I'm wanting to create a dog fight look to my BF-109 and create some bullet hole damage. I want to maintain some beleivabiltiy and not place bullet holes where the aircraft would not have survived. So location, and any realism tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks guys

First of all, I've seen pictures of aircraft with holes and damage that isn't survivable, yet they survive. So in that respect, almost anything goes. That being said, for a -109, the tail (and not neccessarily the rudder) and the rear fuselage are good areas. The wings work just as well too. The front of the aircraft is harder to hit from a rear-quarter attack (the most common) so damage to that area is limited. Also most attacks were made from behind - as mentioned - and from slightly above to a steep angle (if the attacker dived from above), so most damage was limited to upper areas, with underside damage limited to cannon shell explosions and exit holes from shrapnel and bullet holes. As for what damage should look like, bullet holes (not cannon shell holes) should appear to have been punched inward, as the skin of the aircraft is "pulled" inward and exit holes should have outward opening holes. Not all bullets were through and through (in and out). Cannon shells are larger and explode. For explosions relatively near the skin, there should be outward damage. For interior explosions, just a larger hole will suffice. To know what to use, figure out what aircraft you want to simultate damage to. If you say was attacked by a P-47, don't put cannon holes as they used only .50 cal shell. If its attacked by a non-MK I Spitfire, cannon holes and MG holes are appropriate (Mk I were armed with 8x .303 MG). Also, not MG rounds penetrated dead on. Some glanced off the skin, leaving scratched paint. For just as many holes you make, you may want to make the same number of scratches of size not much larger than the penetration holes. You pretty much have artistic license on bullet holes. I suggest looking at photos of aircraft damage and go from there.

I'll list a few general points about WWII fighters because I am by no means an expert on the 109. I do have a reference book (not with me right now) on the 109 that does show general internal structures, such as radio, control wire, oxygen/fuel tank placements, etc. If you can find such a book, they are invaluable for modelling damage as they know let you know where you can place great gaping holes in your aircraft.

If your aircraft was fired on from behind, the natural area to place some damage would be on the rudder and vertical stabilizer, and/or the elevators and horizontal stabilizer. A nice touch would be to place a ragged line of bullet holes trailing up the fuselage towards the cockpit. I haven't checked my reference books for the 109, but most aircraft had moving control surfaces made out of fabric. These moving surfaces were easily damaged, but did not cause any great structural failure to the aircraft as the bullets passed thru the fabric instead of cracking and shattering the aluminum skin. Even damage to the aluminum skin was not traggic as long as it was machinegun and not large calibre cannon fire which used exploding shells. The extreme rear of the tail area normally did not contain any critical components, usually only control wires.

Damage to a fabric surface may be challenging depending on your skill level, as depicting torn fabric can be difficult. A few small holes should be okay as long as they are not placed over the ribs of a structure where you would have to show the internal component .

Some small fighters did not have internal fuel tanks in the wings as this area was reserved for the landing gear bays and machinegun/cannon racks. The fuel tanks were normally directly in front of, below, or to the rear of the cockpit. Check your model for fuel door openings or if the model has decals depicting a fueling point.
Once again, this is just general info and a more experienced person may be able to add better details on the 109. If I can remember, I will check my books and post what I find.

Good luck, and cheers.

Thank you guys for very thourough info and directions, I really, really appreciate it! I knew I came to the right place. One final question in regards to your replies. A machine gun bullet causes the aluminum to punch inward...with that in mind, what would be the best tool to use to create this effect? A heated drill bit? not sure what to use...Thanks again!

for bullet damage, try this: Drill a tiny hole where you want the strike to be. Take your ex-acto knife with triangular blade and gently twist it in the hole. The knife will scrape the plastic in a ragged finish, and by angling the blade a bit while you twist you can indicate the direction the hit came from. You can also make the hits any size you want-just keep twisting the blade. Here's what it looks like. Hope this helps.

Art

Here is another bullet hole technique that is pretty convincing. Take your dremel with a grinding or sanding attachment and thin the fuselage (or any softskin vehicle for that matter) on the inside in the area where your hole will be until you are almost through. Then take something that is the desired diameter of your hole and punch through from the outside (maybe a sharp pencil point or finishing nail or something) and you get the jagged, damaged metal look inward. Then you can paint bare metal around the edges to simulate chipped paint. This way you can get a hole that is not perfectly round like you would get with a hot needle. Hope this helps out.

Thanks again guys...I appreciate all the input. Time to make some bullet holes!

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but I am wondering how to simulate non-penetrating hits, where armor deflected the shells (on tanks). The topic of this seems too similar to make a thread of my own asking it.