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Curious about Zimmerit on Tamiya kits???


RickC5

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Dragon has been producing some really nice versions of German WWII armor complete with Zimmerit! The molding/casting is exceptionally well done, with sharp edges and in very realistic patterns. :smiley20:

 

So I'm curious why Tamiya hasn't done something similar. Today I saw a kit of Tamiya's King Tiger with the Porsche turret at my LHS. Virtually every King Tiger with a Porsche turret (only about 50 were made) left the factory with a coat of Zimmerit. The Tamiya box art depicts Zimmerit, but my past experiences with Tamiya is that while there may be Zimmerit on the box art, there isn't any on the kit. I wasn't about to spend $50 and be disappointed yet again. :smiley19:

 

Any idea if Tamiya will ever produce any kits with Zimmerit? Seems to me they are missing the boat by not doing so, but that's just my opinion.

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Rick,

They are missing the boat on a lot more than that. I wish they or the other manufactures would make something other than another Sherman, Panzer IV, or paper Panzer and make something more wanted and appreciated. Dragon gets big kudos for releasing a newer Priest. Whether it will be worth it or not remains to be seen but it will be most welcome by this modeler.

 

Mark

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Not to change the subject (zimmerit panzers are not my cup of tea), but most of Tamiya's latest kits have been of the non-traditional variety. The Char Bis, UE carrier, JS-II and new Matilda come to mind as well as the inbound BT-7. While they have also updated a few more traditional subjects like the Panzer II & III.

 

Most of their Tiger/Panther line tends to be rehashes of their older kits slightly updated to skim some of the market shares from the newer Dragon kits. I mean, there are still some modelers out there that will buy a 20+ yr old Tamiya kit over a new tooled Dragon kit of the exact same subject and then lament online about getting an old kit. I see that on a monthly basis on various web sites.

 

As for the zimmerit patterns, it appears to be only a fairly recent arrival in 1/35 scale. I know I've been seeing zimmerit molded on surfaces of 1/72 scale tanks for years, almost 10 years going back to the AMC Bergetiger and the Dragon 1/72 scale kits. I think the oldest kit I know of with molded on zimmerit is the ancient retooled 1/48 scale Aurora Panther.

 

There are plenty of subjects I'd be interested in building if I didn't have to deal with adding zimmerit. It's either expensive resin or PE or time consuming do-it-yourself with putty and an instrument.

 

If I did build a vehicle that required zimmerit, I'd probably just build it without adding it and be inaccurate.

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I highly recommend finding Cavalier zimmerit. It's resin, but very thin and easy to work with. Try it.

 

I built the Italeri Panther A a few years ago and ussed the Italeri zimmerit pieces that came in the box. It was OK, but out of scale and uniform.

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Rick,

They are missing the boat on a lot more than that. I wish they or the other manufactures would make something other than another Sherman, Panzer IV, or paper Panzer and make something more wanted and appreciated. Dragon gets big kudos for releasing a newer Priest. Whether it will be worth it or not remains to be seen but it will be most welcome by this modeler.

 

Mark

 

 

I wish Tamiya or DML would put out a Panzer II L - we know that DML's would be a little less costly than the Tasca version and would probably have a better track option. The Tasca kit is a little costly considering it comes with rubberband tracks...

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I think molded on Zimmeritt is a neat idea. However, having it already molded on in plastic makes it tough ( I assume) for the modeler that wishes to depict it in a damaged state. I (back when I did German armor) always did my own. Made damaging it easier to accomplish.

 

Mark

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I think molded on Zimmeritt is a neat idea. However, having it already molded on in plastic makes it tough ( I assume) for the modeler that wishes to depict it in a damaged state. I (back when I did German armor) always did my own. Made damaging it easier to accomplish.

 

Mark

 

I agree about the "damage" as several of my earlier attempts at using thin resin Zimmerit resulted in quite a bit of unintended battle damage. LOL! I currently have a couple of Dragon kits with the molded-on Zimmerit, and I thought I would try using a combo of dremel tool and new xacto blade to simulate some missing Zimmerit.

 

As far as the seemingly odd choices for new kit releases these days, I'm can only assume that the various manufacturers are simply trying to provide some new material to improve their market share. I somehow doubt that spending R & D monies to develop an entirely new release of an older subject (Panzer IV, Tiger, Panther, etc.) would be very cost effective, even though we would sure like to see Tamiya do just that.

 

OTOH, there are so many vehicles out there that have yet to be released in plastic, like soft-skinned trucks, that I also wonder about their thought processes in releasing so many of the "paper Panzers" as mentioned by Mark. Sure, they're interesting--sort of, but heck, they never saw actual service. Personally, I would like to see some new kits of US WWII trucks that are only offered in resin at this time, or not at all. IBG recently released some new kits of early German WWII trucks that are nicely done.

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Rick,

I completly agree! The CUCV (Chevy pick-up) was probably the most widely used civilian vehicle done for the military. The amount of conversions that could be accomplished is HUGE. I know that because of the licensing issues that might be a hinderance but I think the ability to do a base vehicle woudl allow so many different variations.

 

Mark

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Rick,

 

As a lover of Tamiya kits, both new and old, I must say that you are right about Tamiya not adding molded on Zimmerit. But I perfer it not added on. For one I am one of those modelers that likes to add my own. Either with after market photo etch or slapping the putty on and molding it. If you look at German AFV with Zimmerit you will see 1) there are different patterens of zimmerit and 2) most offen the paste gets dinged and damaged in the field. Sometimes by being hit or running into something or by small arms fire/ shell hits. I suppose you could sand down the areas tthat you what to have this look with molded on zimmerit, but for the real depth noting beats adding it yourself.

 

Molded on or using PE gives you a factor fresh look, but when you can add your own you can get the pattern you want/need for modeling a AFV that has been in the field.

 

I really do not know the answer as why Tamiya does not add molded on zimmerit, but maybe this is one or the reason.

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Rick,

 

As a lover of Tamiya kits, both new and old, I must say that you are right about Tamiya not adding molded on Zimmerit. But I perfer it not added on. For one I am one of those modelers that likes to add my own. Either with after market photo etch or slapping the putty on and molding it. If you look at German AFV with Zimmerit you will see 1) there are different patterens of zimmerit and 2) most offen the paste gets dinged and damaged in the field. Sometimes by being hit or running into something or by small arms fire/ shell hits. I suppose you could sand down the areas tthat you what to have this look with molded on zimmerit, but for the real depth noting beats adding it yourself.

 

Molded on or using PE gives you a factor fresh look, but when you can add your own you can get the pattern you want/need for modeling a AFV that has been in the field.

 

I really do not know the answer as why Tamiya does not add molded on zimmerit, but maybe this is one or the reason.

 

I realize lots of modelers want the option of adding Zimmerit themselves. I have done so myself, but I have yet to be totally pleased with the results. Either the after-market stuff doesn't quite fit properly, or the result isn't worth the pain. And I also realize that simulating battle damage is more difficult with the molded-on stuff.

 

Of course, this is all just my personal opinion, but what I would like Tamiya to do is simply provide the option of buying a kit with or without the molded-on Zimmerit, like Dragon does. What really frustrates me is that Tamiya's box art shows the vehicle with Zimmerit, but of course, there is none when you open the box--molded-on or glue-on. Maybe they could offer a kit with BOTH sets of parts--those with and those without Zimmerit and let the builder choose what he wishes to use during the build. I realize this would increase the cost of the kit(s), but it would be an interesting option.

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I realize lots of modelers want the option of adding Zimmerit themselves. I have done so myself, but I have yet to be totally pleased with the results. Either the after-market stuff doesn't quite fit properly, or the result isn't worth the pain. And I also realize that simulating battle damage is more difficult with the molded-on stuff.

 

Of course, this is all just my personal opinion, but what I would like Tamiya to do is simply provide the option of buying a kit with or without the molded-on Zimmerit, like Dragon does. What really frustrates me is that Tamiya's box art shows the vehicle with Zimmerit, but of course, there is none when you open the box--molded-on or glue-on. Maybe they could offer a kit with BOTH sets of parts--those with and those without Zimmerit and let the builder choose what he wishes to use during the build. I realize this would increase the cost of the kit(s), but it would be an interesting option.

 

 

What gets me even more is what the cost would be of a Tamiya kit. LEt's take the DML Panther G with Zim, for example. That kit retails for about 55.00. Can you imagine what the Tamiya kit equivalent with zim would be? I would seriously not be surprised to see an MRSP of at least 75.00 on it. Look at the recent Jagdtiger mid production kit - they threw in an Otto Carius figure and a motorcycle and the MSRP is 99.00! Granted, it's a beautiful kit, but I don't know why someone wouldnt go for the DML equivalent kit which comes with a good bit of PE along with the turned barrel for about half the price.

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