I finally started my Jagdpanther which has been sitting for a few months. I am going to do an early JP with zimmerit. This is the first time I have tried the zimmerit so be kind. I am happy with the way it is coming out so far. I just finished installing the electronics and it runs great so far. I still have not decided if I want to try and change the mantlet cover to a welded one though. I was thinking of sanding the bolts down and filling the areas with putty. It will be a little different, but overall look well I think. I might just leave it as is with the bolted version. I saw some pics of one on a thread that looked great with it and the zimmerit. Well here are some pics so far. Let me know what you think.


Carl

Looks great. Post more pictures as you go along.[sm=thumbs_up.gif]

csal,
Looking good so far, I'll be interested to watch this thread as you progress, please make sure you post lots of pics.

I recently finished my Panther G and had added the Daimler Benz criss cross zim pattern as well. I hadn't seen many people attempt that pattern. To create it

I ended up making a custom tool. What material did you use for your zim paste, and what did you you use to apply it?

Squid

Looks great!! [sm=thumbs_up.gif] The zimmerit is fantastic! As streetsquid (great name btw!!) said, please post loads and loads of pics of your progress. I've pretty much finished my Jagdpanther but wasnt brave enough to try zimmerit so went for a late variant instead!

Rich

Hi Squid,

I used a multipurpose joint compound for the paste. I was going to use squadron putty, but found it dried too quick for my liking. I read on some sites about using the drywall paste so I thought I would give it a try. I used a putty knife to apply and then used a knife to make the pattern. The main concern I had with the drywall compound is that it can wash off. I practiced on another model and then primered it and it seems to hold up well after this. I will post more pics as I go. I hopefull will work more on the upper hull tonight. I think I will go with the welded mantle cover so I will post picks of that as well.

Carl

Carl,
That's how I did my Panther as well.

I used water based vinyl wall spackle that you can buy at any DIY or home center (Lowe's - Home Depot) applied it with a 1" wide flexible putty knife. Then using a home-made tool I created the criss-cross pattern.

The fact that the paste could be easily removed or washed off was a plus. In fact I used it to my advantage to create "damaged" or "chipped" effects to the zimmerit. I had posted a pretty extensive thread on the build as I worked through it, you might find something in it helpful, I had quite a few responses. You can find it under "most active" the title was Panther G rebuild or click the link below if interested.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_72...tm.htm#7232225

Here are a few pics of the tool I created as well a a few shots of the Panther. I hope this helps at least a little.

Regards

Craig (Squid)

Wow...the last pic looks very realistic...Great job

Thanks Bronze,
There are more detailed photos in my build, it was pretty extensive.

Carl, depending on which type of exhaust you choose to go with, I had pretty good success using salt weathering technique to rust the "can" type exhaust stacks included with the Panther G kit.

Squid

Street Squid,
Sorry I did not reply sooner, but it is hard to get time to sit here in front of the computer. I remember now that I saw your thread on your Panther build and this is where I got the idea for the drywall compound! Thanks for sharing that. I really enjoyed reading and seeing pics of your build. Also want to thank Posion Porkchop and Pcomm1 for their help. I got a lot of good ideas from y'all. I am planning on trying the salt technique some on the pipes and see how it comes out. I am finished with the build and will show some pre painting pics later. Hopefully I will get to paint some today, but it is looking like it will rain here. Also as an update, I am going with the stock mantlet cover. I tried to fabricate on and it did not come out well and I am too chicken to experiment with the stock one. I have been running it and it runs great so far. I will hopefully be able to post some pics later today and also some on my T34 conversion to HL with DBC and DBU (they work great!).

Carl

Hi Csal
I am just learning about the different manufacturers out there. Is your tank an HL? or a Tamya? It looks like there is aluminum bracing on the hull. Thanks

It's a Tam

Only Tam make a JagdPanther (though some people convert HL Panthers into JP's)

Hi ailog,
It is a Tamiya. I have been working on the painting today and have the dark yellow and brown on. I am trying "Silly Putty" for a mask over the yellow. I will add some over the brown before I paint the green. So far everything works great except my maching gun LED was out so I am sending that to Tamiya USA to see if they will get me a new one. That is not a big deal though. Everything else works well. I have enjoyed building this so far.

Okay here are some more pics. I started the cammo. Now I have to tone it down a bit with some weathering and maybe filters

Paint looks very sharp csal, nice job[sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif]

Gary

How's the JP, any issues with sprockets etc?