Building a Mid-Production Normandy Tiger 1

[billpe]

The damage looks good and real! Looking at your work I'm really tempted to give it a shot as well, the results are fantastic.

I guess its a little too late but it might have worked to spray the plastic on the lowest plate section with the primer colour before applying the zimmerit (would it hold on the paint though?) so when it chips through driving it, it would leave natural looking wear and tear marks.

[tanks_for_the_memory]

And so on we go...

Overall the Magic Sculp gives a much more pleasing look than the old Taigen zimmerit....jpg (36.2 KiB) Viewed 5785 times

Now it was time to add zimmerit to the glacis plate. I thought that this was going to be a lot more fiddly than the lower bow plate - but actually it was not much more of a challenge.

Again, I wish I had done this earlier - I had to prise away my front headlight and mount before pushing it back into the putty once it had been laid underneath.

Once again the Magic Sculp was rolled flat before pressing into place.jpg (35.11 KiB) Viewed 5792 times

The putty was then smoothed using damp fingers.jpg (29.07 KiB) Viewed 5792 times

And then trimmed to fit.jpg (31.44 KiB) Viewed 5792 times

The pattern was then added using the stamps - the small one comes in handy around details such as the bow machine gun.jpg (31.43 KiB) Viewed 5792 times

Not all Tigers had the circular pattern around the kubelblende - but it certainly adds interest!.jpg (30.87 KiB) Viewed 5792 times

I then added chipped zimmerit where the AP shot has hit the glacis plate.jpg (30.35 KiB) Viewed 5792 times

Note the gap in the zimmerit above the driver's visor for the sliding shutter - and the chipped out square for the divisional badge.jpg (31.23 KiB) Viewed 5792 times

Overall a much more pleasing look than the old Taigen zimmerit....jpg (33.93 KiB) Viewed 5792 times

Billpe, that's an interesting idea - but I feel the paint would risk the Magic Sculp not sticking properly. Anyway, if this dries like the lot I did a couple of days ago - i.e. rock hard - it should stay in place however bad my driving!

[lister fiend]

Hi tftm,
Looking good there
In your opinion how is magic sculpt better than milliput?
Cheers
Micky

[billpe]

Looking great.

[tanks_for_the_memory]

Hi tftm,
Looking good there
In your opinion how is magic sculpt better than milliput?
Cheers
Micky

To answer your question Micky, I would say that Magic Sculp spreads/rolls more easily and more evenly than Milliput - although perhaps the finer grade of the latter would work as well (I have never tried it).

[Markocaster]

Fantastic detail, the zim looks very realistic

[lister fiend]

thank you, i might just give it a go,
you've certainly got a nice neat & uniform looking pattern.
yes looks very tempting

[tanks_for_the_memory]

Applying zimmerit to the hull sides

The overall finish.jpg (31.24 KiB) Viewed 5713 times

Well, onward with the brave or the foolish I suppose...

The hull sides are a yawning expanse of armour plate just crying out for zimmerit - but I was almost crying out once I had finished this lot. At least this time I was able to make the zimmerit showing below the missing side skirt blend in perfectly with the rest.

I'm not sure why, but the Magic Sculp didn't behave quite as well as before - perhaps it was the fact that the afternoon had been dry and hot (for a change). Although I rolled it out it was very sticky and so I ended up pressing quite roughly-shaped pieces along the hull sides before using my fingers to spread it out. As a result the thickness (or thinness) was not always as consistent as I would have liked. The top edge is, arguably, the most important place to get the thickness right and here I was pretty content.

By far the largest area are the side plates - and somewhat recklessly I decided to to one side in one go.jpg (26.28 KiB) Viewed 5713 times

Spreading the putty evenly is much more of a challenge.jpg (28.79 KiB) Viewed 5713 times

Here it's mostly on - but has yet to be trimmed, especially along the top edge.jpg (30.42 KiB) Viewed 5713 times

Another important point if, like me, you have kept most of the moulded on side skirts (no, I am NOT going to scrap them all and replace them with the Voyager set this time) is to ensure that the zimmerit doesn't overlap their top edge too much - the illusion you need to preserve here is that the skirts have been bolted on after the paste has been applied.

Unfortunately, something I forgot in my haste and excitement were the attachment points for the missing side skirt. A schoolboy error. It would have been so easy to have pressed these into the putty whilst it was still wet. I didn't and so I have chipped away small rectangles to add these later.

Anyway, I will let the remaining pictures do the talking. Next, of course, I am going to attempt the trickier port side - where there are all those fiddly track cable mounts to be incorporated. Yikes!

For some reason - probably reading habits - I tend to work from left to right with the indentations.jpg (27.41 KiB) Viewed 5713 times

Working gradually along started to give me an aching shoulder - but eventually it's finished.jpg (34.61 KiB) Viewed 5713 times

It's very important to keep the pattern vertical despite the gradual rake of the armour plate.jpg (28.18 KiB) Viewed 5713 times

I am much happier with the scale thickness here - especially along the top edge.jpg (31.38 KiB) Viewed 5713 times

The final touch - after the putty had been allowed to cure for an hour or so - was to add the battle damage.jpg (33.09 KiB) Viewed 5713 times

Here there is a gouge - perhaps from a deflected shot - to give some explanation for the lost side skirt.jpg (32.63 KiB) Viewed 5713 times

[HERMAN BIX]

Simply Wow.
That zim application & realism is breathtaking.
How was the compound by the time you got from back to front cured - wise ?

[billpe]

You're getting pretty good at the zimmerit stuff. Can I send you a tank...?:)