Sandeha Lynch

Hi Andy It is certainly interesting. I should apologise for the loss of in-page images - I upsized the folder on Flickr, but if you click on the links the photos will appear. I mention above a future publication of some of my dad's shots - the new book on the Regia Aeronautica in East Africa is here:

I have just received a copy of a new book in Italian called 'I cavalieri erranti' (Wandering Knights), by Ludovico Slongo et al. The knights in question are the pilots, equipped with Fiat CR.42 Falco biplanes, who served in 412ª Squadriglia Caccia Terrestre (412nd Fighter Squadron) in Italian East Africa from the mid-1930s until the Regia Aeronautica was defeated in 1941. It's the definitive volume on the squadron and a significant addition to studies of the air war in East Africa from the perspective of the Italian Air Force. It has been extensively researched and is filled with illustrations, primarily previously unpublished photos of the period but also with specially commissioned illustrations of the different liveries and camouflage of the aircraft. One personal interest is that the book includes half a dozen photos taken by my RAF dad who was stationed in Sudan during the period. It's published by Gruppo Amici Velivoli Storici in a short print run, but hardback copies of the book are available for 55€ +pp from Italy. The print quality is superb. Contact the author directly on ludovico dot slongo at gmail dot com. (An AI translation in English is available but it's not an offset printed hardback.) IMGP0684x by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

You always need to look for the 'Vickers Type 264 Valentia'. The Wikipedia and BAE Systems pages are interesting. Do you have these plans? This and the accompanying sheets are in my Flickr folder. Just follow the link. The length and width are definitely NOT to scale. composite 02 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr composite 03 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

Thanks, Beekeeper I used 0.5mm hemp cord, made for model ship rigging, bedded in with Tamiya liquid glue. I think it would have been better if I'd used the 0.25mm, but it worked out once I'd wiped putty along the lengths. You should look at JWM's thread where he shows the use of stretched sprue and putty. I think he got a better result once it was sanded down - something I couldn't do on the cord as it would have frayed! It's a choice, since the original body definitely appears too flat, likewise on the lower wing beneath the engines. In the end I feel the raised cords make a positive impression on an aircraft that has no rigging - it's a little something for the eye to fix on.

I have one of these to do, complete, and with a box in similar condition, no doubt from long storage somewhere. Any plans on a particular variant? I need to find out how they were dressed for troop transport in East Africa as my one black and white photo from 1940 is a bit short on information !! k3_46_05b by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

Bigglesof266 - thanks for the trophy! Amid all the jets on Britmodeller the Valentia is certainly a rare one. JWM - it was really fortunate that you were actually working on a Valentia when I began searching for one. Your notes have been a huge help, so thank you. Bell209, cngaero, mahavelona, and Spitfire31 - I suspect we have all been spoiled by injection plastic technology; one often hears of vacform kits "in the stash". Hopefully yours will come out to play at some point, though granted, clear bench-space is a necessity. I've been looking around for a 216 Squadron nose insignia 1/72 decal - an eagle carrying a bomb - but I haven't found one yet!

The Vickers Valentia is the tenth 1/72 aircraft kit I've made since I restarted modelling in 2020. But it's the first vacform, and nothing really prepares you for that. Fortunately, JWM was already working on one and his Valentia K3160 WIP pages (https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235109961-vickers-valentia-contrail-172/) provide a masterclass in tackling the idiosyncrasies of these Contrail kits from the 1980s. There are parts that don't fit well, scored lines that are almost invisible, parts so thin the plastic can even melt if the putty is exothermic, and ludicrously inadequate instructions. The kit needed a fair amount of scratch-building to prepare items that weren't in the box or to replace parts that were plain wrong for this aircraft. I was lucky to find an unopened box so I could see from the beginning where I'd need to improvise. So no complaints, some things you just have to learn. It can be difficult to find information on aircraft from the interwar period. Around eighty of these 'Type 264' Valentias were built, and none of them survive. However, I had a personal lead-in, as it were, as my dad had flown in one on the Khartoum-Nairobi route AND HE TOOK PHOTOGRAPHS. Working through his negatives from 1938 to 1941 was the starting point of all my recent builds. So here she is - K3604, code 'B', of 216 Squadron RAF, at Malakal in Sudan (now South Sudan), on Sunday the 8th of January, 1939, where they had a flat tyre on the rear wheel. p7_57_doublex by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr Aircraft fabric paint on a black and white photo shows up as white under an equatorial sun. I was almost tempted to paint the body all white, but instead I picked a metallic paint and reduced the shine with around 20% satin white. IMGP0455x by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr The ribs on the rear of the fuselage and on the wings below the engines are 0.5mm hemp cord, the same as used for model ship rigging. And following Jerzy's lead, I bought 1.5x2.5mm ABS strips for the main wing struts and used another 2mm rod for the exhausts. For the tail struts with a wider profile I took a couple of rods, glued them together, and filled the groove with putty. IMGP0448x by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr The kit has Pegasus II engines as required, but there were no exhaust collector rings in the box. Instead, 1mm ABS rod was cut up and glued against a plastic ring cut from the body of an old Letraset ProMarker pen; the diameter and thickness were very close, and filing, putty, and paint did the rest. Antique Copper paint, some Plaid FolkArt acrylics I had - 20 years old but still good. I also had some 3mm brass tubing from another project I did 20 years ago which was a perfect sleeve for a 2mm prop shaft - I now have the smoothest running propellers ever. IMGP0481x by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr Jerzy was also on point in removing the individual window sections and inserting one long strip of clear plastic with painted divisions - so much easier, though it was still tricky to keep the glass clean. The cockpit seats are small squares of ABS sheet in a stack, with an upright piece forming the back. I used grey and Cockpit Green on the interior. Seat belts and instrument panel are from a Kora Fairey Gordon kit I'd bought from LFModels two years before. Well, it's from the same period! IMGP0475x by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr One of the undercarriage struts broke at the elbow when I was trimming off the flashing. It was such a weak point I reinforced them all by gluing the flat side to 1mm ABS sheet and then trimming them to a better shape. You don't want them to look too heavy of course, but the finished aircraft is no lightweight at 150g. Fortunately, the black injection plastic wheels were pretty good and just needed filing around the edge. The tail wheel may also have come from the Gordon kit, as my own version had used a skid. IMGP0467x by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr I haven't added rigging to any of the biplanes I've built and without practice there can be no skill, so I wasn't about to try it with this model. Maybe next time. The original Contrail decals needed cleaning up as the glassine paper had stuck to them but they were tough enough to withstand a wet cotton bud. And a creative drop of paint was needed in converting the supplied K2340 decals to K3604 under the wings, the 2 taking on the role of a 6. Juggling the small code numbers around the tail was very tricky. The 'B' on the fuselage is in two sizes; an old ModelDecal '105' sheet was good for the nose and a Kits-World paint mask on a clear decal sheet did the rear. IMGP0474x by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr Faults? Yes, quite a few in planning and assembly. There is a slight distortion at the tips of the wings. I used 1mm ABS sheet strips to reinforce the length inside but should have added more around the extreme edges - in some places the vacform wing plastic is probably no more than 0.3mm thick. Getting the fuselage cuts right for the angle of the lower wing to slot into was also difficult and needed Milliput packed in below. For contrast, this shot shows a Fiat CR.42 Falco I made a couple of years ago. Both 1/72. Who knows, they may have met in the skies above Sudan and Eritrea. IMGP0464x by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr I started cutting out the parts in November '22 and worked on it in shifts. Challenging? Very. Satisfying? Immensely. IMGP0452x by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

Genius work.

Feel free to use the photos on Britmodeller, no problem, but kindly remember to include the link back to Flickr. Thanks for the suggestion about Murray and Holland. I've recently been working a little with an air historian in Italy who has written a history of the Regia Aeronautica in Eritrea, so I might look into that later. I look forward to seeing your own Valentia. I've just closed the fuselage on mine. 😉

It's wonderful to see this. As Jerzy unveils his work on the Vickers Valentia, K3160, code SJ-T of RAF 70 Squadron, I want to share a detail about one day in that aircraft's history. neg000 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr I have my dad's log book and negative files from his time in Sudan, 1938-41. Going through his photos it was surprising to find pictures of Haile Selassie, at that time Emperor of Abyssinia/Ethiopia in exile. His visit to Khartoum in September 1940 was not mentioned in the log as Selassie's whereabouts in this period were considered 'top secret', with him being given different code names (Mr Strong, Mr Smith) at different points on his journey from England. Selassie was in Sudan to plan an invasion of Ethiopia the following year with the intention of forcing out the Italian army and air force. This included a visit to an advanced landing ground called Gedaref about 100 km from the Sudan/Ethiopia border. From the Operations Record Book of Headquarters, RAF No.203 Group: "6/9/40, 0600 - The Emperor HAILE SALASSIE (sic) arrived by road and was received by Group Captain C.E.V. PORTER, (SASO), Wing Commander J.G. ELTON, DFC., AFC., (Stn. Commander, RAF Khartoum), and Flight Lieutenant B.J. LYNCH, Ph.D. B.A., (Group Senior Intelligence Officer). After a brief inspection of the fighter aircraft on the aerodrome the Emperor departed by a Valentia aircraft piloted by Pilot Officer FARMER, to GEDAREF and was escorted by two Vincents of 430 Flight. The Emperor was accompanied by his son and members of his staff." The surviving photos from the visit are on the second page of this Flickr folder: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sandeha/albums/72157714487027898/page2 Whoever took the seven photos before and during the flight, and presumably on arrival at Gedaref ALG, is unknown. The in-flight photos appear to have been taken from the middle seat of one of the Vincents, clearly with a shutter speed too low for the vibration. It's possible the Eastman Kodak Panatomic-X was supplied by my father (who is visible in two shots), and then developed when he processed his own from the next sequence of Selassie's visit. Historical curiosity? Yes, but it also gives some satisfaction that an aircraft like the Valentia is still interesting and relevant today through the creation of these complex models some 80 years on. And if you scroll back to the original Dec 2020 thread where Jerzy began his search for a suitable historical example in camouflage, you'll find a paper trail of good practice for vacuform model building. It will be a huge help when I build K3604.

Regarding tiny details, there appears to be another generator under the left wing, below the engine, and another pitot tube fitted attached to a strut near the left fuel tank. A mechanic's nightmare, I'm sure. l003 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr p7_57 radiator by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr I'm trying to imagine what it must have been like to open a passenger window during a flight.

It looks magnificent, and has a level of detail (those cables!) I could not aspire to. With luck, I may get the fuselage halves of K3604 joined up this week.

The pic you showed above of SJ-R looks as though the 'R' was slightly thinner and shorter. I think the 'T' was also placed lower than the 'S'.

When I blow up the negative showing the fin flash, the inner area is uniformly dark (in shadow) and has some serious scratches on the point where a serial number might have been. So, really difficult to say. On this shot that inner area is in brighter sunlight, but there does not appear to be any black lettering. Even with the blur of the photo, I think some traces would have shown up. 190202-0015 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr You're dependent on instinct for interpreting these colours J-W, but I don't think anyone can counter the logic you have employed here.

And this extract from the ORB confirms the serial, so SJ-T it is !! 70 sqn orb by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

That's a very good spot. I've whacked the contrast to help show the firm angles of possible lettering. A 'T' seems likely from both width and position, though as you can see the tone/shade is very different from the 'SJ'. contrast 1 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr I also forced the contrast on this so you can get a better view of the fin flash. contrast 2 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

Don't forget that there are two different sets among the Valentia shots. The photo showing the fin flash and the other 'Selassie' shots were all of the camo Valentia in Sept 1940 and shot on 35mm. The new ones I posted yesterday are of the troop carrier which all share the unusual 30x40mm format. While dirty, especially on one side (oil leak/splatter?), they are all the silver/dope of 216 Sqn in Jan 1939.

Reading what you said about double cables, J-W, I sorely wish I had found this one earlier. Just a couple of new ones in the Flickr set, but I've also resized most of them from fresh scans. Turns out that it is Mount Longonot in the background, between Kisumu and Nairobi. p7_94xf by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

This is a reminder for me to rescan my dad's photos at a much larger size. The nose insignia of 216 Sqn on Vickers Valentia, K3604, January 1939, en route from Khartoum to Nairobi. p7_57 insig by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

I have no idea what those items must be, but you can just make it out in these. p7_63 radiator by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr p7_57 radiator by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr Speaking of 'things I never noticed before' I had no idea that the original propellers were a braced pair, one atop the other, until I looked closely at yours!! I've made no progress on mine for a while, just basic cutting from the sheets, so you're doing the best work here, J-W. With luck I'll get on it next year.

Sorry - I only meant that the injection plastic is a black colour ! 😉 Here's another I found (not mine) which appears to have been tint coloured on the print. I know you're doing the camo version, but it shows the wheels nicely. Vickers Valentia, RAF Odiham 1934 by Dick Gilbert, on Flickr

You exhausts and inlets are really impressive work. The original engines in my box appear to have 'impressionistic' exhausts and inlets on them, and that will have to do, but also the injection mouldings are near black in colour so may be a different iteration than yours. The wheels and undercarriage supports are also in black. The supplied exhaust pipes themselves are quite wrong for the version I will do so I will trim them down. l009 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

Happy to note that I found an unopened Contrail box with the five Vickers biplanes, all intact and complete. I've just scanned the plans. Given the monogram at bottom right I guess these must date from 1979. It's gonna be tough ... it says, for example, "Cut wing struts to correct length" but without any hint as to what that length should be. Well, life was pretty tough in the 70s. 😉 composite 04 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr composite 02 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr If you follow through to Flickr you'll find them at full size. I'm only going to build the Valentia Transport so that means the other four, the Virginia VII and X, the Victoria and the Valentia Gunship will all be packed up for sale on eBay. I haven't yet made enough contributions to post an advertisement on Britmodeller, but anybody interested could set up an alert on eBay (UK) - I'll be posting them there in a couple of weeks. I'll be coming back to your thread again and again, J-W, as you're doing a cracking job. Here's the version I'll be making: K3604, 216 Sqn (Heliopolis). The photo was taken at Malakal, now South Sudan, by my dad on 8 Jan 1939, en route from Khartoum to Nairobi. l002 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr It'll be a build for the winter months.

No apology necessary, JWM. It's good to see you are making progress. I have watched two kits fly by me, one on UK eBay went for £54 (which I didn't expect), and then one on the US site went for three times as much !! The underside is not as dark as the strut shadows, so I doubt it could be 'black'.

Given the delicateness of some of those parts you have got a really excellent result from the kit, and actually improved the kit itself. Personally I never do rigging either - to my eye it often interferes with the lines.