So I’ve tried to write this review a few times now. And every time I do, I end up on some weird tangent talking about Kotare’s place in the larger modeling community and how I’m bored with standard reviews and how 2023 has been a motherfucker and basically just keep going in circles.

But I don’t want this to be the modeling equivalent of those recipe blogs that force you to sit through 2000 words of therapy journaling before you get to the ingredients. Let’s save that shit for a different post.

This is just going to be about the Kotare 1/32 Spitfire Mk.Ia. One of the hobby’s most anticipated kits of the year. I’ve built it, I’ve painted it. I’ve finished it.

So how was it?

The one that almost wasn’t

I didn’t have any plans to build Kotare’s Spitfire. Yeah I’m jazzed that something has risen from the ashes of Wingnut Wings, and I hope they do gangbusters. But the early Spitfire holds approximately zero interest for me. So my original plan was to sit on the sidelines and hope they get around to a Spit Vb or Vc one day.

Two things changed that.

• First, I listened to the Kotare interview on Sprue Cutters Union, and listening to the discussion of the design and engineering of the kit, I knew I had to experience it.
• Second, I was in need of something to tread water with while sorting out shit in other parts of my life.

A low parts count, well-engineered, out of the box build of a subject I’m not all that invested in? Sounded like the perfect thing to fiddle with while I waited for the drugs to kick in. So I picked one up from LionHeart and got to work.

Spitfire cockpits are annoying

Kotare does a solid job with the Spitfire’s cockpit, but having built at least one Spit cockpit before, man, fuck that noise. First, they’re always fiddly to get together. Or at least get started. Second, they’re a stupid color. Third, after all the work on them, you install them in the fuselage and deflate a bit at how low they sit, and how small the cockpit aperture is, and how all of your hard work on the cockpit is basically invisible.

Kotare did a commendable job making it as not-awful as possible, but I do think the molded seatbelts were not particularly well executed. I was doing mine as an OOB build, but I would strongly recommend fabric belts in 1/32.

Go-Togetherness

Once you get the cockpit installed, the rest of the aircraft pretty much falls together. Even after you accidentally run over the cowl cover and have to try to reshape it.

Of particular impressiveness are the way the horizontal stabilizers slot in from behind (no judge will be deducting alignment points back there) and the way the wingroot is handled. Sublime, Tamiya-like stuff.

I’m also a big fan of the gear struts and the nice, snug, can’t-fuck-it-up fit of the gear struts and the wheels.

It’s a testament to the quality that I don’t have any pictures between installing the cockpit and starting to spray some color tests…

Dark Earth is Mid

There are classic, iconic camo schemes and there are camo schemes that I like. Sometimes, those cross over. But the dark earth/dark green dayfighter scheme is not one of those. I much prefer the later gray/green, the tropical combination of dark earth and middlestone, or the strange and wonderful improvizations done on Malta.

Part of this is that finding a good Dark Earth is…tricky. MRP adjusted their color, one was too caramel, the other maybe not quite so much. Gunze…eh. AKRC…eh. Plus none of them look quite right to the eye without those big fucking roundels, so the eye has a lot of room to play tricks.

For not giving two cats of shit about early Spits, I spent way too many nights trying to nail down my Dark Earth mix.

Finally, I landed on a combo that worked for me, and that was intentionally a bit lighter than I thought was right, anticipating that weathering would darken things up.

Decals!

Since this was an OOB build, I used the kit decals. And they were quite good. I didn’t gloss or bathe the Spitfire in Future or sacrifice any children or small livestock creatures to weird, ancient deities. Instead I used Ammo’s decal solutions and, in a few pinches, AK’s Decal Adapter. The decals played nicely with all, sucked down into details, and only took mild prodding to conform to the raised rivets on the fuselage.

The only downside was the sheen difference, and what looked like splotchiness from the setting solution, but both went away with clear coats.

I also appreciate that the roundels are intentionally a bit shitty. They aren’t perfectly drawn Illustrator circles. They’ve got some wobbliness to their edges, like they were painted by hand.

The only thing that kinda sucked was the profiles being a bit less than clear with some of the stencils. It takes a careful reading to make sense of where everything needs to go. And in some cases, like the marks on the dzus fasteners on the cowl, there’s no real guidance to how they’re supposed to align.

Weathering an Early Spit

The usual conception of these early days Spitfires is that they were clean. But I think a lot of that comes down more to popular imagination and the large number of restored and replica Spitfires flying about all waxed and happy ever since.

Photos reveal some definite wear and grime.

For example:

To weather this bastard, I took some unorthodox methods. I used a LOT of Gunze Mr Weathering Colors, applied, hit with their thinner, and sponged into the surfaces. I used oils and even some acrylic washes for panel lines. Actual oils in some very strategic places. And a combo of all of those plus inks for the exhausts and exhaust staining.

What Didn’t Work For Me

There’s a lot of good about this release. It’s extremely well engineered. The decals are great. The details are nice, when they chose to capture them. The low parts count is a blessing.

But here’s the thing.

This is a 1/32 kit. But the level of detail is generally more befitting a 1/48 aircraft. Eduard’s 48th Spitfires stomp all over the Kotare in the detail department.

I’ve listened to the SCU interview. I know why they make the choices they made. It may even be that they are more accurate. But you know what? Still doesn’t work for me. I want that detail. I want extra visual information. Even if getting it means engaging in a bit of stage makeup.

That and the unenlightened engineering of the windscreen. I thought Tamiya solved this over a decade ago with their big Spits. I guess not.

Verdict: A Must for Spitfire Fans

If you love the early Spitfire, you probably already have this kit. If you buy on engineering and fit, you probably already have this kit or have been tempted.

It’s a very good kit. No doubt. And if Kotare can marry this level of fit and engineering to the detail prowess of, say, Arma Hobby or recent Eduard releases, look out.