A quick peek at what I have been up to....

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

I wasn’t going to take any pictures, let alone post, until I had finished the project. But a friend asked the other day to see some pictures of the Dragon Tiger I Late/Final build I have been doing. Since I broke down and took the pictures for him, and thus have them on hand, I figure I would give you a peek at what I have been up to lately (so yaz don’tz think I have been a shirkin’ mah modelin’ abil-a-tees [:D] )

Still plenty to do. She is sitting for a couple days while I let the artist oils all dry before moving forward. Still need to dry brush and pin wash the machine guns, finish up the tracks, do a little more with the artist oils to the lower hull (yeah, I know it won’t be seen very much, especially after pigments, but I will know it is there [;)] ), a few other odds and ends…and all before I get around to adding the pigments! All told this is about 5 months of work, though mostly because summer time my bench time only comes in spurts, and the build itself ate up a HUGE amount of time (alas, the nature of a Dragon kit).

If ya see anything I should note, feel free to give a shout out. [H]

2

That is looking beautiful! But I must ask, shouldn’t it have zimmerit?

3

It probably should, but to be honest I was looking for a “quick” out of the box build (HA! 5 MONTHS so far!!! Quick my bottom!!! [:D] ) and this kit caught my eye in the hobby shop. I could have searched for some aftermarket zim, or even zimmed it myself, but I am glad I didn’t or I would be workin’ this thing 'till next summer. As it is, I was going to add the optional locks and brackets for the stowage bins, but looking at the PE parts and the locks I said to myself “I will put this part off until a bit later”. But by a bit later I was totally ready to get the build part over with and start slinging paint…so the locks go into the spares bin. [:D] The funny thing is I have yet to build a kit WITH zim, so at some point I need to rectify that problem.

Brian

4

Question about Zimmerit. Someone from another site I once subscribed to, who claimed to be an expert on everything Russian Front (and was generally acknowledged as such) . . . especially from the Russian side, once stated that the Russians never used magnetic anti-tank mines so the Germans didn’t really need to have it. Is this true, as I have never found any other source to confirm it and have wondered for about 15 years now.

5

You know, this is funny because for years I have always had a similar question, but for some reason never got around to asking it. Actually, the second question I used to ask myself, after the “was it necessary” question was…“OK, now if it WAS necessary, did it actually WORK as it was supposed to?” [:D]

Brian

6

This is true. The Germans were the ones who developed magnetic mines…and so, because they knew it could be done and couldn’t be sure that the Russians wouldn’t also come up with it, they developed zimmerit as their own counter-measure to a weapon that MIGHT be used against them…either as captured supplies from their own stocks or something that the Russians developed on their own or a combination of both. The German magnetic mines were shaped charge devices that were pretty powerful but required the significant drawback of being placed by hand. Since the Russians never seriously adopted this type of weapon or tactic and because the zimmerit process added considerable time to a vehicle’s production length, zim was dropped in August 1944 as an expediency measure. Zim use was only in place for roughly 1 year (or less depending on the sources and factories you look into), so it’s impact was limited as a result…but because the orders for its application covered a broad range of vehicles, zim is a necessary evil when modeling any vehicles produced in that approximately 1 year time span. [:D]

7

Now we know! [:)]

Tank looks great, btw.

8

I should know by now there is nothing Bill does not know about German armor. I bow to your extensive knowledge my friend! [Y]

Muchas gracias! [H]

9

I do love the honesty and knowledge on this site… good stuff…

10

Now you just need to scratchbuild little cinder blocks to set the tank in a diorama where it was parked in the bad part of town.

11

I thought it was discontinued due to reports of fires being started on it from hits or whatnot.

12

Those dang Russian Mafia thugs…you gotta watch them every minute or they will steal everything down to the mud off the bottom! [:D]

Brian

13

The same thing happened to my 106mm recoilless rifle gun jeep last fall… Blasted thieves!

14

i also heard it was somewhat flammable but don’t know if that is true

tiger looks good

15

Another little update. Still plenty to do, but at least now this Tiger has legs (or rather wheels [:D] ). Need to fidget a bit more with the pigments on the running gear, rear mud flaps, and start fine tuning dust effects on the upper hull. Plus need to get the turret mounted spare tracks painted and mounted. Plus I still need to do the exhaust. But for now here is where she is at:

Brian

16

Interesting, I can’t see my images. Harumph…gonnna have to work on this.

17

OK, I got it now…I was using the wrong link. D’oh!

Brian

18

Zimmerit, was made primarily from polyvinyl acetate, which we know it as wood glue or white glue, and barium sulfate, mostly used as a white pigment.

The actual formula is:

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.

All of the ingredients are basically not harmful, hey, Barium sulphate is not soluble in water so theres no damage, evevn to the environment if released, hey…talk about an Eco-friendly panzer.

It could be applied on to the tank without any previous preparation, however, it was recommended a primer to prevent corrosion. So, i think its basically a “concrete” or caster that can be applied by hand. It did required a lot of time to dry (days), so they used a lamp or torch to dry it.

As for the purpose, mainly it’s inferred it was to deter magnetic mines, but it’s effectivenes was never tested on field.

There are some discussions on wether it was also used as way to break the tank lines and used for cammo purposes. USA tested this but never got in production.

There is even information that depending on the tank model a pattern was applied. So, if you want to be “historical accurate” you not only need to take in consideration the zimmerit itself BUT the way it was applied. USA had their own “zimmerit” basically using wooden plaques, logs.

As for it was suspended due to being flammable:

From Panzerworld:

“On 9 September 1944, it was ordered that Zimmerit application should cease immediately. This order was given due to rumors that shells could set the Zimmerit on fire, destroying the tank. While later investigation revealed that the rumors were false, Zimmerit application was never restarted, likely because the Allies had not made their own versions of the magnetic mines that Zimmerit was intended to defeat.”

19

Very nice Tiger,

20

And it’s not just “German” armor. Bill pretty much knows everything about every single piece of armor ever fielded, or not. Modern appliances and obscure mechanical devices from the lower Rhine country as well. We’re lucky to have him here. [proplr]… [;)]

By the way, the paint on that Tiger looks fabulous. Love the “striped” nature of it!

And I know about “long builds”. Every freakin’ part on his M110 I"m building has to be purged of flash/mold lines, It’s maddening.

…and we soldier on…[:)]