Peterpools

Thanks Rob Shall do. Just so nice to enjoy a build without any frustrations and fighting poorly fitting parts. I never built a WNW's kit and now I know what I missed for sure.

Oliver, in that case I should be close to Einstein 😁

Thanks Carl, just a pleasure to build a kit that doesn't fight you every step of the way and the instructions, what can I say - so far I couldn't even mess them up. Right with you on the weathering ... keeping it light absolutely adds to the overall effect and highlights the details. Too heavy handed and the details tend to get lost and disappear. I was planning on using the Wako Sutton harness but was amazed I had already used the Quintas set when I did the initial cockpit clean up ... can't believe I forgot doing that. But I'm planning on building the Revell Hurricane MK 1a over the winter and will be using them on that build. Should actually be a lot easier then the Quintas set, as they kept breaking and snaping apart.

Thanks John, much appreciated. So far, it's been a very enjoyable and fun build. Sure, hope it stays that way.

Thanks Dennis, very much appreciated. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll have the fuselage buttoned up and moving onto the next subassemblies which will be the fuselage exterior, tailplanes and then the wings. So far, no issues at all and the Kotare kit has been a pleasure to work on.

Thanks PM - it was a lot of work and love how the office came out. Burning question is how the Kotare kit in the end stacks up against Tamiya - right now, it's neck and neck.

Awesome build - looks fantastic.

Oh no, I hate back tracking but it's the right way to correct the base. Seems there are builds I feel I spend more time re-doing and back tracking then moving forward.

KOTARE SPITFIRE Mk1A While waiting for what seemed of weeks of never ending rain and 100% humidity to let up, so I could finish the Sea Fury, I started cleaning up nearly all the parts for the Kotare Spitfire’s front office, drilled all the bulkhead lightening holes required for the fuselage and ordered all the Tamiya acrylics paint I was missing, as I’m planning on going with all Tamiya acrylics for the build. Once the Sea Fury was completed and jumping into the Kotare Spit build, it was a pleasure ‘starting’ as with so much of the preliminary cleanup and prep work had already been done. Understanding how thorough Kotare’s research is, as their ‘Team’ lineage leads straight back to WNW, I have complete faith in their color callouts, painting guide and instructions. First up was getting my head into gear for the use of two cockpit Interior RAF Greens: the basic cockpit color “A” - Supermarine Interior Green Matt (XF71- 2 & X28 - 1) and Interior Gray Green XF76, both on the color chart and would be followed to the tee. Only AM I am planning on using; the Quinta Studio cockpit set, everything else will be from what’s in the box. Instructions are so WNW like and so beautifully done – it’s how all instructions should be. Care has to be taken on how the cockpit colors are masked off and applied, I just went slowly, referring more then normal to the instructions and all went well. Once I had the basic cockpit assemblies built up, painted and lightly weathered (yup, lightly weathered and definite departure of my usual building style), the cockpit tub was test fitted a number of times and will be added to the fuselage as a compete assembly. The molded on electric lines on the IP lower left-hand frame were replaced with wire for a better 3D effect. It was time to build up and complete the seat and I was really surprised to have found the seat painted, weathered and the Quinta Sutton harness already added. I totally forgot I had completed the seat with the Quinta Sutton Harness added as well, when I was cleaning up the parts weeks prior to starting the kit, put it back in the box and forgotten I did it; a senior moment for sure. I’ve used many Quinta seatbelt sets and the Sutton set as I remember was a pain, cracking and breaking in a few spots, requiring a lot of repair work but it’s done and looks pretty good. Actually, I still need to add the wires from the metal bracket to the antenna bracing frame. While I was actually happy there wasn’t a Merlin engine to build, as way too many of my builds have exposed Merlin’s already, truth be said, I was tired of building them. Kotare chose to mold a lot of the details in place which is fine for most parts but not so great for others, as it made it somewhat harder to paint them and there were compromises made. Two perfect examples were the oxygen tank and the two compressed air tanks behind the cockpit, the sides of the tanks flatten out as they merge into the sidewall. If they were separate parts, I would have air brushed them rather then brush painting. They look fine once done and installed but just my preferred choice. Loads of cockpit decals and placards are included and a lot of time was devoted to adding them all at this point. I used a combination of kit and Quinta placards, dials and switches, on all the side walls and the office looked busy and just right. Quinta supplied the IP and a beautiful seat back cushion. I did find some clarity issues with the Quinta instructions as to the decal placement for the very first time, as I’ve used their 3D decals since they first came out, with this being the first time I found the instructions a bit lacking in orientation and location for some of the smaller decals. Kotare’s Front office is gorgeous and a gem. I know the burning question will be, which is better: Tamiya or Kotare – I’ll need to wait for the completion of the build to see for myself. Almost all the interior cockpit parts are still being dry fitted and tweaked, just sitting in place and look pretty good.

Mark WOW, absolutely stellar. Going to be a knockout for sure.

Nice work on the gun sight. I've yet to try the UV method but that day is coming.

Scott Coming along very nicely. Completely agree with Carl, the RAM are basically a special tape to cover seams and gaps that would reflect radar signals and not raised surfaces as every model manufacturer depicts them. Decals or paint flat on the model is the way to go.

Oliver Looking mighty good. I especially like how you are working in the tire tracks ,

Just love them clean and neat for sure.

John Thye are on my48th scale buy list for sure.

John Will be following with great interest and learning about both the kit and aircraft. Agreed, the vac canopy is going to be a bit fiddly and hoping it isn't a cuss factor at all. 🤞

John Simply stellar build. You latest Wildcat looks brilliant and the tri-color cammo is spot on and perfectly done. Two gorgeous Wildcats for the collection and display case. I'm always amazed at the speed and quality level you constantly achieve and work at. 🏆

John Amazing work ... looks so good.🏆

Maybe just a tad high but if it was my F8, I would leave it as is, just looks so good.🏆

Oliver Nice to see where you are going - progress: right on target. When I was a model railroader many decades ago, the supplies available were amazing and now they are even better and more realistic. Woodland Scenic and Scenic Express come to mind.👍

Mark Right win Harv, so very nicely done

Mark Incredible. Being 76, if I spent half that much time, I would have forgotten what I was trying to make in the first place. 😉

Smitty, Thanks for posting. As a GA pilot for decades, King Airs are near and dear.

John Sounds great and going with acrylics. now that's a change for sure.

Mark Perfectly done and the results are amazing.