PANTHER 111, 116TH WINDHUND Dv, HOUFFALIZE 1944

[HERMAN BIX]

Enjoy your historical approach to each build adding these photos bring the piece to life

Thanks Mr Rainford, the 116th was a long serving unit that had loads of interesting vehicles,
In some ways it hard to model a real vehicle as there is a finite finish to its list of options, but at least this one has been fairly well recorded so I can reduce the chances of excessive “creative licence” !

[HERMAN BIX]

Ive just now given Mr Jnewboys product "Magic grime" a try on the lower hull sponsons & roadwheels.
I love it.
To qualify that, I am a heavy washer/weather-er rather than a subtle one, so it really makes things easier for me to get the look i want.
This being a slushy snow, slushy muddy undercarriage with a wet grubby upper frequently soiled by boots & usual detritus of combat.
I 'grime'd' the wheels in place on the tank, just to see how it would go.
Used a large. cheap, stiff bristled brush (not a toothbrush like is seen in the videos) and then makeup wipes (yeah, I know girls that dance-a LOT) to remove the residue and it was just like the videos to apply & remove.
An added easy effect is that the rubber tyres also take the grime well & it takes the gloss off the rubber giving an aged look.
The effect on Zimmerit is significant.
The stuff gets right into the crannies of the texture and still enables easy removal of any excess.
Getting the zimmerit to be consistently inconsistent if that makes sense was really easy too, but I will say its easy to apply too much,
like anything, practice makes perfect so I expect to get better at it as I go on.

I will let it dry overnight just to ensure its on properly, then perhaps give it a wipe over again just to check its behavior once fully dry.

Thanks Mr Newboy, its a great product for this kid down here

Pics when Im happy Ive got things right.

[BarryC]

Herman, you may make a Panther admirer out of me yet.
Awesome!!

Barry

[43rdRecceReg]

I may yet be a convert to 'Grime', so long as it's not called music. Following with great interest, HB. Zimmerit is a make-or-break option. I tend to go with the late 1944 iterations that didn't have Zimmerit, applied, simply because it's so hard to make it look convincing. Yours is truly exemplary

[HERMAN BIX]

I may yet be a convert to 'Grime', so long as it's not called music. Following with great interest, HB. Zimmerit is a make-or-break option. I tend to go with the late 1944 iterations that didn't have Zimmerit, applied, simply because it's so hard to make it look convincing. Yours is truly exemplary

Thanks Mr 43RR, there sure is a lot of chipped & missing bits I need to dress, took that road rather than spending days placing panzer putty mask all over it . I intend on carefully hand painting the missing zim bits with the appropriate colour just before the seal goes over it.
I hope to get the crosses on this weekend so a bit of a lull in the action so to speak.
Cant seal it until they are on.

Once again, the Atak zimmerit set is top quality, but really does need a bit of "fettling" as you guys say up there to make it fit.
mr Soeren did a fantastic Panther a while ago that demonstrates the problem better than I have, its just a shame that Atak dont wise up & make the stuff to suit Taigen or H/L tanks too, its just smart market access to me

[HERMAN BIX]

Herman, you may make a Panther admirer out of me yet.
Awesome!!

Barry

Thanks Mr C, hey, at least in your stellar years you still have loads of time to do one
Perhaps by then Atak might actually make zimmerit to fit a HL tank

[HERMAN BIX]

Camo done,
Still a long way to go before it’s a finished project though.
Turns out my typical man-atude to just push through an injury & she’ll be right, I’m in a cast, 3 breaks in my ankle , a terse warning from the medical profession that I could have punched a piece of bone out of my stupid skin had I gone on much longer
I have 3 weeks of being a model patient because if I don’t get the bone to heal I’m on for an operation, pins and screws they say. So C 3 weeks to show improvement then another few to heal
Mr 43RR you will be well familiar with this little escapade !

Despite its messy appearance, this was the most difficult paint job I’ve done yet.
Hard to keep consistent width on each squiggly run,not too much, not too little, is the colour right, how would a 16th sized real human apply the paint ??
Constant comparison to the real pictures of the unit so I could keep the vision across the whole tank.
As I can’t drive I have to do my own crosses, so that’s thrown me a bit.

[Raminator]

If I can offer some constructive criticism on the camo: it's absolutely mint. You've nailed it, 100%. I'm looking forward to see how the Magic Grime enhances the zimmerit patterns!

a terse warning from the medical profession that I could have punched a piece of bone out of my stupid skin had I gone on much longer

Is that a direct quote?

All the best for a speedy and complete recovery Herman, hopefully you'll be able to make the most of some enforced time off your feet!

[SCHWEREPANZER]

Col. Bix,

You needn't fret over the nagging questions whether you've been faithful to the 'real thing' or the width of your camo lines. Be assured, you've hit the sweet spot and have winner.

Take care of that ankle! We don't need tankers hobbling over track pins and wheel bolts.

[HERMAN BIX]

If I can offer some constructive criticism on the camo: it's absolutely mint. You've nailed it, 100%. I'm looking forward to see how the Magic Grime enhances the zimmerit patterns!

a terse warning from the medical profession that I could have punched a piece of bone out of my stupid skin had I gone on much longer

Is that a direct quote?

All the best for a speedy and complete recovery Herman, hopefully you'll be able to make the most of some enforced time off your feet!

Thanks Mr Ram, its one thing to feel ok about your own effort, quite another to have it validated by your peers.
The Magic Grime is going to be ages, cant do it until the paint is sealed & that wont go until the crosses are on.
Plus, applying it on a Panther is going to be a different story to a virtually plain-sided King tiger for example.
There is so much detail on both sides that the wiping off needs to be done in a super careful way.
Of course that will determine the degree to which its put on, I dont want to over do the upper.

And yes, that was a quote.............she was very direct in her assessment of my decision to try to push through it.
in fact, she did question broadly why we males seem to think that by ignoring health issues they will miraculously disappear
I believe the term "cave Man mentality" was also used to describe our reluctance to seek medical attention