Hi everyone!
I'm now building an AFV-club Wiesel for the capture aidid campaign. The kit comes with steel (or so I presume) PE parts for the rear mud flaps, and those perforated exhaust covers. The majority of the parts are simple, requiring only one or two bends, which are easy. But then there's these exhaust covers, which require multiple bends. I have already ruined the forward section of the cover, it snapped along the lower edge, where there are two bends very close to each other. The perforated section got bended and broke off. This part looks quite easy to fix by making the missing part from sheet styryne.
Now I'm afraid of breaking the rear part as well. Is there any way to make these parts more bendable? Brass PE can be heated and then cooled to take off the spring, but I doubt this works with this material (which I believe is steel).

Or should I just accept the fact that these part don't want to work without expensive tools, and just cut away the offending parts and replace them with sheet styrene?

Hey. I have had many of the same problems when I first started with PE as i sure all of us had. I ended up buying the bender that mission models puts out at my local hobby shop for 40 dollars and it did help. Some pieces tho are just so small nothing can help. I also have used 2 sets of tweezers which helped well by grabing one side and bending the other. In my opinion it all depends on how much u can see the piece of PE on the completed model and how bad the plastic one is. On some of thre newer models like the new dragons the plastic is so good that I just use it. Many times the smaller PE parts are just straps and such for mounting tools and stuff. in that case I just make my own outta lead or something. Hope I helped. This prob always drives me nuts too.

Ouch Eetu

My pet hate number one of moddeling PE parts. I think that heating even steelparts before binding it should work, I will definitly try it with my next PE parts. Also I think that bending it slowly should alow the metal not to break, a big no-no is to bend it a little back. As far as tools for bending are concerned, I think the ones that actually will work is way above my price range, I'm waiting for a PE bending pliers, which I can barely aford, maybe that will work. I know of a peson that bought PE steeltype hinges for boxes, finished product had 4 to six bends(2mm x 5mm x 2mm) even he broke some of them, so yeah I don't think you (or us) are the problem, it's just that th PE parts are so thin...

Good to hear that I'm not only one who has trouble with steel PE.

I managed to get the exhaust shrouds completed. The front one was especially tricky. The perforated part was supposed to be bent to an angle, then a tiny bit straight, and the bottom horizontal. As you might guess, the bend wanted to occur at the spot of least resistance, to the perforated area. After two unsuccesfull attempts to bend it, the part broke. Fortunately it was simple and easy to make the bottom part from sheet and strip styrene.

It's still a mystery to me why some manufacturers liked to include steel parts in their kits. (fortunately dragon has brass parts now).

I'm not too fond of steel either. If given a choice I will always opt for brass, it is so much more flexible and generally keeps the shape you bend it to. You really get a handful of this when doing steel vs brass ship railings with all the small curves and 90 degree turns.

Speeking of Steel and Brass PE...
Does anyone have a problem with the CA adhearing
to the steel PE... and if so, What to do about it?

I'm using steel PE right now and it is as if the CA is like glass and breaks off the PE after awhile..
Any suggestions

annealing (heating )the PE helps alot...... I use a propane torch to do it.

Hi, regarding the effect on CA, it is the oils in the steel that leach out. These oils are applied hot at the mills and only heating it red hot gets rid.

They cause the CA to go very brittle,, a poor surface bond forms and the joint just goes ping I know what you meen !!

So two benifits with anealing steel PE, just remember you need to keep steel red hot for longer to allow the anealling process to work and the oils to be driven off, much longer than brass.

Slap Head