I've now made a start on assembling a Rubicon Panzer III (H1 variant) as per my last post and also made a start on destroying it as I go. It's been sort of fun to imagine how this unfortunate Panzer met its end.
Here are a few in-progress shots. Most of the hull is just the standard, out-of-the-box build, though I have started to cut up the track guards on one side that is going to have most of the battle damage. I have also made a few minor changes such as positioning some of the hatches as if they had blown open as a result of the explosion. It's a shame that the driver's hatch is moulded as a single piece, though I may retro-fit some other hatches over the top (if I can figure how to do it).
One of the most obvious bits of damage to knocked out tanks is to the tracks. It was surprisingly easy to cut the roadwheels off the tracks. I had been reading up about the melting point of ABS plastic and thinking about how to safely damage the kit without either burning myself or inhaling noxious fumes. A little bit of work with a scalpel and side cutters was all it needed. The hard ABS plastic does not lend itself well to too much customisation, but because I am seeking to damage the vehicle anyway, a little bit of actual damage to the kit does not matter quite so much.
The most fun part so far has been chopping up the track links and repositioning them into what you see below. The middle and central return rollers were moved leftwards by one position, which allowed me to bend the intervening track; the left-most return roller was then positioned (with all the track removed from it) in the right-most position and glued on at an angle. The other parts of the track were attached as a separate pieces, though it is difficult to tell that they don't actually all join up any more.
The three remaining roadwheels are not attached to the bogeys, which were cut off, but glued on higher up the hull to represent the suspension having sagged.
More to come soon.
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