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how would you make a small bullet hole on the cockpit 'glass' or plastic to make it look like his flyers been in the wars and not had time for repairs, just bullet holes in the canopy...with a drill?

I'd put some masking tape either side to help mark and avoid cracking.

 JohnnyHell wrote:
I'd put some masking tape either side to help mark and avoid cracking.

So use a drill?

Yarp. Then you could use a knife or file to model cracks emanating from the holes.

May I suggest only cratering the glass with a "pin vice" for control? I hate it when my drill decides to roll or wander and it would look really bad on clear plastic. I would then place the tip of an exacto knife into the hole and press lines into the edges to look like cracks starring out of the shell hit.

A "serviceable" canopy that is not punctured would not get replaced. Full holes when showing your army would just look odd and you would have to figure out why there is not a red smear in the cockpit (if a marine, add a dent in his armor?).

My thoughts...

Yeah, pits and cracks look way better than through and through holes. Make it look like a round cracked the glass, but didn't actually make it through.

Sounds awesome, is the glass in fluff actually that tough? What's it made of? If I did pits and cracks would I follow the same principle as making a hole? I was thinking the round that went through didn't hit the pilot and hit something else...but I think your right!

Try heating up a paperclip end, then pressing it gently onto the plasic. Theoretically will create the burnt pock mark with ridges, say it didn't penetrate the canopy. Test it on the clear sprue it comes with and let me know the results. This would be something I would consider doing as well if the effect is decent.

I would take a look at some real canopy battle damage. You will notice there is a difference between regular glass damage and bullet proof glass damage. But here is a picture of bullet proof glass damage.

 EmperorsChampion wrote:
I would take a look at some real canopy battle damage. You will notice there is a difference between regular glass damage and bullet proof glass damage. But here is a picture of bullet proof glass damage.

Looks awesome, yeah that's the look I was going for!

So, for that... Use a drill bit to get the initial rounded indention, then scrape the sides with your hobby knife for the irregularities in the break. Finally, for the stars you could scratch them in with your hobby knife -- you may actually get a better result by scratching from the back.

If you're lucky, you'll get the plastic to crack naturally while you drill the impact point.

Worked for auto glass industry:

Bulletproof glass is like the windshield but many more layers. It is normal "untempered" glass with vinyl melted in between.

The theory is the same as a folded blade: layers of hard material (initial resistance) and layers of soft (drag/ shock obsorbtion). With enough layers worst case failure would be the glass deforming/bending/breaking but a hole will not be made.

As others have said use a pin vice to get the round indention. Don't press too hard and go through. I did that on my dakkajet. I also used a hobby knife to cut in the "cracks" and it doesn't look as good as using white paint to paint the cracks on if you ask me.. Cutting just doesn't seem to have the dramatic effect.




gotta zoom in on pic to see, and its still not great quality but should hopefully see the hobby knife may not provide the result you want as opposed to white paint (i found out the hard way after painting rest of damn jet >.> )

There also exist decals that simulate bullet holes. I've seen them recently, but I don't recall the website.

Here's some.

 Talizvar wrote:
The theory is the same as a folded blade: layers of hard material (initial resistance) and layers of soft (drag/ shock obsorbtion). With enough layers worst case failure would be the glass deforming/bending/breaking but a hole will not be made.

I was under the impression folded steel blades were for the purpose of removing impurities, creating a homogeneous material or in more modern times, artistic reasons.

But anyway, yeah, I'd just use a drill bit in a pin vice and do it by hand then cut it up afterwards with a knife to create finer details and damage. Using a power drill would be a great way to destroy things.

I actually kind of like the idea of through holes. It makes little sense to us in this day and age, but I could totally picture a Space Marine flyer getting hit in the canopy and either not hitting the pilot or bouncing off the armour and not having time to repair it before the next battle, or an Ork simply not caring that there's a gaping hole in his canopy, or an Imperial Navy pilot getting shot, getting the plane home, then the ground crew cleaning up the cockpit and someone new jumping in for the next mission.

try a heated needle in a pin vise to sear a small hole.