Tamiya 12648 - 1:35 King Tiger Henschel Turret - Zimmerit Coating Sheet

Tamiya self-adhesive Zimmerit coating for the King Tiger with Henschel production turret (Tamiya 35164) in 1:35 scale

The broad, flat plates of the King Tiger leave nowhere to hide — it is exactly on surfaces like these that hand-textured putty betrays any lack of practice. Tamiya 12648 is a self-adhesive Zimmerit coating with an embossed, three-dimensional pattern, prepared for one specific kit: the Tamiya King Tiger with Henschel production turret (35164) in 1:35 scale.

The panels are cut out with a hobby knife along the outlines printed on the material and applied to the matching areas of the armour. The coating accepts model paints, so the applied Zimmerit is painted along with the rest of the model, by airbrush or brush, and can be shaded and weathered afterwards.

What's in the box:

• Self-adhesive Zimmerit coating with an embossed, three-dimensional pattern
• Panel outlines printed on the material, to be cut out with a hobby knife

Specifications:

• Scale: 1:35
• Catalogue number: 12648
• Manufacturer: Tamiya
• Designed for: Tamiya King Tiger production turret (Henschel) (35164)
• Type: self-adhesive Zimmerit coating
• Material: self-adhesive coating with embossed pattern

Self-adhesive Zimmerit coating – armour texture without putty work

Self-adhesive Zimmerit is an aftermarket accessory in the form of a covering with an embossed, three-dimensional rendering of the Zimmerit paste pattern. It is neither a photo-etched part nor a decal — the material is applied directly to the surface of the model, and its texture reproduces the characteristic ridged finish of the original.

The individual panels are outlined, but they have to be cut out by the modeller with a hobby knife along those outlines — they are not ready-to-peel elements. Each cut panel is applied to the matching area of the armour and adjusted to the edges and details of the plastic. The coating takes model paints, so painting and weathering proceed just as they would on styrene.

The alternative is applying and texturing putty or modelling paste by hand, which is time-consuming and hard to keep even across a whole vehicle. This accessory gives a uniform pattern without that work. The set is designed for one specific Tamiya kit (35164); a fit to kits from other manufacturers is not claimed.

About the vehicle – King Tiger (Henschel production turret):

The Tiger II, known as the King Tiger or Königstiger, was the heaviest German tank to enter series production during the Second World War. It combined steeply sloped armour, arranged along lines pioneered on the Panther, with the long-barrelled 88 mm KwK 43 L/71 gun capable of penetrating practically any Allied tank at normal combat ranges. The price was a weight of nearly 70 tonnes, heavy fuel consumption and an overstressed drivetrain.

The first vehicles received the so-called Porsche turret, but from mid-1944 production switched to the simplified Henschel production turret with a flat front plate and sides that were easier to manufacture. This version accounted for most of the roughly 490 King Tigers built. Vehicles completed before September 1944 were coated with Zimmerit at the factory.

Zimmerit was a non-magnetic paste applied to the armour of German vehicles from the autumn of 1943. It was meant to protect against magnetic anti-tank mines — the Germans feared the Allies would copy their own Hafthohlladung charge. The texture held the magnet away from the armour and reduced the contact area. The paste was applied at the factories and shaped with trowels and stamps; the most common pattern was vertical columns of horizontal ridges. Its use was discontinued by an order of 9 September 1944, after concerns — later shown to be unfounded — that Zimmerit could be set alight by hits.

Original vehicle specifications (Tiger II / King Tiger):

• Combat weight: approx. 69.8 t
• Crew: 5
• Main armament: 88 mm KwK 43 L/71 gun
• Secondary armament: two 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns
• Hull front armour: 150 mm, steeply sloped; turret up to 180 mm
• Powerplant: Maybach HL 230 P30 engine, approx. 700 hp
• Suspension: torsion bars with interleaved road wheels
• Top speed: approx. 38 km/h
• Range: approx. 170 km on roads
• Production: approx. 490 vehicles (1944–1945)

About the manufacturer – Tamiya:

Tamiya is a Japanese model company founded in 1946 in Shizuoka, originally as a woodworking business and, from the 1960s, a producer of plastic kits. The brand built its position on precise moulds, well-prepared instructions and good parts fit. Its catalogue covers military, aircraft, ship and car models, as well as paints, tools and accessories that complement its own kits. Zimmerit coating sheets belong to that last group — they are designed for specific Tamiya kits, so the panel shapes correspond to the armour rendered in the particular model.