Blue, Green, Or Grey... What's Correct For Dewoitine D.520 Interior?
Dtsquad
D.520 to be Night Blue FS35045 (almost insignia blue). Tamiya list the interior
as XF-24
Dark Grey (kinda like a Blue-Grey). True Details list the interior color for
the resin
interior as FS34227 (Light Green) same as Model Master Pale Green.
Which color is the correct one? I am curious what color the Hasegawa 1/72
kit of the Dewoitine D.520 says to use.
I am planning to do the Tamiya kit without getting too wrapped up in all the
extra
detailing. Excessive extra detailing only causes me to get overwhelmed and lose
interest. However, I would like to paint the interior correctly if possible.
Maybe even put a radio behind the cockpit.
Any help on this matter is greatly appreciated! Thank You!
Andy Macrae
AFAIK the colour of the D.520 interior was Blue De Nuit a very dark
blue. I used the Extracolour version of this on my model. Aeromaster
acrylic 1044 Sea Blue Flat is also a good match. Aeromaster also do a an
interior blue no. 1105 in their range of French colours but I can't
comment on it as I haven't seen it. It is possible some D.520's had
blue/grey or khaki cockpits but the picture refs. I have show blue de
nuit.
The kit itself needs a bit of extra detail in the cockpit and I would
suggest buying the Eduard set for it. The airframe is generally accurate
but the underfuselage radiator housing is completely the wrong shape and
needs to be modified or replaced. The French comp. of Hi-Tech did an
upgrade for the D.520 which included a new radiator bath but I'm not sure
of its availibilty.
Hope this helps,
Andy "FREEDOM" Macrae
Hope this helps
Vincent / ADECO
knows what color they were for sure.
The "Bleu de Nuit" was suggested by the Air Ministry in 1939 but it was put
in practise by very few manufacturers (Bloch was the only one).
For the De520, the blue was used certainly after aircraft number 350 until
the end of the production. Before that, the factories were using whatever
was available.
From interviews with former De520 pilots and mechanics, those are my
conclusions :
Prior to airframe 350, light grey or Dark green cockpit were in use
After airframe 351. dark blue was in effective use
At the moment, this is all that can be sais about DE520 Cockpits.
Hope this helps...
Randy Lutz
does take on a dark grey appearance, which may lead to Tamiya calling it Dark
Grey. Xtracolor makes a nice bleu de nuit, part number X393.
I have built this kit as a virtually out-of-the-box model and it goes together
quite well. I have copied in a building/review article I wrote which appeared in
the Volume 33, number 2, February/98 issue of Scale Modeler magazine which might
prove useful.
?The subject of this review is an Armée de L'Air de L'Armistice
(Vichy) Dewoitine D.520 of Groupe de Chasse II/7, 1ère Escadrille,
based at Sidi-Ahmed, Morocco during 1941. This aircraft was
flown by Lieutenant Gabriel Gauthier, a 10 kill ace.
Interestingly, Gauthier scored all 10 of his kills in an eight
day period. Gauthier once said that he found it easier to sneak
up on, and shoot down allied aircraft if he didn't apply the
Vichy stripes to his own aircraft. No, no, no, I'm only kidding.
To be truthful, I do not know what nationality his kills were,
or in what theatre of operations he scored them, as information
on Gauthier and his aircraft is somewhat rare.
THE MODEL
The Dewoitine D.520 is another in the ever expanding line of
superb Tamiya 1/48 aircraft. As is commonplace with Tamiya's
kits, it is one of those models that if you were to throw a tube
of glue into the box and then give it a good shake, the model
would come out assembled. When you open the box the most
astounding aspect is the pure simplicity of the kit design, the
way the parts are engineered to fit, and the fine attention to
detail. Two choices of spinners are provided, and the modeller
has the option of displaying the model with the flaps raised or
lowered, and the canopy and radiator outlet door opened or
closed. The kit consists of 45 parts moulded in dark grey
plastic and 5 clear pieces, along with 2 poly caps for the
propeller. Flash must be a taboo word in the Tamiya plant as
none was to be found on any parts. If I had to find anything
negative to say about the kit it would be the choice of decals,
both in terms of schemes provided and the brand of decals.
Tamiya gives the modeller a choice of 3 aircraft: Pierre Le
Gloan's white 6 of GC III/6; Lt. Madon's blue 2 of GC I/3, and
a machine of GC II/18 finished in some form of German camouflage.
At least one of those schemes could have been substituted with
an aircraft displaying Vichy stripes. My other knock with the
decals is the poor registration. In typical Scale Master®
fashion, they are unusable. Fortunately, the modeller is able
to choose from 4 different sets of decals produced by Aeromaster.
CONSTRUCTION
I will not go into great depth concerning the assembly of the
kit, as it is typical with other Tamiya kits in this series. It
was a snap! But, I will however touch on detailing aspects
unique to the Dewoitine, some of which I did, and others which
were outside the scope of my intention of providing an almost
out-of-the-box review.
First up, the cockpit should be painted a very dark blue and not
the grey as suggested by Tamiya in the instructions. For this
I used Xtra-color X393, Bleu de Nuit. All the basic components
in the interior except the seat pad, and the instrument panel are
in this colour. On the Dewoitine, the seat cushion was natural
leather, so this portion was painted with Testors Model Master
Leather, and the canvas seat back painted in khaki. Depending
on your interpretation of khaki, it could be anywhere between tan
and green. I cut out the plastic in the top two corners of the
seat where the canvas seat back and seat frame meet, as there
should be openings in each corner. There should also be two
diaganol seat braces running from the seat back to the seat pan,
much like the braces found on a P-51D seat. I did not add them
as it would not be in keeping with an out-of-the-box model. My
only deviation from building this model out-of-the-box was the
addition of photo-etched seat belts, and this was something I
debated about for a long time. In fact, the seat belts were the
last item to be added to model, after all my other attempts at
producing a resonable set from paper or tape failed. In the
absence of any conclusive colour information, and based on the
only photograph I found of Gauthier's aircraft, in which the
shoulder belts are hanging out of the cockpit, I painted mine a
very dark green. The instrument panel was first airbrushed with
Testors Model Master Black Chrome. Then each individual
instrument decal was punched out using a Waldron punch and
applied one at a time.
The gunsight provided by Tamiya resembles a clear plastic cube.
To give it a more accurate appearance, the cube portion should
be removed from the gunsight mount. Block sand the bottom of the
cube until you are left with just the top section. It should
resemble a thin, flat square with a round bulge in the centre.
Using fine wire, fabricate four supports and fasten them to the
gun sight mount where the original cube was located (one at each
corner) and then fasten the remaining piece from the original
cube onto the four uprights. Next, install a small square of
clear acetate in between the uprights, sloping upwards from front
to rear. This piece represents the reflector glass.
On the inside of each fuselage half there are two ejector pin
marks which may be visible once the cockpit is complete. Not
taking any chances, they were filled with disks of thin styrene
made using the Waldron punch. If you intend to build the model
with the canopy closed, don't worry about the marks, as they will
never be seen.
Needless to say, all the interior components received my usual
dose of washes and dry-brushing. It is almost mandatory with a
cockpit colour as dark as the Bleu de Nuit.
In step two of the instructions, it is suggested that the exhaust
manifolds be installed at this time. Don't! There is absolutely
no benefit to doing so at this point. If anything, it will
complicate the painting steps later on. You can however, drill
out the small tube at the front of the manifolds and each of the
individual exhaust pipes in preparation for later installation.
Once the fuselage is assembled you can install the wings, lower
engine cowl and nose piece, and if done correctly, they will
require no putty. In fact you can build this model without the
use of putty, except to possibly blend in the rear quarter
windows. If you wish to have the landing flaps dropped, I advise
against installing them until after all the camouflage is
painted. On the actual aircraft there is a small strip of grey
paint along the leading edge of the flap in the area normally
hidden when the flap is raised. On your model, this should be
the same shade as the undersurface colour. In regard to the
wings, there is a line of scribing missing from the top side of
the left wing. It is supposed to run parallel to the scribed
line immediately in front of the landing flap. Just look at the
right side for comparison and remember that you saw it here
first, as no other modelling publication has picked up on this
oversight. Actually, I did not notice it until I had finsihed
my model.
Part B12 is the radiator fairing. It is not quite the correct
shape in that is slightly too square in shape and should be more
rounded. To my eyes, the difference is negligible and looks fine as is. It
does however need to have the mounting flange thinned down
marginally to meet the lower wing without a prominent ridge. All
that is required is a few passes with a knife blade and it will
be fine. Part B1 is the radiator rear shutter which can be
installed opened or closed. A few minutes with a sanding stick
to thin down the trailing edge will give it a more realistic
look. If you desire, two small actuating rods can be added
between the radiator rear shutter and the bottom of the fuselage.
Once all the basic components are attached, the clear parts can
be installed. The windscreen fits with next to no problems. For
the rear quarter windows, the fit is perfect. I elected to seal
mine with cyanoacrylate glue and then sand the area smooth to
blend the windows in to the fuselage. This step is optional, but
it is the way I do my canopies. Preparatory to painting the
model the canopies must be masked off. For this project I
elected to try a new product called E-Z Masks. Some readers may
be familiar with them, but for the uninformed, I will give you
a brief rundown. To start, they are not like the True Details®
Fast Frames®, in fact they are the exact opposite. These are
pieces of very thin, pliable adhesive vinyl, pre-cut to shape to
match the glass sections of the canopy. You first lightly wet
the canopy with a mixture of water and liquid dishwashing soap.
Don't skip this step as the adhesive on the E-Z Masks is quite
aggressive and will be hard to position properly on a dry canopy.
Then peel off a piece of vinyl and apply to the corresponding
part of the canopy. Once in the proper position, just apply a
little pressure to ensure the edges are down. Once all the vinyl
pieces are in place you can paint you canopy as usual, and when
finished, they can be carefully removed, resulting in perfect
canopy frames.
PAINTING
Prior to outlining the colours used on my model, I think a short
section dealing with French markings would be of benefit to most
modellers, as it is very difficult to locate reference material
covering this subject. What follows in the next few paragraphs
is extracted from the excellent French publication, Le Dewoitine
D.520, by Raymond Danel and Jean Cuny, Docavia Publishing,
France. This section is found on page 329, Appendix 6,
Camouflage and Insignia. Actually, this book should be mandatory
reading for anyone wishing to build an accurate Dewoitine.
"Camouflage and national markings.
All D.520's produced in 1940 were camouflage painted
in accordance with the official regulations then
existing. The under surfaces were plain-coloured
clear grey-blue whilst the upper surfaces made use of
camouflage patterns in green, brown and deep grey-
blue. The national markings consisted of the three-
colour roundels at 4 wing and two fuselage locations,
supplemented by vertical blue, white and red stripes
on the rudder as was the standard practice for all
French warplanes.
The fuselage roundels of all D.520's delivered shortly
before the armistice were shifted aft, at the request
of certain pilots. Aircraft joining AC.1 Aéronavale
squadrons in June 1940 were given an additional white
band extending across the roundels on both sides of
the fuselage. From July 1940 onwards, similar bands
appeared on the D.520's operated by the Armée de L'Air
de L'Armistice, with variations in the fore-and-aft
extremities to allow of easier recognition of the
aircraft belonging to one or other of the squadrons
within a group. At Germany's request the engine
cowlings and tail units of all D.520 aircraft sent to
Syria were painted yellow to minimize errors of
identification by German or Italian pilots during the
long journey from North Africa to the Middle East.
From mid-1941 onwards, the white bands were shortened
on either side of the «cocards» and both the fuselage
ahead of the wing and the complete tail unit
overpainted with alternate red and yellow bands.
Further changes in 1942 deleted the fuselage roundels
and white bands and added tri-colour stripes to the
wing surfaces at an angle of 30o relative to the
aircraft centreline. At the same time, the camouflage
of newly-produced D.520's was altered to extend the
clear blue paint high on the vertical flanks of the
fuselage aft of the cockpit.
Following the Allied landings in North Africa the
D.520's reverted to a camouflage scheme closely
similar to that of 1940 except for an additional thin
yellow circle around the roundels similar to that used
on British aircraft.
D.520's recaptured from the Germans following the
liberation of metropolitan France were flown initially
with the Luftwaffe camouflage schemes with the
traditional French markings replacing the black
crosses and swastikas. At the end of August 1944 the
so-called «invasion stripes» were added on the wings
and rear fuselage of the GC «Dorets» D.520's. These
stripes were subsequently deleted when the aircraft
were handed to GC II/18."
So, with that said, it was time to paint the model. First the
rudder was airbrushed using Model Master Insignia White FS17875.
Then Xtra-color X103 Insignia Red FS11136 and Xtra-color X124
Blue FS15109 were applied to finish the rudder stripes.
Initially, I attempted to use the rudder stripe decals from
Aeromaster sheet 48-094, but these decals were originally
designed for the JMGT or LTD Dewoitine, and were grossly oversize
compared to the Tamiya rudder.
Next the nose of the aircraft was airbrushed Xtra-color X106,
Insignia Yellow FS13530, while the tail was airbrushed Xtra-color
X103 Insignia Red FS11136. Then the nose and tail stripes were
masked off and painted with red and yellow respectively. Astute
readers are probably questioning why I did not paint the tail in
yellow at first. Well initially I did, but it then proved to
difficult to mask off the yellow sections to allow for the red
paint, and the finished product was not as good as it could have
been. I found it much easier to mask over the red and then shoot
the yellow, and ended up with a much neater job. So,
consequently, the initial rear stripes were removed with oven
cleaner and re-applied in reverse order. Next the entire nose
and tail areas were masked off in preparation for the camouflage
colours.
First up was Xtra-color X388 WWII Gris Bleu Foncé, followed by
Xtra-color X387 WWII Terre de Sienne, and finally Xtra-color X384
WWII Kaki. All of these upper surface colours are softly blended
as per the actual aircraft. The under surface was finished in
Xtra-color X390 WWII Gris Foncé, with a soft demarcation between
the upper and lower colours. I would have to say that this was
one of the most enjoyable schemes I have ever painted, and the
anticipation of removing all the tape to view the finished
stripes was driving me into a frenzy. One of the things I enjoy
most about modelling is masking off intricate stripes and bands
etc., and this model allows for that in ample measure.
Next up were the decals which came from Aeromaster sheet number
48-094, Dewoitines Part 1. They were applied using small amounts
of Solvaset as a setting solution and allowed to dry overnight
before proceeding with the dark wash and chipping. In regard to
the chipping, note how the majority of chipping is applied to the
right side, as that is the side the pilot enters and exits from.
Also note that no chipping is applied to the Vichy stripes as
they were a recent addition to an otherwise worn paint scheme.
A couple of light coats of Testors Dullcoat, and the model was
ready for some chalk pastel weathering. The majority of the
panel lines were dusted with a light to medium grey, while the
engine cowl panels were given a black grey treatment.
This completed model has to rank as one of the most photogenic
models in my collection, as well as being one of the easiest to
assemble. Having recently made the switch from 1/32 aircraft to
1/48, I am finding the hobby much more enjoyable. I am able to
turn out nicer models, in less time with less effort, and the
word "fun" is now back in my modelling vocabulary. For this I
thank Mr. Tamiya for his choice of subjects and the refined
engineering his kits display. For the past few years I have
heard numerous 1/48 modellers complaining about the new releases,
and how this is not right, or that piece has the wrong shape.
Well, if this is the quality of kit they are complaining about,
then their complaints are unfounded and they really are crying
with their bellies full! Try building an old 1/32 kit, and you
will have a much greater appreciation for what you have in 1/48.
REFERENCES
Le Dewoitine D.520. By Raymond Danel and Jean Cuny, Docavia
Publishing, France.
Replic No. 62, October 1996. Published by Éditions D.T.U. Sarl,
Clichy, France.
Armée de L'Air, A Pictorial History of the French Air Force 1937-
1945. Squadron Signal Publications, Carrollton, Texas.
MSAP Camouflage Colour Chart CC-005. Ministry of Small Aircraft
Production (MSAP), a Division of T-Stoff Limited, Box 94, Station
"A", Hull, Quebec, J8Y 6M7
Randy Lutz
IPMS Canada
Keith
the 'Advanced Modeler Syndrome' and it sure did work! While not as advanced
a modeler as Randy, I am proud to say that I did use the EZ Masks with
excellent results, and left off the flaps and exhaust pipes until after the
camouflage was finished.
I must say that my kit did need some gap filling super glue in one strategic
place. This was the interface between the lower fuselage halves and the
rear of the lower wing. There was a very minor misalignment where the seams
from the three parts joined. I built up the area with gap filling glue, and
then rescribed the panel lines.
The upper fuselage was worked on with the flexi files and rescribed also. I
used the kit decals and NO aftermarket pieces (remember I had AMS)!
The only thing that I wished I had done is to insert stainless steel tubing
into the wing machine gun ports (which I rounded out with a drill, hope they
aren't oval shaped like an Arsenal VG33!!!).
Anyone have any ideas on how to fasten the tubing by inserting through the
ports???
Next bone stock project, Hasegawa's Australian Beaufighter. Not even
camouflage to worry about!
Keith
Randy Lutz wrote in message <3654645E...@pwgsc.gc.ca>...
Actually the interior colour is called 'bleu de nuit'. Once it is dry
brushed it
does take on a dark grey appearance, which may lead to Tamiya calling it
Dark
Grey. Xtracolor makes a nice bleu de nuit, part number X393.
I have built this kit as a virtually out-of-the-box model and it goes
together
quite well. I have copied in a building/review article I wrote which
appeared in
the Volume 33, number 2, February/98 issue of Scale Modeler magazine which
might
prove useful.
In step two of the instructions, it is suggested that the exhaust
manifolds be installed at this time. Don't! There is absolutely
no benefit to doing so at this point
Once the fuselage is assembled you can install the wings, lower
engine cowl and nose piece, and if done correctly, they will
require no putty.
For this project I
elected to try a new product called E-Z Masks.
osm...@csc.uvic.ca
> Keith Walker wrote,
>
> "Anyone have any ideas on how to fasten the tubing by inserting through the
> ports???"
>
> When I'm thinking (and believe me, that ain't often), I put some modeling clay
> in the wings behing the gun ports before I glue the wing halves together. Then,
> when I'm adding tubing later, I can push the tubing ito the clay and it will
> hold its place nicely.
I've recently finished a project where I've used a soldered fitting to
externally mount some drag chutes. This worked quite well, and is very
rigid and strong.
Owen
>
> Of course, the last four airplanes I've built, I've been so eager to put the
> wings together that I've zoned on my own clay idea... Which is why my
> airplanes' wings rattle the way they do!
>
> --Chris Bucholtz
>
> Now Playing: Warren Zevon, "Sentimental Hygiene"
>
>
Jean-Pierre Hoven
Randy Lutz a écrit dans le message <3654645E...@pwgsc.gc.ca>...
>Actually the interior colour is called 'bleu de nuit'. Once it is dry
brushed it
>does take on a dark grey appearance, which may lead to Tamiya calling it
Dark
>Grey. Xtracolor makes a nice bleu de nuit, part number X393.
>
[big snip]
>
>absence of any conclusive colour information, and based on the
>only photograph I found of Gauthier's aircraft, in which the
>shoulder belts are hanging out of the cockpit, I painted mine a
>very dark green. The instrument panel was first airbrushed with
>Testors Model Master Black Chrome. Then each individual
>instrument decal was punched out using a Waldron punch and
>applied one at a time.
>
[big snip]
I have checked my colection of Replic and Wing Masters and this is what they
say:
Interior color is "bleu de nuit" Aeromaster 1105, Life color UA075 or UA076,
Humbrol 104 or 77, X-Tracolor X393
Seat cushion is natural leather
Seat back is kaki
Seat belts are "beige"
Instrument panel is black or "bleu de nuit"
For the wheel well, one review say "chamois" (sorry but can't translate this
one) and pictures of the "musée de l'air" exemple show the same color as the
underside????
Taken from Replic n°s 62-69-71 and from Wing Masters n°2
They say that there is cockpit documentation in Replic n°34 but not having
it, can't tell if it is usefull or not!
Regards
Jean-Pierre Hoven
jipe...@ping.be
BucholtzC
"Anyone have any ideas on how to fasten the tubing by inserting through the
ports???"
When I'm thinking (and believe me, that ain't often), I put some modeling clay
in the wings behing the gun ports before I glue the wing halves together. Then,
when I'm adding tubing later, I can push the tubing ito the clay and it will
hold its place nicely.
Of course, the last four airplanes I've built, I've been so eager to put the
Christian Gerard
<jipe...@ping.be> wrote:
>For the wheel well, one review say "chamois" (sorry but can't translate this
>one)
Hi,
"Chamois" is a kind of beige color. For what is worth my english
dictionnary translates it as "fawn coloured".
HTH,
Christian.
SPAM TRAP: remove the c at beginning of adress to respond