This is the 2^nd volume in a revived series from Kagero. According to the editor the series was originally launched in 2001, but decal production issues caused the cessation of publication. They have now restarted this series, and so far, have issued 3 volumes (“Eastern Front” armor, “Japanese Fighters”, and the subject of this review).

“Messerschmitt Bf 109 A-F” jumps right in with color profiles on the very first page. This is followed by 38 more pages of profiles, and a final page with a table of RLM colors produced by various model paint manufacturers. The back cover has an additional two profiles.

Side profiles are provided for Bf 109s starting with Spanish Civil War markings and culminating in schemes from the Eastern Front. The artwork is superb and well-sized. Most pages show left and right profiles of the same aircraft, followed by top/bottom views of the same aircraft on the next page. Brief captions identify each subject, sometimes with scrap views of squadron or personal insignias.

The decal sheet consists of German and Spanish Civil War national insignia in both 1/48 and 1/72 scales. Although I have not tried them yet, they appear to be similar in quality to those found in other Kagero publications. They seem a little thick on the sheet but have minimal excess carrier film and the colors seem nice and dense. It has been my experience that these work well using Microscale Set/Sol.

I have to say I am a big fan of the profiles presented here. The artwork is amazingly detailed, print quality is high and they are a nice, large size. I was excited to hear there would be decals included, but quite disappointed to discover they were only of national insignias. Obviously, most profile type of books do not include any decals, but given the interesting profiles within, and the series name including “decals”, it was a letdown to find these were the only ones. Then again, if they included markings for every profile, it would essentially become a decal sheet production, not a book! It is always nice to have some extra markings in the decal stash (particularly the Spanish Civil War ones which are harder to find), but maybe in some future releases we will at least see some of the individual markings or squadron badges. I think this is a worthwhile addition to any Luftwaffe book collection, and whole-heartedly recommend it. Just do not get too excited about the decal portion of things!

Thanks to Casemate for the review copy, and to IPMS for allowing me to review it!