Panzerkampfwagen V Panther Ausf. A

[Stuart]

My Tamiya Tiger actually a description of the method in the instructions...

[BlackSheep214]

Yeah.... watch the rivet counter say it's all wrong size

[speedgraflex]

That is a cool post, Stuart. I’m not much of a rivet counter, but I do think that would work well!

[Stikpusher]

Doing the grid pattern Zimmerit on a Panther is fairly simple. Spread on a thin layer of putty one area at a time, give it a few minutes to set up, then add the grid hatch marks using a needle, scribing tool or something similar. Once the putty has dried and cured you can sand away any raised ridges to give it the proper look. The waffle pattern used in Stug.III’s is the hardest to do, needing a stamping tool. The ridged patterns get easier with practice and the proper tools.

[Stuart]

That is a cool post, Stuart. I’m not much of a rivet counter, but I do think that would work well!

I hope so, as I need to do some!!!

One thing I have noticed with this sticky back stuff, is whilst it's great for the large flat surfaces, it's crap on small areas like hatches and around the gun mantle. It's too stiff, and isn't quite the right shape in some areas. I do actually think it would be easier to use the putty method in some cases.

Doing the grid pattern Zimmerit on a Panther is fairly simple. Spread on a thin layer of putty one area at a time, give it a few minutes to set up, then add the grid hatch marks using a needle, scribing tool or something similar. Once the putty has dried and cured you can sand away any raised ridges to give it the proper look. The waffle pattern used in Stug.III’s is the hardest to do, needing a stamping tool. The ridged patterns get easier with practice and the proper tools.

Hey Carlos, maybe you can clarify something for me - when you say 'putty', do you mean something like Milliputt or what I would call basic filler?

[Stikpusher]

Stuart, I am referring to filler putties like Squadron, Tamiya, AK, etc. Thenstuff that usually comes in a squeeze tube. It’s definitely a technique that needs practice, but is not too difficult to learn. With the grid pattern on Panthers being the easiest to do.

[Stuart]

Okay, so what I'd call basic filler - got that. I've seen people using two part stuff like Tamiya Epoxy and Milliputt, but I could use the single part stuff too, that would be great. You can get rollers and other such tools I see, but I think I could quite easily make up a tool from a scrap bit of plasticard.

I might bung some filler on a test mule and have a go.

Thanks Carlos!

[Stikpusher]

On my early attempts, I used a small flat tip screwdriver to make the ridges. Later I bought the Tamiya PE tool for the ridges. Each tool has its’ own learning curve.

[Stuart]

Tamiya PE tool - is that one of those scraper types.

[Stikpusher]

Yes, you use it like a rake across the putty to create the ridges, jogging it slightly every few mm to create the perpendicular breaks in the pattern. On most German tanks using Zimm, the ridges were horizontal while the breaks were vertical. However on the Panther, for some reason the ones that used the ridged style Zimm, the ridges were vertical while the breaks were horizontal… certainly more of a challenge to apply.