I will not hide the fact I've always been a huge fan of the Supermarine Spitfire and specifically the Merlin-engined marks. Kagero has released volume #27 in the Topcolors series and this one certainly does not disappoint. This publication is dedicated to Polish Spitfires, specifically to eight machines ranging from a Mk I to a Mk XVI.

What your money buys you is a stunning publication with a beautifully printed glossy cover and 18 stunning pages of profile drawings of the eight Polish machines. Also included is a sheet of decals representing all eight schemes presented in the book. I shouldn't forget to mention the fact the decals are printed by Cartograf. The publication and decal set arrives in a re-sealable plastic bag which I thought to be a nice touch to preserve and protect your investment. I would hope more companies would provide this type of service like Kagero.

History and Performance

The Fw-190 entered operational service in the summer of 1941 and immediately left its mark on aviation history. Over 20,000 Fw-190s were built in various series and saw service on all fronts during the war. The Fw-190A series was initially designed as a fighter/interceptor, but its performance fell off dramatically at higher altitudes. The Fw-190F-8 was designed as a ground attack aircraft and performed this duty remarkable well. The Fw-190 was also flown by the air forces of Hungary, Romania and Turkey.

See the Osprey publication “Production Line to Front Line Focke-Wulf Fw 190” by Malcolm V Lowe for a history of the design and combat of this aircraft.

I've had an Airfix Buccaneer in my to-build pile for about ten years since I bought it in a flea market in Florida. I'd never used die-cut masking sets (or liquid mask) before, so I took up this product as something of a challenge.

The product is relatively easy to use...more so on the canopy and windshield than on the landing gear. Still, you need liquid masking agent to complete the job on the canopy, and I'm not sure I did the job right. After painting and removal of the masks, the canopy had either residue or etching left behind on some of the liquid masked areas. I'd kept the masking on for more than a week, so that might have something to do with it.

I didn't get a chance to photograph the completed windshield. The mask removed some of the paint from one of the frames, so I'll have to go back and do touch-up there.

Bottom Line

Another entry into aftermarket 1/700 scale US Navy 20mm mounts. Has single and double tripod mounts. Photoetch steel with close to scale look, not difficult to fold, fair value, but still has flat barrels. One of few sources for 20mmx2 mounts. Will give acceptable, good-looking 20mm mounts for late WW2 USN warships.

One major bugaboo for 1/700 scale warships has been oversized light AA weapons. Most injection-molded kits have 20mm barrels that are more like 3-5 inch guns when scaled up to actual size. Gun shields are thicker than battle ship armor plate when scaled up. In other words, most WW2 models suffer from light AA weapons that are way too big, wide, chunky and oversized, enough so to make the model look toy-like instead of accurate. This is especially true for US Navy WW2 warships, which carried numerous Oerlikon 20mm mounts.

This is the first release in Kagero’s new Red Series. From what I understand, the Red Series will consist of decals accompanied by 8 pages of color instructions. Although I have the 1/48 scale sheet for review, it is available in 1/72 and 1/32 as well.

The decals and accompanying booklet come in a re-sealable plastic sleeve, which is useful for storage purposes. The booklet itself is indeed 8 pages (including front and back cover), and is printed on high quality, thin (think good quality magazine) paper stock. Good quality color printing has been used throughout. The cover page has a dramatic in-action painting of Mustang #1 on the decal sheet. The interior 6 pages cover the individual subjects of the decals (see below). The final (back) page has 3 small profiles of the subjects, as well as a brief how-to on the best way to apply Kagero decals.

3 aircraft are covered in this decal sheet: