Aircraft monographs are the backbone of the Kagero catalogue and a long-established tool for aviation modellers. Each volume takes one type, or one group of versions, and combines archive imagery with a description of its development and colour profiles of individual machines. The weight of the listings falls on the air forces of the Second World War, though post-war and current types appear as well. Below we explain how to choose between volumes and what you will want alongside them.
The range includes volumes on the most frequently modelled subjects - Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Bf 110, Focke-Wulf Fw 190, P-51 Mustang, P-47 Thunderbolt, Corsair, Curtiss P-40 - alongside monographs on far less common machines such as the Polish Lublin R-XIII, the Italian Fiat G.55 and aircraft of the First World War. A separate group deals with units and theatres, with overviews of Warsaw Pact air arms and display formations.
Widely produced types have several volumes and each covers different versions. Establish which version is in your box first and look for the book afterwards, otherwise the colour profiles may describe a sub-type that differs in shape. The scope is usually stated in the title or the description.
After detail photographs for a cockpit or engine bay? Look for volumes with a large photographic section. After a specific camouflage scheme? Check how many colour profiles the book carries. Some titles also include a decal sheet, which settles the markings at the same time.
Much of the output is bilingual in Polish and English, and the drawings and profiles are usable whatever language you read.
For profiles supplied with a decal sheet see TopColors, and for British and post-war types in particular, Warpaint Books.
