Construction Construction was pretty simple, though some polycap trimming was required. It came with those great Kotobukiya polycaps (in metallic gray), which are stiffer than newer Wave or Bandai polycaps (and thus hold better). I did have to work on the fit for the "shoulder pad" mounts (sorry, no pictures). I just enlarged the holes provided with a drill, then filled them with Bondo polyester putty, and put the polycaps in at the correct angle. Parts fit was excellent, the only major gaps to fill (and they were pretty big) were in the forearms and thighs. I believe this was originally issued as a fixed pose kit, which explains the large gaps. These were filled with Bondo polyester and spot putty. There were also some bubbles and surface defects to deal with (common with resin kits), again using the Bondo spot putty. The only modifications I made to the kit were rebuilding the monoeye area and adding springs to the back of the knees and the "cheeks". The kit came with a light crystal for the monoeye, but there was no cutaway, just a solid block to be painted black with the monoeye glued on the front. I contemplated "greebling" this area, but decided that there wasn't really enough space. So I ground away the space for the monoeye with a sanding drum in a dremel, then mounted the crystal on a short length of plastic tube (the tube had to be beveled at the bottom to fit). I cut away the molded power cables on the sides of the face, and drilled holes for Wave springs. Larger springs (also wave) were added over the molded cable on the back of the knees, and replaced the resin cables for the waist. The waist spring was threaded over a bent brass rod to duplicate the curve of the resin part. It's a bit hard to get paint to stick to the springs, so I tried using a product called "Blacken It", which etches/ages the metal. It turns sort of brown and rusty looking. However, the rougher surface seemed to help the paint stick better (I ended up painting the springs after installing them).

Priming After the surface work was completed, I re-primed with Krylon spray primer. I prefer this primer for resin kits because of it's thickness, it's great for filling small sanding scratches, and makes a strong base for the paint to adhere to. As usual, I had to sand/fill/prime a few times to get the surfaces smooth. I think this is why Max Watanabe has assistants! Since red doesn't cover well over dark paints, the parts were then sprayed with white. This left me with a light base coat for shading, allowing a much brighter red topcoat than would have been possible with a gray base. Aside from the primer, Testors acrylics were used throughout. They're not super tough, but I like the spraying characteristics (smooth!), fast drying time (though they don't cure for a few days), easy cleanup, and they're readily available in the States.

Preshading I started the painting by spraying a dark red (just some black mixed with red) around the edges and details of all the parts. Spraying just the edges makes it easier to get a gradient effect than if you sprayed the entire part a darker color, and the light base coat ensures a good range of color. This doesn't have to be really precise, but it's best to keep the paint near the edges as best as you can. Since the paint dries pretty quickly, it's possible to spray the edges of all the parts in one session. By the time you've done one side of each part, the paint is dry enough to start on the other side of the first part you spray. I keep the nozzle open only a little so I can get the airbrush pretty close for accurate spraying (I want a laser sight for my airbrush darnit!). I should also note that this was done with a cheap Paasche model H airbrush. While expensive airbrushes are more precise, it IS possible to get a nice finish with a simpler model.

Shading It took some fiddling to get the color for the topcoat right. I don't remember the exact mix, but I started with flat red, added a fair amount of white, a tiny bit of gray to dull it down a bit (I'm not painting a fire engine!), and a little bit of yellow. I ususually experiment by mixing a little bit of the color on a palette with a brush to get a basic idea of what colors are needed, then try to duplicate the color by adding paint to the base coor a few drops at a time. With a very thin mixture of paint (almost 50% water), I gradually started spraying over the white areas. Keeping the nozzle mostly closed and spraying about 3-4 inches from the model, I painted over the white, trying not to paint over the dark red around the edges. It took about 4 or 5 coats to completely cover the white, and by that time the overspray had lightened the dark red. After I was satisfied with the main color, I very lightly oversprayed the edges with the airbrush about 10 inches away, which blended it in a little more. I actually mixed a slightly lighter version of the top color and sprayed just the center of some parts, but I'm not sure that this had any affect, and I kind of wimped out at this point, not wanting to ruin the nice gradient I already had. Finally, all the parts were sprayed with a few coats of clear gloss, putting a nice shine on everything.

Details Since the color scheme of the Gerbera Tetra is pretty simple, I didn't have to do any masking for the detail painting. The large verniers were painted with a custom silver mixed from Testors silver and a lot of blue (both enamel, their acrylic silver sucks). These were oversprayed with a very heavy clear gloss, I wanted a very shiny, almost laquered look.

Mechanical details and small jets were painted with a 50/50 mix of gloss black and silver (Testors acrylic) and a small brush. I really like the way this particular mixture brushes on, it's very easy to get a smooth coat with no brush strokes. A few of the larger parts (gun, hands, hip and shoulder balls) were airbrushed with this color as well. They also got a heavy gloss coat, the gun looks especially metallic and shiny. The sensors on the chest and back were brush painted silver, then overcoated with clear green. Finally, I used black enamel washes to fill in the panel lines and paint a few other details.

Booster You noticed the booster unit being painted above? Well, I haven't finished it. ;P The fuel tanks interfere with the fit (there's not a lot of breathing room anywhere in this design), and the thing is very very heavy. There's no way the MS could stand without something to balance the booster against. I did figure out a good way to make it removable. I drilled out the 2 small verniers on the back of the MS, and installed brass tubes on the inside of the booster that plug in to these holes, holding it securely. I'll probably finish it one of these days....