What putty do you guys use for zimmerit? I found out that the carpenter's interior wood filler from Elmer's (yes, the elmer's glue manufacturer) which I bought it for PhP 59.75 at Ace hardware can be an alternative. It's cheaper than the tamiya putty.

At the moment I'm at the testing stage.... I think it's sturdy because once dry it did not fall off from the plastic (although its for wood). I evenI tried hitting it on the table to check if it would crack or fall off from the plastic, but fortunately it did not.

Does anyone have any experience using the wood filler as a substitute?

My first try with Zimmerit was with Milliput epoxy putty. Apparently, it takes practice to do it right. IIRC, there's a method on how to use Milliputt for zimmerit in this site, which involves rolling it really flat, then applying it on the model then "screwing" it (for lack of a better term hehehe) to make the ridges.

Haven't tried wood fillers, but I have used the dust that came from sanding wood as a filler before (long long long time ago when I was just a simple village idiot in the hobby world... come to think of it, I'm still a simple village idiot in the hobby world! #:-) )

I read this article somewhere. It's just like preparing a pie crust. Roll the milliput really thin then apply on tank. Liberally apply talcum powder on the rolling surface to keep the putty from sticking.

I've read about milliput, but I do not know where to buy it and I think it also costs. I used the elmer's wood putty because of the price (PhP 59.75 118ml), availability and the slow hardenning time (compared to other putty).



The pic above shows the test zimmerit I did to the glacis of a Panther Type A (DML). I can now confirm that it does not crack nor fall-off from the model and can be sanded similar to other putty.

If there are questions on how i managed to apply it just say so and I'll be more than happy to post it.

Sounds like a better (and hugely cheaper) material than milliputt. Milliputt can be bought at JMN. Last time I was there (last Saturday), they only have 1 remaining - the Super Fine variant. P350.00. The standard costs P250.

The pattern you did looks very good. Did you use a stamp? BTW, FSM did an article on how to do different Zimmerit patterns and which pattern was used on what vehicle. If it's not online, and if you're interested in it, I can have it photocopied and give it to you, perhaps at Richie Rich.

GI: I did not use a stamp. The pattern shown is the vertically ridged with secoondary cross-hatch. The zimmerit pattern commonly used for panther D and A. Thank you for your offer, but I do have a copy of May 2002 FSM.

Materials Used:
1) Elmer's Wood Filler (Carpenter's interior) -- cheaper than the same brand used for exterior purpose.
2) Bonanza internet card
- Used for making the horizontal and vertical grids.
- Used for smoothing the putty.
3) Old brush
- For even distribution of putty -- make sure that it is slightly wet
4) Hobby knife
- used for making the ridges
5) Water
- Prolongs putty life

Note: If you plan to use it, I suggest you scoure the surface using the hobby knife (not too deep)