This kit had a couple firsts for me... Zimmerit.. and Aber PhotoEtch.
On the Zimmerit, I was a wimp.. instead of trying the Putty, or Hot Knife Methods.. I cheated... tried the Cavalier Approach... Well.. now I'm hooked.. even though I told myself that I would try the Putty some day.. I love this Cavalier stuff so much, I don't know that I will ever try putty.. Cutting the sheets was a breeze... Certain pieces came as replacement parts.. the Machine Gun bulge.. Storage Boxes... Only Prep that was needed was to sand off the detail from the main flat surfaces...Another purpose that his serves besides clearing the surface for the Zimmerit, is that it also provides a 'rough' surface for the Epoxy to work with.
This was my first time working with Epoxy... gooey stuff!!.. but it worked great.. Only thing I suggest with Epoxy is to wear the rubber gloves.. and create some tools ahead of time to spread it on the model (I broke some some popsicle sticks in half, then sanded the edges to a soft angle)... After the Epoxy dried.. I sanded any exposed edges.. also Super Glued any sides that were loose.
The Aber Etch... All I can say is WOW... A lot of detail with Aber sets... this requires a lot of patience. One hinge for the rear Storage Box took me over two hours to complet.. after that experience (on what to do and what not to do) I was able to do the remaining hinges in about 5 minutes a piece.. I think the more experience you get, the easier it goes... The detail is awesome though.. I don't believe that most people will use all the etch in an Aber set.. but this will leave a lot for the Spare Parts box!
Then Fenders were really nice.. the raised areas were created by rubbing a Ball Point pen along the recesses. When I saw this on the instructions I was kind of nervous thinking "Oh Boy, I'm gonna mess this up!" But actually it was a very simple task, and the finished effect is very nice..
Painting: This was a rough kit for me.. it was Mid Summer.... My Paint Brush was spitting like Daffy Duck.. After talking to fellow modelers and visiting the newsgroups.. I figured out that Humidity was the cause of my problems.. I then purchased a de-humidifier for the cellar (where I do all my modeling), and this improved things greatly. I also found out that the extra spit (different from the splotchiness created by humidity) that you get when you initially press the trigger was from paint accumulating on the nozzle, so now I know enough to initially shoot "Off Model" then move on to the kit.. this eliminates the initial 'spit' type drops.. the humidifier got rid of the splotchiness effect...
During the Splotchy Period
After getting a de-humidifier
Prior to Wash
I pondered for a bit, trying to decide whether to use Fruil Tracks (which I have set of), or buy the Tamiya separate links. But where I was unsure of how this kit would come out, I settled for the kit links. One thing I really hate is sanding sink holes off of Track links.. But the final result was good enough for me... I do prefer Fruils I just wish they were cheaper.
For Weathering I did Black and Burnt Sienna on the tracks. Added Rust Color Pastels after. On the tank itself I did a mostly Raw Umber Wash... I painted in the areas were Zimmerit had chipped with Black/Burnt Umber ModelMaster mix.. Chipping was done with the same mix, just more black added. Pastels were also added on the rest of the tank too.
After Weathering
The DML early Jagdpanther is an excellent kit (even if
you decide to do it oob).. Cavalier Zimmerit - highly recommended. I was
surprised
at it's ease of application.. Aber Etch, a lot of work! But if you want detail,
it is an excellent way to super detail your kit, and you should have some etch
left over for the spare parts box for future projects. I'd say that I consider
the Aber also highly recommended.