I think my cat understands my modeling more than most of my friends.........

I also thought I'd have a day at the bench today, but alas, work calls.

It's 'catch up' time-

Hasenpfelffer-nice Zim work and I really enjoyed seeing your technique on the road wheels...will have to try that one.

RBaer-nice touch on adding the welds...makes a difference

Armor 86-Tiger looks great-the PE machine gun barrel stands out-looking forward to seeing more pics

Mike-your KT is taking shape-the Zim work is very nice-I need to add the Tamiya KT to my stash

Joe-Enjoying watching you work with PE Zim...I will be taking notes for future projects.

I'm on hold for the moment-two rooms to paint before breaking out the plastic....no Zimmerit  in either room though...that should save some time...

Wow,it's good to see some guys coming out of the box quickly !!!  Can't wait to join the fun

Thanks Bob -- I'm certainly enjoying this build as much as I expected to. This kit was tooled 19 years ago and I've been looking forward to it ever since I saw the first adds.

Here's yesterday evening's progress, the upper hull dressing parts, with the exception of the tools which will go on after painting. Note the lower turret ring is also zimmed -- not part of the Cavalier set, it's done with putty and I'm following Tony Greenland's research.

And the collective progress:

I need to finish the puzzle of zimmerit around the structures on the rear hull, then I can assemble the hull, finish the zimmerit work, add the grill set, and she'll be just about ready for paint. I'll order up dry prints from Archer for the turret numbers and Balkenkreutzer -- at the pace I'm working I'd better put the order in now!

Cheers, Mike

Nice work so far Mike. I'm hoping to get all major construction done by Sunday and lay paint by the following weekend. That's only my goal. Lol. I still thinking about cables and a barrel, but I'd better hurry up.

Mike-continuing to look great-two questions-what do you think of the resin Zim and what brand of putty did you use for the turret ring?  I've not had to use zimmerit yet but I know my day is coming...

Eric-looking forward to seeing progress pics of your Jagdpanther.  I hope to get the rooms painted by Friday night so I can spend some time on the Panther this weekend.

Thanks, Eric. I got the zim on the stern plate finished last night, it's a bit of a patchwork, with most of it coming from the Cavalier set, a piece or two from their generic sheet, and some areas of raked putty, but it'll hopefully look okay once all the fittings are in place and it's covered with paint, dust and dirt. Today I'll assemble the lower hull and get to the largest sections of zim.

I decided after some research to either go with the kit decals or use an Archer sheet I already have. "334" was a number carried by a few identified King Tigers, and this one, an early build with the Porsche turret, has been interpretted by Tamiya, and according to Tony Greenland's research, to have been in a troop using red/white numbers as its identifier. Competing research sugests the numbers were black/white and there is a surviving photo of a KT(P) showing this number in a different location... I've not decided exactly what to do, and it may end up being more artistic than historic -- I'll see when I get there!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Bob -- I'm really loving the Cavalier zim! The purpose-made sets have some minor fit issues that are rectified by blending with putty, while their generic sheets (very generous, two large sheets per pack, enough for three or four projects) allow you to measure and cut a fraction oversize, then trim to an exact size once each piece is attached. I'm really sold on the stuff, this is the second time I've used it.

The putty is Squadron (white) and I reduce it to a paste with Testor Liquid Cement for application with a small brush (clean the brush in turpentine or old AB thinner). The process really is simple, it probably comes down to the evenness of application at the brushing stage, then how light/precise a hand you have at the raking stage. I leave maybe thirty seconds between stages to let the putty surface-dry a tiny bit. Obviously, I work on small areas, for bigger areas you'd need a slower-drying substance.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Thanks Mike-very helpful information.  I have given thought to finding the old Tamiya Panther kit (cheap) and using it as a test bed for applying zim.  However, the Cavalier looks like it might be less stressful.

The Cavalier set is easy to use Bob and virtually flawless compared to putty, which can be a mess to apply.

Thanks Eric-I've got  a Mid & a Late Tiger I (both Tamiya 1/35) in the stash....might have to give the Cavalier set a go soon.....

I've udsed it twice so far: on my Elefant and Pz IV. I mix a two-part epoxy together to allow more time to set. Others use a slower CA glue.

JOE RIX:  I'll be watching to see how that PE zim goes, looks good so far.  I have the same thing but I'm leaning towards using vinyl putty instead, probably more work but oh well.  I can't help on the primer color much exept to say that the hull red  is/ was VERY plausible...besides it'll look cool too, so go for it!  BTW: Do you have an aluminum barrel? if so...where/ what mfr did you get it from?

Hinksy:  Love that Tiger early!  I've been debating leaving all the side skirts off my Mid and you sure helped that side of the argument. 

Great to see all the progress already!!! 

This is all really great stuff. I am very curious about all the types of zimmerit. I am assuming that the Cavalier is similar to the ATAK zimmerit that I purchased. I may try that next time as it's ~ 1/2 the price. JOE RIX - do you sand down the back of the resin sheets to be applied to the model. I am still learning that - as you'll see below. That is easier said than done while keeping the panels in one piece. I am also curious as to how the PE zimm works Thunderbolt. It seems to me that attaching PE that size would be a real pain in the $%&^. But what you have done so far looks great. All in the adhesive? It's cool to have all the different types being built here as they will make an interesting comparison.

Well, here's some zimm on the Panther A Late Turret. You'll see the improvement as I learn this stuff from chassis to left side turret to right side turret. Looks better each time, especially the thickness of the applied piece. (The thinner the better - although it's pretty easy to spot any mistakes with the big pictures!).

Sorry - mixed you two up Joe/Thunderbolt...

Hasen- VERY NICE work on the Zimm... always wanted to use it on one of my panthers.  

Hasen -- no worries. I must say your custom zim looks very, very good! Makes me want to do a Panther as well...

I joined the hull yesterday, and am hoping to get to the large zim sheets today.

M/TB379

I think the Atak zim is a better product then Cavalier, but not by much. The price certainly isn't.

 Alrighty, finally got all the wheels sanded. On the Tamiya Mid there is a slight seam line on each and every whell that needs to be sanded down. No biggie aside from the fact that there's 48 of those buggers. Hope to possibly start painting them this weekend. Last night I glued on the rest of the lower hull PE zimm panels using Gator Grip glue. Thanks Gamera & Colonel for reassuring me that this was the route to take. SMJ, Hasen & co.- The fit of the Eduard PE is truely remarlable. It is nearly perfect. I just needed to even out slightly the edges where the panels met with ariffler file. These are actually fairly easy and forgiving to work with so far using a Xuron PE cutting tool and lightly sanding the the attachment areas with a metal riffling file. I will get some pics here soon.

                                               Joe  

JOE RIX: Thanks for the info on the barrel. 

Now you really have me pondering which way to go with the zim'!.  The PE would sure be a lot easier, but what I don't like is that it looks too "perfect".  Maybe I can find a way to add some putty or cut the zim in a few places to make it look more worn.  Hmmm...  I have a lot of holes to putty and a bunch of weld seams (let alone road wheel work) to add so I'll wait to see your zim' pics before I decide which way to go.  Thanks for the info, It's why these GB's are so great!

Everyones is coming along great, I've been reading back through the progress pages. I've started collecting Tiger I and King Tiger details, just 23 days left until the Modelfest swap in October, I plan to come home with a few Tiger I's if the vendors are well stocked so I can join in the fun :)

HP: that looks great! I've done zimmerit with a razor saw and white putty but not tried to stamp out the waffle pattern. Here it looks like the aftermarket stuff is the way to go.

SMJmodeler

JOE RIX: Thanks for the info on the barrel. 

Now you really have me pondering which way to go with the zim'!.  The PE would sure be a lot easier, but what I don't like is that it looks too "perfect".  Maybe I can find a way to add some putty or cut the zim in a few places to make it look more worn.  Hmmm...  I have a lot of holes to putty and a bunch of weld seams (let alone road wheel work) to add so I'll wait to see your zim' pics before I decide which way to go.  Thanks for the info, It's why these GB's are so great!

SMJ - Sorry, I actually forgot to leave you the barrel info. It's a Royal Model barrel. I got it off ebay from a seller in Poland. Excellent seller by the way, also sent me a PE metal pail and antenna for free. The problem I had is that the barrel came with no instructions on how to assemble it. Found the instructions to Armorscale's Barrel which is nearly identical. My question though is how to glue it together? It suggests soldering but that is not much an option for me. Mabe some CA or epoxy?

Here is a pic of the PE Zimm so far.

Hey Joe, I CA my barrels together.  I usually put a blob on a piece of scrap plastic and use a needle to apply a small amount to the area I want to glue.

Kim

Take it nice and slow Joe.

Nice work!! You guys are getting way ahead of me.

One question.

That Cavalier "generic sheet", can it be made to cover any German tank?

Hi KC -- Cavalier make four generic sheets, IIRC. "Standard:" pattern, waffle pattern, tile pattern and one other, all for 1:35, and between those they have most subjects covered. They don't have a set designed specifically for Tamiya's Jadgpangther retool, so I would be using a generic sheet for that one...

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Moose - Thanks for the assurance.

Eric - Sound advice indeed. I'm in the same boat as you as far as bench time. I work a full time job and a part time job plus other obligations leaves me little bench time. Yet, although crunched for time I still take it slow, think things through, test everything and take time to practice.

                                                              Joe 

O.K. I'm officially in on this GB. Got Academy's Tiger I mid production on it's way in the mail, the one with the PE and full interior since it's coming from So. Korea they say it should arrive around the 1st week of next month. Question about that kit: I won't lie the thought of zimmerit gives me night terrors so I'm looking at different sets. What's best Cavalier, ATAK, PE? And of the pre made sets most say "for Tamiya" , will they fit the Academy or since I'm planning to hack holes in the hull and build it as a cut-away should I stick to the Cavalier generic pattern sheet so I can cut my own templates?