Does anyone know of any make of photoetch sets that would work with the new King Tiger Henschel “Battle of the Bulge” that was recently released? Does Aber make any sets? I know I’ve seen some on eBay from LionRoar, but would like Aber if possible. Also, I know that Zimmerit was halted about September of 1944, but would it be “just wrong” for a Battle of the Bulge era Henschel King Tiger to have Zimmerit? Does anyone know of any? I just really want an excuse to make Zimmerit…
Thanks!
There are photos of Henchel Tigers just prior to the Ardennes offensive with zimmerit. There is a famous photo that comes to mind where the commander is parading in his King in front of a field of KT’s, his tank is zimmed, while others are not. I’m sure somebody has it on the hard drive.
I dont think you would necessarily be inaccurate with a Henschel KT wearing zim, I think it would look pretty new with out much chipping, it would have been fairly fresh. I think that any early production PE set should be fine for the period. I have used both, Aber and Eduard.
This is the Eduard set with PE zim…
Good Luck and long live the King!
question crockett, how easy is it to work with the Ed PE zim set? I just ordered the Ed PE sets for both the Henschel and Porsche KT turrets. your KT there looks great.
At the time I built this DML KT, there were no Eduard or any other PE sets for the DML kits. (I was referring to the Eduard clamps screens, etc. in my previous post, we’re talking about a year ago). They may be offered now. The set on my KT is for the Tamiya kit and (is Verlinden) needed to be heavily modified to fit. I had to sculpt the gaps with Tamiya putty and a zim tool.
I have used the Eduard set for my Panther A and it was quite good except for the depth of the zimmerit did not satisfy me on the finished product.
I have since graduated to using Milli Putty and the Tamiya zim tool set. I don’t think I will ever go back to PE.
Regards,
Steve
I think whatever photoetch set I chose, I’m going to go with making my own Zimmerit…I just think that the PE zim just looks too perfect, is more difficult to “battle damage” well, and besides, I think that good handmade zim is just part of the challenge and the craftsmanship of the build–but then, that is just my opinion, your mileage may certainly vary.
I’ve been wanting to give the handmade zim a try, but like many modelers, I’m a little intimidated by it…but from what i’ve seen in these forums, when done right, handmade looks more realistic.
Crockett, your handmade zim looks great.
Rory- here here, I agree 100%!
Jimmy,
I know what you mean, the hand rolled zim can be a little intimidating, but, it is really easy. Get a hold of some Milli Putty, a two part concotion that is available through various hobby outlets. The key to success is understanding how to work with the putty and its subsequent application. Feel free to e-mail me for the details so we don’t hijack this thread!
Steve
Well, they stopped putting it on, but they didn’t scrape it off existing vehicles. The tanks with Zimmerit would have been attritted away as the months wore on, but they’d still be in the field. The Ardennes Offensive took place in December, but they had been hoarding tanks for some time before that for the offensive.
The best thing to do here though is pick a specific vehicle and model the vehicle. As Steve wrote, there are sources that show Tiger IIs with Zimmerit in the Ardennes.
Here’s a switch – someone who wants a reason to put Zimmerit on! [(-D]
Isn’t the challenge of taking on something difficult part of the reason we do what we do? Just my thoughts…[:)]
how “forgiving” is the putty method for zim? if I don’t like the zim, is it easy to remove and reapply a coat? I do have some older models that I’ve been meaning to practice on, but I’m curious how “permanent” the zim coat is, once it is applied.
Crockett, thanks for the offer. I think I’ll take a crack at the handmade zim this weekend…
Regarding your first inquiry, Eduard has already released PE sets for the DML KT. The tools clasps, grilles, skirts and fenders, are all the same with the early KT’s and the new DML KT you have. The battleof the bulge KT though doesn’t have Zimmerit but they were all painted in hard-edged ambush cammo.
I found it dead easy to take off once hard - just slip a scalpel blade under it and lift off.The zimm you see here is about my 5th try on the turret.
http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=39043
zimming a KT is easy, and well… you don’t need to worry about the PE parts for this Battle of the Bulge kit… truth of the matter is, it’s the SAME kit as the regular Henschel Turret KT… only diff is it comes with an aluminum barrel… and some magic tracks… oh and don’t forget the different decal sheet and the infantry guys you get, what 8 of them… other than that, it’s basicly an update of a classic kit of DML…nothing to be really tooo excited about!
The pic below shows my zimm, done with squadron green putty and a broken tip exacto knife… and alot of patience! lol
What was Zimmerit used for? Why did they put it on the tanks in the first place?
I see it on some of your tanks in here and being new to armor, I’d like to know who thought it up in the first place?..Where it came from and what was it’s purpose??
I too bought the ‘Battle of the Bulge’ Tiger king and was wondering if I should do the zimmerit coating thing too?!..
I saw a picture in one of these forums where the person had done it with a woodburning kit tool with a kind of larger square tip that had 6 or 7 deep groove’s and cut/burn the zimmerit coat into the hull and it looked really good!
But I could see me ruining/melting the whole hull and turret! Plus my fingers! LOL…
Before I’d try, I’d like to know why it was there in the first place!
I was in the 8th Div US Army infantry and only had tank/infantry(Hornfels) training once while stationed in Germany in 1957…all the tank hulls were smooth, no zimmerit coating and I had never heard of it untill I came into this Finescale armor forum a few months ago…
Now that I’m trying armor I’d like to know as much about it as possable to build my models close to the ones that you all have displayed…
I’m hoping to some day be able to show mine off and hope you’ll think I’m doing them right too…
Thank you in advance for the answers,
“RC” [C):-)]
www.internethobbies.com have photoetch for armor & everything else…I can’t remember which though…movable track ,etc…plus super prices too…
Check out their site…
Finescale is advertizing them at the top of this page too…
Their the best online store I’ve found…really inexpenseve models and model car, trucks 4X4’s etc. too much to list here, plus fire truck and equipment, diorama’s equipment too…
Best of all is their UPS tracking that tells what day you’ll be recieving your “Stuff!”…
There right on time too!..
Don’t mean to push them on you all, but when you find a model supply that does as it say’s! I have to tell everybody…LOL
“RC”[C):-)]
Zimmmerit was applied to counter the threat of magnetic antitank mines the russians were using in antitank infantry units , it was a very deadly threat indeed to the tank crews . They ceased its use later in the war due to the fact that it added much needed days to completion of a tank . I believe it took up to 9 days for the paste to dry . They had to get these tanks out to the troops as soon as possible . It also became a well known fire hazard in itself at times , ( the stuff would burn if heated enough ) .
Here is a great discussion about Zimmerit–more than you ever thought you wanted to know! [:)]
http://www.track-link.net/articles/15
Zimmerit was strictly a WWII German Mid-War thing. It helped to prevent the placement of magnetic mines by virtue both of its being non-magnetic itself, and by increasing the distance between the steel surface and the magnetic mine (sort of an insulative effect). Many tanks of many varieties with Zimmerit continued to be in service after the practice of applying it at the factory was stopped, and it was occasionally applied in the field. From what I understand, many German tank crews preferred to continue to use Zimmerit, not only because of it’s mine-retardant capabilities but because they believed it broke up the outline of the tank, making it blend in better with it’s surroundings and be less reflective of light. Another reason Zimmerit was discontinued later in the war had to do with the change in tactics from being primarily offensive to more defensive as the Allies continued to advance.