Bending Plastic To Replicate Damage

[malvern_man]

Hi all,

I have a 1/35 Tamiya Willys MB Jeep that I will be building some time soon and I want to replicate some damage to it, probably the front bumper ( depending on which version I do ) and the front wheel arches.

What is the best way to bend them without snapping the plastic.

Regards, Chris.

[Waspie]

Hi all,

I have a 1/35 Tamiya Willys MB Jeep that I will be building some time soon and I want to replicate some damage to it, probably the front bumper ( depending on which version I do ) and the front wheel arches.

What is the best way to bend them without snapping the plastic.

Regards, Chris.

Good question neatly phrased. I'll be keeping an eye on your responses!!! (Just a little something I have in the back of my mind for my current build!!)

[Ian M]

GENTLE heat on a thing like that.
Bumpers are in real life hard to bend and I think the Willis had pretty tough ones.
Things like the wheel arches and panels could be replaced with thin metal and bent, or the plastic thinned right down from the back and bent cold.

[Gern]

You could try using gentle heat or thinning the plastic as Ian suggests. Probably be worth practising both techniques on things like yoghurt pots or ice cream tubs first though? Maybe even roughly copying the shapes using strips of plastic? A piece of angled steel will bend differently to a flat piece.

[Jim R]

Sound advice so far. Do not use a flame as the heat source. It will be too uncontrollable. I have used one of those incense cones or incense sticks. They give a localised heat and can be moved nearer and further away easily.
It also makes your workroom smell nice :smiling:

[Guest]

I would not try to heat the front mudguards to replicate damage, because heated plastic will often stretch and curve in ways the metal doesn’t. The Jeep’s mudguards are pretty straightforward flat shapes, so they’re not too hard to copy in some thin metal sheet or thick foil, which you can then dent very realistically. The bumper would need to take a serious impact to get dented, I would think, so probably best to keep that straight.

[Scratchbuilder]

Take a small flat blade screwdriver, heat it over a candle and then hold it in the area you wish to damage. Or you could remake the part from tin foil that comes with some take aways and then bend to shape - but like the yogurt and ice cream - eat the contents first....

[malvern_man]

Thanks all for the info.

I've got plenty of spare parts with the Warhammer Leman Russ tank that I'm currently building so I'll give some of your suggestions a go.

Regards, Chris.

[Mini Me]

Chris, if you try the thinning of the plastic technique, I have found that if you apply a Little liquid cement along the bend line it will eliminate some of the brittleness and help prevent cracking when you attempt to bend it.