Oh, this is in regard to the soldering iron. Bad ideas unless it's a large scale toy.

Edited March 21, 2004 by Jasonc

[Angel's Fury]

I did, and it doesn't work very well. You want to use something that coold off to keep the plastic from pulling out when you push the hole through. Also, the pin method does give more control of the size and the way you want it to look. That's my experience and take on the whole bullet hole method.

Oh, this is in regard to the soldering iron. Bad ideas unless it's a large scale toy.

Yeah, soldering irons works better on large scaled toys, even that doesn't work. Might even wreck the the toy in the process. The pin method is much prefered.

[gnollman]

I find that the pin vise method is the easiest, cleanest, and safest for you and the model. Pin vises are easily obtained from your local hobby shop, or sometimes you'll find them cheaper at a hardware or DIY store....

[Valk009]

There used to be a thread on some fellow MWer, who customized a damaged VF-1S (1/72 Hase) a few months back. He did a fab job, anyone remember him.

Apparently he sold the model later on Ebay!

[Ranger565]

here is a picture of a Destroid I broke as a kid. So naturally I redid it and well lets just say I did LOTS of Battle damage. I used a Plane Xacto Hobby knife and widdled holes some larger some smaller. When you do battle damage. use your Imagination. Think of what a Busted up Destroid or Figher would look like and keep going.

If you have any questions PM me

Ranger565

Edited March 22, 2004 by Ranger565

[Angel's Fury]

Awesome battle damage Ranger565!!!

[Wesker99]

Nice!

Very good job

[VF19]

I cant believe that thing is still standing! damn, mine is so flopsy, even with TWO legs.

[Southcross]

here is a picture of a Destroid I broke as a kid. So naturally I redid it and well lets just say I did LOTS of Battle damage. I used a Plane Xacto Hobby knife and widdled holes some larger some smaller. When you do battle damage. use your Imagination. Think of what a Busted up Destroid or Figher would look like and keep going.

If you have any questions PM me

Ranger565

wow very nice!

[Ranger565]

Hehe its leaning aginst my flashlight to take the picture. hehe

[VF19]

lol, thats what I thought. that thing looks like it should be half buried in a crater, with the other leg somewhere in the crater, sticking out of the side or something, along with the arm, and the pilot climbing out of the wreckage. IOW, that would make a great diorama.

Edited March 23, 2004 by VF19

[kanata67]

soldering irons actually work great... If you know how. I use a butane soldering iron taht also doubles as a heat gun [radio shack]. The heat gun can melt the plastic without touching it to give it that "laser burnt" look of melted metal.

pin vice works well for smaller holes.

exacto... use it like a glass drill bit. It's edged so press it firmly against the spot you want a hole and rotate it. You will notice a slow "drill like" progress. Takes longer than a dremmel or even a pin vice.

hot pin... use pliars, a paper clip, and a lighter [preferably zippo. Heat up one end and melt your way through. You may have to rehat the paper clip a few times before you get through... hence the zippo recomendation. Just like sterilizing the neddle for a jail house tattoo

Depending on how good your aim is and the size of the thing... Nothing works as good as a BB gun . The only annoying thing is when you end up with a bb or two rattling around inside it

I'd show you pics but I'm not done and some people might mock me Just because I make spawn/macross hybrids of eveything . The glaug was already shot when I got it... honest

[pfunk]

The glaug was already shot when I got it... honest

Ill have to see what my .45 does to an old car model

[Captain Angel]

a BB gun? wouldn't it just shatter some of the more brittle plastics?

the .45 will be funny, cause it'll either completely destroy the car, or look like a dud artillery shell hit it...

[Angel's Fury]

...the .45 will be funny, cause it'll either completely destroy the car, or look like a dud artillery shell hit it...

I'm starting to crack up just imagining it.

[The_Major]

Actualy it will probably look like it was hit by an artillery shell i used a .45 on several models including a tank model when i was making a film, and wow it looked cool, although the barrel on one of the tanks almost took out the camera guy's eye....

[Angel's Fury]

Actualy it will probably look like it was hit by an artillery shell i used a .45 on several models including a tank model when i was making a film, and wow it looked cool, although the barrel on one of the tanks almost took out the camera guy's eye....

Hope the camera guy's okay?

[VF19]

I tried the .45 method on the transformers: RID jeep guy that was part of the combiner thing. artillery shell DOES NOT do it justice. miniature thermonuclear warhead is probably better.

Thats alot of pieces to pick up.

[ramocan]

here is a picture of a Destroid I broke as a kid. So naturally I redid it and well lets just say I did LOTS of Battle damage. I used a Plane Xacto Hobby knife and widdled holes some larger some smaller. When you do battle damage. use your Imagination. Think of what a Busted up Destroid or Figher would look like and keep going.

If you have any questions PM me

Ranger565

Prons:

If you have an X-Acto knife, then just press the tip to the plastic and rotate it like a screwdriver.

One low tech way that has very good results is to hold a pin with tweezers or plyers (with rubber handles) over a candle. Hold it over the flame for some time until it starts glowing red-hot (20-30 secs would do), and then apply it on the plastic.

As someone said before, you've got a lot of control with it. But be sure to make a couple of test "shots" before.

One word of advice:

1. Be careful not to overdo it. You will have a lot of trouble "undoing" the harm.

2. Take in count WHERE the shots are most probably going to come.

Why? because not all shots will enter the metal straight (in a square angle or 90 degrees). Some may come from a side, and you can do this nicely with the hot pin, puncturing the model from a side. For example, if it's a plane that has been on a dogfight and some bullets might have hit from somewhere behind, though not directly behind.

You should have a "trail" (a small one) before the actual hole of the bullet.

3. I've seen a couple of actual cars with bullet holes. I noticed that the bullets almost never enter the metal in a square angle.

Also, the holes are basically inward, which is what you might be trying to get with the hot pin. It shouldn't look like a crater, in which the walls next to the hole are raised.

4. For best results, apply paint weathering, depending on the amount of damage that should have happened.

That is:

a) if you're using the pin to do small bullet holes, and you want to make believe the bullets didn't hit anything too important, you could apply a metal color paint around the bullet, to simulate the paint chipping. It's just a small dab of paint, which you could do with a q-tip or something.

If the bullet struck the metal almost in a square angle, then it should be a somewhat round paint chip, with a black hole. To paint the black hole you can just use the same pin, with paint on it.

If the bullet struck the metal sideways, apply meta paint over the "trail" you scored with the hot pin on the plastic.

Make sure you paint the hole black, and try not to use silver for the metal, because it's too shiny. Use aluminum or steel instead, depending on what you're dealing with (aluminum is good for planes, steel for tanks and ships).

b) if you're going for a little bit of more serious bullet damage, the holes may be larger, and because you have damage, you will want either oil or smoke to have poured out of the hole. This means that after applying the metal paing to simulate the paint chip, you could paint black over the area. Preferrably use a dry-brush technique or if you're really going low tech, use a paper napkin with very little paint. This is very easy to mess up, and you'll have to repaint if you overdo it.

c) if you're going for some serious damage, like shells, not bullets, then the hole will be big. Two things you should mind (and this regards Ranger too):

- You are talking blasts here. Explosions! So, you will have a large hole, but it will be scorched. That is, most probably the surrounging area will be black because of either the blast itself of the ensuing fire or explosion.

You can have also shell blast that doesn't perforate the armor plating. I don't know how to explain this, but the shell blast would only make an indentation on the surface, and it may have a pattern ressembling fireworks when they explode: with "rays" or trails going out

- This is more complicated, but you may want NOT to have the hole to see through the model. You may want to have some inner detail of the damage, like bended metal and cables. So, this means that you have to do the damage BEFORE completely assembling the model, because you will have to add bits and pieces of warped plastic and tubes and cables INSIDE, and glue them from the inside.

If there's an internal explosion, then you would have to add sheets of plastic on the outside, curving out, and then some detail inside. You can find plastic in yogurt bottles or other containers you can buy at any supermarket. You get thin plastic to add detail to your models, AND you get to eat the yogurt, isn't this just great?

You can be creative in more ways.

For example, in star wars, rebel starfighters are all patched up. Because the rebels don't have a lot to spend in new spare parts, they end up using parts from other ships. This means that the plates on the ships are of different color. Some are painted, some are not, some are painted differently.

Also, rebels would just replace a metal plate that had been damaged, but not paint anything. So, you would have a blackened area in a ship around the damaged plate, with a notoriously newer (but not completely brand new) plate replacing the damaged one.

Hope this helps you!!

Regarding your Destroid, Ranger, it looks good, but I think it could look better with some black scorches instead of silver, because of all the explosions and fires. Good thing is you only have to dab it on top of what you already have done.

Good work, man!

[flyboy]

You guys might want to check this link out:

planet armor

This shows how to simulate battle damage on a lightly-armored WW2 amphibious personnel carrier. If you're looking for a more "in-scale" effect, this is the way that most armor and aircraft modelers do it.

HTH,

Felix