I just received a set of photo-etch Zimmerit by Eduard for a mid-production Tiger I, and I have to say that it is excellent!  I have also used paper and resin zimmerit sets and have been happy with them as well.  They are easy to use and are generally inexpensive.  They beat doing it yourself!

Bill

Very nice effort, I can't say anything on zimmerit becouse I have not tried a kit that needs it yet. Again job well done

Robert

Yeah, she does look really good for a first effort. And with more practice other than a few mis-steps here and there you'll only get better. 

As the guys said the pre-cut zimmerit is probably the easier way of doing it. As Tigerman said the Cavalier seems to work the best for me. Sadly they seem to be out of business. The PE stuff is a little more work since doesn't flex as well. 

I've not heard of using clay but have seen the hot knife method though it seems more trouble than it's worth. I sometimes go with just filler putty and scraping it with a razor saw. Also some of the newer kits like Dragon mold the zimmerit on the parts already, I haven't build any of these so I don't know how good it looks. 

Have you considered using an after-market zimmerit set?

Bill

Maybe I missed the camo. I'm looking on my phone. I've never tried doing my own, but Cavalier resin zimmerit is excellent. You get pre-cut pieces that you glue on. It looks really good to.

Nice early effort! May I suggest one alteration? US forces encountered Tiger 1s very sporadically in NW Europe. Indeed author/historian Steve Zaloga can only find THREE actual accounts of US forces engaged by Tiger 1s in NW Europe. By the summer of '44, they were very rare. Numerically, Tiger 1s fought UK & Commonwealth forces. Tiger 1 units (like SSsPzAbt 101) didn't engage in areas where US tank forces were roving.

https://tankandafvnews.com/2015/01/27/zaloga_interview/

May I suggest a Firefly VC tank?  Or a Churchill or Sherman 75mm gun tank instead?  M4A1 76W gun tanks did find their way into UK/Commonwealth units but later than summer '44.

I actually went for the three tone disruptive, but was way too timid with the airbrush and it ended up a blended mess.  Still too unsure of myself to do zimmerit.  Any good tips of how to do it?  I've seen two methods, one with clay and one with a hot screwdriver directly on the model (which seems really silly).

Considering that this is your first project.
Good tips from Tigerman there.
                                           

The build looks pretty decent, especially if those are Indy tracks. For accuracy sakes, the vehicle would have a three-tone camo and zimmerit, especially being in France in 1944. I do think the mud might be overdone on the upper hull, especially the turret. Good luck on the rest of the dio. Looking forward to more.