Introduction

Luftfahrtverlag Start is perhaps best known for the magazines and books, but they also have an interesting line in decals. Their magazine Luftwaffe Im Focus features a wide array of aircraft flown during World War 2 by the German Air Force, every so often Luftfahrtverlag Start release decal sets that make building models of the aircraft in the magazines easy to accomplish, the previous also applies to the books they release. In this review I get to look at decal sets that cover editions 9 - 24 of Luftwaffe im Focus and the latest book from them Gerhard Barkhorn.

Review

The decal sets are supplied in a Ziploc plastic bag, which also contains a fold out instruction sheet in colour and on good quality paper. The decal set that covers editions 9 - 24 of Luftwaffe im Focus covers 10 aircraft of various types, the decals themselves are all for 1/48th scale models. The aircraft covered in this set are;
Bf 109 E-4 Moritz Emblem, Kanalfront, September 1940, Covered in Edition 21
Bf 109 E-7 Schwarze 10, Balkens, April 1941, Covered in Edition 9
Bf 109 F-2, Gelbe 10, Rußland Mittelabschnitt, October 1941, Covered in Edition 19
Fw 190 A-8, Blaue 1 Blaue 12, Reichsgebier, May 1945, Covered in Edition 20
Bf 110 G-2 mit 21cm Werferrohren, Spring 1944, Covered in Edition 24
Bf 110 G-4, D5 AA Stabskennung, September 1943, Covered in Edition 17
Ju 88 A-4, Werknr. 2240, 5K CA Dno/Nordrußland, Spring 1942, Covered in Edition 20
Hs 129 B-2, Werknr. 0405, Südrußland, Summer 1943, Covered in Edition 22 & 24
Ju 87 D-3, T6 AA, Weißer Blitz Südrußland, Summer 1943, Covered in Edition 21
Bf 109 G14 Rote 8, Reichsgebiet 1945, Covered in Edition 23

The other set here covering the Gerhard Barkhorn title covers;
Bf 109 E-1, Yellow 10, 1940
Bf 109 E-1 Yellow 2, 1941
Bf 109 F-2 Yellow 7, Summer 1941
Bf 109 F-2 Yellow 4, 1941
Bf 109 F-2 Yellow, Winter 1941
Bf 109 F-4 White 5, June 1942
Bf 109 F-4 White 5, July 1942
Bf 109 G-2 White 5, October 1942
Bf 109 G-2 White 9, February 1942
Bf 109 G-6 Doppelwinkel, August 1943
Bf 109 G-6, Doppelwinkel, September 1943
Bf 109 G-6 1944
Bf 109 G-10, January 1944
Fw 190 D-9 February 1945
Me 262 A-1a White 5, April 1945
It should be pointed out that the decals supplied are only those for the specific aircraft and do not include German crosses and the like unless there is something unusual about them. The decals themselves have excellent colour and definition throughout, the decals are also very thin and have the least amount of excess carrier film I have ever seen. This lack of excess carrier film should make using these decals a joy rather than a task. Decal application if you don’t have the title the decals are based upon could prove a little problematic, not from an application standpoint, but from a painting aspect when it comes to the wings. The supplied drawings of each specific aircraft only shows that aircraft from a left or right side view, this is perfectly adequate for decal application.

Gerhard Barkhorn - €15.80
Luftwaffe im Focus Edition 9 – 24 - €16.50

Conclusion

For those who want to build accurate models these decal sets are a must if they cover the aircraft in which you have interest. The decals are a quality product in my opinion, which while having a fairly high price you get what you pay for.