So I am trying my had at paste Zimm for the first time. I have been practicing on some spare parts to no avail.

I am using AFV club and Trumpeters Zimmerit rollers, I have tried Perfect putty, Squadron White, a wood filler (saw this on youtube) I keep the rollers clean and damp but just not happening.

Perfect Putty does not form well

Squadron white is probably the best outcome but still looks like a three year old applied it now where near what you fine gentlemen and ladies produce.

The wood filler thing just pulls off the plastic as soon as I run the roller across.

Before anyone chimes in with "there are many sites / postings on the topic just google it" I have, hence the wood filler technique

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks all


Jeff

Hello mate. I tend to use (if you're in Blighty) no more nails. The acrylic based one,as if you mess it up you can wash it off. I never got on with the rollers myself so use Tamiya and Ryefields tools. There is indeed a good vid on you tube about how to use them with no more nails. It chips really well to. If you have a look at Matt.E.Models on fb you'll see some of my stuff where l used it. Especially on the BergeTiger.
Regards
Matt(spud) Edwards

Hope I can help. I have done several Zimm by hand before the rollers came out. My style is good for the type of pattern you see on a Tiger. First I took an x-acto knife and reversed the blade so the pointed end is in the handle and the flat blade is forward. I used my grinder and narrowed the width of the flat end to match the width of one of your rollers.
I then applied squadron putty, I used green at the time, to an area about the size of a quarter and did a column at a time by hand with the flat blade. It looked great. Do not do more than a quarter size at a time. Practice, the skill comes quickly. The look will not be perfect like a roller, it will look more like the actual zimm. The thickness you apply the putty will also determine the look. I liked mine thinner than thicker. Plan out the pattern ahead of time. Don't be in a hurry. I used my modified blade to help apply the putty in harder to get to places.

Jeff:

Never have had any real success w/ rollers - and besides, rollers cannot likely really emulate how zimmerit was mostly patterned...

I use drywall compound mixed with latex paint - dies like fine plaster in grain, but more resilient and tougher. Nicely chippable and spalls like the real thing did. Adheres reasonably well to both the kit plastic and to any applied sub-zimm paint... And can be safely totally removed with water if desired.

Tooling DIY zimm: Real zimmerit was applied as a paste layer, and stamped (such as to create those "waffle" patterns) with a wooden block or troweled on to create the "classic" ledge-and-trough patterns. It was not rolled on. So, do just what real zimm'r folks did! A small stamp "die" will create the blocked patterns, and small trowels / knife-tips / screw-driver blade tips / pieces of scrap PE all work to score for the ledge + trough patterns.

I think that one of the "secrets" to getting good-looking zimm is to carefully examine photos of the real thing... get a good sense of the relative scale and appearance of the coat relative to various "known and constant" hull and turret-features (the hull MG and vision-ports are good landmark features, as are tools and OVM...), and note that the patterns are never actually entirely orderly nor really straight and "machine-like" in their apparent repetition. These irregularities in the patterns, together with "proper scaling" will make your coat much more realistic-looking.

So: Recap: I can't make rollers work well, either, so join "my" club with that frustration! Use a technique similar to the real application - apply thin layer over small area, tool that layer with tiny trowels or rakes or stamps, and move to the next area.

Trowels and rakes take practice, too, but working small areas and being patient and taking your time will be worth it. Learning the best angle to press in a tiny trowel is pretty easy - just experiment a little until you get a trough and ledge that you think looks right!

There is NO instant Good Job nor any really quick, simple, no-real-effort way to get good-looking 1/35 zimm... You are trying to tool on a fairly complex surface which has definite appearances. Most DIY zimm jobs with most putties and such look very un-realistic, IMHO, zimm decals and zimm PE likewise. Zimm resin looks OK generally (because someone actually tooled up the master right!) if applied right, but it has its tricks...

Give trowels and such a try!

Bob

I use milliput, adding talcum to the surface where I spread it to avoid it become sticky, and wetting the tank to improve the adhesion. I add some talcum also to the roller.

Zimmerit was supposed to be patterned with the edge of a trowel, but this was time consuming, so most factories devised ways to speed up the process. Some factories devised patterned steel stamps (like the waffle pattern seen on Stugs), some, like Henschel, used sheet metal combs, and some used rollers made from old cog wheels (as seen on many Panthers). Close up photos will soon tell you what was used on the type of vehicle you are building.
If you are using a solvent based body putty. the surface will form a skin as the solvent dries, but the putty underneath will still be goopy, so most tools will simply make a mess when you pierce the skin, unless you are just stabbing in the grooves in, one at a time.
Epoxy putty like Milliputt can give good results, and has a long working time. Apply the putty to a dry surface, and roll it out thin using a tool dipped in talcum powder, so it doesn't stick. Your patterning tool can be either dusted with talc or dipped in water--either will prevent the putty from sticking to the tool.
Superfine White Milliputt was my go-to for Zimmerit until I discovered the joys of Atak resin.