RE: How do you create battle damage to Tigers Fenders/mudguards ?
Most of what you want to damage is sheet metal. All tanks have this problem and have either bent, torn or missing parts. On Tigers, one or more sections of the side fender/track guards were missing. They are torn off by heavy underbrush or barbed wire and also by close explosion. I use a mini torch to heat the area and bend it with small pliers, a paint brush handle or tweeezers. Don't grip it too hard where you leave print marks. Thin the bent part to look more like thin steel instead of the thick plastic. Also, much damage is done by the driver backing into something or turning close and snagging onto something to crumple the corner fender. Figure how you want to replicate this damage..,..bent in, pulled outward, torn loose. (Look at the wifes car.) If a piece is a bit dangling at one end....very common until it's torn completely off. Rear flaps at the Tiger's tracks were commonly missing...one or both. Tank brushing against a building or big trees will cause a ripple or bend area along the fender...generally pushing it in toward the track. Just don't have them all factory even and level. Bullet holes are also common...use a small drill bit and angle at the the level the round is hitting. If the fender part is at a 45 degree angle, like the side fenders, tap your holes at an angle closer to ground level. On the turret stowage box, muffler shields, straight in. Tigers, with their flat armor, were often seen with gouges (pock marks) in the front by the driver-bow gunner or on the gun mantlet and frontal areas of the turret facing the enemy....use a dremmel to tap a light dent.....use a "steel" paint cause a "splash" effect. A 75-76mm would cause this damage....an older hit would be darker and dirty. Road wheels also got shot up and oil seal leaks were also common, so on a moving wheel, the oil would flow outward from the hub to the rim....and lots of dirt/mud. Viel spaß wünch ich Dir. Have fun.