Kotare Spitfire Mk Ia

This is the Kotare Spitfire Mk Ia which was released a year or so ago. I chose to represent DW-K as seen in this picture. 

The only aftermarket products used were the HGW seat belts, Hawaiian Air Depot masks, 1/32 rivets and CMK navigation lights.  

The cockpit instruments are individual decals. The final results are pretty good. 

The Spitfire Mk I had a fair number of raised rivets on the fuselage. The bottom of the fuselage had rivets that I destroyed when I filled and sanded the seam.  

I used rivet decals which worked well after a coat of primer and some paint. 

The Kotare kit fits together well. In fact, Kotare has done what it can to make sure only the correct part will fit in a specific location. Kotare has also taken some steps to preserve some specific points of detail. For example, the fuselage rear has rivets on the spine, so Kotare made this a separate piece. 

I bought the HAD mask set for both the camo pattern B and a complete mask and markings set for DW-K. I used a Criquet cutter to cut both Tamiya and Mig Ammo yellow masking paper. The RAF colors were mixed from Tamiya paints. HAD does a great job of ensuring the mask lines up on a panel line so you get it placed correctly. 

Cover the blue and paint the red. The DW-K set also included masks for the cockpit canopy interior and exterior, fin flashes, wheel wells and wing walks.  

The fuselage national insignia and squadron codes were a little tricky to position.  

With Tamiya Acrylic paints you don't need to wait too long before you can re-mask and add the next color.  

This is the kit with HAD masking camo and markings. The masks work great for the early Spitfires which had a hard demarcation between the different colors. 

Kortare engineered the kit so the proper angles are set on the landing gear struts and wheels.  

The decal set includes the witness marks for each of the panel fasteners. Each of the engine panels is a separate piece. When they are attached to the fuselage, they have a more realist look because they do not present a perfectly flush surface.  

The cockpit with door open. The early Spitfires did not have the crowbar in the door. There are a lot of raised rivets on the Spitfire fuselage and painting the markings has some advantages over decals on the rough surface. 

Here is a close up of the Spitfire's spine with double row of rivets. The designers did a good job when the engineered the way this kit was molded. 

This build was a chance to try cutting masks for both the camo pattern and markings. I think I can use some of the techniques I learned to make my own masks for WWI roundels.  

Kotare designed the kit with elevator down and right rudder. The cockpit controls are molded to match. The ailerons are in the neutral position, but molded as separate pieces. 

I added the tapes over the wing MGs.  

Hope you enjoyed the pics. This should give you an idea of what the Kotare kit looks like when built.