Bullet holes

hey nice question. i really would like to find out too. i've never done it, but i figure if you use a center punch and drybrush the 'ridge' that it creates silver. but that's just a guess.

In Shep Paine's How to Build Dioramas, He says to thin the inside of the hull fender etc. with something, then punch through the thinned plastic with your hobby knife, then you can form the hole however you want.

I've never tried it but I'm pretty sure it works

I have a couple of practice models sitting around I can try that with. I wonder how punching through Dragon's plastic-stock Schurzen would look. Obviously you can't thin it. On those, I was thinking of using a dull golf pencil to sort of dent it and then opeing it up some with a knife.

Jwest,
you can thin the stock plastic skirts w/ a motor tool.
not the whole thing, just around where you are doing the hole.
and the edges, if you want to make them look better.
:-)

Thanks. I am going to try it on a spare piece first. With my luck, I would screw it up and then have to go out and drop $25 on a photo etch replacement.

In accordance to the advice above, I too will add my voice. The best is to thin the plastic on the inside, roughly half a centimetre in radius away from how large you want the hole, thus if you want a hole 5mm wide, thin a 15mm circle. With the tip of your modelling knife, punch through and twist. This technique gives a very favourable result, although I strongly suggest practicing on scraps before anything else.
Good luck!

Well, in order to make actual anti-tank round hits you might want to drill a small hole, and DONT PUNCTURE the plastic. Then, with some tamiya puttty and a sharp toothpick, make some "melted metal" around the hole, kinda build it up so you've got some thing that looks like battle damage. If you got to missing-lynx or ww2modelmaker and look at the Tigers, you can get a good idea. Then you want to paint them dark, dark grey, almost black, then dry brush very lightly with a metalic color and then take some rust like pastel color and add some rust, not a whole lot. Also when making the metal build up, make 2 or 3 streaks coming from the hole to make it look like the molten metal splattered.


hope this helps

I remember reading in an article a few years ago that a guy took various size philips screw drivers, heated them then punched throught the plastic. Sounded corny, but I tried it on a PzKpw IV J with side skirts, It didn't do to bad, but I am sure there are better ways.

Thanks guys

ive heard a heated sewing needle also works

what would a rocket hit look like? like the ones the allies fired from planes to destroy german tanks before d-day. i'm guessing big, and the tank/vehicle would be burned out.

Maybe take a drill, and put a really thin drill bit on, and drill some little holes? that might work.

The most realistic look is made by the melting technique for High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) rounds. They actually melt their way through the hull like a blow torch. A modern SABOT round actually punches through using kinetic energy and no actual heat or explosive energy, therefore, a smooth hole. The thinning of the plastic is best for small caliber bullet holes on thinner, nonarmored parts of the tank such as side skirts and other sheet metal areas, also great on soft skin vehicles such as trucks.