streetsquid

Hi all,
I recently acquired a previously built Tamiya Panther from a club member who was thinning his inventory. He had built the tank mostly straight out of the box with just a few add-ons. This Panther has two battles under it's belt, and I ran it at the last SCAT battle day and it ran great, so my plan is to only alter it cosmetically. You know what they say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

I personally like to beat up my tanks and add a lot of damage, just the one aspect of modeling I really enjoy. The tank was finished in the standard three color ambush scheme as seen on the box. So first things first, disassemble, strip the paint, and start adding damage

streetsquid

Seemed a little funny tearing apart a relatively new and perfectly good tank..............but hey you gotta do what you gotta do. Once the Tamiya Acrylic paint was stripped, I added a coat of Red Oxide primer. This willserve as a base color that will show through in the areas where the zimmermit has been damaged or come off

kurtmeyer

nice...cant wait to see the new panther....

streetsquid

I've never attempted zimmermit before, so I started with a little research on the different patterns in which it was applied. I want something that looks different then what I've seen other RC modelers do, so I opted to do the criss cross rough pattern typically found on vehicles produced by Daimler Benz.

I wanted the zimmermit to be consistently random. Meaning I want it to look hand applied, but still look like a consistent pattern so I decided to make a tool to create the cross hatch pattern. I got the idea after reading an article on this technique in "Modeling the Panther Tank" by Steve van Beveren and published by Osprey Publishing.

After researching and determining the proper scale spacing (5mm) between the vertical and horizontal lines. I made a tool using three finish nails evenly spaced and sandwiched between two pieces of styrene. I used a motor tool to create "trenches" to seat the nails into. I then shaped the styrene into a comfortable handle shape.

Next comes testing some materials, and mastering the method. I plan to put on a thin coat of paste, add a rough texture by dabbing with a sponge, and then create the criss-cross pattern using the tool I made. I want to stay away from epoxy and two part puttys, or anything xylene or tolulene based as I don't really want it to attack the plastic. I want to be able to "flake" or "chip" the zimmermit off after the color coat is applied thus exposing the Red Oxide primer underneath. My first experiment is going to be done with diluted vinyl wall filler.

streetsquid

Thanks Kurt,
I plan to post pics of the progress.

Here's the first attempt at applying zimmermit. I used vinyl spackle as I wanted a lot of control when adding the damage. It took some experimenting to get the consistency just right. I applied it in thin even coats using a 1" wide flexible putty knife, and a 1/2" and 1/4" wide chisel blades for the tighter areas. Once the spackle starts to set I used the tool I made to create the criss cross pattern. It all looks a bit stark in bright white, but once it's painted and weathered with washes, dry brushing and pigments I think it should look ok.

Best of all a Q-tip moistened with water is just enough to lift the spackle and create damage effects. For a harder edged look a simple chisel blade allows you to "pick" or flake off other areas. The mantlet was just more of the experiment, as I'm using acrylics I'll wait until the color coat goes down before adding any more damage. That way as I go through the color coat and erode the zim paste it will also expose the red oxide underneath.

Next I'm onto adding some real metal. Got to beat up the fenders and stowage boxes, and add working hinges and hatches. More to follow!

mizuinu

what did you use to strip the acrylic paint off the tank? also, would tamiya hull red be a good substitute for red oxide primer?

YHR

Windex strips acrylic paint in minutes. Spray it on, let it set for a few minutes and it will damn near wash off with no scrubbing!!!!

Back to regular scheduled programming

streetsquid

mizuinu,
I was fortunate, the guy I got this from sprayed the tank using Tamiya acrylics. And one nice thing about those paints (as well as Gunze Sangyo /Mr. Color) acrylics is that you can use Windex glass cleaner straight out of the bottle to remove the paint, even if it's several years old. Now he had originally sprayed the tank in Tamiya, then sealed it with Tetsor clear flat which is a lacquer, but then painted it once again with Tamiya and didn't seal that layer of paint. So the Windex took care of the top layer of Tamiya paint, and since the Testor's clear is a lacquer all that was needed was a light scuff sand with a sanding sponge adding some "tooth" before applying the red oxide. The red oxide bit into the lacquer coat and should create no adhesion problems at all

I'm sure hull red is the more accurate color, but I chose red oxide for several reasons.

1. Because it was easy to use (rattle can)
2. I had some, so I didn't need to run to the local hobby shop or hardware store
3. Once all the weathering is done the color will look just fine (close enough for me and Government work)
4 Most importantly, because I'm repainting the tank in acrylics, I can again use Windex to cut the paint to add damage without harming the primer coat or plastic underneath.

One more tip, if you have a model that is painted with enamels you can use Easy-Off oven cleaner to strip the paint without harming the plastic underneath. I've been told it works well on clear parts as well, although I haven't tried that one personally.

streetsquid

A few more pics showing a little more progress.

The kit fenders are decent (although a little thick) and show good detail, so rather than replace or completely destroy them, I opted to heat bend them to add dents and then thinned them from the back and added small through holes to replicate shrapnel or small arms damage.

I also drilled out the perimeter of the front hatches which are molded closed. This was in preparation of installing the replacement resin Wecohe hatches that have working metal hinges and latches

streetsquid

Ok,
After a little hiatus to paint some figures which I featured in a "how to" article I just finished for our DAK website, I finally got crackin again on the Panther rebuild. Finished adding the new resin front hatches, with white metal and brass working hinges. The resin is a little warped but nothing a little heat won't take care of.

streetsquid

Alright,
continued adding battle damage and detail, to the rear stowage bins this time. I cut away the main portion of the right rear bin, essentially leaving the perimeter as a framework. Then I templated and cut a piece of .010 aluminum to replace the rear skin of the bin. Using a ball point pen and a straight edge I embossed the strengthening ribs that appear in a cross pattern on the rear face. Using CA (super glue) I attached the aluminum and added small dents and holes. Nothing looks more like dented metal than real dented metal.

The left stowage bin was heated in a candle and just a few dents added with the blunt end of a scribing tool

streetsquid

Just to add some interest I opened up the top of the stowage bin where it has an access door. Tamiya molded this solid, with a lid that is just a flat piece that is just glued on. After opening the top I added a raised registration lip around the opening out of .040 styrene. I then hollowed out the underside of the lid to create a more scale thickness and bent it open, adding to the abused look. I may add a few more dents to the side of the right bin.

edoubleaz

My Feedback: (1)

Nice job on the metal and damage. I look forward to shooting more holes in it with my Firefly.

streetsquid

Panther build progressing. I finally added some paint today. I went with a three color scheme, that I wanted to look subdued. When finished this tank is gonna be pretty beat up

streetsquid

From the beginning of this project I've wanted to make some seriously damaged zimmermit. So I came up with an idea, but was unsure how well it would work, or if it would even work at all.

I based coated the tank in rust oxide primer, added the zim using vinyl wall spackle (yeah the same stuff you use to fill nail holes in sheet rock before you paint your living room) and then over coated the zim paste with acrylic paints. The idea here was that once the paint was on I could use Windex brand glass cleaner to soften the acrylic paint and wall spackle making it easy to replicate damage to the zim coating.

I'm pretty happy with my first attempt. But I would really like to hear from others what they think

streetsquid

Here are a few more close up shots

swathdiver

Looks great to me! Question, would zimmerit blown/knocked off have more rough edges then smooth ones? Some of the areas appear worn away rather then forcefully removed by war, maybe a hobby knife can make more crisp lines. [sm=confused.gif]

pcomm1

Here is my 1 cents:

Wasn't sure where you were going with this project, because the Panther was looking good before you went at it. LOL

Really like the faded paint, the damage and the zimmerit job is convincing and looks right.

One suggestion, you might want to blend back or dirty the red primer, it seems a touch bright against the panzers color treatment.

Though, again, an impressive Panther solution.

John

streetsquid

Swath,
Thanks for the input. You are correct some of the edges have gotten a little "soft".

My method for damaging or removing the zimmerit is to soak a cotton swab (Q-tip) in Windex and hold it against the area to be damaged for a few moments. Because the paint has not yet been sealed the glass cleaner soaks into both the acrylic paint and the underlying spackle, thereby softening and loosening both. I then used a 1/4" wide flat chisel to start scraping away or gouging the softened area of spackle. Once I had an area scraped away I would go back and clean it up with a clean Q-tip soaked in Windex. This method allowed me to remove additional paint immediately around the damaged area exposing some of the raw white spackle that simulates the raw zimmerit paste, but it has also inadvertently softened some of the edges.

I don't know is it possible that the zimmerit would "soften" with time on the real tanks. What I mean is, if the paste was initially knocked or blown off and created very harsh or sharp features, would those features soften with time and use. I assume that zim paste was at it's strongest when it was a solid surface covering the tank, but as soon as the structural integrity was compromised, would it deteriorate at a quicker rate, do anyone know?

streetsquid

pcomm,
Thanks for the input.

My plans are to "dirty down" or mute most of the colors including the red oxide primer. You are right it currently looks to bright and stark against the surrounding camo colors.

This whole project is an experiment and I'm kind of playing as I go along. The plan is to add dirt, mud, and rust as well, should look like a well used Panther, that has seen a lot of action when I'm done. The pics I've posted so far have only the first or several wash coats and no no dry brushing or pastels yet applied

lanierrl

I would think you would see a combination of hard and soft edges. Have you tried chiping some of it off with an exacto knife or dremel?

streetsquid

Lanierrl,
I have used an exacto chisel blade to do most of the chipping, but have not tried a dremel as I think it would be too aggressive biting into the wall spackle. Besides, I think because a dremel bit are spinning as they cut they would be more difficult to get hard angular edges and it would look like it was created by a tool or machine. So far the chisel has worked great, it's the Q-tip clean-up that has caused the softer edges. I think when I get home tonight I might do a bit more detail work around the edges of the big chips.


Although the more I think about I think you're right, there would most likely be a combination of hard edged chipping as well as some softer worn edges.

Plastic scouser

Really nice work Streetsquid[sm=thumbup.gif] I love the faded look to the paint work top job

Cheers Ian

hdbeast

looks great.[sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif] Battle damage is looking sharp. Paint looks sharp.

Gary

gigantohawk

looking great already...washes and rust will finish it off nicely.

Nick.