Is there anything that could be applied to a plastic for zimmerit effect without damaging the finish of the plastic underneath? The paste recommended to me seems to melt the plastic. Handling it causes me to leave finger prints on areas not covered by zimmerit.
I use Milliput epoxy putty and Tamiya’s zimmerit tools…that is the best except for Panther and Jagdpanther tiled zimmerit, then it’s best to apply a thin layer of Squadron green putty, sand it level, and scribe in the squares
Hi Chuckfan…
If I read your question correctly, I’m afraid that the application of any zimmerit technique will indeed “damage” the base plastic. Whether you apply putty, resin or hot knife zim, you will have a problem with that. However, it has been my experience that any of these methods will allow you to handle the model with no damage. Just make sure whatever putty medium you are using is cured before painting and extensive handling.
Since I have tried them all, I will include some pics for you here. I prefer the hot iron method, simply “burning” the zim patterns into the plastic. You dont have to worry about damage with the iron method:
first PE zim:
next milliputty:
finally, the hot iron:
good luck with whatever method is best for you…
Steve
Ah…Mr Crockett. I heard you were one of the hot iron zimmerit masters around these parts. Your work is esquisite! Do you have any other tips to offer about your method? I’ll be practicing on an old Italeri Jagdpanther hull before I go live on one of my next builds.
Larry
Ahhh…so that’s how its done! Thanks for the tip Hermes! I’ve been wondering how to tackle the Jagdpanther zim other than to use a Cavalier or Atak set. One question though; How do you get the “rough” look on the surface of the zim. Most pics I’ve seen show a pebbly texture.
Chuck, I’ve been using Aves APOXIE Sculpt and R&J Enterprises Zimm-it-rite epoxy puttys for my standard zimmerit patterns. Neither will harm the plastic of the model. Both have long working times so if I mess up I can just scrape off the putty and start over.
Hey crockett, I’ve been dyin’ to try the hot iron method ever since I read your earlier post. Seems so easy with practice. No mess, no fuss, no clean-up! Just to experiment I tried this on a Tiger I mantlet (one that I won’t be using), but instead of a standard soldering iron & tip I used a wood burning tool and attached a modified #11 blade to one of the tool’s square tips using copper wire. (I think the wire acts as a heat sink lowering the temp of the blade tip) Also, instead of drawing the pattern across like a pencil I simply pressed the hot blade into the plastic. I think the pattern came out too fine, probably due to the sharp tip of the blade, but I think it shows a lot of promise! What do you think?
To take this whole zimmerit thing farther I plan to do a 4 Tiger build, each with a different method of zim application: one with the hot knife method, one with the standard putty method, one with a cavalier resin set added and lastly one with zim already built in. I plan to post WIP photos for each and show all the pros/cons of each method that I encounter. Sounds kinda grandiose, but I already have all the kits, tools and supplies except one more Tiger.
Chuck Fan, I apologize for hijacking your thread! I didn’t realize what I had done until after posting. I used three methods on this Pzkw IV: Zimm-it-rite on the hull, Zimm-it-rite and APOXIE Sculpt on the turret & skirts, and hot knife on the front hull plate (under the spare tracks) and on the insides of front & rear fenders. You really can’t see the hot knife zim in these photos, but its there!
I hope this helps!
I dab the green putty with plastic cement after I’ve scribed the tiles to get the correct texture. Some people prefer to use some sort of hot knife to melt in the lines but I find that scribing works fine. Also the putty grabs the plastic just right so it will stay on, but you can knock some off if you want to.
Of all the methods mentioned above, Milliput or similar is the safest as far as not damaging the kit - I know what you mean about that. My first ridged zim project was with squadron putty on a Tamiya Sturmpanzer Brummbar, and I got fingerprints and smudges galore, not to mention putty where I didn’t want it. Had to sand for four hours to correct it (and the $15 kit wasn’t really worth that)
Milliput can’t be taken off easily once cured, but you’ve got an hour to mess with it, and any putty where you don’t want it can be corrected with plain old water. It holds a pattern better than solvent-based putty, and doesn’t pull up if you rake it with zimmerit tools.
Hi Larry,
There are a few things to know…
-
Make sure to use a 15W iron ONLY. 30W will melt your work.
-
Use a mechanical pencil and a straight edge to “draw” your demarcation lines. With the exception of late Tiger 1 turrets, you should space the lines at about 2.5 to 3 mm. Some of the late Tiger (Normandy) references show larger draw on the zim pattern.
-
Practice on the inside of your hull or turret, or use an old scrapper model to get the hang of it.
-
Use the smallest conical tip that you can find. Screwdriver or blade type tips will stick into the styrene, making a sticky mess and will not give the effect of trowling at 1/35th scale.
-
The key is to “draw” the tool making a nice furrow in the base plastic. Believe it or not, mistakes can be “re-burnt”, leaving no evidence of a hiccup. Small tight areas can be accessed easily and quickly with the soldering tip.
some examples:
regards,
Steve
Well, I think you’ve found out as I have that an exacto blade or some other “knife” edged tip is not the way to go. Any “loitering” while inserting the hot instrument into the styrene will cause stringing and sticking. Drawing a small conical tip lengthwise is the best for me.
regards,
Steve
I tried the hot iron method and it worked for me too. The next thing I experimented on was to tie the tamiya zimmerit comb with wire into my soldering iron and when it was hot enough, used it to make the zimmerit. It was even better. I’ll use this on my Dragon Stug when I get one.
Steve - Thanks a million. I have the 15 w iron, so that’s a start. Your tips 3 - 5 are “gold”. It would have taken me many ill fated attempts before learning these. The first photo in your examples is unbelievable. It looks like the zimmerit pattern was molded right onto the model, and it looks remarkably similar to the WWII zim photos I’ve been looking at.
Many thanks,
Larry
Thanks, guys.
I have a mental barrier when it comes to using a solder gun to make zimmerit pattern on the plastic. I am very hesitant to do it. Seems a shame that all the nice detail and molding on the kits gets roughly treated like that. I also like the chipped zimmerit effect, which is often seen on photos, but which I can’t reproduce with a solder gun. So I will prefer using a epoxy layer for that.
BTW, where can I get the Tamiya zimmerit tool? Is it just a section of a saw blade?
The tamiya zimmerit tools are more than a saw blade. There are two different sets on the fret, in 7mm and 5mm tooth width. That way you can replicate the different sizes of real zimmerit.
I got mine on eBay, you could try there or get it from GM:
http://greatmodels.com/~smartcart/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=TAM35187
[:D] Okay.
[tup] Here ya go:
/forums/640705/ShowPost.aspx
go down to the twelfth reply and behold [dinner] beautiful non-invasive, simple to apply and [swg] no iron zimmeritt.
“ANYONE” can do this.
Steve
Cool, Play-Doh. After finishing, can the model be handled without damaging the play-doh zimmerit? Can the play-doh adhere to the plastic directly, or do you have to prime it?
Crocket , i’m going to try your method on my Tiger 1 .
"Simply flatten the paste carefully, smear white glue on the area to be covered, put the sheet of play-doh and use a screwdrive to shape it. Let dry at least 48 hours. Cover with Future. and let it dry for another 24 hours. It is ready for painting. You can cover small areas at a time and still work the play-doh while on the model. You can’t screw it up. " This tip is a direct qoute from Yann Solo’s Tiger 1 thread on this site. I’m re-posting it for your benefit.
[#oops]
I forgot. It’s 25 cents a can.
I have done it with an iron. [^] See here for my first try:
http://www.finescale.com/FSM/CS/forums/657360/ShowPost.aspx
It does take some confidence.
Steve
Or you can buy one of those already made zimmerit from Atak Model or from Cavalier for particular model. Save your self of the mess putting on putty or paste or what so ever. All you need is glue.
I myself never try it, but I look at the product and they are beautiful.
Ben