INTERMEDIATE BUILD
The squadron bell clangs as Steve Budd leaps from his deck chair and scrambles for Kōtare’s 1/32 mid-production Spitfire Mk.Ia.
When Wingnut Wings announced that the curtain was coming down on what was definitively the greatest modelling theatre of dreams for World War One aviation fans, a wave of dismay circled the globe. Now, some years on, a new winged Phoenix has emerged from those ashes under the company title of Kōtare, the Māori name for a small Kingfisher native to New Zealand. With Wingnut talent at its heart, Kōtare’s inaugural release of the mid-production Spitfire Mk.I signals its dramatic entry onto the modelling stage. From the plush instruction booklet to the startlingly clever engineering and execution of the plastic parts, it promises marvellous things to come.
Price:
Studying Steps 1 and 2 of the build guide, it seemed sensible to remove everything required from the runners straight away and to neaten/test-fit the parts. This was easier and quicker than any kit I had previously tackled due to the tooling being so accurately aligned that the usual separation lines were either minor or absent. Next on the shopping list was the metal pilot’s seat. Kōtare included options with and without integr…