I must admit, I wondered why the Germans bothered with it. It was another factory build stage that slowed down production and none of their main protagonists regularly used magnetic anti tank weapons. Oh, and apparently it caught fire quite readily as well, being made mostly from pine resin and sawdust :surprised:
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That’s one of the great mysteries of Zimmerit, AFAIK: the only people using magnetic mines in any numbers were the Germans themselves, yet they’re the only ones with a widespread countermeasure to them.
The composition was apparently:—
(source)analyzed by C.S.A.R. and found to be the following: Polyvinyl Acetate-25%, as binder or glue; Wood Fiber-10%, as filler; Barium Sulphate-40%; Zinc Sulphide-10%; Ochre Pigment-15%, for the dark yellow color.
It wasn’t really susceptible to fire, but it was thought to be, which is one of the reasons why it was discontinued. The difficulty of applying it and the resulting slowing down of production must surely have contributed, though: according to a text quoted in Spielberger’s Sturmgeschütz, after application, it was to be hardened with a blowtorch, then the pattern was applied, and a bit later on a blowtorch was applied some more before the Zimmerit was allowed to dry naturally. This in a country where resources were becoming ever more scarce.Comment
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Interesting article that. Basically it is a heavy body acrylic paint with sawdust in then LOL….oh, and it would therefore chip yellow….not grey, as I have seen on models many times!Comment
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Love that.... thanks for all the info!! Yeh that's a really interesting wee article!! giving me some more ideas!
Thanks again for all the comments!Comment
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Hi Kev
Late in - sorry. Great start and the zimm looks fine. It sounds as if you have cracked the most important thing about this hobby - having fun!! :tongue-out3:
JimComment
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“You know that thick structure gel artists use …?”
“Yes?”
“How about we put a layer of that on our tanks?”
“Good idea!"
I would guess because it’s usually described as being “cement-like” or something along those lines, so people think it must have been grey in colour.Comment
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Hey all......
Its a wet and gloomy day here in Bonnie Scotland so decided to get stuck in and get the lower hull and roadwheels etc added to the Panther.....
That was a learning experience for sure!! :smiling5: :tears-of-joy: but in the end am really happy with how they are fitted and how they are looking....
A few more bits and pieces of deck equipment and tow ropes etc to finish off and then have a go at adding the tracks. I also have a lot of wee pieces of Zimm left over and think I will add some extra parts to maybe even the front fenders... (even though I am aware they prob wouldn't have received it originally)
Finally.... I added a little radio antenna to the turret.... its actually a piece of plastic from a new t-shirt I got and kind of liked how it looked there
Anyways........ I think we are actually looking at something that may well resemble a tank now guys!!!
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Kev,
that's looking good - I hope its whetting your appetite for another model! As long as you are enjoying it, then it's a successful model!
DaveComment
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That's coming on a treat.Comment
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A real beauty. Kev, your A has a later turret w/monocular sight and pistol ports deleted, hence the zim void next to the rear hatch, also they painted turret #s over the zim so I'd use left over zim pcs. to patch these voids. Just a thought w/second cuppa.Comment
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Evening Chaps,
Looking for a wee bit of advice......
Thought i would have a go at trying out the one piece tracks onto the Panther this evening but have come up against a couple of issues..... It seems that to connect each end of the tracks properly... the tracks themselves need to be under a bit of tension.....trying to do this on the model itself was becoming a pain in the back end.... and a risk of snapping something in the road wheel assembly.......
I had thought t connect and glue the tracks first and then almost stretch them a bit to get them to fit over the wheels but again this would pose its own issues.
Just looking for a bit of advice on what to do next.... any thoughts or words of wisdom from those who have tread this path before!
Many thanks,
KevComment
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I've only done a couple sets of these tracks and have managed to stretch them on, all I can think if there that tight is maybe sit them in some hotish water to see if it will soften them up and became a bit more plyable or remove a few of the teeth on the inner edge of the track so it will slide on to the rear wheel rather than having to be stretched over it.personally I would probably try the latter option. Someone with better experience my come up with a better idea yet.Comment
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Back in the day when I modeled larger scales I would wrap the tracks around the wheels & have them meet on the bottom where I had inserted wires through the tracks to draw the tracks to closure by pulling the wires together & twisting them achieving a bond.Comment
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Do the instructions say the tracks should be glued, or that you need to melt pins with a heated screwdriver? I would guess the latter.
If so, just do that and put them around the wheels (after painting). These kits were designed to be motorised — that’s why there’s the ridges inside the hull, the holes in the bottom, etc. — and so have sturdy suspension that can take the strain of the tracks.Comment
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Evening all....
Hope all's good..... Thanks for the info re. tracks.... I will leave them for now and deal with them once its all painted and "done"
Call me a glutton for punishment but I was looking at the Zimmerit again and decided I liked the placement and the random layout of the panels...... but the hard edges and raised edges were just not sitting right with me..... especially after reading about the clay / thick plaster nature of the material that some of you were kind enough to inform me about.
I wanted to try and soften the edges and give it that hand applied effect so spent a little time today with some fine poly filler and a craft knife to try and soften the edges and give more of a "homemade" effect. I have left some patches of filler on the panel itself to give more of a rough appearance....
Only done one side of the turret so far..... and I think its actually quite effective! Going to let it try and perhaps smooth off some of the thicker bits but overall I am happy!
Love to hear your thoughts,
cheers,
Kev,Comment
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