In a press release today, Richard Alexander, Kotare general manager, announced a new series of 1/32 scale limited edition kits celebrating photo reconnaissance Spitfires and the pilots who flew them. The initial kit in the series will be the Spitfire Mk.I PR Type A. Based on existing Kotare tooling, this edition will include a new canopy hood with tear-drop side blisters, gun port plugs, and camera lenses. Cartograf decals provide markings for two aircraft with the No. 2 Camouflage Unit in November and December 1939.
Kotare is limiting the number of kits produced for the Mk.I PR Type A to 2,000 hand-numbered releases, and will auction off No. 1 and No. 2000 to support New Zealand's Big Buddy charity. The company plans to follow this release with a new model of subsequent Spitfire photo recon variants annually until models of all of the variants have been produced.
The press release emphatically states that this kit, once produced, will never be released again.
"The reason that K32501 Kotare 1/32 Spitfire Mk.I PR Type A will never be reissued again is to ensure it is truly an exclusive limited numbered edition," Richard Alexander said in an email. "That's not to say that some of the plastic parts will never be used in future releases of different models, but K32501 Kotare 1/32 Spitfire Mk.I PR Type A will never be reissued again."
The kit is available for pre-order.
You can read more about it here.
This story has been updated with quotes from Richard Alexander.