Black cat.

[Rockin' Rob]

This might keep me busy before the biplane build

 

[Ron2]

What kit is this?

 

[Rockin' Rob]

What kit is this?

Takom 1/48

 

[Rockin' Rob]

They're very basic kits. Everything fits really good usually. But there's no paint call outs. There's no diagrams on how it's really supposed to fit in there just an arrow saying that goes here. It'll show you a color picture of the model with the decals and how they painted it but not the colors or brand or nothing. In other words kind of basic cheap kits but if you know a little bit of what you're doing you can make it look pretty good

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Base coat on the road wheels and bottom half.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

The jury is still out on these tank Treads and how to build them. They seem very easy to build unlike other threads I've watched where there's four to five pieces per tread. I think they're called link and length tracks? What I did was build them in half so I can take them off and paint them

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Lil' more done.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Crap. You know what I forgot? These Panthers had zimmerite. I think there might have been a couple of the very early ones that didn't have it but the decals I have are 1944. I have never put on zimmerite. Now I need to research that and buy some tools to put on the zimmerite and make it look good. Not this tank it's mostly built. But down the road

 

[Jakko]

It's a bit late to put it on this model, yes The easiest way to do Zimmerit is probably resin sets like the kind made by ATAK, but for adding it yourself, I would recommend putty from a tube and either a Zimmerit comb (usually sold as etched parts) or a hacksaw blade. Smear putty onto the kit part, a small area at a time, and drag the comb or saw across to make the ridges.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

It's a bit late to put it on this model, yes The easiest way to do Zimmerit is probably resin sets like the kind made by ATAK, but for adding it yourself, I would recommend putty from a tube and either a Zimmerit comb (usually sold as etched parts) or a hacksaw blade. Smear putty onto the kit part, a small area at a time, and drag the comb or saw across to make the ridges.

Good to know! Zimmerite comb? Never heard of that I saw tools that had little ridged wheels on them but I like the idea of using something like a hacksaw blade and I was even thinking some sort of a gear maybe out of a servo? But yes. I have to research on this a little bit more. Remember, I'm fairly new to armor. But it's part of modeling and always willing to learn new ways

 

[Ron2]

The jury is still out on these tank Treads and how to build them. They seem very easy to build unlike other threads I've watched where there's four to five pieces per tread. I think they're called link and length tracks? What I did was build them in half so I can take them off and paint them

That's a good idea too. Last build I didn't glue the road wheels so I glued tracks in place and the took it apart to paint. First time trying that and it worked pretty good.

 

[Jakko]

Zimmerite comb? Never heard of that

Here's Tamiya's version:

They attach to an X-Acto–type handle like regular blades. (I have a set but never used them — they're still on the fret, even I don't think I actually bought them, but I also don't remember anybody giving them to me.)

I saw tools that had little ridged wheels on them

I have one of these, and used it once or twice. It works well, too.

For both types, the most important thing is that you should never use them on putty that's sticky to the touch. The best putty to use with it is a kind that comes out of the tube fairly dry, and doesn't have any liquid glue-like stuff in the tube with it. If it sticks to the tool, it's not going to work.

 

[kevin]

I've only done zimmerit once so far. It's on a 1/16 Tiger II.
I used Elmer's wood filler and the zimmerit tool supplied with the Trumpeter kit ( similar to what Jakko posted ). The wood filler was relatively easy to work with as its pretty dry. I did wet the tool with water before each pass. Another good thing about the wood putty is that doesn't adhere to the model right away, so if you are unhappy with a section you can wipe off and try again. I also scraped off some parts that didn't look good to simulate some flaking or chipping off, or battle damage.
I'm happy enough with the results for me to try this again on my next German armour kit.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Okay. Thanks for all the input. I did order a tool to apply zimmerite and also some Tamia sculpting putty and epoxy putty. Nice tank. So I imagine they applied zimmerite at the factory and then painted it which would be the decals we would put on. You know? If we wanted to use decals. So in other words any decal I apply on zimmerite I would have to paint it?

 

[Jakko]

It was mainly applied at the factory, in a laborious process involving (IIRC) smearing it on, drying it somewhat with a blowtorch, repeatedly stabbing it with a wide putty knife to create ridges until those ridges stop collapsing, and then drying it with a blowtorch some more. The natural colour of Zimmerit was the same sort of dark yellow as the base colour of German tanks, because it had ochre pigment mixed in.

All of which is to say: Yes, markings generally go over the Zimmerit, and unless you're really good with Micro Sol or similar, you'll probably want to hand-paint markings or spray them through a stencil.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

It was mainly applied at the factory, in a laborious process involving (IIRC) smearing it on, drying it somewhat with a blowtorch, repeatedly stabbing it with a wide putty knife to create ridges until those ridges stop collapsing, and then drying it with a blowtorch some more. The natural colour of Zimmerit was the same sort of dark yellow as the base colour of German tanks, because it had ochre pigment mixed in.

All of which is to say: Yes, markings generally go over the Zimmerit, and unless you're really good with Micro Sol or similar, you'll probably want to hand-paint markings or spray them through a stencil.

All of that. Very interesting. My downfall is I know a little bit about everything. At least I thought I did. But I didn't know how they applied zimmerite. Thanks. And then some enterprising young fellow came along and said zimmerite, shhmimerite, I present to you the Sticky Bomb...

 

[Jakko]

You mean the British glue-covered grenade? That probably wouldn't fare too well against Zimmerit either, because the ridges provide little surface for it to stick to.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

You mean the British glue-covered grenade? That probably wouldn't fare too well against Zimmerit either, because the ridges provide little surface for it to stick to.

You're right. Damn Tom Hanks

 

[wjbrandel]

You're right. Damn Tom Hanks

If you recall, they stuck the bombs to the wheels in Saving Private Ryan to get a mobility kill on the tank.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

If you recall, they stuck the bombs to the wheels in Saving Private Ryan to get a mobility kill on the tank.

Yes I remember now. You see? This is exactly what happens when you think you are a comedian and want to make a little joke about something stupid and it backfires

 

[Jakko]

The funny thing about Zimmerit is that the Germans, having developed magnetic shaped charges for fighting tanks, figured everyone else would soon follow — so they came up with Zimmerit as a countermeasure against a weapon only they themselves had. The Western Allies, though, felt that tanks were better fought from a distance using rockets and spigot mortars (bazookas and PIATs, respectively) while the Soviet Union was the only one with still-viable anti-tank rifles (the PTRS and PTRD) so they also didn't need magnetic charges.

BTW, those Soviet anti-tank rifles are the reason for the additional plates over the top of the suspension on the Panther: the lower hull side could be penetrated by 14.5 mm AP rounds, so an extra 5 mm of armour was added outside the tracks, which would cause the projectile to begin to tumble and hit the real armour at an angle. Only later did it turn out these plates were also useful against shaped charges fired from bazookas, PIATs and captured Panzerfausts.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

The funny thing about Zimmerit is that the Germans, having developed magnetic shaped charges for fighting tanks, figured everyone else would soon follow — so they came up with Zimmerit as a countermeasure against a weapon only they themselves had. The Western Allies, though, felt that tanks were better fought from a distance using rockets and spigot mortars (bazookas and PIATs, respectively) while the Soviet Union was the only one with still-viable anti-tank rifles (the PTRS and PTRD) so they also didn't need magnetic charges.

BTW, those Soviet anti-tank rifles are the reason for the additional plates over the top of the suspension on the Panther: the lower hull side could be penetrated by 14.5 mm AP rounds, so an extra 5 mm of armour was added outside the tracks, which would cause the projectile to begin to tumble and hit the real armour at an angle. Only later did it turn out these plates were also useful against shaped charges fired from bazookas, PIATs and captured Panzerfausts.

Do you remember the little star stickers teachers would give you on your homework when you were in kindergarten and grade school? You just earned two of them!

 

[Ron2]

Yes I remember now. You see? This is exactly what happens when you think you are a comedian and want to make a little joke about something stupid and it backfires

I laughed. Accurate or not it was funny

 

[Jakko]

Do you remember the little star stickers teachers would give you on your homework when you were in kindergarten and grade school?

Nope. Pretty much no homework until secondary school (age 12+) in this country, at least in my day (things may have changed in the decades since, I don't know) and in any case, homework didn't get graded even there — you were just expected to do it, and possibly the whole class got a minor, semi-impromptu test (which did get graded) based on stuff you had been told to learn.

You just earned two of them!

Thanks, I suppose

 

[Ron2]

Nope. Pretty much no homework until secondary school (age 12+) in this country, at least in my day (things may have changed in the decades since, I don't know) and in any case, homework didn't get graded even there — you were just expected to do it, and possibly the whole class got a minor, semi-impromptu test (which did get graded) based on stuff you had been told to learn.


Thanks, I suppose

Interesting.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Alrighty then. I got to put the skirt on the other side and I'm ready for paint! I have to admit this is a 1-48 kit. Takom. I'm telling you this thing went together flawless. Everything fit like a dream. So I kind of looked it up more and found out that it is the old Tamia Panther kit that everyone liked. Just scaled up or down I forget which. And yes. I know there's no zimmerite on it. I'm going to get another Panther kit and put them right on it if it's not already on. The more I get into these armor builds the more I like it is, especially if the kit goes together like this did.

 

[Ron2]

Alrighty then. I got to put the skirt on the other side and I'm ready for paint! I have to admit this is a 1-48 kit. Takom. I'm telling you this thing went together flawless. Everything fit like a dream. So I kind of looked it up more and found out that it is the old Tamia Panther kit that everyone liked. Just scaled up or down I forget which. And yes. I know there's no zimmerite on it. I'm going to get another Panther kit and put them right on it if it's not already on. The more I get into these armor builds the more I like it is, especially if the kit goes together like this did.

Looks good. Question tho, are the side skirts supposed to be held away from the main body? I see the gap there and I've always fought to close that gap, now I'm wondering which it's supposed to be. This is coming from someone who put his skirts on inside out on the Jagdpanther.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Looks good. Question tho, are the side skirts supposed to be held away from the main body? I see the gap there and I've always fought to close that gap, now I'm wondering which it's supposed to be. This is coming from someone who put his skirts on inside out on the Jagdpanther.

Well, according to Jakko, those side skirts were an add on later on after they find out Crews were getting blown away because of thin armor. And yes I believe that's the way they're supposed to be. I could be wrong but I think that looks perfect they get damaged anyway you just rip them off and stick on a new one

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Pic

 

[Ron2]

Well, according to Jakko, those side skirts were an add on later on after they find out Crews were getting blown away because of thin armor. And yes I believe that's the way they're supposed to be. I could be wrong but I think that looks perfect they get damaged anyway you just rip them off and stick on a new one

That makes sense. Some of these guys really know their stuff and I'm just kind of floating through it all.