Making home made Zimmerit

[Robert1968]

Even though I'm plodding away with my builds I'm looking at my next phase of my builds which will be the Germans
In my collection/stash of AFV I have the 1/35 Revell Elefunt and after reading some on operation Citadel I discovered that all the Ferdinands/ elephants had Zimmerit Paste applied to them.
I've watched a few how to videos and it stil looks daunting to say the least
So I was wondering if any one out there knew of a tri

[Robert1968]

Sorry hit enter before I should
Does any one have a tried and tested method of applying Zimmerit
I've seen a few who say wood filler is good squadron putty is bad
Just collecting advice and ideas so when I come to build I can get a better finish
Pics of the kit I have still to build and some other great looking end results
[ATTACH]284863[/ATTACH] This is the revell pic of the kit
[ATTACH]284864[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]284865[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]284866[/ATTACH]And some great pics of what can be achieved

[Guest]

I've just recently tried the Zimmerit decal sheet on a Tamiya Elefant and after a lot of tinkering the end results were great!
The only really annoying thing about the decal sheet is that you have to cut out the pieces yourself. This wasn't hard at all - but you also have to cut many little holes in some pieces and that's when it wasn't as fun any longer...

A couple of small hole punches would've made it easier but I resorted to using a few small, really sharp, drills. Not perfect but it worked.

Also one of the pieces refused to stick properly so I had to CA glue it in the end. I left the model sitting for a bit more than a month before painting it to see what'd happen with the zimmerit pieces after a while, to ensure they wouldn't fall off after paint, but as I said the end results were great. I've also forgotten the frustration I briefly had with it...

So if you're patient and have got a small hole punch it's not a bad solution, but I still think Tamiya could've laser cut the whole sheet to get really crisp pieces.

This just after applying the zimmerit. I've since tidied it up a bit and painted it.

[Robert1968]

I've just recently tried the Zimmerit decal sheet on a Tamiya Elefant and after a lot of tinkering the end results were great!
The only really annoying thing about the decal sheet is that you have to cut out the pieces yourself. This wasn't hard at all - but you also have to cut many little holes in some pieces and that's when it wasn't as fun any longer...

A couple of small hole punches would've made it easier but I resorted to using a few small, really sharp, drills. Not perfect but it worked.

Also one of the pieces refused to stick properly so I had to CA glue it in the end. I left the model sitting for a bit more than a month before painting it to see what'd happen with the zimmerit pieces after a while, to ensure they wouldn't fall off after paint, but as I said the end results were great. I've also forgotten the frustration I briefly had with it...

So if you're patient and have got a small hole punch it's not a bad solution, but I still think Tamiya could've laser cut the whole sheet to get really crisp pieces.

This just after applying the zimmerit. I've since tidied it up a bit and painted it.

Thanks Jens this seems a way that will be the easiest to do ( although the kits are not the same identically IE Revell and Tamiya I'm sure the 1/35 is standard fitting ( even with a little fettling.
I was looking at the woodfiller method too but this would be long and tedious to draw lots of Zimmerit patterns in ( unless I look for tool ) but even then it's very time consuming and your not guaranteed a great result for all your patient effort.
I'll get looking for the Tamiya stick on

Thanks again

Regards

Robert

[Guest]

If you do go for the Tamiya zimmerit sticker method, be sure to clean the model before applying because mould release and any other contamination can affect the "stickiness" of the zimmerit. That's why I had to resort to CA glue on one spot, and I've heard about people having major problem in getting it to stick...
Also have a plan for how to cut those little holes before you start. (scalpel etc is not a viable option for making those holes if you ask me)

One benefit you will have with your Revell Elefant is that the zimmerit sheet isn't pre cut, and thus you make it fit to the mounting points etc you have on your kit.

Good luck! Even if it's tricky to apply, you soon forget any frustration when done and the end results isn't bad at all. It's certainly even and consistent!

[Robert1968]

Thanks again Jens for the advice it will be a while away for the build of the elefant but it does look a nice kit. The only hang up with these new Revell kits seem to be they are a remould of a remould looking at the sprues as they have no numbers on the pieces ( a little frustrating but there is a diagram of the sprues at the front. More an annoyance than a problem to see the individual pieces.
It's those bolts on the flat pieces that seem to be the biggest problem with the sticky Tamiya Zimmerit that I can see and yes the adhesive quality