All,

I have a quick question I hope someone could help me with. I am building a Panther G Erly version with zimmerit, the decals with the kit do not represent the tank I am building so my question is what manufacturer makes the best decals that go on zimmerit well? I appreciate the help

Dave

I'm not sure about decal manufacturers but Micro - Sol in the red bottle works those decals down pretty good.

Almost any decal applied over zimmerit will probably be "off", regardless of whether one uses Micro-Sol or embeds it in Future or whatever - not because those methods don't work to set decals (they DO!), but because zimmerit produces a topography different from that seen on a flat surface. And the decals are printed as if they are always on a flat surface. Zimmerit produces relief in the form of hills and valleys. IF the decal is "form-fitted" into all of those, distortion is sure to result to some degree. IF you place the decal flat across the zimmerit, and it does NOT fit down into the valleys, the decal will be the right shape, but it won't look right as it spans the zimmerit relief!

That is the conundrum and dilemma!

IF you have any options, such as getting or making a stencil for the markings of choice (and there are plenty such for numbers of many sizes and BalkanKreuz, etc., and there are many good stencils of unit markings, too), painting the markings on with a stencil is the way to really go, IMHO. That's the way the real things went on.

IF you do need to go with a decal, the thinnest film and Micro-Sol are probably your best bet, as thinner may allow more stretch and less "apparent valley-filling" by the decal. A good decal source might be the Cartograf items in Dragon kits or some of the "AM" brands, such as Bison, etc.

Bob

Thanks all

Shortly after writing the original post I purchased some stencils from scalehobbyist. Figured that decals would be an issue. I appreciate the feedback

Dave

So Dave, you already solved the matter. Anyway, just for info, I've faced the same ''problem'', and I managed by stencil and painting and, after some not so great experiments, now I've a nice result.

Giovanni

I thought that these went down pretty good with Micro-Sol

paint them on with a stencil.
Nice Tiger Tony!! Hey!! Tony the Tiger ..they're great!!!!!!

Sometimes, I find that Micro Sol/Set aren't 'hot' enough to snug decals down over 'difficult' surfaces (like Zimmerit). In that case, I find it's worth trying Walthers' 'Solvaset' - it smells like the same stuff, but is much stronger.

You have to be careful once you've applied it though - the decal will usually go 'jelly-like', and touching it can ruin it. Allow it to dry without touching and it should snug the decal down… If it still hasn't worked, have another go - you should get there in the end!

Solvaset works great as long as you are patient ...Do not touch the decals till everything is dry..



Rick

Thanks again everyone for your feedback. I bought the stencils but still want to attempt applying decals so I will utilize the information y'all provided. Thanks again. Tony great looking tiger. Rick that panther looks amazing. Hope I can get mine to look that good

Dave

Good-looking decal-work on that kitty, Richard!

I'm not suggesting that one CANNOT get good-looking marks using decals on zimm surfaces... there are certainly those who do get great-looking - even sometimes incredible - results with decals. Sad to admit... Not I!


I'm really just expressing my laziness!

I HATE to spend the time putting Future or other stuff onto flat-painted surfaces to avoid silvering, cutting and laying decals, doing SolvaSet things, and needing in many cases to follow up all this with some dull-coat or flat to cut that sheen! So I do almost all markings with stencils... but that's because I get good results faster and easier!

Try all routes! Every new technique one learns is yet another tool in the box to get to where you want to be!

Bob