Fantasy Printshop | Euro Decals ED-32141A Supermarine Spitfires Over Malta (Part A)

Reviewed by Iain Ogilvie

Before I start, I have to declare a little bias...

Supermarine Spitfires AND Malta: two things that tick big boxes for me, and I have a few Maltese genes in the mix as well, so I was quite excited when I saw that Fantasy Printshop/Euro Decals were releasing these sheets!

I also need to point out that this is only one, of two, new sheets on this subject from Fantasy Printshop: I'll be back to review the second sheet in the near future.

In my humble opinion, not only is the defence of Malta during the darkest days of World War Two worth capturing in model form on purely historic grounds, the unusual colours used give rise to some unusual looking Spitfires from a modelling perspective - but more of that shortly.

As with other Fantasy Printshop decals that we have reviewed, the print quality appears top notch, with good colour density and perfect register, along with a thin and absolutely minimal varnish layer.

Enough national markings are included to be able to build all four subjects from the sheet - even if you only build one of the subjects covered by the sheet you will have spares for more mundane Spitfire projects.

As with other sheets in the range, printing is on a blue ground making it easier to see all the white printed areas.

Options

A total of four options are included:

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb Trop, BR586 ’T-M’ of 249 Squadron, Malta 1943 'Identification Blue' over 'Azure Blue'
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vc Trop, BR124, ‘U-2’, photographed on USS Wasp en-route to Malta in April 1942, in 'Dark Mediterranean Blue' over 'Sky Blue'
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vc Trop, BR126, ‘GL-E’, photographed after a repaint at Gibraltar, June 1942, prior to going to Malta, in 'Dark Mediterranean Blue' over 'Sky Blue'
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vc Trop, BR344, ‘3-M’, photographed on USS Wasp en-route to Malta in April 1942,, in 'Deck Blue' and 'Non-Specular Intermediate Blue' over 'Azure Blue'

Placement Guide

Printed in colour, the set includes detailed placement instruction that include relevant Humbrol, Xtracolour, Xtracrylix, Mr Color Aqueous, MRP and Vallejo Model Air where applicable.

Recommended Reference

The topic of what colours were used has cropped up on a few occasions in modelling forums and magazines over the years - and a lot of the colours are open to a certain amount of conjecture.

In a recent discussion on our own Large Scale Planes forums regarding the forthcoming release of a Spitfire Mk.Vc conversion from the Tamiya Mk.IXc in 1:32 from Laminar Flow, Andrew Birnie recommended the following book: "Malta Spitfire Vs - 1942:Their Colours and Markings", by Brian Cauchi and published by MMP Books back in 2013.

This book is now out of print, but I managed to purchase a brand new copy for a reasonable amount from a bookshop in Poland, via Ebay.

The book provides period photos, as well as profile artwork, covering a lot of the Spits that operated from Malta during this period - and provides a lot of background on the likely colours used - with the caveat that some of the colours will possibly have been mixed by eye and not follow any known colour specifications.

In this regard they do differ in conclusions when it comes to some of the colours listed on the instruction sheets that accompany these decals - notably here with regard to BR344, ‘3-M’ which the book suggests may have been 'Extra Dark Sea Grey' and 'Dark Slate Grey' over 'Sky'. It can be notoriously difficult to pinpoint specific colours from period black and white images, taken using differing film stocks, but the book goes some way to provide some background to help the modeller make a judgement call.

At the end of the day I'd be very surprised to find anyone able that could categorically say your choice was wrong: and provide sufficient proof!

The book is chock full of inspiration and information, and I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in the subject.

Conclusion

A really interesting set of decals that will inspire and cause some head-scratching over the colours used in equal measure!

Combined with the forthcoming Laminar Flow conversion LFD 32-010 Spitfire MkVc in 1/32 for the Tamiya Mk.IXc I can see this set being popular.

Another very highly recommended and interesting set.

Availability

This sheet is available directly from Fantasy Printshop.

Our thanks to Ray Horwell at Fantasy Printshop for the review sample.

Iain