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  Reconstruct the Zimmerit

by Gino Zaccari

The zimmerit it is a chemical type of paste cement of which the exact composition is ignored since the factories in Germany where it came produced have gone destroyed in the strafings with the relati to you plans. We know that it had the scope not to supply adhesion to the magnetic mines that it makes enemy applied on the armor. The zimmerit it came directly applied in paste from the factories manufacturers of the wagons, subsequently of the seams conferred the look knurled that see in the photos. The best period for this material is between the end of the '43 and all the '44 after, this production has met serious problems, and often it came applied directly from the troops.

For the realization of the zimmerit on a real tiger tank (in this case fujimi a 1/76) , such be employed much thin layer of epoxy putty for not to influence too much on the total thickness of the parts on which it goes applied, proceeded in the following way: in the first place the putty is prepared stirring the two components and leaving to rest a ten of minuteren becouse to reduce the adesive enables; in the meantime a prepared a base of plasticard with a thickness around to the millimeter, spread over it a paint-brush a layer of vasellina oil, to avoid that the putty joins to it, takes pencil cylindrical and repeat the same work, now taken the putty with the matita and used it same a rolling-pin for spread until obtaining a thin and uniform layer, fact that cleans up the stucco with a flock soaked of solvent. It is removed very delicately (avoiding that tears) from the support in plasticard and are placed over the armor of the wagon making to join it to the several ones shapes of the same one.

The next step it's to establish with precision the width of the heels that constitute the zimmerit, for facility can take like comparison a part of the tank that approaches for dimension (to you watches it in the photo of the box it), as an example in the case of the real tiger has the base of the light on the frontal part of the hull; is taken the same piece in the kit and measure it and the game is made. Now we must realize a little stroke in plasticard that in the final part it has the same width of the measure that we have previously taken, this little stroke will be used like a species of wedge in order to reproduce the zimmerit on the stucco (is important levigar removing it the chines advanced and inferior). For avoided to go storti we can help with a ruler made with plasticard.

The job is in complex boring enough but it confers to the tank a more realistic aspect.