Yes Erak...I am sure...after 30 years of modeling everything from lead soldiers to plastic ships and planes in every conceivable scale...I am sure...
and not a hot glue gun..a HEAT GUN...it is a small hair dryer that blows very hot air (250 degrees +F)...I have one that runs on butane and the air jet is about 5mm across makes for an excellant modeling tool...you can usually pic them up at say an electronics store...
As for the melting parts...yer not burning it or setting it ablaze...you just want to heat the plastic to make it maleable enough to bend and warp and give it that melted look...after say 2 or 3 seconds...it's as solid as the rest of the model...NO DRYING TIME NEEDED...
here's a good experiment for say...a close range melta blast....drill a small hole (start with 1/8th inch about 3mm) where you want the damage...then score a few lines starting at the hole and working out...(like a star burst)...then apply heat to the hole...close and hot till the plastic softens...then pull it out away down the lines...the plastic should split along the lines and blow in like it took a melta blast...then apply a small bit of heat to the ends to curl them up and take the jagged appearence away...Instant blast pattern with melted edges...and it takes all of about 3 minutes to make...
A multistrand wire would work well for say a cable bundle(hard to find and work with multistrand wire in less than 2 mil diameter)...but for single wires (and to keep it close to scale) plastic stretching works better...as you can vary thickness and length without the threat of metal splinters and the like...it's also much easier to work with in small spaces...and you don't have to worry about using special adhesives...regular modeling cement works just fine...no worries about stickin yer fingers together with cyanoacrylate (super glue or Zap) I have also experimented with using it for things like sails and cloaks...(I'll stick to GS for the cloak thingy, but have had some success with stretching small sheets for smaller scale warships)...