There are a variety of methods to try and replicate the look of bent metal on a car. Some of the techniques are;
1. Heat up area with a candle or soldering iron and bend
Pros: Tools easy to get a hold of
Cons: Plastic had soft curves not sharp ones of bent metal, Plastic can melt or burn
2. Cut up body in sections then glue back into crashed look
Pros: more realistic look than No 1
Cons: Labour intensive and final outcome not guaranteed. Kit part forever destroyed
3. Using actual metal sheets (brass sheets or aluinum foil) and deforming
Pros: Very realistic
Cons: also an art form and not easy to do. Aluminum foil very fragile
4. Foil and resin technique
Pros: Easy to get excellent results
Cons: Can be messy
We will detail the last technique here
Picture 1
The materials we used in this project; Clockwise from top
Alumilite resin (Any resin product will do), measuring/ mixing cups, mixing stick, kit part (1:24 hood of Ford F150, newspaper (can be a very messy project) Not seen are the rubber gloves needed
Picture 2
Place a piece of aluminum foil over the kit part and hold very tightly. Using a Q-tip or finger rub the foil to get the shape of the kit part. It may seem hard at first but a couple of tries and you will quickly get the hang of it. First two will be garbage but the third one on will be useable.
Picture 3
After making several good molds oyu will now have to bend them up. Using a pencil or even your finger gently press in the area you want damaged. These pieces are very fragile so go slowly. This will also take some practice (the reason you should make at least four (4) good molds at once). The one on the left is a brand new mold while the one in the middle is damaged while the kit part is on the right.
Picture 4
Using rubber gloves (because it can be very messy) mix up a batch of Alumilite and pour into the damaged mold. To prevent too much leakage you can bend the sides of the foil up. Note that Alumilite when curing creates a lot of heat and you may find holding the mold very uncomfortable
Picture 5
Once the resin is cured (alumilite 5 minutes) you can peel the foil off the resin. If it is hard to take off a knife can help
Picture 6
Now the resin part will have to be cut to shape. Here I am using a Dremel type tool. This will be the longest part of the project. Always wear some type of rust mask. A lot of resin dust will kick up in the air from cutting wheel. Some grinding may also be needed to get the part to fit the rest of the kit.
Picture 7
View 1 of the almost finished model. The quarter panel was also made using this method. Several were made fo the hood and quarterpanel. Then two were matched up. Note this was done before I cut the quarter panel off the kit. Unfortunately due to the lighting the dents in the hood can't be easily seen. The quarterpanel looks good though. It should also be noted that the side emblem was first cast separately before the quarterpanel was made. It wasn't possible to do it in one run (although I tried)
Picture 8
View 2 of finished model. Hood can be seen a bit better. Front bumper was kit part ripped apart with plyers. The grill was also cut and bent up. The headlight is aluminum foil bent up. Only mistake was pointed out by someone a year later when he saw the model. He pointed out that the paint wasn;t scraped down to the metal at the impact area!!! DAMN!!!
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