I just received a model of the Glencoe ‘Oregon’ that I ordered off e-bay and which I intend to transform into the ‘Iowa’ as she appeared March 22, 1923 during her service as a radio controlled target ship (see attachment).



As you can see, there are many shell holes, created by the 14-inch guns of the USS Mississippi. As a matter of fact, I can count six such holes in this side of the ship alone.

I was wondering if any of you could suggest how I might create these holes without adding too much weight to the model as I plan to RC this ship.

If possible, I want to re-create the deformation of the hull that would accompany a shell strike without adding too much weight to the model.

As for watertight integrity, I intend to cap off the inside of the shell holes with black painted capped plastic pipes.

Thank you in advance for your assistance…


http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/010446.jpg

Hello Tyler, The best method I know is to first thin down the plastic in the area that you want to show damaged, from the inside. I use a small grinding bit in a Dremel tool myself. Then depending on what kind of 'damage' you wish to portray, you can use a sharp knife to puncture and tear the plastic or you can use a the point of a small nail, or a large needle, or pin, to make rounder holes.
Al

Depends on the scale of the model although it must be pretty big if you're going to R/C it. As Al said thin down the inside and use a pointy thing that approximates the diameter of the shells in that scale - like a nail.