k98dave,
Thanks for the kind words. That Panther was a lot of fun to do, and I did a complete build thread if you're interested in learning about it or seeing additional photos (most are in-progress shots).

The zimmermit was a big experiment. I wanted to do a pattern that was a little less popular, so I chose the criss-cross pattern done by The Daimler-Benz Corp. I had a photo of a 1/35th scale Panther done this way in an Osprey book as reference.

I made a custom tool using finish nails and a styrene handle, the zim itself is water based vinyl wall spackling (yep the same stuff you use to fill nail holes in sheetrock). I applied it in thin coats, then used the tool to create the pattern. Then I painted with acrylic paints. Once the paint was dry I used a Q-tip soaked in Windex Glass cleaner to soften and remove areas of paint and spackle exposing the the red oxide primer coat underneath.

I explain it in a lot more detail in the build just do a search for "Panther G Rebuild"

I hope this helped!

Craig (Squid)