Decals in 3 scales: 1:72, 1:48 and 1:32
Book format: 18 pages, soft back, full colour throughout, decal sheet included with markings in 3 scales for 8 different Spitfires. Text in English and Polish.
Review by: Geoff Coughlin (Oct 2011)
Our thanks to Kagero for supplying our review sample.
This is the first of what, I hope, will be many reviews of Kagero books, decals and profiles.
From the titles I have bought in the past, they always seem to be of high quality and truly inspirational in terms of quality – perfect for scale modellers, as well as anyone else interested in the subject.
Top Colours 27 – Polish Spitfires
You’ll see that this series is already at No. 27, so you’ll have plenty of opportunity exploring the Kagero website and seeing all the other subjects, not only the Top Colours series – but many more besides.
High quality Profiles
What strikes you hard and quickly is the sheer quality of the artwork and colour all-aspect profiles included for each subject featured.
The realism is genuinely breathtaking and will definitely help you add some subtle and appropriate weathering to your model. I have deliberately only included one image from inside the booklet as, although I wanted to include them all, I don’t think it’s very fair to Kagero. But, take my word for it, the quality runs throughout.
Aircraft featured:
- Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IIa (P8387) PK-H of No. 315 (Deblinski) Squadron, Northolt, August 1941. Dark Green / Dark Earth over Sky undersides and fuselage band
- Supermarine Spitfire I (X4828) RF-K of No. 303 (Kosciusco) Squadron, Speke, September 1941. Repainted from Temperate Land to Day Fighter Scheme with areas in Dark Earth being repainted in Ocean Grey, with underside most likely painted in Medium Sea Grey.
- Supermarine Spitfire Vb (AA853) WX-C of No. 302 (Poznanski) Squadron, Croydon, early July 1942. Day Fighter Scheme of Dark Green and Ocean Grey on upper surfaces with Medium Sea Grey undersides. Four white bands around forward fuselage were introduced by orders issued on 4 and 7 July 1942 but removed after 1 July.
- Supermarine Spitfire F.IX (BS456) UZ-Z of No. 306 (Torunski) Squadron, Northolt, autumn 1942. Day Fighter Scheme of Dark Green and Ocean Grey on upper surfaces with Medium Sea Grey undersides.
- Supermarine Spitfire F.IX (EN179) SJ-Z of No. 316 (Warszawski) Squadron, Northolt, spring 1943. Day Fighter Scheme of Dark Green and Ocean Grey on upper surfaces with Medium Sea Grey undersides.
- Supermarine Spitfire F.IX (MH353) WX-K of No. 302 (Poznanski) Squadron, Northolt, late 1943. Day Fighter Scheme of Dark Green and Ocean Grey on upper surfaces with Medium Sea Grey undersides.
- Supermarine Spitfire LF.IX (TA864) LW-L of No. 318 (Gdanski) Squadron, Risano near Udine, May-June 1945. Day Fighter Scheme of Dark Green and Ocean Grey on upper surfaces with Medium Sea Grey undersides.
- Supermarine Spitfire LF.XVI (TB898) JL-L of No. 317 (Wilenski) Squadron, Ahlhorn, late 1945. Day Fighter Scheme of Dark Green and Ocean Grey on upper surfaces with Medium Sea Grey undersides.
Decals Sheet
Cartograf produces very high quality decals sheets and this one is no exception. Colour saturation, hue and register are perfect.
You get all the great emblems, motifs and zaps applied to the subject aircraft that will make your model stand out from the rest and add a little bit of colour too, to break up the sombre camouflage colours.
The carrier film is very hard to even see on the sheet, which is excellent. Apply these decals to a high gloss finish and you won’t see it at all – superb! As identified above, complete markings for all 8 aircraft in all three scales is included on this sheet.
Conclusion
Stunning. What else is there to say?
This is as about as relevant and comprehensive a package as you could wish for if you want to build any of the Spitfires featured. I love the all-aspect colour profiles as they leave nothing to guesswork.
Some excellent, authoritative information is given, especially where newer marking were applied and the camouflage is different to the surrounding area. It’s just so useful; the entire package must come highly recommended.
| Quick summary | Star rating out of 5 |
| Quality of printing | ***** |
| Accuracy | ***** |
| Instructions | ***** |
| Subject choice | **** |
| Application (based on past experience with this manufacturer) | ***** |
| Overall | ***** |
Geoff C.