Ketzer meets Old Gans!
Here’s the paint scheme I am going for, like my Gans in red primer with a snow camosplinter pattern. It’s not meant to be a soft white-wash as such but more of a dedicated paint finish so I weather and treat it quite differently.
So far you can see the Gaia Notes EVO Red Primer paint, 2 light coats and then I usedTamiya masking tape to set up the pattern which I again laid down with a brush usingGaia Notes “Interior Color”, an ivory off-white.
Next I’ve used some 3M foam backed sandpaper to smooth down the white and blend in the ridges that formed along the tape. You can see that the EVO primer might not be quite as tough as regular surfacer and I’ve brought the test shot grey plastic up in quite a few places. It’s actually a nice effect and although my first idea was to quickly re-paint the red, I might leave the grey and incorporate it into the chipping stage for something new and different.
Regarding preparing the Ketzer for painting, I haven’t modified the kit in any way at all after making it stock as per the instructions. I’ve removed the pilot -snaps out – and all clear parts -again, they just pop out- and then used the poly caps to pull the suit apart for ease of painting. One note of caution, don’t prise the legs apart by having it do the spits because you will torque the hip joints and snap them, pull straight back in theopposite direction to how you put them on.
Whilst each part is drying I attach them to the clips on a Gunze “Cat Hands” stand, any clips will do of course. By the time I’ve made one round on the suit, I can go back to the first piece and do touch ups. By the 3rd quick round I’m done, easy!
At stages when I want to “mask” the interior, I put a clean tissue inside. Perfect fit and so easy!
One more thing, you can actually start painting the interior from here and reach pretty much everywhere visible. Paint the dark grey background color – my favourite- first and then the headrest next. I’ve used Vallejo “Leather”. If you paint the chair back, seat and headrest before mating the torso halves, it’s even easier as you only need to paint the easily reached interior at the end – that’s how I did the Gustav. I highly recommend keeping all your processes simple as possible so that you can see your progress each time you spend even just an hour at your hobby bench. It will keep your motivation high and the momentum you pick up will keep you moving forward. I’m the same as most people, if I start over complicating things it’s the fastest way for me to lose interest and motivation and the project only get’s looked at with a sign as it moves further back on the shelf of shame and dust! 
Cheers,
Linc
