MeneMene Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 (edited) As a bit of a break from more complicated projects, I'm now starting Tamiya's D.520. Only aftermarket are some resin exhausts and an Eduard seat harness. The hardest part of the build so far is figuring out what to use for colors. I've settled on the following: Insignia blue for the cockpit interior, XF-23 for the underside, and a combination of C304, C366, and C131 for the upper camouflage. Test fit of the cockpit pieces looks good: The seat needed some alterations for realism. I cut out the empty spaces from around the seat backing, and also added the lever on the right side. Not a perfect scratchbuild, but it should do the job buried in the cockpit. Initial paintwork after some drybrushing. Still lots to do on this front C+C welcome, especially with regards to the color choices. I'm leaving the area under the cockpit floor (the inside of the bottom wing) the cream-colored primer as it seems to be that color in several photographs. Edited August 30, 2019 by MeneMene 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clive_t Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 This looks like a nicely detailed kit, and an unusual subject in this scale. I can't help you with your colour questions, unfortunately, but I'll be following with interest! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fubar57 Posted August 30, 2019 Share Posted August 30, 2019 Good start and I like the innards colour. Which version are you doing? If its the box art be forewarned, the red fuselage band will show up under the white of the roundel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeneMene Posted August 31, 2019 Author Share Posted August 31, 2019 Seat painted and detailed some more. 4 hours ago, fubar57 said: Which version are you doing? If its the box art be forewarned, the red fuselage band will show up under the white of the roundel Haven't decided yet, most likely one of the two Battle of France aircraft. I'll probably end up using my own stencils rather than the decals. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted August 31, 2019 Share Posted August 31, 2019 Im a bit of a fan of these mind if i follow your build ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeneMene Posted August 31, 2019 Author Share Posted August 31, 2019 Cockpit structure is now assembled, painted, and weathered. It's an almost new aircraft in June 1940, so I limited the wear and tear to some dirt on the floor. The gunsight of the real aircraft was an elaborate square structure with multiple lenses and framework. After thinking about it for a bit I settled for using the kit part with some silver paint along the edges. Test-fit nicely into the fuselage. Next step is to close the fuselage halves, and then I'll need to scratchbuild the support framing that goes on either side of the gunsight mount. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeneMene Posted September 2, 2019 Author Share Posted September 2, 2019 After I got the cockpit finished and the fuselage closed, the rest of the kit pretty much fell together. Very straightforward build. One big gap on the underside where the wing join meets the fuselage but some sprue goop and tamiya putty took care of it. Only modification I did was cutting out the wing lights to be replaced with clear ones. There are also a set of navigation lights on either side of the vertical tail, little blister/teardrop shapes. I would like to replace these with clear plastic if I can but I'm not sure how to make them, so they stay as is for now. After closing up the canopy, I added the prominent gunsight support frame from bent plastic rod. Not sure why Tamiya didn't include some representation in the kit, as it's a fairly visible part of the cockpit interior. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 16 minutes ago, MeneMene said: There are also a set of navigation lights on either side of the vertical tail, little blister/teardrop shapes. I would like to replace these with clear plastic if I can but I'm not sure how to make them, so they stay as is for now. I have a set of clear resin lights from CMK. These are blue but give you an idea. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/cmk-013-navigation-lights--165836 However one option if you didn't want to spend $ would be to use stretched clear sprue. Drill out the locations and drop in little pieces of clear sprue the right size ? Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beazer Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Ive wanted to build one of these for awhile but am absolutely mystified for correct colour callouts. Ill be watching in the wings with interest. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeneMene Posted September 2, 2019 Author Share Posted September 2, 2019 7 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: However one option if you didn't want to spend $ would be to use stretched clear sprue. Drill out the locations and drop in little pieces of clear sprue the right size ? Yes but how to form it into the small teardrop shape? Here is what I'm trying to replace: I made good progress in sanding down the blocks of clear sprue I was using for the wing navigation lights. They are almost to shape now, and I can start smoothing/polishing. 6 hours ago, Beazer said: Ive wanted to build one of these for awhile but am absolutely mystified for correct colour callouts. Ill be watching in the wings with interest. For the color selection, I think I'm going to stick with the above choices for the upper surfaces. For the bottom Gris Bleu Clair, I think I'll go for the Mr Color RLM76, it's a little more grey and less blue. I believe that should get me in the realm of "close enough". 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeneMene Posted September 3, 2019 Author Share Posted September 3, 2019 Wing lights now polished and ready Assembled and ready for paint: Started painting with the interior color on the canopy framing 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeneMene Posted September 6, 2019 Author Share Posted September 6, 2019 Upper camouflage paint is on. Some areas of over-spray need fixing, but broadly speaking I'm very happy with it. I'll also try to go back and do a light amount of fading and variation to break up the colors a bit, but I think I'm on the right track. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeneMene Posted September 7, 2019 Author Share Posted September 7, 2019 Stencils on in preparation of painting the roundels and unit markings. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeneMene Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 Painting of the major markings are now done via stencils. Some minor touch-up work is needed in a few spots, but I am happy with it. I also set to work on the landing gear, added some brake lines. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clive_t Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 Great paint job generally, and the roundels in particular! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 On 9/2/2019 at 7:40 AM, MeneMene said: Yes but how to form it into the small teardrop shape? Here is what I'm trying to replace: Carefully sand the light assemblies on both sides of the fin down, leaving just the outline of the light, which will become the base. Paint the base silver to replicate the reflector, and then, using a toothpick or very small brush, paint the outline of the light with clear or white craft glue. I might take a few coats, due to the shrinkage of the glue, but at the end you will have a nice, bulbous, teardrop-shaped light. It really is easy to do- practice on some scrap parts first. To do red and blue/green nav lights. add a drop or two of food coloring to the glue and repeat the process/ Very effective on airplanes that had the lights above and below the wings. Mike 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeneMene Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 19 hours ago, 72modeler said: Carefully sand the light assemblies on both sides of the fin down, leaving just the outline of the light, which will become the base. Paint the base silver to replicate the reflector, and then, using a toothpick or very small brush, paint the outline of the light with clear or white craft glue. I might take a few coats, due to the shrinkage of the glue, but at the end you will have a nice, bulbous, teardrop-shaped light. It really is easy to do- practice on some scrap parts first. To do red and blue/green nav lights. add a drop or two of food coloring to the glue and repeat the process/ Very effective on airplanes that had the lights above and below the wings. Mike Thanks. I'm breaking out the CA glue soon to add the exhausts, I'll give it a try. I'm calling the paintwork mostly done. Appologies for the photography, I tried my best to capture the shading/variation in the colors. For weathering, I started with some exhaust stains, hopefully very subtle and faint soot from the machine guns and around the ejection ports, as well as some light dust staining on the wheels and landing gear doors. The gloss coat is currently drying before I add a few decals and begin the rest of the weathering. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeneMene Posted September 12, 2019 Author Share Posted September 12, 2019 Decals are now on. I've also done some work with oils on the underside and on the wing roots. As usual my photography skills aren't as good as I would like and some of the color variation is difficult to see on camera. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeneMene Posted September 12, 2019 Author Share Posted September 12, 2019 Minor problem- I took the masks off, and the side windows have this reflective outline around their borders which looks bad. I guess the best way to fix this would be to mask close to the edge and paint over the area where the window is glued to the solid fuselage? 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fubar57 Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Great job on the paint and markings. Apologize for bring this up late but for future consideration, there is a navigation light template here... http://www.pacmonoshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=636 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M. Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 3 hours ago, fubar57 said: Great job on the paint and markings. Apologize for bring this up late but for future consideration, there is a navigation light template here... http://www.pacmonoshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=636 And also on the framework of most of the Eduard PE sets! Heat up clear sprue and push it in then slice off.. Pete M. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fubar57 Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Agreed Pete. I remembered that at about 3:00am but couldn't remember the PE set I had seen them on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeneMene Posted September 25, 2019 Author Share Posted September 25, 2019 I managed to recreate the tail and underside nav lights with extra thick CA glue and tamiya clear paint. Wrapping up the final details now, I'll be posting in the ready for inspection area soon. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 Lovely job all around! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milos Gazdic Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 Hello @MeneMene Great job! Sorry for reviving the old post but would you mind telling me from which fret did the seatbelts come and were they pre-painted? Best, Milos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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