Kotare 1/32 Spitfire Mk.Ia (Mid)
Reviewed by Zac Yates
Scale: 1/32
Item #: K32001
Price: US$109.00 direct from Kotare Models Ltd. Also available through quality hobby retailers worldwide.
Contents: five styrene sprues (four grey and one clear); three decal options.Background:The Supermarine Spitfire is one of the most famous aircraft of all time with more than 22,000 built in many variants. This iconic aircraft, whose name remains familiar to the general public in many countries, made its name during the Battle of Britain in summer 1940. The attractive aeroplane with its flowing lines and elegant (but hard to mass manufacture) elliptical wing captured the wartime public’s attention and achieved immortality as the hero of the Battle, despite the more numerous Hawker Hurricane claiming the lion’s share of destroyed enemy aircraft and frustrating Nazi Germany’s plans to invade the United Kingdom.
The history of the Spitfire has been covered by countless authors and writers in books, magazine articles and in film and this reviewer humbly suggests anyone interested in learning more about the aeroplane itself hunt out any of these works – this review is unashamedly about examining this highly-anticipated kit in detail.
Kotare’s model:This is the first model kit from Kotare Models Ltd, a New Zealand company. An introductory essay by proprietor Mark Robson inside the box explains his history and that of the company – not just the designers and artists (all of whom previously worked with the now-defunct Wingnut Wings) but also the investors who fronted capital to get the venture off the ground.
The choice of a Spitfire – or, as some have said, “yet another Spitfire” – as the company’s first kit caused a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth on social media and discussion forums due to the type’s proliferation on model shop shelves. However Robson’s introductory essay notes that a Battle of Britain-era version had not been produced in 1/32 since the 1960s – something Kotare production manager Richard Alexander pointed out early on in the subject selection period. As of writing this review Kotare has announced a second Spitfire Mk.Ia boxing with a figure of 19Sqn pilot Brian Lane, an “early” Mk.Ia, and a Mk.Va (the Mk.II designation also appears on some of the sprues). Many modellers (this reviewer included) are hopeful a Mk.Vb will be along shortly thereafter.
The first impression one has on seeing and opening the semi-gloss box is that this kit is strongly reminiscent of the aforementioned Wingnut Wings’ output – the box itself and instruction manual are very similar to that company’s work. The box top illustration is a painting by Darryl Legg of Alan Deere overflying Dunkirk in his aircraft N3180/KL-B “Kiwi”, one of three marking options provided in the kit (profiles of each, by renowned illustrator Ronny Bar, are printed on one side of the box top).
The three grey styrene sprues are state of the art mouldings with exquisite detail.
This kit features the finest recessed panel lines and fasteners this reviewer has ever seen, and lapped panel lines that are barely perceptible by running a finger across them. Delicate raised rivets cover much of the fuselage and, despite the fact the separately moulded radio and accumulator doors are intended to be shut, frame and longeron detail is moulded inside each fuselage half.
Likewise the insides of the wing are covered with wing rib representation. To avoid seam lines the edges of the top and lower cowlings, fuel tank cover and fuselage spine are all split along existing panel lines; similarly the wing fillets are a separate piece for each side. A single-piece wing spar is provided to ensure rigidity.
The mainwheels – each moulded in two halves with integral hubs which are keyed to ensure correct alignment – and tail landing gear are moulded as “weighted” items. At first glance this reviewer felt the flattened areas seemed overdone and the bulges underdone, however reference photographs in the instructions show these details to be just right.
Another way the kit design adds some life to the aircraft is with the horizontal control surfaces. The rudder and single-piece elevators are moulded in such a way that they can only be installed deflected right and down respectively. A very nice touch is that part A49, the rudder bar and control tubes, is moulded to match the deflection – the control stick, however, is shown to be installed straight. The ailerons are separate parts but are intended to be installed in a neutral position also.
A welcome option is separate parts for posing the pilot’s access door open and closed, the latter requiring some material to be removed from the fuselage half. A great touch is that two pilot’s seats are included: one with a moulded Sutton shoulder harness and the other without, so the modeller can use their own aftermarket or scratchbuilt replacement. The lap belts are moulded on the seat frame but are so fine they can be missed unless one looks for them.
A curious design choice is that the side engine cowling panels are moulded as separate pieces. Unlike Tamiya’s 1/32 Spitfire (to which this kit will inevitably be compared) there is no engine included so it’s unclear why these panels aren’t moulded in place. One of these parts has “Mk.I/V” moulded inside so it may well be that a Mk.II kit would feature at least one different panel – while this reviewer is a big fan of the Spitfire he freely admits he doesn’t know enough about such detail to claim this definitively!
One aspect of the design which stands out is the use of ejector pin towers to minimise detail loss on the kit parts – they are everywhere. While the vast majority are unintrusive, those on the wheel halves and propeller spinners and backplates will require careful clean-up to avoid damage to the parts.
The clear parts are also finely detailed and well moulded, with ejector pin towers to be removed from all but two parts. Closed and open canopies are options provided in the instructions and this is addressed with a single-piece assembly and separately moulded windscreen, canopy and fixed rear section parts. These are thin and clear enough for the vast majority of builders – only the most dedicated-to-scale modellers will likely feel the need to replace them with vacform items. Internal and external mirrors are provided and the instructions denote which marking option requires which option.
Instructions:The instruction book’s 28 pages cover aircraft type history (including exhaustive breakdowns of paint colours used and the differences between production batches), 14 expansive construction steps and finishing. As well as extensively captioned period photos to show details, explain colours and part placement, the instructions label each part with its name. This practice often extends beyond simple component names: rather than “radiator” the instructions state part A36 is a Serck T1048 Gallay type E3 radiator & fairing; E3 isn’t just the rudder but is explained to be built by Pobjoy Aeromotor & Aircraft; and the pilot’s control handle is the Dunlop AH2174 spade grip & brake lever. This level of information is to be commended and adds much to what could otherwise be a very dry aspect of a model kit. This reviewer gave the manual to his significant other and his mother (needless to say, both non-modellers and the most casual of aeroplane folk) and both were blown away by the quality of the book and the wealth of information provided.
Throughout the instructions the modeller is met with “Choose” and “Optional Detail” callouts. These range from drilling out lightening holes in various frames and mounts to adding aerial and control rigging, as well as identifying parts that may not have been fitted at certain times in an aircraft’s existence. “Attention” callouts also remind the modeller of aspects such as landing gear and wheel angles and the placement of smaller items that could be forgotten.
Markings:The kit features decals for three marking options, all in RAF service with Dark Green and Dark Earth camouflage:
1. N3180/KL-B “Kiwi”, AC Deere, 54Sqn, May 1940. This machine is the one in which New Zealander Alan Deere was shot down over Dunkirk and was burned out on a Belgian beach. It features Night and White undersides and is fitted with the Rotol propeller and the TR.1133 radio mast.
2. N3277/AZ-H “Dirty Dick”, R Hardy, 234Sqn, August 1940. This aircraft was forced down and captured by German forces in France on 15 August 1940.
3. P9495/DW-K, SJ Arnfield, DF Corfe, J Ellis and P Litchfield, 610Sqn, June to July 1940. This and the previous subject are both fitted with the DeHavilland[sic] propeller and TR.9D radio mast with aerial rigging to be added if the modeller so chooses.
Both N3277 and P9495 have either “Sky duck egg blue local mix” or “Sky Type S duck egg blueish green” undersides and it is up to the modeller to decide which to use. The Kotare team take great pains in this kit’s instructions to explain the issues around paint colour variations in Battle of Britain Spitfires and that they have done their best to provide the modeller with accurate, informed options. The paint list gives options for Tamiya and Humbrol paints (mixes are provided for colours not available out of the bottle) as well as Federal Standard and British Standard shades.
The markings instructions have several paragraphs about each pilot as well as period photographs of the featured airframe with extensive captions. There are also a further four pages of more general reference photos to assist the modeller. The stencil layout page is marked with the “Optional Detail” note (not adding the many, many fastener stencils would omit more than 100 tiny decals!) and advises enlarged illustrations are available on the company’s website to aid in their placement.
The decal sheet is a little larger than A4 and has 147 numbered decals, although thanks to stencils and multiples the actual number is more than double that. Aside from the sheet’s size, the other big take-away is the minimal amount of carrier film on the decals themselves. Designed by Malcolm Laird and printed in Italy, the decals are of top quality, look to be very thin and highly accurate to the original subjects – the fuselage roundels for the Deere aircraft even replicate the smaller, field-repainted markings. Red fabric patches for the gunports are provided with pre-opened holes and additional patches to cover them should the modeller wish to do so.
Summary:There is no doubt in this reviewer’s mind that this is the definitive large-scale kit of the Battle of Britain-era Spitfire, and possibly the best in any scale. This is not purely due to the quality of the kit itself but also the wealth of information included in the instructions which means the average builder will not need a reference library or encyclopaedic knowledge to produce an accurate model of this most famous aircraft. If this is what one is to expect from Kotare releases then the future for this brand is extremely bright.
Verdict:Highly recommended.
(Review sample kindly supplied by Kotare. Please support the businesses that support your Forum.)
