Why changing whole mesh if you can just add texture with nice damaged image and some places with transperency for holes? I think it's easierI can always swap the mesh to a damaged oneAnd i suppose it's made that way in WOHD
(and for sure in Pulse)
EDIT: Oh, and using in-game component tweaking turn on gravity to make ship fall and make it look... dead xD
btw. To show off that particles fall-off i'll make my ship physics i have great problems with work (after hearing that you just done something and it's enough killed me) and add cannon to my ship and i'll make one ship with simple avoidance AI that will just fly through this track and will be my shooting target
Let's count one week to do this (i gotta mobilize myself somehow).
EDIT: OMG!!!! Why this g**d*** ship have to be so hard to make it fly!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!