Armortek

Very very excited.....

Few quick questions for the seasoned pro's on the forum:

What colour was the primer on Panther G's?

What top colour did they leave the factory - Dark Yellow? Green? Primer only??

Were they still covered in Zimmerit at this stage? 'Raked' or 'Squares' pattern?

If so, what's the best recipe for Zimmerit??

Any pointers much appreciated!

Hello sir, congratulations on your new Panther. During the period of July 1944 when this model is advertised as being produced Zimmerit was mandated for all armor. It was discontinued in September. That being said there were Panthers running around in this configuration still being produced after September without zimmerit. So you can go either way. I have only seen vertical lines on panthers as opposed to the tigers horizontal lines.

Red oxide primer is standard factory primer but could also be grey.

Zimmerit was applied over primer and factory will finish everything in dark yellow. Camo was applied in the field.

I have used tile adhesive for zimmerit with good results. Some builders will ad glue for strength. Best to experiment on some scrap metal before application to your model. Miliput is another substance used for zimmerit by builders.

Zimmerit was given to the operators in the field in barrels too.

For Panther G there are 3 patterns depending on which factory the Panther was assembled in;

MAN, Used a vertical pattern overlaid with a tile pattern to reduce the shattering effect with hits sometimes this overlaid tile pattern was angled to on side, no one knows why this is seen weather it was a feature of certain shifts or weeks is up to speculation sometimes this pattern was only seen on mudguards or just the turret or hull as zimmerit was applied to individual parts before assembly not after assembly.


Daimler-Benz Retained the tile effect which was sometimes applied to the cupola this is by far the easiest pattern to make, sometimes the tiles were larger than other times and sometimes the surface was not as rough, to date only Time has done this pattern on an Armortek Panther.


MNH This was the horizontal pattern as seen on Tigers this was also the pattern used on Demag Panther A. MNH didn't start there Ausf G production before Normandy and I have yet to see an MNH Panther picture from Normandy. To date no one has applied this pattern to an Armortek Panther.

https://panzerworld.com/zimmerit
MAN second and third diagrams
Daimler-Denz fifth diagram
MNH first diagram

Most people prefare to use tile adhesive to make zimmerit some also use Milliput both materials have their own merits and negative points.
Panther G left the production line with a coating of Zimmerit and a base coat of RAL7028 dunkelgelb camouflage was added in the field. From September 1943 zimmerit was dropped from being applied and factory paint started, some Panther G with zimmerit had factory paint.

> From September 1943 zimmerit was dropped

NB: Should be September 1944. So only in use for around 12 months.

Adrian.

Wow Great pointers Gents - much appreciated!

Work in progress on the Panther....

Just got motion packs in and now can start to finish up body work and weathering

Gift that keeps on giving!!

Great build!
The panther looks impressive.
Beautiful weathering with interesting details.

Got the tracks muddy at last!!

Very beautiful.

Saw your post on FB - outstanding paint job! Looks great!
B

So happy with the new steel tracks from Mr Mahoney - scale to the max!