Dewoitine D.520, Armée de l’Air GC I/3
Hello imodelers,
I am happy to present you my fourth achievement to imodeler: the Dewoitine D.520 Tamiya at 1/48 scale. This aircraft occupies an important place in the heart of every French modelers, so I had to make one.
The D.520 is considered by almost all aeronautical historians as the French equivalent of Supermarine Spitfire (Mk.I). He was an excellent fighter who could have changed the outcome of the French campaign in May / June 1940 if he had been built in sufficient numbers to cope with the mighty Luftwaffe. Unfortunately, the politicians reacted too late, and of the 2,200 copies ordered, only 437 were delivered until the armistice. Others will be built later for the Vichy government.
In terms of statistics, the D.520 does not have to blush in the face of its competitors: a total of 108 enemy planes (German and Italian) were shot down with certainty, and 39 others are probable, vs. 26 D.520 only lost in combat (more were destroyed, but because of her delicate flying, and not because of the guns of the enemy). It is sure that if France had not been defeated, the D.520 would have developed similar to that of the Spitfire. Moreover, his successor, the D.551, was ready to fly when the armistice was signed.
The D.520 that I realized is the well known No. 90 of the 1st squadron of the Groupe de Chasse (Fighter Group) GC I / 3 piloted by second lieutenant Michel Madon, and based on the airfield of Meaux-Esbly in May / June 1940, about 50 km East of Paris.
This is the Dewoitine D.520 Tamiya released in 1996 (already ...), who had created a great surprise in the small community of French modelers! The decals come from a Berna board. The paintings are Mr Hobby Aqueous for the cockpit and the upperside, and Vallejo Air for the underside. Mr Color GX113 matte varnish (the best varnish I have ever used!). It may be that the gray I used for camouflage (H53) is not dark enough. Never mind... The camouflage was made by hand, without mask (except the delineation between lower and upper surfaces). My airbrush is a Mr Procon Boy PS-270 (0.2 mm).
Weathering is very light, because the French planes had little aged between May and June 1940 (it is not only disadvantages to lose the war quickly ...).
Hoping that this interpretation of Dewoitine D.520 pleases you.
Hi, Stéphane.
Congratulations for the finish!
I like the camo, especially soft demarcations between colors.
Nice work!
Thanks Shun. Happy you like it 😉
Splendid model, that three tone camouflage (Vert/khaki/Gris) really stands out, and the freehand spray is handsomely achieved. Thanks for bringing this seldom seen model to the highlights, Stephane!
Thanks Pedro.
My Mr Procon airbrush (0.2 mm) is a fantastic tool, very accurate. You feel confident to make freehand spray. No nice work without good tools...
Very nice, Stephane! I need to build one of those. Years ago, I had all the French 1/72 WW2 planes built and painted up in that camo. I’ve always liked it.
Thanks for your kind words, John.
Well done Stéphane. I love the looks of this little aircraft and enjoyed building mine as well. Very nice work on the camouflage
Thanks George. Your D.520 is very nice too. There are many discussions about grey on camouflage. You selected a dark grey and I selected a light one. I guess nobody knows exactly the reality, and this makes interesting points of view 😉
Nice work on this D.520. I posted one of these back in May.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.
Hi Dale,
Your D.520 is absolutely superb. I wish to get the same result! You did the right modifications in the cockpit. Congratulation!
Did you use Aeromaster Decals?
Yes I did Stephan. Thanks for the compliments!
I, too, like the camo job you've done. 🙂
striking finish and photography...it leaps right off the page at you
I also love the D.520! Happy memories of one I built as a kid, and want to build another soon! You're looks pristine - well done!
Bonjour Stéphane, it's a beautiful Dewoitine, the free hand painting is nicely done and you light weathering suits the plane well. Congratulations !
Gorgeous. I love the French tricolor camo schemes and you pulled this off winningly. Well done!
Very nice work on this. I've built a couple of these, it's a great kit. Which you have certainly demonstrated with your excellent result.
I have two of these that I built many years ago right after Tamiya released them. like Tom C stated, they build up very nicely.
Your plane looks fabulous ! I give you two thumbs up and a "liked" ...
🙂 … Greetings … 🙂 :
Beautiful rendition of the D-520 Stéphane .
The camouflage work looks so well done as well as the light weathering,
nice work.
Many thanks to all of you. Brings huge motivation for the next to come! (Austrian Draken)
Take care ?
They said it all - will be looking forward to the Draken!
Beautiful work Stephane! Love this kit, and your build turned out splendid! Very nice!
Thanks Frederick 😉