Kotare 1/32 Spitfire Mk 1.

[Steve64]

Hi fellow model makers.

I’ve made a start on Kotare’s Spitfire Mk 1. You’ve probably heard that this is a new kit from a new company. There are reviews and complete builds online already. Even so, I thought I’d share the journey because I’m excited to make the model, and it will offer another view.

My first impression is that this is a high-quality kit. It has fine, intricate moulding and beautiful instructions. What struck me was the detail moulded onto larger parts. Some of them - for example, the interior cockpit walls - look like resin castings. There are places where the limitations of this approach show, like the tanks which are not fully round in cross-section, but I doubt they will spoil the end result.

The instructions are almost a book, with reference photos and notes making them a pleasure to read. I do have a personal dislike; in places, they get busy and hard to follow. Some odd colour callouts tell you to paint a part in two or three colours but don't tell you where to place each colour. A careful reading of previous steps helps, and of course, there are online references.

The niggles aren’t big enough to distract from the build experience. Parts are free of flash, there’s very little burring and they push together with a satisfying ‘snick’. Lovely. I’m building up the cockpit in sub-assemblies. Here are some shots to illustrate the progress so far. The parts are already primed in black and undercoated in matt aluminium.

Happy modelling!

[digger303]

Wow that is some of the slickest moldings to be found anywhere.
I was hoping someone would build this. I'm dialled in

[WordenB]

I've heard much about this kit, mostly good but also some less favourable comments so will be very interested to follow this.

[Stokesy44]

Looking forward to watching the build. Looks great so far

[Twokidsnosleep]

Oh super, ya those moulding look great
Have not heard of this manufacturer at all
Love to see the progression of your build

[krusty69]

[digger303]

Oh super, ya those moulding look great
Have not heard of this manufacturer at all
Love to see the progression of your build

Born from WNW's

[Twokidsnosleep]

Oh super, ya those moulding look great
Have not heard of this manufacturer at all
Love to see the progression of your build

Born from WNW's

Oh really..gotta look into those

[Stokesy44]

Oh super, ya those moulding look great
Have not heard of this manufacturer at all
Love to see the progression of your build

Born from WNW's

Oh really..gotta look into those

Yep. They're from WNW. I would have definitely gone for this if I didn't have the Tamiya kit in the same scale and the new Airfix in 1/24.

[Steve64]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the interest so far.

I'm hoping to get more work done in the week ahead, and I'll post pics and thoughts here. I've just read the instructions thoroughly from start to finish, and there's clearly a lot of research gone into this kit. Some of it may be controversial, especially the cockpit colour callouts, but I've decided to trust the guys at Kotare.

See you soon, and in the meantime, I hope your kits are behaving

[Stokesy44]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the interest so far.

I'm hoping to get more work done in the week ahead, and I'll post pics and thoughts here. I've just read the instructions thoroughly from start to finish, and there's clearly a lot of research gone into this kit. Some of it may be controversial, especially the cockpit colour callouts, but I've decided to trust the guys at Kotare.

See you soon, and in the meantime, I hope your kits are behaving

Looking forward to watching along. You should be in for a treat. I've seen a video build of this and it looks amazing.

[Steve64]

Hello again,

Yup, so far this kit is a joy. It's inspiring me to go slow and take extra care.

I had some surprise free time today, so I masked off and sprayed the cockpit green. I have both the Tamiya and AK Real Colour greens, and I chose the Tamiya because it is more saturated. Kotare tells us the Mk1 Spitfire had an ‘apple green’ interior, so I chose the colour that most closely matched the description. The modular cockpit makes checking the demarcation between green and aluminium on each component important. We want straight lines, not a chessboard when they are assembled. I think I got it right - we’ll see later. I changed the tone a little here and there, but my photos don't really show it. Here’s what they show:













Happy modelling guys.

[digger303]

[Stokesy44]

Loving the detail. The early version pump handle for the undercarriage looks very good, especially with the pneumatic lines showing.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Some fine modelling going on in here

[Steve64]

Hello gents,

Thanks for the encouragement! There's an update on the way.

In the meantime, have a great modelling day

[DRUMS01]

Nice clean modeling of an interesting manufacturer. The details look nice as do your modeling skills.

Propping up a chair with some popcorn on this one.

[Steve64]

Welcome Drums,

I'm very happy to have you along. Thanks for dropping in.

[Steve64]

Hello, from a very hot Switzerland,

Yes, I know, with all those mountains you’d think it would be cool. Up in the mountains, it is, but down by Lake Geneva where I live, the temperature is 33 degrees right now. That’s too hot for me to be in direct sunlight, so I came inside to do some modelling and update you guys.

I’ve been picking out details and adding a little weathering. I decided to experiment with a technique I read about in one of Mike Rinaldi’s books. It mimics real erosion and scuffing by removing the top layer of paint with thinners to reveal the second layer. In my case, I was gently rubbing away the green to reveal the aluminium underneath. I tried it on the black parts too.

I really enjoy weathering, which means I have to be careful not to overdo it. With care, this technique can give a very subtle result, so it seems ideal. In fact, it was so subtle in places that I added some brush-painted chips. Even so, I was worried about going too far and working down to bare plastic. I sprayed the cockpit green diluted with Tamiya X-20A rather than the usual lacquer thinners I use. That seems to have done the trick. I experimented on an old kit too, which helped me learn how to do this before going near the model. I’m sweaty enough as it is without adding nervous perspiration.

By the way, I'm sorry for the quality of my photos. My phone doesn't see things the way I do. Maybe it has been talking to my ex.

Here’s a look at the results so far.

Happy modelling gents.

[digger303]

Hello, from a very hot Switzerlan

By the way, I'm sorry for the quality of my photos. My phone doesn't see things the way I do. Maybe it has been talking to my ex.

AND the kit is coming on a treat.

[WordenB]

Looking really excellent so far.

[psmithmags]

A Spitfire build, some excellent build and paint skills and an injection of humour. What more could you ask for? Keep up the good work

[Parker]

sensational

[Steve64]

Gents, you are too kind. Thanks a million. I've been picking out some really fiddly details, including the seat belts which are moulded into the seat itself. I'll post a few pics soon. I have to say that so far the kit is living up to the hype. I just hope it doesn't melt like ice cream in the sun. It's still hot here. I'm longing for a little dose of British summer, although I'd probably be complaining if I got too much rain. It's made me think about Spitfire pilots sitting around in the heat with all their gear on waiting to scramble. For those that survived, the summer of 1940 must have been unforgettable. It makes me proud to think of them.

[Steve64]

Hi fellow modellers,

After a lot of checking the instructions, I think I’ve painted all the parts that need attention. There are tiny decals to add colour in some places. I’m not sure decalling will be easier than painting but I want to use as much of the kit as I can. Here is everything at the paint stage, ready for a semi-gloss coat, decals and weathering. I have to say, that I’ve wondered how far to go because based on my other Spitfire kit, it is clear that almost none of the interior shows. Unless a cataclysmic side effect of global warming is that we all shrink to 1/32 scale and can climb inside for a look, most of this will never be seen. Yeah, OK. It’s an unlikely scenario, but just in case, I’ll keep going.

If you’d like to see the Vb trop, it’s here:

https://forums.kitmaker.net/t/hobby-bos ... e-vb/10694







Painting the moulded-in seat harness was a fiddly job, and there's more to come.




Happy modelling guys.

[Stokesy44]

That's quality painting

[digger303]

That's quality painting

AND a very steady hand to eye coordination....I give points for that....

[Garion77]

great paint job on the interior on what seems to be an awesome and well detailed kit.
great job !

[Steve64]

Thank you gents.

This is turning out to be one of those kits that inspires me to do the best I can. I just finished decaling the instrument panel. There are twenty-three separate transfers, each one of which is beautifully printed. Some are almost microscopic. Getting them all in place and lined up was a test of nerves and coordination, and even then they aren't perfectly aligned. I have to say that Kotare's advice to test the impact of decaling solutions is advice worth taking. Micro-set and Sol, work VERY fast. In the end, I only used Mirco-Sol, after soaking the decal in warm water and placing it. The carrier film almost disappears in seconds with even a lite application on Micro-Sol. I'm not exaggerating, it just melts. I lost one dial to an over-aggressive application, and I had to replace it with a spare from an Aeroscale set that looks about right. Kotare really do know their stuff, and more than any other manufacturer (at least ones that I've built) their advice and instructions are worth following to the letter.

Here's how a good few hours turned out.







Happy modeling chaps.

[Stokesy44]

Beautiful work on the instrument panel

[ForeverPlasticKits]

Amazing kit, your build is fantastic and all the details are improved by a beautiful paint!
I' hope that Kotare will provide another versions of the Spitfire one day or another.

[digger303]

It looks as good as Wingnut wings reputation for quality stands.....freaking fantastic and what really sets it off properly is the black dash board it self not the dials which do look the goods don't get me wrong. But the wrong black shade and it wouldn't look as nice.
A few hrs well spent.

[Steve64]

Hi guys,

Yup, if this is a taste of things to come then we have the possibility of some great new kits.

I've made a bit more progress and added all the decals to the cockpit. They really are delicate. I managed to destroy part of the warning label on the oxygen tank by moving it around too much. After a moment of self-irritation, I decided that it will barely show any way and just in case added a little weathering. Here's how the decaling turned out. By the way, thanks so much for your very kind comments. Building kits is how I spend most of my free time, so I guess that a lot of practice and more than a few failures along the way have helped me develop techniques that I now stick to a refine. Each kit has its own surprises though, doesn't it?





Next up - weathering.

Happy modeling, chaps.

[digger303]

A pleasure to view.

[Steve64]

Thanks Digger,

Here comes a look at the weathered cockpit assembly, and a little self-flagellation

[Steve64]

Hi folks,

Here are the weathered cockpit subassemblies. The final weathering was done with light oil paint pin washes and highlighting. I try and avoid very dark washes unless references indicate a lot of deep shadows or accumulated dark gunk.

At this point, my very noisy self-critic is clamouring to be let out of the basement dungeon where I keep him in. Like an internet troll, he’s desperate to share his scathing criticisms of my work with the world at large. Oh, and then there’s his nemesis Mr. Smug who quite likes a lot of what’s been accomplished here. They argued and came to some conclusions.

Possibly, it’s a little too weathered. I couldn’t find great reference photos of cockpit interiors from the period, so I had to imagine. These Spits were flown many times a day under enormous pressure with a fast turnaround by ground crews. My feeling is that even a factory-fresh example would have gotten worn and dirty fast. There’s evidence to show that’s what happened to the exterior. Even so, the level of weathering is a guess and to some extent reflects my personal preference.

The satin finish I used absorbed a bit too much of the oil washes. They spread across the surface rather than accumulating in the creases. In hindsight, I should have used gloss. Yeah, I know, it’s SOP, but well, er…. I wanted to try a different approach. It turns out that paints behave the same for everyone.

I should have protected the mating surfaces. I read that the engineering on this kit is so fine that even a few layers of paint can cause fit problems. It’s true. Cleaning paint off small surfaces using a combination of brushed-on lacquer thinners and sanding was not fun, and it damaged the finish in places. There are some small retouches still to do.

I got lazy and missed some cleanup. There are a few ejector pin marks that can still be seen and one or two seam lines I missed on small parts. Some of the EPMs will be covered when other parts are attached. Those that won’t look giant through magnifying lenses or in close-up but viewed with the naked eye hardly show. That means I live with them even if it gives my self-critic more ammunition for his next rant.

Generally, though, I like the result and now have to deal with the fact that almost none of it will show. At least I had the fun of the process.

Here’s how everything looks:















Happy modeling folks.

[cor]

You are really too hard on yourself. Thats some great work on a really nice looking kit.

[digger303]

Looks damn good to me and if it was mine Mr Smug would be marching up and down proudly.

[Steve64]

Thanks so much, gents. One of the lovely things about this community is the shared feedback. I really appreciate it. This need to build the 'perfect' version of each kit is a curse and a driver. I have to say that I enjoy it too. Of course, perfection is a long way off, whatever it is. But progress has been made and the cockpit is as good as I'll get it now:







Next, I'll install it in the fuselage and watch all that work disappear.

[digger303]

Really is nice to watch this come together and done so well too. Bit of a shame to put a fuselage around it and hid so much of it.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Fantastic

[Johnj]

Absolutly top drawer. Cockpit looks amazing.

[ForeverPlasticKits]

Absolutely amazing, the level of details is so high!

[digger303]

Burning question is this kit better than the Tamiya Spitfire ?

[Steve64]

Hello gents,

Yeah, I have to say that this is a great kit, and I'm trying my hardest to do it justice. All that fun with the cockpit is now sandwiched between the fuselage halves, with the upper fuselage section added too. Some clamping was needed to get a snug fit but generally, the parts mate well. The biggest problem I had was with the underside of the fuselage. It may have been a small construction error in the cockpit forcing the parts out of alignment, but there was a step that needed attention. It's almost as if Kotare anticipated work in this area (I mean just about every kit needs it) because the beautiful raised rivets stop on either side of the seam. While I'm on the subject of fit, another small problem was the alignment of the fuselage spine with assembled halves, I have another small step close to the cockpit. Considering the surface details and the size of the problem, I decided not to try and fill and sand. I have no idea how I would have restored the lost raised details, and the problem will be hidden by paint I suspect. Well, she's starting to get that Spitfire shape. Here are a few photos:











Oh, and Digger, good question, but sorry, I can't say how this kit compares to the later models of Spitfire produced by Tamiya because I never built one. From reviews, it looks like Tamiya offers more interior detail including an engine. It would be great to know if anyone has looked at both.

P.S. Did you see that Kotare just released an early version Mk1?

[digger303]

Hello gents,

Yeah, I have to say that this is a great kit, and I'm trying my hardest to do it justice. All that fun with the cockpit is now sandwiched between the fuselage halves, with the upper fuselage section added too. Some clamping was needed to get a snug fit but generally, the parts mate well. The biggest problem I had was with the underside of the fuselage. It may have been a small construction error in the cockpit forcing the parts out of alignment, but there was a step that needed attention. It's almost as if Kotare anticipated work in this area (I mean just about every kit needs it) because the beautiful raised rivets stop on either side of the seam. While I'm on the subject of fit, another small problem was the alignment of the fuselage spine with assembled halves, I have another small step close to the cockpit. Considering the surface details and the size of the problem, I decided not to try and fill and sand. I have no idea how I would have restored the lost raised details, and the problem will be hidden by paint I suspect. Well, she's starting to get that Spitfire shape. Here are a few photos:











Oh, and Digger, good question, but sorry, I can't say how this kit compares to the later models of Spitfire produced by Tamiya because I never built one. From reviews, it looks like Tamiya offers more interior detail including an engine. It would be great to know if anyone has looked at both.

P.S. Did you see that Kotare just released an early version Mk1?

Yes I did see that. I won't be buying one though.
I can't see the step your talking about it must be fairly small. Regardless the build looks great...better than great.

[DRUMS01]

Continuing to watch and enjoy this build very much, thanks for sharing it with us.

[Stokesy44]

Just seen on my weekly Hannants email Kotare are releasing an Early Mk1 with wooden 2 blade prop and a non-armored windscreen.

[Steve64]

Hello gents,

It's a pleasure to have you along.

I've jumped ahead a few stages and started work on the wings. I want to get some sub-assemblies constructed so I can paint them in a batch. I'm also curious about the fit.

Kotare keeps rewarding with one-piece mouldings that would have been several parts in earlier kits or those by other manufacturers. Have a look at the wheel well below. There's no assembly, that's one part.

There is a small price to pay - some of the interior detail has smudged on one well, but it is minor. The fit into the lower wing is very, very tight. I had to clamp the bejeesus out of both sides to keep them in place and then let extra thin glue work its magic. You'll see how I did it in the pic below. The end result is a lovely fit with no gaps.





Happy modeling chaps.

[digger303]