Hi Flowcs,
The Autoblinda goes together nicely. Need to be a bit careful when assembling the front plates and ensure that the undercarriage sits in level. Not sure if the railroad version undercarriage is as complex as the armored car version.
I have little experience with adding small arms fire damage but I have seen some of the guys having good success with needle heads that have been heated and pushed slightly into the armor plates.
Rather then trying to bend the plastic parts I would replace the damaged part with sheet styrene or sheet metal. Bends more realistically then the rather thick plastic in the kit parts.
The Autoblinda is a rivet body so you might consider drilling out a couple of rivets where a plate lifts of the body-frame.
Good luck with the Autoblinda and the diorama.
Please share some pictures of the progress :)
Very Best Regards
Johan