This has probably been asked 1000 times, but I need advice. What’s the best method/tool for Zimermit? Are the ATAK kits the way to go, or Tamiya’s zimermit tool?
Thanks!!
Yes it has been asked at least that many times!!! But that’s O.K.
It’s pretty much up to what you want to try.The Zim sets, be it resin or PE are definately the “easiest” way.Some love them other’s say it’s not real enough.I don’t know as I’ve never tried them.
You can go the hot knife route.Takes practice and as above some say it doesn’t look right.I kinda like it, but it’s not for everyone.
Then there’s the putty/ apoxie.Tamiya’s tool seems to be very well liked.This technique takes practice as well, but it’s more forgiving than the hot knife route.Look around the web as there are quite a few tutorials out there.Here’s one to start you.
http://www.track-link.net/articles/15
Here are two different techniques.The first is Apoxie Sculpt
This is with a hot knife.
Try on some scrap and find the one you like.It really is fun!!
Thanks for the reply. Getting back into the hobby after so many years makes catching up a priority. I will pick up the Tamiya tool, I’ve had my eye on it, however, I will probably try a resin kit before too long.
Whatever you do, DO NOT use Verlinden, Azimut, or CMK resin zim sets, they are not wafer cast like ATAK and Cavalier, and are not worth anything. Neither Eduard or Verlinden etched zimmerit really looks right. I would recommend the Tamiya zimmerit tools and milliput or apoxie sculpt as the right way to go over the hot knife, first becuse the hot knife zimmerit is almost impossible to damage realistically, and it usually ends up with the ridges being too high.
Here is a pic of my Sturmpanzer Brummbar, with Milliput zimmerit. I used the 0.7mm Tamiya tool.
Never done zimmerit, so I cant give advice, but I just thought Id drop my opinion. It is very easy for modellers to overdue the look of zimmerit. I have seen models where , in scale the “ridges” in the zimmerit looked like they were sticking out about 6 inches. In war time photos, it looked a lot more subtle. hope that made sense!
Right, the hot knife pushes the sides up to make the pattern, not melt a gouge in. Most hot knife zimmerit I have seen is carefully done, but way overscale.
Here is what I have discovered (I started with Moses’ Techniques and did my best to make them my own.):
I dispise the premade zim, regardless of manufacturer. But that’s just me. I have purchased several sets and never used them. Others will disagree.
Some notes:
- Practice is the only thing that can aid in making zim. I still need a ton of it. To facilitate this, I made a mock-up of the upper hull super structure. I applied zim to each side at least 20 times before moving on to the model. This will also be used to practice painting and weathering. The time it took me to layout and fabricate this piece was the best time I have spent in modeling.
- Tamiya Polyester Putty is awesome, but any 2 part body filler will do the same thing, I would suggest the finest composition available for obvious reasons.
- Only use about half the hardener they recommend, this extends the pot life considerably. It’s a chemical reaction and the stuff will harden, just not as quick.
- I tried the Tamiya tools and found them just not right for me. I ended up tearing apart a 32 TPI Zona razor saw and cutting it into strips, (3", 1", ½" and ¼"). The balance I used for a spatula. The saw teeth have a hook pattern to them that I thought was more appropriate for replicating a real life putty knife applied zim. I also ground the point of the teeth to have a small flat on them. This provided a more realistic pattern IMHO.
- Have a rag with Acetone or lacquer thinner handy for clean-up of your tools.
- Have a window open or adequate ventilation (PU)
- After mixing, I used my Spatula section of saw blade, to spread an even layer of putty across the surface, only just enough to cover the surface, perhaps 1/64" to 1/32 thick.
- Now this next step took me at least 30 tries to figure out. This is crucial. After spreading your putty, take your tool and with moderate pressure, rake the entire surface. Remove the excess putty from the tool with your solvent laden rag. This is much like applying Thin Set Mortar to the floor or wall before applying ceramic tile. It leaves the proper amount of putty for the next step.
- Now I made Zim. I began so that I could see what I did. In other words, I held the model so that the pattern I just made could be seen and began to drag the tool away from me. The pattern for my Brummbar was derived form about 30 or so pics I have studied over the weeks. 26 vertical stripes. Somewhere close to .144" or 5/32. (as a side note, the Atak and Cavalier Zim sets have half as many, not sure where they got their references from, but that’s another reason I avoided their products.)
- So, I drug the tool across about 5/32". (You have to be careful that your tool is the proper direction, zim sloped down). My first attempts were to keep the tool tight to the model when I made the jog (Shepard Paine style). This just was not right to my eye. In real life there was a ridge between the zim stripes, not a void at least on half of the stripes. So after about another 25 tries, I came up with raising the tool just enough to start to pull the putty from the model’s surface. Then I moved the tool up or down no more than ½ a tooth on the saw blade, sometimes not at all and then pressed it back into the putty and made the next stripe.
- This continued until the side was complete.
Here are two shots of both the model and the mock up:
Here are some close ups:
Here is the Zona saw homemade tooling:
Here is my Sturmpanzer after zim:
Am am no expert, but seriously, I really delved myself into making zim and think in the end, it looks pretty close to the reference pics I have. There was debate about the “squiggles” in zim, even my Business Partner busted me until he was looking through his references and saw the same squiggles I replicated in my zim.
Regardless, have fun and try what you like. Just remember, practice is key.
I haven’t really tried my own, other than screwdriver and putty. I did use the Cavalier resin on my Elefant and was very impressed with the quality. It didn’t look phoney like PE.
I’ve just finished Zimming my first AFV, like hermesminiatures and Tinkerer above, it’s a Brummbaer (but the Dragon late version). Seems a popular vehicle!
A bit of trial and error on which detail bits to stick on before and after, but I feel it’s turned out well for a first attempt. I pretty much followed Tony Greenland’s method in his Panzer Masterclass book.
First I used a rotary tool with a burr to roughen the surfaces and give the putty something to bite into. I then made a serrated comb from a 2" piece of .30 sheet styrene, one end was shaped to a 2-3mm point to use for individual indents where needed.
I used Milliput white two-part putty, and using a sculptors flexible knife from an art shop, I spread a side thinly with the mixed putty. For the whole process I wore latex gloves and had a bowl of warm water to hand. Milliput is only slightly irritant, but becomes very sticky. The water is very useful for unclogging hands and tools.
I then liberally wetted the palette knife and smoothed the surface, and then used the comb to make the marks. Thankfully my source pics for Brummbaers suggest a far less regular Zim finish than some other vehicle types, so I had a bit of flexibility.
On a couple of tight spots I used a variant on the hot knife method: a small screwdriver held over a candle for 6-10 seconds. Cheaper than a pyrogravure [swg]. This time gave enough heat for 3-4 marks at a time, without being hot enough to melt through completely.
If you try this, I can’t emphasise enough that you close ALL containers containing solvents and remove them from your work area. Naked flame and thinners/glue to not go well together!
I’ll try to add some pics when I get the chance. It won’t be quite as good as those above, but maybe you’ll find it helpful to see a first effort from a n00b!
Although it has been ask for gazolionth times, dont you guys think it is time we can make some kind of FAQ and ask the admin to stick it so new modellers can first do some reading.
The FAQ will also benefit to the pro as a refreshment and might as well for returning modeller after being away for a while.
My [2c],
Ben
good idea Carves.
A sticky at the top of the Armor section and/or in Techniques would make a lot of sense.
I know I must have read 20-odd Zim-threads on here before deciding to do mine. Combined with a bit of info about which vehicles it was applied to and the various patterns, I think it would be a very helpful starting point for modellers wanting to try it.
[edit] here’s those pics…
