Who are the Chermans ?
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The guys who invented cherry-cans.
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Come on man , I get the typo thing , but the C isn’t even on the same row as the G … have you been having at the Sherry again ? … typing in your cups is dangerous man … all kidding aside I see your point on the paint job , the whole two different materials thing . Meself , [ and possibly Nick ] weren’t refering to the weathering aspect , it was all about the grain and how to make it stand out when you use real wood ., be careful man , balsa doesn’t take stain or paint well .
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No grain = no pain 
H.P.
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Wow Tim , I’m such an eyedot , I should have thought of this right off , used them many a time for making plank doors etc. Ship planks , the kind used in making wood ship models , Artesania Latina etc. Paper thin , takes paint , primer , stain , inks . Flexible and comes in different widths . No problem with glue either , Testors tube , cyano , glues to plastic just fine .
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As always the bees knees can be viewed here. Even the Cherrys’ knees apparently.
J
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Singin’ to the choir mate, over 10 years ago I built this…
…it was a b*tch (curving the hull planking) but satisfying by the finish. And yes there was planking left over…and yes it would be perfect…except I chucked it out during a major cull of spare dio material just before moving 18 months ago. So yeah thanks for reminding me about that f-up 
and no I’m not going to buy another boat. Let me prove I’m either hero or zero for choosing balsa 
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Part of my mojo-misfiring was how to deal with the fragility of the cab (and whole truck) during destructional construction. After U-turning from the idea of bonding balsa to plastic planking, I’ve since Z-turned from the idea of making the entire cab from balsa. The final decision being to use plastic as backing (for strength/handling) for what will be an all-balsa interior – which will be much easier to damage with shrapnel & burnt-out areas.
So I made a bunch of balsa planking & painted the inside white as per refs., in the process noticing a nice splintering effect when I scored the reverse (exterior) side too deeply. Needs a second white coat…
Using the same principle of partial/hidden plastic for rigidity I started on the mudguards…
I won’t damage them until the latter stages of cab destruction to see what makes sense. A very loose test-fit…
Still pondering the exterior walls - maybe I’ll keep the plastic facing, but bond shattered (thinned) balsa to the broken ends to style it out. So what’s that, a Y-turn?
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Nice work Tim , I find it’s always harder to build something wrecked/destroyed .
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Hi Tim,
You putting in the hours, is making for a good build for us to watch! I’m more interested in seeing how you do the metal work, as you seem to have the wood siding under control. I’ve often wondered about making metal, rather than styrene body work, as I’m guessing the bends/rips etc could look more scale-realistic than styrene. I’ve found it hard to get the crease you see in metal with styrene - clearly styrene works, but you are doing some pretty complicated work anyway, so why not keep at it! 
Looking good
Cheers
Nick 
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Thanks Glenn, yep and you’re in the same mode right now, we should set up a Nihilist sub-forum 
Thanks Nick, you may remember my first attempt…
The gauge of metal sheet or foil is critical – if it’s too thin it’s hard to keep it in shape through the model’s construction, if it’s too thick it’s hard to get the kind of sharp creases you want. I guess the typical gauge used for photo-etch brass (or one grade thinner) might fall into the Goldilocks zone.
But you’re talking about crumpling body panels too. I use the heavier foil type (baking tray, or even better the big Nescafe tin’s foil seal) when I need to inflict damage, simply pressing the foil (akin to burnishing) against the original kit part using a tiny flat-head screwdriver and/or fingernail. Then crumple at will. And then I usually back it with a full or partial plastic support panel (PVA does the job) to (a) avoid having to touch the metal again after damaging it, and (b) ease of installing/joining it to the model. That’s what I did with the Anthropoid Merc, and what I’m attempting to do again here.
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Nicely done Tim , I’m gonna have to try that " real " metal method , looks awesome . Lord knows I create enough destruction , … oh , when it comes to modeling too .
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Great progress Tim … its looking top notch matey.
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Always enjoy watching your works in progress Tim. And of course the all banter as well
Cheers 
Dave 
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Great memories. Epic build.
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Thanks guys as always - well, it may not look like it but it’s a curiously mojo-debilitating process (for me anyway), simultaneously constructing & destructing. As soon as one thinks a component can be added, the Dark Side says “Not so fast, are you going to damage it now or when it’s in situ? If the former, how will you know it’ll match surrounding damage? If the latter, what if it doesn’t look plausible and/or you can’t access it well enough?”
Eventually I got to the Screw-It point and just went for it…
(Don’t look too hard Frenchy) It’s a hybrid internal layout based on various truck examples - who’s to say this one wasn’t customised? More cabinetry needed plus derelict/disarranged seats, wiring, paperwork, comms equipment…maybe a couple of corpses too. The raised duck-board floor is authentic enough; its current damage was experimental to see if balsa looked OK, it’ll be modified again because the breaks are too uniform & I don’t think debris on top will disguise that. I’m banking on the blasted roof pulling it all together, upwardly splintered etc.
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Hi Tim,
“Mojo-debilitating”? that’s too bad to hear! it looks like it’s moving in the right direction - that is, toward more destruction. The paneling and interior looks convincing, and so does the exterior tear line (or whatever you’d call the forceful elimination of body work!) Now, what to do with the interior panels - will they look torn up too? and…will you bend the chassis? or leave it true? all sorts of entertaining construction and deconstruction going on here! Keep at it!
Cheers
Nick 
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Thanks Nick - next step’s probably unifying the inner & outer wall damage, then sketching out the roof to see what’s going to be visible inside – which should clarify necessary interior blast damage. There will be blown-out windows/frames & that door.
The 45mm HE shell hit the rear left quarter around head height so I’m thinking that section of chassis won’t need too much bending - the mud guard should be expressive, along with blown out & punctured t*res. The two fuel tanks slung under the rear chassis would surely have ignited, so it’s moot how much of the entire truck then burnt out…most likely most of the cabin (unless there was a sudden downpour), which is another reason I’ve been stalling on exactly what kind of damage I should be aiming for.
I don’t recall seeing anyone attempt charred wood before, but balsa should be sympathetic 
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It is looking impressive thus far! I have seen some models of timber buildings burnt but I agree there’s not many models of vehicles with burnt timber parts.
You may need to do some judicious testing to see how much heat is enough to give the look you want. Happy to come over and set fire to some things with you!
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Thanks mate you’re always welcome to come over & help fire up the barbie (bring more prawns) but there’ll be no heat anywhere near this truck, my pyro days are over. With the Saudi & USA embassies now within earshot I can’t afford another uncontrolled detonation 
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