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John Healy
151 articles

1/48 Dewoitine D.520

April 20, 2022 · in Aviation · · 32 · 1.1K

This is the kit from 1996. Sadly, mine dwelt in the stash since around 1997. I finally got around to building it as a companion for my Hobbycraft Hawk 75. Not much to say other then it's an excellent kit that builds really fast. I only added a set of Eduard seatbelts. I painted it with equally ancient Aeromaster enamels. The decals are from the kit with the exception of the national insignia, which are from Berna. Another nice kit for the display case and one less in the stash. Now to get back to my Airfix Gnat and wrap that one up…..

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32 responses

  1. A superb build out of the very nice Tamiya kit, John!

  2. Great result, John @j-healy
    The D520 is a beautiful aircraft by itself, and your quality build definitely shows that.
    Tri-color scheme looks superb on it.
    Well done.

  3. It was worth the wait, you did a really nice job on that model. Looks very nice.

  4. Very neat, looking forward to your Gnat.

  5. John
    Lovely model of a rather fetching aircraft, in terms of looks as pretty as the Spitfire.
    What paints did you use ? I recently picked up the Lifecolour set for WWII French and was wondering if maybe you had used Lifecolour.

  6. Looks great, John. Sometimes one needs a nice quick, easy build to keep the mojo flowing and feel a sense of accomplishment. Not to mention trading one space for two or three new kits in the stash.

  7. Amazing what Dewoitine did with the power available to them. Beautifully painted, sure are gonna miss the Model Masters.

  8. Lovely Dewoitine, John. Such an elegant airplane. Very French somehow. I have a 1/32 Azur D.520 in the works. Your beautiful model will be the standard to meet.

  9. Nicely done John, I always thought the D.520 looked more like a racer than a combat A/C. Nice paint job

  10. Liked it a lot John.Recently built one of these,both kit and aircraft are great.

  11. Looks like that kit aged very well, like a bottle of Boudreaux!
    Very nice work, John. Glad to hear the old decals worked well also.

  12. Thanks, George! I was surprised the old Scalemaster sheet included in the kit didn’t disintegrate when they hit the water. The reds were too dark though, hence the Berna national markings.

  13. @j-healy: That’s one good looking Dewoitine! Excellent camouflage painting!

  14. Very nice 520! Love this elegant little fighter, and the French had some nice, odd-colored schemes with that lovely blue mixed in. Great build!

  15. Nice one John. I like it.

  16. All of the above, great looking build!

  17. G'day John (@j-healy),
    This is a lovely build.
    I built the same kit back in '05 and used Aeromaster paints as well
    I'm not sure if I still have them or if they would be usable, so you did well keeping yours so long.
    I love a three tone camouflage and you have done an excellent job on yours.
    Liked!

    • Thanks, Michael. Give these old paints another try. Aeromaster and Floquil caps had a clear plastic seal over the cardboard liner that Testors didn’t. That seems to help. Of course nothing beats Humbrol/Xtracolor style tins. I still have some Humbrol from the ‘70s that’s fine.

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