You've convinced me that this is not actually the most complicated thing to attempt on a vehicle. Which is good since a lot of StuGs had zimm 😅 I just need some proper putty and a couple of tools (you can never have enough tools).
And stugs have lots of small defined plates, easier to keep a true line.New Ryefield Mk IV has the 3 weld seams on rims,4 types of factory cupolas,4 types of return roller,every weld seam however small.Better than Dragon 'superkit' Mk IV 's.Tools and clamp's only niggle.Some good spares for different factory parts for stugs too.
He’s not kidding about the gloves folks. I used the putty without it, until I noticed there was blood all over the model…: It had dried my skin out within minutes and made it so brittle that the rivet details on the model managed to cut into me!
The look of the damaged zimmerit looks so good. I love your tip of applying the putty in small quantity & areas at a time. Great idea. Look forward to more work on this kit.
Mr. Kovac, You are inspiring. Not only do you make fantastic pieces of art, you make it seem easy. I have been a modeler for 30+ years and I understand that modelling is a series of steps and that if you follow them in the right order, with the proper methods and a steady hand (and LOTS of practice) you will achieve results. That said, it still seems like magic when I look at your finished models and can not tell whether they are life-sized metal monstrosities or just plastic tanks no bigger than my hand.
Hey uncle night shift. Just want to share a technique: for field applied Zimmerit, I take 50/50 testors enamel putty and thin testors cement and mix. Then I take chalk pastels (whatever color) and add a liberal amount into the mix. Then I smooth it onto the surface of the tank, and use a homemade zimmerit tool for the pattern, allowing plenty of overlap and mess. Then scrape some more chalk over the top. This gives it a really gritty, almost improvised look I use for field-applied patterns. Also, I just used your weld seam tutorial for a T-34 and it was SO HELPFUL!!
Hi Uncle; I've used Milliput in the past and have always been somewhat disappointed by it. I found it tough to get a really thin layer with Milliput without it flaking to pieces, but might give the Tamiya stuff a go. Great vid as usual, thanks for sharing.
This channel along with the recent purchase of an Airbrush for minis are reeeaallllyyy making it more and more tempting to get some model tank action in my life...
I have only just started modeling and so I spend an inordinate amount of time looking for inspiration on you tube. The quality, attention to minor details and subsequent realism of your models is amazing. I'm following this tiger build closely, I cant imagine what it will look like painted. But at this stage of the build WOW. It makes the likes of Bayin Wu modeling and Plasmo look rather pedestrian. Blown away.
Perfect! I have a Panther A that arrived today and that will need a coat of Zimmerit eventually. I’ll give a try to that method vs buying resin aftermarket zim panels. Thanks for the tutorial!
Thank you for an interesting and informative video. I’ve never done Zimmerit and was willing to try it. Your video was entertaining and informative, but most of all, encouraging. The kit looks great, and I’m ready to go ahead and do it. Thank you.
Fantastic work, for sure! This is your best attempt at this thus far. I really like how subtle it turned out, which will look amazing when you apply paint. I really like how the turret came out as a whole.
I wonder if they've ever found any of the tools that we're used for making zimm. I've never seen any historical photos of the process. That would be interesting to see as well.
They just smeared it on and then carved in the anti-spall lines with a trowel shortly afterwards. Then it was left to dry (benzene evaporation) before being baked on with blowtorches. AFAIK that's the process.
This site may be of interest to you. www.battledetective.com/battlerelic29.html. It shows a modern attempt to recreate Zim using the original ingredients.
On some tanks like the Tiger it's definitely too regular for pure hand application. And then there's stuff like the waffle pattern, which is definitely not handmade. On the other hand, there are some really wild patterns on some Panzer IV or Stug IV.
Zimmeritt TTBOMK/AFAIK was made of a many varied recipies of mixes depending on whatever waste crud was available to be mixed together. Usually using any non-magnetic/non-ferous metalic spalling, shavings and 'dross' of lead, tin, copper, manganese, aluminium, pewter, amalgam etc, of metals that were of captured, collected and recycled of too low/poor a base quality to be smelted into higher quality metals & alloys etc, ..hoping the non-magnetic particles with the sculpted ridges would indeed minimise the close-to-surface magnetic-fields flux attractive forces, so typically used in the magnetic grenades and shaped-charges used by the Germans - and thus risk being captured by the Soviets and being used upon the retreating Fascist forces armour, ..plus with some tree resins, lots of sawdust, silicas, concrete or rock dust, and some benzine, whitespirit, paraffin and/or synthetic solvents to 'wet it' enough into a thick adheasive paste which could be sculpted & dried through some forced evapouration heating.
According to my collection of WW-2 photos and a how to book by the model builder Shepherd Paine . There wasn't any Zimmerit on the hatches of any tank , like you do on the side loaders hatch . The reason why is it made the hatch awkward and heavy to work with . This is a form of non - magnetic concrete paste to prevent the attachment of magnetic mines to the hull . The funny thing is , after the war the Germans found out that they were the only ones using the magnetic mines .
Hmm, side hatch with Zimmerit: i.pinimg.com/originals/4f/51/7b/4f517bc98fd0dd06fa1a2dc3a1700bba.jpg And there are dozens more pictures like that. They definitely did apply the paste on the side hatch 😊
@@Panzermeister36 Some field reports from the tank crews stated that when under fire that the side loading hatch was cumbersome because of a brace that was in the way . And all of the reference photos both B&W and some rare color photos show that there is NO zemmerit on that side hatch . NONE .
Superb job. I’ve never had the confidence to try this type of zimmerit. Now I guess I’m going to have to drag a Tiger out of the stash. Thanks for yet another informative,helpful video. As always..G’day from Australia mate.
Hello fellow Martin! Thank you very much for this video! You simply demystified the process. I bought recently those zimmerit applicator tools but the result was awful... Now I believe the outcome will be better. Thanks for the handy tutorial!
I have a 1:35 scale tiger to build later after I finish some of my smaller builds this helped me to understand how to make zimmerit so I hope when I do it it turn out well
Really good video about "how to". The tank looks great and the detail is amazing. I really like that it's based on a real tank. Thanks Uncle Night shift.
Phew! Oddly satisfying watching uncle Night Shift taking one Zimeritt ridge at a time. IMHO it looks simply amazing friend. Have an awesome weekend! EDIT: LOL I am like no. 1000!
you can defiantly tell hes a true Slav, cause his tap water in that cup looks like it came straight out of a soviet tractor factory bathroom! Also Unky NightShift, can you do a SCI-Fi Tank, like the Leman Russ Tank from 40K? Maybe show us how to UPDETAIL a plain model like that, that has NO real world counterpart? That would be super, i'd though some shekels your way to help pay for it! Maybe just a nice kitbashing video?
It's a wonderful Zimmerit Coat, I saw a good one.... I'm not sure if I can duplicate it, but I found the "Trumpeter Tools for Zimmerit Coat" and bought it. I don't know when they'll be here in the first place…The international shipping is in terrible shape right now.
BEST zim video I have seen. Of the half dozen I've watched over the years, yours is definitely the most instructive. I love you tips vids, Sir. Keep them coming!
Outstanding videos!! I'm working on rehabilitating a King Tiger, going to try the putty zimm on it. I have used sheetrock mud in the past, which I thought work rather well.
Applying Zimmerit, along with how to paint a military vehicle properly, used to pain me to no end. Then I learned that both were commonly done on the battlefield by guys who were just as pained about how to do it properly, and sometimes with less than ideal tools for the job - just like me! Strangely, I feel much more confident now. lol
When I bought an all metal Buck Rogers 1930's ray gun on ebay, I found that they have this light smell of grease on metal. It added something indefinable to it that made me feel I was breathing the same air that kid was from that time. So, if you want to take your tank over the top in a judging, slip a greasy rag inside it when assembling it. When they lean in with their reading glasses they'll get this olfactory hit that might just romance them into ribbon time. A little grease has been working for a long time........ ...... ...
First time I tried doing zimmerit... Tamiya 1/16 scale Porsche king tiger. Lol...I used Tamiya putty, the big white tube, can't remember what it was, but it was beyond stinky. I got a little high using it. Lol...but it actually turned out pretty good...that was 20 years ago. Haven't tried it since. Lol
If memory serves, the rivets are rather chunky, i figure i can just slice them of carefully and raise them off the surface with a little plasticard, like our favorite uncle seems to be doing with the tow cable ties. Or work around them, the zimmerit shouldn't be that deep anyway.
Not that you need to build a leman russ battle tank from 40k. I get that, I really do, but what if you did it anyway? I would love to see you tackle that big chonky kit- applying zimmerit, weld beads, stowage and weathering. It would be chef's kiss.
Use the same Epoxy- ball technique for months now, but I never get it that thin. So I'll maybe rework my unfinished Zimmerit right now. Great tips in this video (as always?!). Greetings from Berlin.
So glad you figured out how to get past the Zimmerit... ;>) I just hope you don't run into any other problems before finally finishing this model. How long have you been at this one? How many months? I know the frustration.
