Kotare Spitfire Mk.Ia (1/32)

[JR]

I couldn't agree more.
Sometimes you get the feeling that small parts are made in two or three even smaller parts just because they can be.

Hobby Boss are experts at this !

[JR]

Great work on the office, good tip on the small decals

[stillp]

Well, when I was a poverty-stricken schoolboy, the number of parts had a major influence on my choice of kits - the more parts, the longer it would keep me busy.
Pete

[tr1ckey66]

Great start Steve. Looks like a good office OOB, :thumb2:
Paul

[Airborne01]

Very nice Steve!
Steve

[papa 695]

Just seen this one Steve, a very nice looking/detailed kit, and a cracking start. The black armour plate does make a striking difference.

[stona]

So after a bit of a delay I was able to have a pretty much full morning on this.

The decal sheet, unlike most kits even at this scale, comes with a complete set of stencils and placards for the cockpit. It's probably about 30 decals, almost all of which I have used. That took a while!

For me an aftermarket Sutton harness is required. Given the excellent cockpit that Kotare have provided it would seem almost churlish not to honour it with something a bit better than the one molded as one of the seat options. This is an HGW harness and it took a while too I'll probably have to make some subtle adjustments to make it line up with the frames which will fit behind the one with the seat/armour attached.

Most of this is just dry fitted, the seat frame will pop out, so I can disassemble it and 'weather' the interior a little bit, maybe do a bit of dry-brushing and whatnot.

[Neil Merryweather]

Wow Steve, that's a model in its own right!
Absolutely agree with the decision about the Sutton harness-top job sir!

[papa 695]

A cracking looking pit Steve.

[Tim Marlow]

Really nice Steve, superb detail in there .

[stona]

Close of play and a dry fit of the starboard side of the cockpit, just to give an idea of what you get. The other side is just as good. It is definitely the best Spitfire cockpit I've built 'out of the box' in this or any scale.

[tr1ckey66]

Very Nice Steve. I look forward to building mine. And I agree, an HGW harness is a must. I’m also going with Eduard exhausts, possible aftermarket IP and wheels, but to be fair it does look good OOB.
Cheers, P

[stona]

I reckon the I.P. is fine.

I've had a look at the exhausts and, yes, they could be improved. Those in the kit are by no means bad and can easily be improved with a bit of work.

The wheels are not bad and are 'weighted' (a bit too much in my opinion). I assume that they are the correct wheels for these aircraft, I've not looked into that, but would be surprised if Kotare had got them wrong, their research is pretty rigorous.

I totally 'get' why they did the molded harness option but I suspect most people who invest in a kit like this will fit an aftermarket version.

[Tim Marlow]

Absolutely lovely. That looks as good as anything I’ve seen…..

[Airborne01]

A great pity much of this excellent work won't be seen :anguished:
Steve