This is my Dewoitine
D.520, built using the Tamiya 1/48 kit.
The markings are a combination of Aero Master roundels and wing stripes from
sheet 48-095, while the shadow-shaded white "1" is from an old
Letraset sheet and the Grim Reaper emblem is from Aero Master 48-300.
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The Aero Master wing
bands are printed with a curve at the front to allow them to wrap around the
leading edge of the wing. However, as given by Aero Master they are wrong,
in that the way they are designed/printed and shown in the instruction, the blue
stripe would be outboard. This is incorrect, as the red is supposed to be
outboard. This meant that the wing band decals had to be reversed end-to-end to
allow for the proper positioning of the colours. However, in doing this
you lose the benefit of the shape of the decal. I find glaring errors such
as this inexcusable, especially when it
is so well documented in the references cited by Aero Master.
The model is
finished in Gris Bleu Foncé, Kaki and Ombre Calcinée over Gris Bleu Clair,
with just a hint of over-painted fuselage rondels. All colours are from
the Xtracolor range of paints. It is weathered with chalk pastels, which I am
discovering do not show up well in digital photography. This particular
machine, serial No. 517 has often been noted as being in Italian service in
various publications, but this is erroneous. No. 517 was not one of the Vichy
Dewoitines captured and impressed into Italian service. As shown
this D.520 was flown by Lieutenant Fabre of Groupe de chasse II/1, 3ieme
Escadrille while based at Le Luc, France during August 1942.
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I have four colour profiles of
this Dewoitine in four different books and none of them match and none of them
are right. It is commonly illustrated with a black spinner and sometimes a
white spinner. However, photos clearly show that it is definitely not
black and probably not white. Therefore, I elected to paint mine yellow,
as this was a colour stipulated for Vichy aircraft and is a plausible choice
based on the tonal values of photos. Note how the undersurface Gris Bleu
Clair is quite high up on the nose. This is another area where the
profiles are wrong. In my many years of modelling, I have learned that
colour profiles should not be taken as gospel without photos as a backup.
Remember the ancient Aircam series?
Randy
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