I have made up my mind with regard to this nose. Still not entirely sure what is "right" or "wrong" with regard to facts, in particular if there indeed were variations of its shape throughout the D.520's lifetime. Additional check with a set of D.520 drawings indicated that the Tamiya's nose seems to be ok in length.

Alas, upon another scurtiny of the available photo material I decided that some smooting out would be necessary. Have a look at the following two images.

Here is what the kit's nose looks like.

...and this is the photo from a similar angle that shows that a curvature is missing at the top "corner" of the cowling, plus that its underside should be gently curved without a visible "kink" that is apparent on the model.

So this is the plan. Some building up and reshaping at the top, and some sanding at the bottom.

(It may sound like I'm doing this kind of stuff with every model, but no. I have never attempted to build up a kit's shape so this will be a fun new thing to try.)

Will keep you posted.

Good luck with that Martin! I know its not something i'd be trying - way to tricky for me 🙂

After adding the extra plastic as Seamus recommends, I would make up some Tamiya 2 part epoxy putty, and roll up a thin snake and wrap it around the edges. Press that in and smooth it out. That will let you feather the edges easier.

Al, Seamus, it didn't occur to me previously that the nose cap looks too short... this might well be the case. I must admit feeling a bit lost about all the shape intricacies here, but at least I couldn't resist checking...

I aligned the two pictures with each other so that the length of the engine cowling between the two vertical panel lines just in front and just behind the exhhausts match. Then I drew a third line where the kit nose cap ends

I reckon that the nose cap in the Tamiya kit is a tad too short, but the difference does not seem to be that big. This is good news to me, as I would like to avoid ripping off the glued part, therefore I'm choosing to ignore it 🙂

Now it's time to cut some plastic!

PS. I found it also interesting to examine the photos of 1/32 replacement nose that Contact Resine once produced for the larger Azur kit. See it as yet another take on the same subject...

3 additional images. Click to enlarge.

Looking good Martin. I like you idea of using the Tornado noses, built in curve. You might want use a drop tank, etc. rather than the kit spinner, while you're shaping the nose just to avoid nicking it. I know i'd screw that up quick..lol
I have never had any luck using super glue as a filler. I've had friends show me over and over and I just can't get the hang of it. Sure glad Mr Surfacer came along. 🙂

It's a funny thing about fillers. I guess that everyone seems to find something that works well enough for them and then stick with it. I have for years used solvent-based putties (Squadron green stuff) for fuselage seam filling, but found it rather frustrating to work with when re-scribing panel lines over the puttied seam. Somebody pointed to me back then that if I started gluing (and filling) the fuselage halves with SG I would avoid such problems, and this is indeed what happened.

Some people refer to SG curing to a rock-hard stuff. I didn't find this to be the case, which may depend on the kype of SG and any accelerator that is being used. For my best results, I stick with Zap-A-Gap and let it air-dry.

I'm also using Mr Surfacer for all kinds of small filling jobs and it's great. Still learning about all its virtues. But you can't build up a volume with it (?).

I think you mean your food DEHYDRATOR...lol. 😉