1:48 D-520

The best French fighter of 1940

The Dewoitine D.520 reached the squadrons late and in small numbers, and yet it proved to be the only French type that could measure its strength against the opponent as an equal. A Hispano-Suiza engine with a cannon firing through the hollow shaft of the propeller gave it a hard punch, its agility was good and pilots were also satisfied with its flying qualities on landing. After the armistice it served on under Vichy administration and in foreign air services, so an unusually varied mixture of finishes and markings came together on it. Several airframes have survived to this day and one of them is still airworthy.

Where a decal wins instead

A stencil applies one color in one step. A cockade of three concentric rings therefore means three sprayings and, between them, a registration that has to sit to a tenth of a millimeter. A decal manages it all at once and without the risk that the second color shifts by a hair. It therefore pays to weigh things up: spray large single-color markings or stripes, and with multicolor emblems and fine national artwork stay with the sheet from the kit. One model can easily bear both.

Contents of the envelope

The cut of the films follows the shape of the canopy frames as the chosen plastic model divides them, and some of the pieces are prepared for under the glass. Alongside them the envelope holds two sets of stencils of the national markings. The films are stuck onto a dried coat and removed once the paint has set. The package contains films only, no paints and no plastic parts. The set is therefore an accessory to a kit that the modeler acquires separately.