You should check out the 1/32 Great Wall Hobbies P-40 kits. Holy smokes they’re amazing. The price is high, took me a while to bite. Ended up getting their Pearl Harbor P-40 kit for $99 shipped, so I rolled the dice. Glad I did, mind is blown. Lots of detail, tons of PE and extras.. Including the engine and an Engine stand. It’s a complex build. If you can review one, you absolutely should. It’s a show stopper of a kit.
your 100% correct, best kit i have built, the options included in the kit is fantastic other manufacturers should look at this kit and what you get for your money is unreal
Couldn't agree more, Tamiya must be worried! The level of detail is truly astounding, the fit utterly superb, the level of detail astonishing. If they decide to do a Spitfire, Mustang, 109, 190, Zero, Hurricane, P-38, Wildcat, Hellcat, Corsair, Me 262, etc, it will automatically become the best of its type. Expensive, but you'll save money by not buying any after-market.
@@dekenba6482 Spot on man. One of the few kits which is actually worth the money. If they put out the kits you mentioned, they’d be the absolute best on the market.
While I can see the attraction for some of having the engine exposed (Tamiya do provide a very nicely detailed one) to be honest, the Spitfire is such an elegant, beautiful plane that having the cowlings off does spoil the lines of the airframe somewhat.
solid review, most of the detractions Ive seen are comparing this to the 1/24 Airfix, ignoring the completely different engineering philosophy behind them. Personally I'll take the Kotare approach. People seem to be confusing the simple but detailed design for "boring" or slighting them for a lack of rivets that weren't apparent on the actual aircraft, which honestly I think says a lot more about them than the kit. I think you did a great job showing the actual plastic and subtle detail, cheers for that, looking forward to getting my bench cleared and starting mine.
@@DRobbo7798 personally I value engineering and fit over extra internal detail so I consider it fair value, to each their own. The Tamiya kit is a beautiful beast, one day if I get my butt in gear I’ll have them side by side in the display.
@@DRobbo7798 haha thats great, Im glad youre liking it. The best thing is that we can have both, Id love a Tamiya bells and whistles early spit, and Im sure Kotare will produce a later mark (V incoming at least) sadly it seems like Tamiyas 1/32 days are on pause, so im glad to have the options we do. I was hesitant when I saw the Kotare renders showing the amount of detail moulded as a single part but they pulled it off well. Hope you have a great build!
One of the best Spitfire kits I have ever built. Engineering was awesome, and the detail in the cockpit was second to none. I bought it because I did not want to deal with a motor. Great kit.
I received my Kotare Spitfire today. Really impressed with the attention to detail both inside and outside. Not including an engine doesn't phase me in the least. They typically require a lot of extra detailing such as piping and wiring to pull off the effect. Otherwise they detract from the overall appearance, imho! Thanks for making this video!
Great concise and insightful review Cameron. Future Kotare Spitfires are definitely a pre-war Mk 1 plus a MkVa, with a Mk IIa next almost guaranteed (same wing, just a few small part differences). The next big upgrade will be if they make a C-wing sprue, which will then cover the MkVc...
I’m sure they will. This is probably their “test run” kit.. Setting up future kits and so on. Lots of guys from Wing Nut Wings have jumped onboard with Kotare, so the quality and subjects will come.
Let's hope Kotare keep it "manscale" - 1/32 aircraft kit's are the perfect storm for single seat warbirds. We have way plenty kit's represented in 48th scale. Remember, this is just my opinion 🤙
I have watched several reviews of this Mk.1 Spitfire from Kotare and found it to be a stunningly well engineered model .As a mater of fact mine is due to be delivered any second now ! , can't wait ! Kudos to the. " wing nuts" responsible for this developement , and wish them much success in this and future projects , looks like you've hit a home run with this one ! . ......🤔 ..I wonder what a Kotare 1/32 P-51B would look like , ( there's an empty parking space for one of those ) . Thanks for the review , Keep Calm and Model On 👍
Currently the Resin Exhausts are only with pre-orders ( & also for the forthcoming "Brian Lane" Mk 1a release) but Kotare do have plans to market them separately, soon.
I have watched a few reviews of this kit. Yes the details are superb, yes the instructions are above all others, but the lack of engine and gun bay details are not worth the price, over 200 here in Canada. This hobby is definitely being marketed to the upper class. I have been building model kits for about 45 ish years now and the price of modern kits is just gettt our of hand.
I would say, that whilst established companies already have a good financial basis to create new molds with a bit of loss, other small business need to make up for all the work it goes into these new molds, so they will be at a much higher price point. Also they have more freedom to try out new ways, new technologies. This is why they probably went with the Spitfire, as it's a well known and beloved bird that will probably give them a good foothold in the market. Of course I wish they would've chosen something else. It's like having another Tiger I tank at this point.
@@rogueplastic I do not mind that they choose the Spitfire. Maybe a MK V or even a MK XIV would have been preferable. As far as your other point. The Tamiya 1/32 Spits and Mosquito have been out for some time now and still sell for high prices. As long as we builders are willing to pay these prices, these companies will keep charging high prices.
@@mafmaf6417 Well, the first iteration (2009) of the Tamiya Spitfire is cheaper compared to the 2011 one, so they do go lower. Still more expensive than the Kotare one though. So yeah, the Kotare one still is a better value for money, given how much better the detail is.
No engine, in this case, OK. Biggest thing with me is the lack of rivet detail. Hasegawa style? The stabilizers are totally bare of any kind of mold impression whatsoever? is this authentic? The interior for sure is fabulous, looks great. then you close up the fuselage and 75 % cannot be seen anymore. At least I like the molded in seat harness. I HATE seat harnesses. No word on the overall shape?
I contacted Richard Alexander at Kotare (yes, a company where the top people actually engage with their customers) about the stabiliser detail - to my eye everything else is spot on , so I was curious. His reply - "We found that the flush rivets and flush screws on the tailplane are all but invisible in even the best WWII era photographs. We believe that for authenticity they are best not represented by recessed dimples and slots, even in 1/32 scale, for a model representing a WWII era Spitfire Mk.I" Fair enough. I think the overall shape looks very good. Not surprising when Richard is a published author on aircraft profiles, is pretty fanatical about accuracy and has encyclopaedic knowledge on the Spitfire.
I slated this kit originally, but the more reviews I see, the more evident it is that this is indeed an extremely fine product and a credit to the team that was behind those exquisite offerings from Wingnut Wings. It could be nothing else. However, having said that, and this is strictly a personal choice, I will wait for, hopefully, an earlier variant to this 'mid' production model that's now available. A Watts two-blade prop, un-armoured windshield and flat sliding canopy, amongst other details is rather appealing. As is the Earth, Green and Aluminium finish that pre-war RAF machines had for a while. I do think it is a little unfair of you to compare this kit with Tamiya's Mk IX/VII/VIII. 14 years separate these offerings and production techniques have moved on. I know that if I wanted to complete a later Merlin 60 Series, I would go for Tamiya's in a heart beat. It is for me, a beautiful product. An excellent review nonetheless.
Kit costs £90-£100 here in the UK. Not having an engine a very very legitimate argument. Does it have PE? I should bl@@dy hope so and resin detail as well. It's not hugely expensive, but for that amount of money it should have some justification. That's obviously in my opinion, but hey! I'm a very very important person so. At least that's what my mum says.
It is another in a L o n g line of Spitfire kits. Yes there is nice detail, but in the end, when it sits on your shelve, was it worth the cost? We poor model makers, you know, the average broke guy or gal, have to settle for Basic kits these days. Cockpit detail has become rediculous with too many small parts to bring out realism when 99 percent of it will never be seen. Even IF I had the dough to buy this kit I wouldn't, it's overkill...unless the price went way way down, then maybe?
I have yet to see the kotare kit close up, having built rhe real thing wings and airframe, the D box rivets are absolutely flush and would be impossible to model at this scale. I could say mistakes were made in production process of the real thing where the counter sinking was iver done on the odd rivets this would be more authentic to model after the D box we get into 18 to 20 gauge sheet alu . The skins in this area are all dimpled to accept a csk rivet and you would clearly see almost all rivet heads and these would be resessed .. a combination of lap joints and joggled fillet some tin canning can appear in this area . The fuse consists mainly of lap joints thicker skins mainly on the forward section and these would be Sck and lighter skins dimpled again same for control surfaces. I have the Tamiya kit and i find it a little uniform although tis can be easily removed.
Excellent video, just subscribed to you. I have tamiya 1 32 mk. VIII to build, very happy with the detail, but when I do an early Spit, Kotare is who I will buy, looks stunning. I know people have said about lack of engine, but there are other ones with that detail, so it's courses for horses.
Based on many reviews since this model came out, the price and poor quality plastic I have out this kit on my no buy list. No engine was a deal breaker. Kotare was trying to compete with the Airfix kit, ( which is also on my no buy list because if price). Based on the rave reviews I anticipated Kotare was going to be priced way lower than Airfix. Buying from a company who has only made one kit and not enough for their market entry is poor planning. My $ 6.00 1/72 Spitfire kits have more detail.
It’s another Spitfire.. The research better be solid, it’s been done to death. This isn’t anything new. Hard to get excited about it. Just another Spitfire and the research has been done decades ago when it comes to scale modeling. Great instructions, but overall this kit isn’t anywhere close to Tamiya quality.
@@WasatchModeler I was meaning the overall kit compared to Tamiya, not the instructions. Their instructions are fantastic, like the Wing Nut Wing days :) Maybe they went with the Spitfire as a test run as they move onto bigger and more complex aircraft kits? The real test will see how these kits go together and build up.
@@WasatchModeler It they can get to the Wing Nut Wings level of quality in WWII aircraft, Tamiya and other company’s will have some competition. From what I understand, a lot of the guys from Wing Nut Wings are working for Kotare. This accurate? I sure hope it is.
@@WasatchModeler Just found your channel tonight. Good stuff. Just a heads up on the 1/48 AMK Mi-17 kits… (not sure if you have reviewed or built them) They’re turds. Tons of issues. About finished with my build, it’s been a fight all the way through. Once built, it does look great. Just be ready to actually have to fall back on modeling skills with this build. Has been kind of fun having to use old skills with a mess of a kit.
You should check out the 1/32 Great Wall Hobbies P-40 kits. Holy smokes they’re amazing. The price is high, took me a while to bite. Ended up getting their Pearl Harbor P-40 kit for $99 shipped, so I rolled the dice.
Glad I did, mind is blown. Lots of detail, tons of PE and extras.. Including the engine and an Engine stand. It’s a complex build.
If you can review one, you absolutely should. It’s a show stopper of a kit.
your 100% correct, best kit i have built, the options included in the kit is fantastic other manufacturers should look at this kit and what you get for your money is unreal
Couldn't agree more, Tamiya must be worried! The level of detail is truly astounding, the fit utterly superb, the level of detail astonishing. If they decide to do a Spitfire, Mustang, 109, 190, Zero, Hurricane, P-38, Wildcat, Hellcat, Corsair, Me 262, etc, it will automatically become the best of its type. Expensive, but you'll save money by not buying any after-market.
@@dekenba6482 Spot on man. One of the few kits which is actually worth the money. If they put out the kits you mentioned, they’d be the absolute best on the market.
While I can see the attraction for some of having the engine exposed (Tamiya do provide a very nicely detailed one) to be honest, the Spitfire is such an elegant, beautiful plane that having the cowlings off does spoil the lines of the airframe somewhat.
Yup
solid review, most of the detractions Ive seen are comparing this to the 1/24 Airfix, ignoring the completely different engineering philosophy behind them. Personally I'll take the Kotare approach. People seem to be confusing the simple but detailed design for "boring" or slighting them for a lack of rivets that weren't apparent on the actual aircraft, which honestly I think says a lot more about them than the kit. I think you did a great job showing the actual plastic and subtle detail, cheers for that, looking forward to getting my bench cleared and starting mine.
@@DRobbo7798 personally I value engineering and fit over extra internal detail so I consider it fair value, to each their own. The Tamiya kit is a beautiful beast, one day if I get my butt in gear I’ll have them side by side in the display.
@@DRobbo7798 haha thats great, Im glad youre liking it. The best thing is that we can have both, Id love a Tamiya bells and whistles early spit, and Im sure Kotare will produce a later mark (V incoming at least) sadly it seems like Tamiyas 1/32 days are on pause, so im glad to have the options we do. I was hesitant when I saw the Kotare renders showing the amount of detail moulded as a single part but they pulled it off well. Hope you have a great build!
One of the best Spitfire kits I have ever built. Engineering was awesome, and the detail in the cockpit was second to none. I bought it because I did not want to deal with a motor. Great kit.
I received my Kotare Spitfire today. Really impressed with the attention to detail both inside and outside. Not including an engine doesn't phase me in the least. They typically require a lot of extra detailing such as piping and wiring to pull off the effect. Otherwise they detract from the overall appearance, imho! Thanks for making this video!
Great concise and insightful review Cameron.
Future Kotare Spitfires are definitely a pre-war Mk 1 plus a MkVa, with a Mk IIa next almost guaranteed (same wing, just a few small part differences). The next big upgrade will be if they make a C-wing sprue, which will then cover the MkVc...
Nice kit. The lack of an engine means I will be taking a pass on this one.
Thanks for this review. I have high hopes for this kit and Kotare's future projects. Hope they scale down to 1/48 as well if we're lucky!
I’m sure they will. This is probably their “test run” kit.. Setting up future kits and so on. Lots of guys from Wing Nut Wings have jumped onboard with Kotare, so the quality and subjects will come.
Let's hope Kotare keep it "manscale" - 1/32 aircraft kit's are the perfect storm for single seat warbirds. We have way plenty kit's represented in 48th scale. Remember, this is just my opinion 🤙
A good, solid review. I’m absolutely impressed with mine. Worth every cent, in my opinion.
Thanks for sharing. I’m keen to build this kit after I get through my stash some more.
I have watched several reviews of this Mk.1 Spitfire from Kotare and found it to be a stunningly well engineered model .As a mater of fact mine is due to be delivered any second now ! , can't wait ! Kudos to the. " wing nuts" responsible for this developement , and wish them much success in this and future projects , looks like you've hit a home run with this one ! . ......🤔 ..I wonder what a Kotare 1/32 P-51B would look like , ( there's an empty parking space for one of those ) . Thanks for the review , Keep Calm and Model On 👍
Currently the Resin Exhausts are only with pre-orders ( & also for the forthcoming "Brian Lane" Mk 1a release) but Kotare do have plans to market them separately, soon.
Correct
Zoukei-Mura is the gold standard, hoping they get around to a Spitfire release now they have covered the P51, ME 109 & FW 190
My only concern is the cost, great kit, but I can see where the criticisms come in given the cost, though I do love the overall engineering
Good to see an upload from you Cameron! Solid review
Thanks
I have watched a few reviews of this kit. Yes the details are superb, yes the instructions are above all others, but the lack of engine and gun bay details are not worth the price, over 200 here in Canada.
This hobby is definitely being marketed to the upper class. I have been building model kits for about 45 ish years now and the price of modern kits is just gettt our of hand.
I would say, that whilst established companies already have a good financial basis to create new molds with a bit of loss, other small business need to make up for all the work it goes into these new molds, so they will be at a much higher price point. Also they have more freedom to try out new ways, new technologies.
This is why they probably went with the Spitfire, as it's a well known and beloved bird that will probably give them a good foothold in the market. Of course I wish they would've chosen something else. It's like having another Tiger I tank at this point.
@@rogueplastic I do not mind that they choose the Spitfire. Maybe a MK V or even a MK XIV would have been preferable.
As far as your other point. The Tamiya 1/32 Spits and Mosquito have been out for some time now and still sell for high prices. As long as we builders are willing to pay these prices, these companies will keep charging high prices.
@@mafmaf6417 Well, the first iteration (2009) of the Tamiya Spitfire is cheaper compared to the 2011 one, so they do go lower. Still more expensive than the Kotare one though.
So yeah, the Kotare one still is a better value for money, given how much better the detail is.
No engine, in this case, OK. Biggest thing with me is the lack of rivet detail. Hasegawa style? The stabilizers are totally bare of any kind of mold impression whatsoever? is this authentic?
The interior for sure is fabulous, looks great. then you close up the fuselage and 75 % cannot be seen anymore. At least I like the molded in seat harness. I HATE seat harnesses.
No word on the overall shape?
I contacted Richard Alexander at Kotare (yes, a company where the top people actually engage with their customers) about the stabiliser detail - to my eye everything else is spot on , so I was curious. His reply - "We found that the flush rivets and flush screws on the tailplane are all but invisible in even the best WWII era photographs. We believe that for authenticity they are best not represented by recessed dimples and slots, even in 1/32 scale, for a model representing a WWII era Spitfire Mk.I" Fair enough. I think the overall shape looks very good. Not surprising when Richard is a published author on aircraft profiles, is pretty fanatical about accuracy and has encyclopaedic knowledge on the Spitfire.
I slated this kit originally, but the more reviews I see, the more evident it is that this is indeed an extremely fine product and a credit to the team that was behind those exquisite offerings from Wingnut Wings. It could be nothing else.
However, having said that, and this is strictly a personal choice, I will wait for, hopefully, an earlier variant to this 'mid' production model that's now available. A Watts two-blade prop, un-armoured windshield and flat sliding canopy, amongst other details is rather appealing. As is the Earth, Green and Aluminium finish that pre-war RAF machines had for a while.
I do think it is a little unfair of you to compare this kit with Tamiya's Mk IX/VII/VIII. 14 years separate these offerings and production techniques have moved on. I know that if I wanted to complete a later Merlin 60 Series, I would go for Tamiya's in a heart beat. It is for me, a beautiful product.
An excellent review nonetheless.
ZM, Tamiya have great instructions. Great review!
Cool details. Have a great build.
For the price of this kit, I'd want an engine.
Airfix spit mk9 1/24....same price here in the UK (if you shop around!) and the Airfix Engine is beautiful"
A good comparison would be the tamiya 1/48 spitfire mk1....yes smaller scale but a lot off similarities in the kit pieces!
Interesting
Kit costs £90-£100 here in the UK. Not having an engine a very very legitimate argument. Does it have PE? I should bl@@dy hope so and resin detail as well. It's not hugely expensive, but for that amount of money it should have some justification. That's obviously in my opinion, but hey! I'm a very very important person so. At least that's what my mum says.
It is another in a L o n g line of Spitfire kits. Yes there is nice detail, but in the end, when it sits on your shelve, was it worth the cost? We poor model makers, you know, the average broke guy or gal, have to settle for Basic kits these days. Cockpit detail has become rediculous with too many small parts to bring out realism when 99 percent of it will never be seen. Even IF I had the dough to buy this kit I wouldn't, it's overkill...unless the price went way way down, then maybe?
I have yet to see the kotare kit close up, having built rhe real thing wings and airframe, the D box rivets are absolutely flush and would be impossible to model at this scale. I could say mistakes were made in production process of the real thing where the counter sinking was iver done on the odd rivets this would be more authentic to model after the D box we get into 18 to 20 gauge sheet alu . The skins in this area are all dimpled to accept a csk rivet and you would clearly see almost all rivet heads and these would be resessed .. a combination of lap joints and joggled fillet some tin canning can appear in this area . The fuse consists mainly of lap joints thicker skins mainly on the forward section and these would be Sck and lighter skins dimpled again same for control surfaces. I have the Tamiya kit and i find it a little uniform although tis can be easily removed.
Excellent video, just subscribed to you. I have tamiya 1 32 mk. VIII to build, very happy with the detail, but when I do an early Spit, Kotare is who I will buy, looks stunning. I know people have said about lack of engine, but there are other ones with that detail, so it's courses for horses.
Based on many reviews since this model came out, the price and poor quality plastic I have out this kit on my no buy list. No engine was a deal breaker. Kotare was trying to compete with the Airfix kit, ( which is also on my no buy list because if price). Based on the rave reviews I anticipated Kotare was going to be priced way lower than Airfix. Buying from a company who has only made one kit and not enough for their market entry is poor planning. My $ 6.00 1/72 Spitfire kits have more detail.
Good review, although curious of the Kevin thumbs down meme in the thumbnai...but I guess it got me to click on the video and watch 😂
My understanding is that Kotare is a lot of the same people as WW
Correct
It’s another Spitfire.. The research better be solid, it’s been done to death. This isn’t anything new. Hard to get excited about it.
Just another Spitfire and the research has been done decades ago when it comes to scale modeling.
Great instructions, but overall this kit isn’t anywhere close to Tamiya quality.
The instructions are much better then Tamiyas. I would agree of revell was making it but this kit is seeing the new standard for quality.
@@WasatchModeler I was meaning the overall kit compared to Tamiya, not the instructions. Their instructions are fantastic, like the Wing Nut Wing days :)
Maybe they went with the Spitfire as a test run as they move onto bigger and more complex aircraft kits?
The real test will see how these kits go together and build up.
@@WasatchModeler It they can get to the Wing Nut Wings level of quality in WWII aircraft, Tamiya and other company’s will have some competition.
From what I understand, a lot of the guys from Wing Nut Wings are working for Kotare. This accurate? I sure hope it is.
@@WasatchModeler Just found your channel tonight. Good stuff.
Just a heads up on the 1/48 AMK Mi-17 kits… (not sure if you have reviewed or built them) They’re turds. Tons of issues. About finished with my build, it’s been a fight all the way through. Once built, it does look great. Just be ready to actually have to fall back on modeling skills with this build.
Has been kind of fun having to use old skills with a mess of a kit.
the Mk.I spitfire hasn't been done in 1/32 since 1967, so not quite "done to death".
Well worth £1 per part imho
Without doubt - there's NO BETTER model of the Supermarine Spitfire glider on the market.
NOT
This kit is a terrible value. Way overpriced for what you get.