1:72 Fairey Battle Mk.I over Western Europe 1940

DK Decals 1:72 decals, Fairey Battle Mk.I over Western Europe 1940

This decal sheet from the Czech publisher DK Decals completes models of the British Fairey Battle Mk.I light bomber in 1:72 scale with markings of machines deployed over Western Europe in the spring of 1940. It is a standalone sheet of waterslide decals; the plastic parts of the aircraft are bought separately.

The Fairey Battle and the spring of 1940

The Battle was a single-engine all-metal low-wing aircraft with a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and a crew of three. On paper it was a great step forward from the biplane bombers of the 1930s, but it entered the fighting of 1940 slow, lightly armed and almost without armor protection. British squadrons in France attacked bridges and columns of advancing German units with it and suffered some of the heaviest losses in RAF history. It was the crew of a Battle that earned the first Victoria Crosses of the Second World War in May 1940.

How to work with the sheet

• Smooth the surface under the motifs and overcoat it with gloss varnish so that the edges of the film do not shine.
• Cut the individual parts off close to the artwork and transfer them with a damp brush.
• On areas with rivets and engraved panel lines use a decal softener.
• Seal the finished markings with a matte or satin varnish according to the final camouflage.

Who it is worth it for

The sheet will please modelers who want to build a particular machine from the fighting of 1940 and are not content with the markings from the box. Paints, glue and varnish are not part of the delivery.