Jump to content

Dewoitine 520 (Smer re-box) (#L092) -Finished


AdrianMF

Recommended Posts

I’ve backed the wheel wells and radiator inlet and exit trunking, and opened up the inlet under the nose:

8-BD74777-9437-44-D6-B4-A6-B4-B9604-CCC9

 

Still have the two side inlets to do.

 

I’ve also built a new home for the seat and sorted out the rear view bit:

D566-BD31-AB6-C-497-D-B146-EA2913501628.

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well in amongst all the Spinal Tap and Fast Show quotes in my head, I have to remember that this is not in fact “Black” but Midnight Blue, or rather Humbrol 104:

37522-DDC-FCCC-40-B4-9894-EC1-AF4-CC4-A5
 

I may review how much of the PE I put in there because I suspect that once the canopy’s on you won’t see a damn’ thing!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Lovely PE fret, a free extra with the kit, and I just can’t be bothered. I will probably do wine bottle foil seat belts too:

CF2-B49-C4-A039-43-AE-AC46-CF95-ED987-E7
 

We are going out to eat for the second time in over six months, for my daughter’s birthday dinner. At least it’s local - I managed to talk her out of going into central London. She’s just finished her two-week quarantine, and tomorrow I’m putting her on a plane back to the Netherlands. Remote university courses are a wonderful thing.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The bubonic plague may be actually the least of his problems. Nevertheless you are doing a great job on this kit. I have looked at mine a few times and quietly put it back.

Maybe  your build gives me inspiration.

 

Rob

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

We may be in the midst of a modern-day plague but the Heller pilot has some big problems all of his own:

E58-C7-DFF-6220-463-D-8-A2-E-907-D14-B83

That reminds me.. our Government was kind enough to supply me with a “free kit” the other day, however it’s wasn’t one on my ‘wish-list’. Oh well, best do my home Bowel Screening test some time this weekend I suppose! 

Cheers (or should that read Bottoms up!!).. Dave
 

 

  • Haha 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I succumbed and used the PE seatbelts, and for amusement I folded up the gunsight, although I reserve the right to replace it with scrap plastic when I realise I’ve lost it later on in the build:

8248-CF6-B-A514-4-FE7-A2-FF-231-CF160-DA
 

...and complete with stick! Ready to add the propeller and close up:

21818266-8-FEF-49-D9-8-B3-D-2-C925631-B9
 

...aaand opened out the front intakes while I’m waiting for the propeller undercoat to dry:

521-F6-D38-4726-442-D-AC1-F-3-F8-BC8-B05

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

All together, propeller blows round, happy:

F841-A92-C-3-F16-40-F9-9-D4-F-0-EF4943-E


I had to do some fettling to get the wing square. The left root lines up, the right root is slightly below the wing surface, so I will be blending in a little worm of Milliput when it has hardened up a bit more. Hopefully I can wet shape it to blend in and skip any sanding.

 

If anyone else is building this, note that one tailplane has proper sized elevators marked on with raised lines and the other has teeny ones. I started scribing on the teeny ones and did the other side to match, would have been better the other way around.

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're doing a great work out of this kit.

I built a couple of them in my youth: its shape is as bad as it is lacking details.

Looking forward to see the end result. So far, looks very good!

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, AntoineG said:

its shape is as bad as it is lacking details.

I must say I haven’t checked it against plans at all. Whenever I do that with an old kit, I know what happens... I built the Revell I-16 for a Blitzbuild back in May, so it won’t be the most inaccurate kit I have built this year!

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ready for paint:

0384-C99-E-F54-A-4-B2-F-9-C9-D-0-EB99-D2
 

I've held it up against some plans - it doesn’t seem too far out. I do want to check the undercarriage leg length against photos though, it looks very high to me.

 

And I added the PE gun sight. Then I picked up the plane, the gunsight bounced inside the cockpit, went through the gap under the instrument panel and promptly glued itself to something deep inside the fuselage. Doesn’t even rattle. So there’s a little rectangle of clear plastic instead!

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

 

 

And I added the PE gun sight. Then I picked up the plane, the gunsight bounced inside the cockpit, went through the gap under the instrument panel and promptly glued itself to something deep inside the fuselage. Doesn’t even rattle. So there’s a little rectangle of clear plastic instead!

If the photoetch had been French it would probably have accepted it. If that's the case, it will be interesting seeing how it gets on with the paint. 

 

You are trailblazing for the rest of us Adrian, keep up the good work.

 

Tony.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, it had to happen. The left-hand rear quarter light popped out into the fuselage. While I was shaking the fuselage to get it out, the missing gunsight fell out too. So the canopy is off again, had to take the frame (on port wing) out to get the glass back in, and re-installed the gunsight with a bigger blob of glue this time:

9012-F4-EE-0-C81-40-BC-A0-FD-A706-B32309

 

Then I can do some paint, restore the frame and stick the canopy back on. Sigh.

 

[edit] about an hour later:

0371-F1-D2-3-CB9-4078-BC47-5-ABED5-E7-EB

So it is possible to get a square of film into the gunsight, angled at precisely 45 degrees of course. Now, where did I put my protractor?

 

[more edit] and of course when you have the canopy back on you can’t see a damn’ thing anyway.
C5-B08-AD1-5-F0-C-4-AA9-8-A89-D81-EC4-D6

 

Time to cook dinner now - something a bit larger!

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Managed to sneak a day off work (only another 17 days to use up before Christmas!) and so started to look at colours.

 

my assembled paint candidates, plus my Mi-4 from the Helis GB skulking around and getting a bit of love.  The lower side blue is my third attempt (too grey, too green, happy) and uses Humbrol blue 25, white 34 and Revell grey 57 to get a slightly purple-y tone to the blue-grey. Will sand down the sample area and try to replicate the mix over the whole underside:

1-F6-D603-B-54-DB-4904-AD90-0-A7635-B699

 

Topside colours: browns top Hu 160 Chocolate, bottom Revell 84 Leather Brown; greys top Hu 79 blue-grey, middle Hu 96, bottom Revell 79 blue-grey; greens top Hu 252 RLM 82, bottom Citadel Loren Forest:

927-BEE6-A-D25-E-486-B-B5-BB-CB40-E50-CB

 

I think I’m going with Revell 84, Hu 79 and Hu 252? Loren Forest doesn’t say “khaki” to me... does anyone have a view?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Recalling my ColourCoats preference here, the green needs to be richer and darker. The others seem okay, though.

 

Do you intend to varnish at all? That might make a difference to the tones as they appear here.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Heather! I’m thinking about Hu155 for the green (stripe on near wingtip):

1-B37-D669-43-CA-48-ED-BBC4-96949-B4-AE1
 

The Hu155 is close(ish) to the green in the museum example on Wikipedia so I think I might cut my losses, wrap this up and get going on the silver 500 and 510. I never thought I’d be looking forward to a silver paint job!
 

If only Colourcoats did acrylic... I’ve tried a number of greens in the test mule and they all look wrong, even good old Humbrol 30! 
 

I will be giving it a matt varnish at the end but I expect that won’t change the colours much.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I keep photobombing other people's threads, so I apologise for this. Hopefully it helps anyone who might be getting confused with French camo.

 

50213691561_9be1b04c96_b.jpg

 

As I’ve said before, I’m reliably informed the colours here are fairly close to the way they appeared in 1940. 

  • Like 5
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks again! I’ve reached a result that doesn’t make me nauseous to look at but clearly I’ve got a way to go:

F619-D595-C600-4-EA1-9-DEE-F98-AB7-B4-E7
 

Maybe next time I will start with a lighter grey and a rustier chocolate, and buy a brighter green. I wish Hu 80 was available in acrylic!

 

Anyway, it was £4.99’s worth of fun and I’ll decal it after I’ve cooked and eaten some dinner.

 

[Edit: Might have a go on my yak-9 mule with the scheme I didn’t use: Revell blue-grey, Hu 160 Chocolate and Citadel Loren Forest...]

  • Like 7
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, the Berna decals have taken my mind of the dodgy colours somewhat:

9-B837-FB7-5252-4072-A899-D38-F462-A994-
 

I carefully left the fin unpainted so the colour wouldn’t show through the stripes. I should have given it a quick coat of white to give the decal something to grab. Hopefully the Decalfix will have sorted it out by tomorrow morning.

 

[edit: ironically, the set of colours that I DIDN’T choose photograph up rather well, despite looking not quite like that IRL:

C5257-ABF-9-CED-4709-8-CCF-A97-FD2-C1-E5

]

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

There we go, finished-finished, more pics in the gallery:

AD205-BF6-FF89-498-A-89-C7-EA66693917-E3

 

I’m thinking of diverting from the Dewoitine plan slightly and buying a cheeky little Musee Bloch 152 to try some other colours out until Heather approves!
 

Thanks for looking,

Adrian

 

  • Like 13
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...