Dora Wings 1/48 Dewoitine D.510 Kit First Look

By David L. Veres

First Look

With metal monocoque construction, low-wing monoplane design, open-cockpit configuration, and fixed, spatted main gear, Dewoitine's D.510 – like Boeing's P-26 "Peashooter" – bridged the gap between typical WWI and WWII fighter types.

Toting a potent 20 mm cannon and two 7.5 mm wing guns, D.510s fought as French second-line types during the Battle of France, as Chinese interceptors in the Sino-Japanese conflict, and with the Republican Escuadrilla Internacional during the Spanish Civil War.

Dora Wings chose the last as package theme for its handsome 1/48 48008 Dewoitine D.510. And for a "limited run" effort, overall quality appears quite good. Contents comprise:

• 63 injection-molded styrene components across five parts trees,
• at least 30 – mostly microscopic – photoetched metal details,
• 2 clear-film instrument panel faces,
• 18 bubble-free gray resin parts, and
• 7 clear resin components.

Decals and six-page instructions with parts map, 16-step assembly sequence, and color guides complete contents.

Many parts sport minor flash at mold seams –which experienced modelers can easily handle. I also suspect that seasoned enthusiasts, using the kit part as template, will replace the resin windscreen with clear plastic sheet – and swap resin kit landing lights with stretched, shaped styrene.

Dora Wings apparently plan multiple Dewoitine D.500-series releases. You get, for instance, two propellers: two-blade wooden and three-blade metal with spinner – both of which you'll need for this kit. You also get two undercarriage spat configurations – suggesting, I suspect, at least one future D.500 or D.501.

The kit's colorful, precisely printed decals include markings for three Spanish Republican and one Japanese subjects – all illustrated on Dora Wings' beautifully printed, full-color markings instructions:

• camouflaged Spanish Republican Dewoitine D.510 "CW-002", 1938
• camouflaged Spanish Republican Dewoitine D.510 "CW-15", 1938
• aluminum lacquer Spanish Republican Dewoitine D.510 "CW-16", 1938
• aluminum lacquer Japanese Dewoitine D.510J test aircraft, 1935

Note that the exact number of D.510s in Spanish Republican service remains in dispute. So at least one of Dora Wing's subjects might, in fact, depict a D.500.

Out-of-the-box, Dora Wings' "limited run" D.510 poses no problems to experienced enthusiasts. If you love French fighters as I do, get this kit – then sell your increasingly rare 1/48 Fonderie Miniature D.510 on eBay!

With thanks to Dora Wings for the sample.