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. We've asked Kotare for comment on the new series and the thinking behind the prohibition on future re-releases and will provide updates here as they become available.
The kit is available for pre-order.
You can read more about it here.