Zim question

[jackalope]

So after getting my new Henchel turret for my King Tiger and having some bits on order from Tanksde I'm considering adding a zim coating to the tank. After receiving Palepainters Tiger with his zim coating and seeing the damage it suffered I don't think I want to make my own as it seems prone to chip off, so I found a zim set from Tamiya and one from Atek and am wondering which would be better? My build is of a King Tiger from the 505th and in looking at their photos I think its something that the tank needs but I've never tried this before so I'm a little concerned about screwing it up and messing up my tank so any help, how to's, tips, dos and don'ts are welcome.

Thanks guys.

[MichaelC]

jack, I have used both and the Tamiya ones are basically stick-ons. If you compared them to putty or Atek zims you will be disappointed as there really isn't much texture to speak off, almost like a really thick sticker. I am not a skill guy so I find the Atek zims, although pricy, quite doable. You basically get the matching set, fit, trim (if necessary) and superglue/CA glue them on. Here is a picture of the Atek zims on my Asiatam Elephant:

MichaelC.

[jarndice]

I have to fess up, I have never nor am I planning to put Zimmerit on any Tank of mine BUT on all the Tank websites that I know of from Australia through the United States to Germany and beyond, almost without exception "ATEK" gets the thumbs up as the best commercially available product out there. shaun

[billpe]

Get the Atak kit. The Tamiya set is rubbish whereas the Atak kit is excellent and well worth the investment, it looks really good. I have a set on my KT done as a tank from 505 - all 505 King Tigers had zimmerit.

I had no luck with CA glue putting them on though, they came off again pretty quickly so I used epoxy and that worked out much better. The backs need to roughed up with a large grit sand paper. They're easy enough to cut to fit, there are guide lines and are perforated where to cut and all the fixture and fitting holes are already perforated. Cutting out the square on the turret for the 505 charging knight is was easy, just use a very sharp knife and fill gaps with putty.

The only thing I found with this kit which needed some concentration is where the skirts meet. Unless you're going to put on seperate skirts on mounts, you'll need to cut them. Don't worry though, if you make a mistake it's easy to fix with something like miliput and there's quite allot of off cuts for small areas

[jackalope]

Ok so the Tamiya kit is out, I'm not trying to make my own out of miliput so it looks like the Atek set will be the way to go. Thanks guys. I thought as much about the 505th all being coated but I didn't know for sure thanks Bill!

What is the Atek stuff made out of? Foam? Plastic? Bill you say epoxy is the best thing to use any special kind or will the JB Weld I have work ok? And I guess once its put on THATS IT cause if I use JB Weld I can't imagine it coming off.....EVER!

[billpe]

I think it's a type of styrene. You get some resin parts as well for the MG on the hull and turret door. I used gorilla glue I think on mine, it was quite a while ago so can't exactly remember.

[MichaelC]

jack, Atek is really really thin sheets of plastic as far as I can tell. JB Weld should work as they are like superglue. I have also use Gorilla liquid as well they just take longer to bond.

[jackalope]

Awesome guys thanks. Now to order it.