Creating dents in a car.

Ever see what happens to a plastic model kit when flames or excess heat gets near it, especially an open flame?

I'm with doog. My cheapy soldering iron does just fine.

In FSM Modeler's Guide to Painting and Finishing there's a great four page write-up on how to weather a car.The author really trashes a 1/25 Chevelle and for dents he uses a candle and an eraser.Obviously he recommends praticing on scrap models until you get the hang of it.

Michael

I used a candle while making dents to my -67 Charger (can be found on site 2 on this forum)but ofcourse one has to be VERY careful if doing so. All the time you have to feel if the plastic is soft enough to be moulded. The little metalcup candle is fine because it doesn't make any smoke.

Nope. Boiling water wouldn't be hot enough, nor site-specific. You'd warp the whole piece you were putting in it, more than likely?

Doesn't matter how "cheap" your irion is--you're only going to use it to transfer heat to a specific area. All you want to do is hold it under whatever plastic part you're trying to dent so that the heat rises into the plastic. Do not use a candle!!!!

This is really an easy thing to do. Just don't be in a hurry, and don't overdue it--keep poking gently at the plastic to see if it's becoming pliable.