Dewoitine D.520, LTD 1/48 scale

[whiskytangofoxtrot]

Hello, all!

I want to share my first limited-run injection kit build with you: the LTD 1/48 Dewoitine D.520. Yes, I now know that Tamiya makes a D.520 in that scale, too, but for $10 at Orange Con a couple weeks ago I was able to get this little kit.



The box is a simple one-piece, opening at the end, with a black-and-white picture of the scrappy French fighter defeating a Bf-109 in the Battle of France.

So, what's inside?





2 large and 1 small injection-molded sprues of parts, none labeled with a parts number. 2 vacuformed canopies and rear-view side windowpanes. A sandwich bag with crisply-printed decals. An instruction booklet. Hmmmm...probably not one to give to a grade-school kid just starting out...

What are the parts like? In a couple of words, flash-y, and heavily-molded.





How are the instructions? Well, the instructions cover two of the pages. That's it. Paint names and FS numbers are called out and clearly indicated on their parts. On the back are easy-to-follow diagrams for painting 3 different D.520s: two French and one Bulgarian aircraft.

The plastic itself is kind of soft, so I'll need to pay close attention when filing and sanding to keep from wrecking the shape or losing detail. Oh, and there are NO locating pins on these parts, either--the joy of a limited-run kit!





Duuuuuuuuude. That sprue placement.



Well, quit whining and get started!



A few minutes attention with a sharp knife blade and some files, and it's just about ready to go.

[Avgas]

Interesting...

[whiskytangofoxtrot]

Gathered resources: pictures of the interior details from the actual aircraft, as well as details from other kits like the Azur 1/32 D.520 and PE detail sets to guide my work in shaping the interior.



So, the floor panel covers completely, side-to-side, the whole length, unlike the actual item which is much more open and lightweight. Shoot, the pilot's seat seems more closely akin to a canvas cot! So, a little time was spent quickly filing down sprue attachments and test fitting. Nice thing is that the gaps don't seem insurmountable. I'll spend some time whittling the floor panel and hollowing the seat to achieve a lightweight effect, such as may be visible in the open cockpit.



This is becoming an absorbing project!

[Paul]

Good luck, will be watching with interest to see how this goes

[whiskytangofoxtrot]

Some more progress on the D.520:




Port side of the fuselage required considerable cleanup with knife, file, and sander to improve the detail of the formers and stringers.


Some color applied to the interior assemblies


Instrument panel sprayed with white acrylic, then flat black enamel a few days later. Instrument dials scratched in with a needle. Clear acrylic "glass" applied with a toothpick.


Almost all seams require filling, sanding, checking, rinse, repeat. Oh. And look at the wheel wells: nothing blocks the view straight up to cockpit area. I'll be fitting that with sheet styrene after checking my resources to make sure the detail looks reasonable.

[whiskytangofoxtrot]

I got in a little bench time tonight--


Blanked off the gaping wheel wells that would've had high-speed wind blowing up the pilot's trouser legs


Attached the wings


And got the horizontal stabilizers on after drilling out locator holes.

Still a ton of filling, sanding, and polishing the seams left before it's ready for paint, but it's progressing!
Thanks for looking!