Heya, Folks,

I'm looking to model a gouge made by a shell impact against thick armor plate.

What techniques would you folks recommend? I've used a file to cut a gouge out of the plate, but I don't really like the look of it.

Any recommendations on favorite techniques, as always, would be appreciated! And any picture references would be appreciated as well.

Many thanks!

Regards and Aloha,

Johnny B.

PS I'll look at any method but I'm hoping to avoid using a soldering iron as I have this fear that I will melt my model and end up with something that looks like a refugee from a Salvador Dali painting!!

HEllo mate i always use normal modeling glue dripped onto the area i want the shot hit and then work it around and watch it melt the plastic, working the result into the edge of the impact area.so you end up with the raised edges of the steel.best way to find ut if you can get this meathord to work for you is it try it on a old peace of kit until you get the best way of doing it.



with this way you can doing glancing shots and straight on.

I heat a piece of brass rod that is about the same diameter as a scale round and push it into the plastic a little. Then I use my knife to clean it up or sculpt it a little.

A rotary tool (ie. Dremel), with a pointed burr can make some nice small impacts if just glanced of the surface, depends on how big an effect you want, I've used heated pins on burnt out tanks and larger heated metal on schurzen plate in the past but have never been completey happy with the results.

HTH,

James

A Dremel acorn burr chucked into a pin vise also works, and you have much more control than with the power tool, which can get away from you.
When making gouges, bear in mind the scale thickness of the actual plate involved, as well as the scale size of the enemy shot. Sometimes I've seen models with huge scale gouges (the equivalent of 150mm or more) and cut to a ridiculous depth in armor that was actually only four inches thick (or one tenth of an inch in scale). Check out the photos of preserved vehicles to see what impacts really do (the Panzer IV 70 (A) in Saumur still has a 75 mm shot stuck in the front plate).

Hi Gerald
It has indeed.



Alan