How to Apply “Battle Damage” to Figures, Toys, Collectibles and Models

As I do not have to work during this New Year Day, I thought I would have the first entry of my blog for 2011 be one NOT on work.

I had enquiries on how I apply my “Battle Damage” to my Transformers Customs. While several have commented that it looks like my customs go through a grinder, I think it is actually accurate of an intense battle scene or car crash. Look at Optimus Prime when he got thrashed and killed in the forrest battle in the Revenge of the Fallen movie.

I’ve seen several “battle damaged” customs and feel that a couple of “bullet holes” and “laser slashes” do not create enough of an authentic look.

Here are some of my past “Battle Damage” custom Optimus Primes:

Battle Damaged & Weathered Limited Edition Optimus Prime Statuette

Battle Damaged & Weathered Buster Optimus Prime

I thought I would share my approach and techniques of creating a “Battle Damage” look pre-paintjob. You can moderate the amount of damage you want based on your own liking.

First up, here are the four types of “battle damage” I apply:

1) Laser Slashes

2) Bullet Holes

3) Scratches

4) Grindings, Dings and Dents

Depending on your toy or figure, you will need different tools to create the damage. Different toys are made of different types of plastics. Some are hard and some are softer.

For the rest of the tutorials, check out a small guide I put out “HOW TO CUSTOMIZE TOY ROBOTS & OTHER TOYS”