I thought some of the Forum people would like to see Zimmerit made from a fine tip soldering iron. I did this Tiger I a few years ago by drawing vertical lines on the plastic spaced evenly with a pencil, and then slowly melting the Zimmerit into the tank line by line horizontally You can also leave some Zimmerit off for damage and or badges. Enjoy!
TH
Hey! That looks really great! [:)]
Very, very nice TH!
How long did it take for you to do this? An evening? A week of evenings? However long it took, the results are well worth it!
Thanks for sharing,
Dennis
[:)]
I’ve done mine the same way, but I had problems with the hull and rear plate warping. Did you have the same problem? Did you assemble the hull first then Zimm or did you do them in pieces? By the way you did an awesome job!
That is fantastic looking. One of the best I’ve seen with a soldier iron. That must have been very time consuming.
Thanks guys for the kind words. This process took about 8 hours spread across three days, a little bit at a time. Don’t try to do it in one sitting it will drive you nuts. This is the Tamiya Tiger I late version, kit number 35146. This is a great kit and it has been re-issued a couple of times. I did the Zim on the pieces individually, and then dry assembled checking the corners where the pieces joined to make sure everything lined up right. I put the two turret halves together and did them in one shot. I did not notice any warping of the pieces though. I was surprised how easy it actually was to do. I practiced first on pieces of Evergreen plastic sheet to get the technique down before doing the real part. That helped a lot. After completed I made masks out of 3x5 cards and sprayed on the markings.
TH
Hi TH, that is one of the best zimmert applications I’ve seen, I am currently researching zim. application methods for my Acadamy tiger 1, and although your method seems to have come out well, it does seem that your really need a steady hand and precise timing to get the even application, any tips on that?
Thax for sharing
Hey Timbo,
Practice on sheet stock or scrap plastic before you start on the real deal. Draw vertical lines with a pencil evenly spaced and using a rounded fine tip (like a pencil tip) low wattage soldering iron - like the kind you get at Radio Shack - start “drawing” the horizontal Zim lines row by row down the first set of vertical lines. Then onto the next set of vertical lines and so on. Don’t press the iron too deep into the plastic or you will burn through. Just use enough pressure to melt a line in a single pass. If you make a mistake, don’t try to correct it, just call it battle damage to your friends. It does take a steady hand so you may want to back off on the coffee or Red Bull before you start this. Practice first.
TH
Very convincing zimmerit!
I’ve always felt the soldering iron method was the weakest of the zimming techiniques, but you’ve certainly done an excellent job there!
Wow-- that looks very impressive. I must admit, I am too timid to attempt that method- one mess up and that’s it, I would think. Great job
That looks excellent!! Thanks for the tip!
Thanks to all who have responded. I appreciate the acknowledgements. If you venture off and try this, just make sure to practice beforehand. Once you get through the practice session, you’ll find out it is a lot easier to do than you might think. One last bit of advice is to clean the tip of the iron of melted plastic buildup often, and after completed, use a stiff brush to remove any plastic stringers. You can also use 600 grit cloth to dull down the high spots. Also remember, one pass only per line - do not double up.
TH