PANTHER 111, 116TH WINDHUND Dv, HOUFFALIZE 1944

[Herr Dr. Professor]

"dedicated Dremel plastic cutting disks": Tiger6: I didn't know there were specific plastic cutting disks. All along I have been using the ones for metal. Thanks!
Well, Painless, as to "preferably with swap out lenses for different strengths of magnification," a decade ago, I just got the highest strength lenses and got used to them quickly. Of course, the nuns told me that I'd go blind...."

[HERMAN BIX]

Those Nuns will be right on most occasions.................you've all seen The Blues Brothers

Ive been afflicted with a head cold & raging sinusitis, so cant see out of one eye, and have more snot pouring out of me than a spoiled private school kid with his allowance reduced

Been doing my 'myopic best' to try to figure out how to attach the Atak mantlet(with the fancy zimmerit pattern)
Plan to use the original H/L mantlet heavily dissected to bond into the Atak one to allow a modified attachment that is robust and looks right.
I have an H/L barrel left over from my Pantherdozer project that is a better option than the one it came with, just needs a sleeve & mount the servo links to be a winner
An H/L 6.1s control unit will replace the 6.0 version it came with(and that will retrofit one of the others)

[Tiger6]

"dedicated Dremel plastic cutting disks": Tiger6: I didn't know there were specific plastic cutting disks. All along I have been using the ones for metal.

https://www.dremeleurope.com/za/en/drem ... 352-ocs-p/ Note the mandrel has to be purchased separately for extra inconvenience

[Tiger6]

Plan to use the original H/L mantlet heavily dissected to bond into the Atak one to allow a modified attachment that is robust and looks right.
I have an H/L barrel left over from my Pantherdozer project that is a better option than the one it came with, just needs a sleeve & mount the servo links to be a winner
An H/L 6.1s control unit will replace the 6.0 version it came with(and that will retrofit one of the others)

Don't have a picture handy, but when I did mine I used 2 brass hexagonal computer motherboard mounting pillars, screwed to the HL inner mantlet with suitable M3 screws, and the other (threaded) end jammed into blobs of miliput, which I then pushed the ATAK mantlet onto and wiggled around until it fit right. Sounds pretty cowboy, but it hasn't fallen off yet

Also, maybe I missed you saying you had one already, but the ATAK kit assumes a Tamiya barrel, not a HL one which is completely the wrong shape to fit snugly into the ATAK mantlet

[HERMAN BIX]

Nope, no TAMIYA barrel here !!
Going to make a sleeve and use the nose seal off the hl to conceal the difference!

[HERMAN BIX]

Got the Atak mantlet secured and dressed to suit the HL set up.
Cannibalised the H/L mantlet & fitted the remains inside the Atak and its rock solid.
Carefully sliced the nose seal off the front of the HL mantlet to fit in place once the barrel is in place.

Been doing the Atak zimmerit now. It’s for a TAMIYA panther, but the dimensions are really close.
1mm difference in center lines on the rear plate, and 2mm on the front glacis plate due to the Kugelblend .
Freestyle under the sponsons, chipped the edges & im happy with the progress.

Still loads to fit, but I’m getting the hang of it now.

[PainlessWolf]

Herman,
Some real progress there, my Friend! I have to do the ATAK zimmerit on a Porsche KT coming up soon so it is good to see that it works! Following along.
regards,
Painless

[Raminator]

Certainly easier than the hot screwdriver, right? The chips and edges look really authentic, I think it'll all turn out great when it's painted. Would you do another tank with the ATAK zimmerit after this?

[HERMAN BIX]

Herman,
Some real progress there, my Friend! I have to do the ATAK zimmerit on a Porsche KT coming up soon so it is good to see that it works! Following along.
regards,
Painless

Well, it works, yes.
There is a bit to making it work though.
Here's a thought..................with the Tamiya Panther now seemingly discontinued, wouldnt Atak get an idea to make their zimmerit kit to suit H/L Panthers ??
Just thinking that if I was a business that relied on sales volume to live, that market forces should be recognised & adapted to ??
Its great stuff, but its fussy to apply.

[HERMAN BIX]

Certainly easier than the hot screwdriver, right? The chips and edges look really authentic, I think it'll all turn out great when it's painted. Would you do another tank with the ATAK zimmerit after this?

In this case with the different pattern & cross-cut spall lines, it is easier to replicate than using the hot screwdriver.
But, as is always the case with various mods, you pay Peter by robbing Paul.
The time to trim, test prep, and blend the epoxy for finish is also a time soak.............
On a H/L tank, I can say that a screwdriver will give similar results, but the pattern in this case would be much harder to do.
On a Tamiya, the screwdriver is a hell of a lot harder due to the material difference.

I have a Tamy Tiger early to convert to a late(with zimmerit) to do, and the shortage of Atak kits is getting worse, so I think that as a Tiger has what I call conventional pattern zimmerit, I will very likely do it by the hot screwdriver method.
I used a home made stamp and Revell putty on my StuG build & it looks fine.

Really, its all to do with the pattern/style of zimmerit that is required which will dictate the method by which its done for my mind.
The zimmerit on the mantlet was the only reason I didnt modify the H/L mantlet instead of making the kit Atak one fit.........

Put simply.............yes I would- depending on the tank, kit availability, and pattern.