Zimmerit

[ikar]

About the only armor I build are the types that I drove in the A.F. so I have to ask for some information for a friend of mine.

A little while ago he showed me a P.E. set of zimmeritt but wasn't happy with the detail. The surface had no texture that you could feel, and that was before painting.

Is there a tutorial someplace on how to make a better looking and feeling zimmeritt for his German tanks?

[spejic]

There are lots of methods for doing this. One popular way is to make a thin layer of Milliput or other two-part epoxy (put it between two sheets of plastic wrap and use a rolling pin on it), stick it on one facet of the model, cut off the excess on the edges, and make the ridges by hand.

There are resin sets for some kits as well as generic sheets of material you can cut and shape yourself. Atak and Cavalier are some companies that make these. Resin would be the easiest, best looking way. Some people use liquid plastic cement on the plastic to soften it and press the ridges in, but that seems risky.

[jager]

I have been successful using a 2 part epoxy applied and shaped on to the hull. I use a gear from a slot car/RC car to form its texture. The scale of the zimmerit can be adapted by what size gear you use to roll the texture into the epoxy. A few years ago I read about this method of texturing and I must say it works well.

Jager

Edited October 31, 2013 by jager

[11bee]

I just used Squadron green putty. Spread on a thin coating (make sure you only do small portions of the model), let it partially dry and then texture it. My texturing tool was a carved down piece of plastic sprue. I was very happy with the results.

[Fishwelding]

I just used Squadron green putty. Spread on a thin coating (make sure you only do small portions of the model), let it partially dry and then texture it. My texturing tool was a carved down piece of plastic sprue. I was very happy with the results.

I've used Tamiya's gray putty in a similar process. For large areas free of detail (such as on a Panther), I was able to trowel it on in a good pattern using Tamiya's photoetch combs while it was still soft. Then I did as you described, around details and such.

[timc]

You can also buy resin applique zimmerit for specific types of German tanks. Atak makes some very nice resin zimmerit sheets which are fabulous and can be torn/cut and abused to resemble lost zimmerit on combat armor. Atak Model is the brand I use almost exclusively. The obvious benefit of these sets is that you don't have to fuss with putty and rakes to get your zimmerit right. Just cut it out and glue it on. I recommend a very thin coat of two part epoxy (5 minute) to glue the resin to the model kit surface. Mix up only enough to do one or two sides (depending on the size of the surface). Affix the zimmerit to the model surface and move it around to get it into position and gently (if necessary) squeeze the excess out. Hold it in position for a couple of minutes and you'll be good to go.

Edited January 4, 2014 by timc