Since everyone else seems to be doing one finished

[wbill76]

You gave it a good shot Mark, have to agree with you on the less-then-impressive results (not a reflection of your skills though!). Looking forward to seeing the hot-knife in action!

[Deleted]

Thats too bad Mark that the Tami zimm didnt work for you . I well , at least it peels off !

[reserve]

Andy-Ah, it's only plastic...one could cut chunks out of the Tammy zim for damage and get away with it I think

Bill-Actually, it does reflect on my skills, at least concerning working with Tammy zim

Carl-Well ya never know 'till ya try, at least I did not waste a pile of money on it


So the hot knife experiment has occured, and






I remember it looking better. Perhaps because that's the way I did it in the eighties when it was either that or putty. In any case, I don't like the look I got. I Surrender! Anyone know who retails Cavalier in the US?

Regards,
Mark

[Deleted]

Bummer ..........

I looked at Sprue bros. and they have cavalier but not for the Tiger I .

[deafpanzer]

I checked eBay... only one for Cavalier and more than eight for Atak so you might want to look at Atak too? Thought I'd let you know...

[bbd468]

Hey Mark, A valiant effort indeed...its not that bad bro, but i understand goin' the other way. Your brave for tryin' it though and my hats off to ya for that! Should i come across a Zimm set ill post here or PM ya. I have a friend who's a wounded warrior from Iraq war and he Has A TON of AM stuff that he sells as a side hobby cause hes lost alot of dexterity in his hands he doesnt build like he used to...same gentleman i got the Marder from. Anyways...ill ask him see what he has.

Gary

[wbill76]

I'd suggest going the Atak route. Like Gary, kudos to you for trying the hot knife method!

[reserve]

Appreciate the commiseration, guys

The gouged up rear panel is not the disaster it may appear, a bit of putty and sanding and it could be built bare hull and no one would be the wiser. But, seeing as all the late Tiger 1's had zim this will not happen; I may not be a rivet counter but such an omission would be too much.

In my little world the good news is I found an outfit up in Canada somewhere called the Barrel Store, or Barrel Depot who advertises having Atak zim for the Dragon Tiger. The bad news is another stalled build, and I hope I don't have to cut up the turret to install a replacement mantlet which I suspect I will find in the set. Guess I'll be taking a break until the stuff gets here, I am NOT going to start something else 'till the Tiger's finished.


Regards,
Mark

[Mence]

I've tried my own zim a few times Mark and if its any consolation, yours looks waaay better than any of my attempts.

Looks like you found a store for the pre done stuff so will be here to see how that goes...

[spud]

Atak Zim is very nice, Home made Zimm sucks it never seems to turn out how you think it will look or should.

[reserve]

Thanks Mence back in the seventies or eighties I did not really know what zim looked like so at the time I thought this method looked right

Spud you're quite right about homemade zim. I've seem some guys pull off the putty method quite well but that ain't me

Waitin for the delivery guy now. Will post when arrival occurs

Regards,
Mark

[wbill76]

Hang in there Mark! You can always use the in-between time to practice some techniques, do research, or just hang out!

[Deleted]

I agree Mark the grooves should be an easy fix . Hope you dont have to wait too long .
By the way its feeling like spring over here on the other side of the Rockies and Bitter roots ...............40 degrees today !!!! I was out trimming apple tree today .Guess i got that idea from Andy's dio bush trimming .

[reserve]

Well it's a nice midwinter day in Montana with a light breeze-20 mph gusting to 25 blowing. I found something in a plastic bag flapping from the mailbox








so this one's rolling again. It may be that I'll not have to butcher up the turret to get the new mantlet and escape hatch on we'll see. There's always putty.

Regards,
Mark

[Deleted]

Good ! Nice to see this one has the new zim to get rolling again Mark !

[AndyArgent]

the new zimm looks great.

[wbill76]

You're going to love that Atak set Mark, nice to see this one's rolling again!

[reserve]

Thanks guys

Carl-the shipping box had a bunch of French writing on it so I expect The Barrel Store is somewhere in Quebec. I thought I was going to be waiting much longer than this

Andy and Bill-it is nice looking stuff, well worth the cost and delay as long as I do not bungle it

Well it cuts like butter and forms to rounded surfaces like paper I like I like. The right turret side sheet did not properly align the holes for the spare track brackets, no biggie but the left one is right on. The only part I don't care for is sanding the backs of the sheets, I get a bit nervy while doing it but so far nothing bad has happenned...must be new material nerves. I guess the only thing now is what kind of goo to stick it on with, got some five minute epoxy also gorilla glue. Comments anyone?

Regards,
Mark

[406 Silverado]

Some nice clamp work there Mark. Tiggy looks good in her colors.

[Deleted]

Feb 12, 2013 12:16:34 GMT -5 reserve said:

Thanks guys

Carl-the shipping box had a bunch of French writing on it so I expect The Barrel Store is somewhere in Quebec. I thought I was going to be waiting much longer than this
Regards,
Mark

There proudly Canadian so that sounds correct . Looks like you got the good stuff this time !

[wbill76]

Mark, I'll let you in on a little secret...you don't have to sand the back of the resin sheets at all for them to adhere properly. I never do...I normally will use Gator Grip glue for the large panels since it has a good work time and it never has a problem holding the panels. A little CA gel if needed to tack down edges and voila!

If you are going to sand the stuff, far better to do it as a whole sheet and not try to do it as separate pieces.

[reserve]

Ha now I find out about sanding...keep that for future reference I will. The stuff's on now











This needs to be edge filled yet and as this is the third zim attempt it will also be the last I am tired of fooling around with this stage. We'll see what paint does within the next day or so...


Regards,
Mark

[deafpanzer]

WOW! What a huge improvement over Tamiya 'paper' Zimmerit!!! Bet you are happy this time?

[wbill76]

3rd time's the charm Mark, looking good! Definitely understand you wanting to move on...bet it feels good to get it over this particular hump!

[bigjohn]

The Atak Zim looks pretty sweet!

[wing_nut]

Good choice... looks great.

[reserve]

Hi gents

Andy and Bill-you're both correct on both counts this seems to be moving with the speed of uphill glacial travel

John-yessir the Atak stuff is very well cast as well as pretty easy to work with, I think I'm converted


I could not stand it, got the airbrush out and gave it a squirt














Not perfect but I can live with it. A few flaws still present that I can fix as I see them, and it would have helped if I could have gotten the side fenders off before applying the sheets but they were stuck fast.

I failed to mention that the replacement mantlet was an exact copy of the kit part should not be surprised by this but I was. This made things much easier since I did not have to cut the turret apart to install the new one. Yes I am glad zim is over, I am actually looking forward to roadwheels if that gives ya an idea


Regards,
Mark

[wing_nut]

Nice looking base coat. If I didn't know better it looks like if it were a Tamiya kit with molded zim in bare plastic.

[deafpanzer]

PERFECT!!! Jeez, I can't wait to build something with Zimm... thanks a bunch!

[Deleted]

Now that is good to see that the final zim turned out so well Mark !