These decals are first-rate from several perspectives.

First of all, they’re very well researched, and Kagero seems to have gone out of their way to do subjects which aren’t common among decal makers.

Second, the instructions are head and shoulders above anything I’ve seen as far as color instructions, decal placement instructions, and decal application instructions.

Third, the decals are by Cartograf of Italy, and they are the industry standard for color, registration and ease of application.

First, the subjects:

• P-51D-25-NA 44-72671 flown by Lt. William Saks, 457th FS, and 506th FG based at North Field, Iwo Jima June 1945. “The Enchantress”
• P-51D-25-NA 44-72570 flown by Lt. Ralph S. Gardner and 2nd Lt. Chester Jatczak, 457th FS, 506th FG based at North Field, Iwo Jima June 1945. “Fighting Lady”
• F-6D-10-NA 44-14841 flown by Capt. William A. Shomo, 82nd TRS, based at Hill Field, Mindoro, 12 January 1945

The two green-tailed P-51s are both from the same squadron, and I decided to do aircraft 528, flown by 2nd Lt William Saks, who failed to return from the mission of June 1, 1945, along with 24 other Mustangs. This mission was known as “Black Friday”.

I am also happy to see that Captain Shomo’s F-6 is the one in which he got all those kills, not the gaudy “Flying Undertaker” which was his later show-off plane. I would suggest that if you’re planning to do this aircraft you could use the Quickboost F-6D conversion, 72 234. I reviewed this conversion, and did the F-6 that’s on this decal sheet. Their decals are far superior to my homemade ones.

Instructions

These are the best decal instructions I’ve seen anywhere. The Kagero books are more in-depth, but that’s a book with a decal sheet. These instructions give you all the color info you need, decal placement, and a refresher on how to apply their decals.

Application

I am quite happy with how well these decals worked just following the instructions. A quick swipe with a Q-Tip with some Micro-Sol, apply the decal, position it, blot with a Kleenex, and it’s done.

Overall Evaluation

This decal set was so good that I went to Amazon.com and bought the Kagero book on the Spitfires, with the decals included. The instructions are first-rate, the research is super, and the decals themselves are great.

Thanks to Kagero for providing the product, and to IPMS/USA and Steve Collins for letting me do the review.