Bill,
Very nice looking Tiger, great job on the zim!
mickyb,
One thing to consider is that there were several different zimmerit patterns that were used by different companies. Most people do the straight lines using a tool (like a comb or screwdriver) and achieve very nice affects. But other pattens can be equally interesting yet inexpensive and relatively easy to replicate as well.
When I did my Panther G model I wanted to do damaged zim, but also create a pattern that was a little different and not as popular amongst RC modelers so I chose to replicate the criss cross pattern used by Daimler Benz. I had an entire build thread on my Panther but here's and excerpt from that thread describing my technique using water based wall spackle (vinyl patch for sheetrock wallboard) and a customized tool I made at home. The entire zim job cost me less than $5 US dollars to create.
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.
For more info you can find my thread at
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_72...rebuild/tm.htm if you're interested.
I hope this helps, and best of luck with you zim job