Cracked Windshield

[Chuck Most]

We've all seen 'em... those cruddy old beater cars with a small little stone peck that has sprouted cracks that now run all across the glass. It's unsafe on a 1:1 car (and here in Michigan, it's illegal and you can be cited for it), so while it's not good to run a cracked windshield on your 1:1 junker, it is perfectly acceptable to do so on your beater models, and it is nearly idiot proof!

Let me walk ya through it...

Here we have a pristine pane of glass, just ready to be 'stoned'. I think this is the back window from a Jeepster, so being a non-laminated pane, it wouldn't crack like windshield glass(it would probably just shatter like the side glass), but bear with me! We'll just pretend this is laminated windshield glass.

Making the initial stone peck is simple enough- a gentle jab and twist with the end of a #11 blade is all it takes.

And here we have a fresh stone peck on the windshield. If all you want is the stone chip, you can just skip the next few steps and, I dunno... go grab a Hot Pocket, I guess. You've earned it!

Now, for the crack. They radiate out from the stone chip (naturally), but can seemingly veer off in any direction for no apparent reason. Some go straight across the glass horizontally, some shoot upward then veer off to the left or right, some follow all sorts of strange trajectories. Check out a few beaters in your area. Wal-Mart parking lots, dive bars, and shady used-car lots on the outskirts of town are great places to find examples of how no two windshields crack exactly alike, or perhaps you need look no further than your own driveway!

With that in mind, just shape the cracks in what ever way looks 'right' and 'correct' to you. I like to hold my blade at a slight angle, and gently cut into the glass, like so...

And remember, just run them out from the stone peck, and keep in mind they can be straight, or jagged, curved, or whatever. Unless you are trying to replicate the exact crack pattern on a 1:1 car, don't worry if they don't come out exactly as you envisioned- there literally is no wrong way to do this!

I went with a simple, elegant "Seagull in Flight" style crack on this one.

And now, here is the finished result...

Alright, alright... so it's NOT the same clear piece I just cracked, but it was done in exactly the same manner just outlined.

It's a very simple thing to do (I have, MAYBE, three minutes into each 'cracked' windshield), but it adds character and realism to any beater/derelict vehicle model you may wish to build.

[Chuck Most]

do you have any tips on how to modify this technique to simulate, say, bullet holes? (1:1 references are a bit harder to come by)

also - what of safety glass, the type that breaks into 4,000,0012 little pieces?

I've been working on replicating those two effects- I've seen the bullet holes done, perhaps someone who's done one will chime in?

I've been working on a method for shattered safety glass for both side and (laminated) windshield glass, as soon as I come up with something for any or all, rest assured I'll post it!