Short Sunderland to Sandringham conversion - Special Hobby 1/72nd scale

Introduction:

Early civil conversions of the Short Sunderland started even before WW2 was over as the Hythe class, which in turn led to full civil conversions as the Sandringham. The first four Sandringhams surprisingly went to Argentina, to "Compañía Argentina de Aeronavegación Dodero", of transportation entrepreneur Alberto Dodero. Later on two (notably) early conversions that still had the retractable nose turret and a blunt fairing for the tail position were acquired too. More Sandringhams arrived to South America, some also being sold to CAUSA in Uruguay. All these planes had either the Bristol Centaurus or P&W engines, being the latter predominant. They rendered good services, covering mostly local and occasionally international routes, but eventually as the era of the extensive use of the flying boat as transports came to its twilight, they were gradually but inexorably taken off service, being replaced by land planes. The Argentinean Sandringhams changed hands a number of times as successive local airlines bought them or added them to their fleets resulting from mergers. The information available is not straightforward, and as it seems invariably the case you will find inaccuracies, sources contradicting each other, and blatant mistakes and mislabeling. Still, if you apply to it, some degree of clarity can be obtained.

Politics, CIA, and cloak and dagger:

It is sometimes surprising what you may find doing research for your model. In this case the dynamics between Mr. Dodero (as mentioned the Argentinean industrialist that acquired several Sandringhams), Juan Perón (the then president of Argentina) and the CIA. Here are two of the CIA declassified documents underlining the situation.

https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-00457R004000340007-7.pdf

https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-00457R002700580001-2.pdf

More info about the Sandringhams can be found in:

Propliner 94, Spring 2003 “Ladies of the River Plate – Sandringhams”

Air Britain “The Sunderland Heritage” - 2001

Building big models:

In all these decades of modeling I have assembled many small and big subjects. It would be no surprise to any modeler that as a rule of thumb larger models take more time and usually more effort to be completed. As much attracted as I am to these oversized subjects, I try to be realistic, as there is no worse model than the one never built or completed. The larger projects have taken many months of hard labor or even years -on and off- sometimes. From the top of my head I remember the following:

HP42:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2019/09/hadley-page-hp42-hercules-modified.html

Boeing 377:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2022/04/boeing-377-modified-academy-172nd-scale.html

Zeppelin Staaken E.40:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2015/07/zeppelin-staaken-e420-completed.html

The recent I.Ae 38 Naranjero

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2026/02/iae-38-naranjero-baron-rojo-172nd-scale.html

Burnelli RB-1:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2014/07/scratch-built-172-remington-burnelli-rb.html

Tupolev TB-1 ANT 4 G-1

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2014/07/converted-172-icm-tupolev-tb-3.html

Cant Z-506:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2013/05/cant-z-506-172-scale-modified.html

Sikorsky S.43:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2013/05/execuform-sikorsky-s43-172-vacuform.html

Potez 621:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2014/07/heller-based-172-scratchbuilding-of.html

Blackburn Kangaroo:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2017/04/blackburn-kangaroo-completed-modified.html

Rohrbach Roland:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2017/08/scratchbuilt-rohrbach-roland-iberia.html

Handley Page 0/700:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2020/02/handley-page-o700-airliner-conversion.html

Sikorsky S.38:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2021/12/inter-island-airways-kauai-sikorsky-s38.html

Fairchild C-119:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2023/05/fairchild-c-119-steward-davis-jetpack.html

Farman 223.1:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2025/12/farman-f2231-f-apuz-istres-damascus.html

 

And some “in progress” -without much actual progress for a while I am afraid:

Savoia Marchetti S.55 (two of them, still on painting stage):

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2023/05/savoia-marchetti-s55x-172nd-delta-2.html

Boeing 80 (half-way):

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2021/07/boeing-80a-1-broplan-172nd-vacuformed.html

Fokker F.32 (same as above):

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2020/07/fokker-f32-mighty-behemoth-modified.html

So…having a few builds midway as noted above gave me pause when I felt tempted to convert a Short Sunderland to the civil variants flown in Argentina and Uruguay in the post-WW2 years. Therefore, not wanting to get tangled in the quagmire of a too laborious conversion that needed large parts fabricated and modified (as an old resin conversion set is now OOP and not available), I decanted on the arrivals to the Lands of the South, the airframes with just minor modifications that still had the retractable nose turret (demilitarized of course) and the hastily faired tail position. These were transitional airframes with a new passenger interior and concurrent different window arrangement. These civil conversions from the Sunderland as explained started as the “Hythe” class, later to become Sandringhams as the mods become more involving. The airframes I am considering are again early conversions looking more like Hythes, although called officially Sandringhams. After a deep dive on kit reviews I decanted for the Special Hobby rendition, discarding the old and now inadequate Airfix kit, and after some thought –and somewhat reluctantly- dismissed the Italeri one for other reasons. Now, these Special Hobby kits have annoying fit issues according to many reviewers (no surprise here, I have built many Special Hobby kits experiencing the same), but they offer the early and late variants with their different engines/props that could allow a small number of Uruguayan and Argentinean registrations to be built (not without quite a lot of work, I hasten to add). Nonetheless, most likely because of the tariffs of president stupid (recently rightfully stricken down by the Supreme Court), these kits have reached at the time of this article discouraging prices. So to take the plunge you need to be somewhat committed to justify such expense, and be mindful that more than the usual amount of work will be required.

The registrations that seem to demand fewer changes are Argentinean LV-AHG (Sandringham Mk5), LV-AAS (Mk3, later CAUSA CX-AKF) and LV-AHH (Mk5 that needs a bit of additional faring-over work). Among the Uruguayan are CX-AKR (Mk5), CX-AKF(Mk3) and CX-AFA (Mk3).

All these planes have the blunt tail (a not elegant fairing after removal of the tail turret) and the front retractable turret still there but of course disarmed and modified. They are the least “aerodynamic” conversions, compared to the more stylized later Sandringham refinements. Still, the ones that I think may require less work…we’ll see.

Why nobody has come up with alternate civil boxings of these planes or at least aftermarket conversion sets is a modeling mystery for me. There were civil Hythe types that would have only required minor changes and a few added parts.

As mentioned, there is quite a bit of work ahead to obtain the civil version. As an example, if you are going for the Mk5 version (let’s say LV-AHG), there are very small details, like you will need to make new exhausts; and big details: you will need to plug a number of windows and create many new ones, besides modifying the front area and the very tail of the fuselage. The kit’s already meticulously detailed interior walls of the fuselage will unfortunately mean nothing to you, as the civil versions were insulated and paneled of course. The dozens upon dozens of military parts will go to the trash can (in that regard actually greatly simplifying your build), together with some of the internal structure, but bear in mind that floors and bulkheads may be repurposed or used as patterns for the civil interior.

Adding to the already prickly task of finding reliable information in references is the fact that there was little or no consistency among the airframes imported to Argentina and Uruguay. Types were different; planes of the same type were different, details like windows and antennas varied even between what was supposed to be similar airframes, and on top of that airlines applied different schemes to their planes, even of the same airline!. As it is very rare to obtain photos of that era of the plane you want from all the angles, you have to extrapolate, do your best, and cross your fingers.

I have seen online a few brave conversions of the old Airfix and Italeri kits into civil types. It’s not an easy job, to say the least. Some of this builds used a resin conversion set now OOP, that included nose, tail tip and one-part engine nacelles (a poor rendition of them, actually). Since SH now offers the P&W engines already in their Mk.V boxing, those are not needed, so the modeler could theoretically produce the new streamlined nose and tail tip on his own (still many other mods are needed, as discussed). As explained my belief is that going for the early airframes may simplify the job, but perhaps carving the needed parts could be easier, and that would open the subject range to include a number of other registrations, being the bonus that for some these later types maybe more visually pleasant (personally I like the clunky and blunt appearance of the early conversion too, but it’s a matter of taste of course).

There is an Eduard set of masks (not including the needed civil windows, of course) and P.E. sets that are not really relevant as again they apply to the military versions.

Be prepared to clear the building area, and even so you may not escape banging the model against all the surrounding objects, including flasks, your optivisor and lamp. It takes some adjustment to manipulate these beasts.

Now, those that frequent this blog know that I like to provide interiors, toilets included when present. Taking into consideration that this model will need a lot of work even before starting the build itself, I am not sure how much of that would be reasonable or practical to recreate (nothing would be seen through those minute widows). I am toying with the idea of detailing a section of the upper deck, as the kit already presents the roof of that area as a separate part. In LV-AHG that was the place of the upper deck seats, a small bar and stairs to the lower deck. Perhaps it would be nice to also detail what may be seen leaving the cabin doors open. Much to mull over…

LV-AHG carried 51 passengers in what we would call high-density configuration*, as it was destined to ply the inner major rivers of Argentina towards the north-east, and to cross the River Plate towards Uruguay.

*The then “high-density” would be today’s business/first class, to such lows the sardine-carrying aviation industry has stooped for the general public.

 The Special Hobby Sunderland MkV kit is massive, and has a very high number of detail parts (these in their vast majority won't be used for the civil conversion, though). Their box art "motto" is weird to say the least. 

A big kit. The majority of those windows will need plugging and made flush with the fuselage skin. Panel lines will need redoing where needed. New windows will need their position asserted and opened, and transparencies for them will need to be fabricated: 

 

Most of that engraved interior detail will need to be covered if visible, as civil conversions were of course insulated/paneled. Other than those in the cockpit, most floors and bulkheads should receive the same treatment:

So what is still undecided as this point is if I will go for what seems like the path of less resistance and model the early conversions with the retractable nose turret and blunt tail, or modify the nose and tail fabricating new parts for the later streamlined look. And depending on that, which particular Argentinean or Uruguayan plane will be actually modeled. For the moment, I am going through all the references I manage to gather and musing over the very few photos I have of the potential subjects. As mentioned, I don't have the OOP resin conversion set that was once in the market (for the Airfix kit), but getting one of those may prove useful if taking that road even if needs adapting.

For the very lazy civilized modelers among us, there is an almost direct Hythe conversion from the Special Hobby MkI/II/III boxings (Bristol Centaurus engines): VH-AKO! This build will be basically stress-less (Aussies please perk up your kangaroo/wallaby ears!):

https://www.aussieairliners.org/shortfb/vh-ako/vhako.html 

 And images from the New Zealand National Library:

Look, mom! No complicated window changes to worry about!

To be continued...

Northrop Delta 1D Ellsworth Antarctic Flight - Modified Special Hobby 1/72nd scale kit

 

The chubby figure of the Northrop Delta is well known to airplane enthusiasts and modelers. Like a too-fat cousin of the Gamma, it looks lumbering and heavy, but nonetheless it accomplished some feats of aviation and served often as executive transport besides other roles. It failed to carve a solid niche carrying passengers on commercial aviation, though, but it was employed by a few airlines.

I already built Azur/Frrom’s Delta 1C (which has much in common with this release):

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2017/05/northop-delta-completed-azurfrrom-172nd.html 

And long ago I built a hybrid model from parts of the venerable William Bros kit and an Esoteric Models Bodyjob "conversion" vac:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2015/01/northrop-delta-172-conversion-completed.html

The fact is that besides being a rather simple rendition, that Antarctic injection/vac hybrid model needs an actualized build to correct inaccuracies, so I decided I will do the same plane with the Special Hobby Delta 1D boxing. This was a variant for pilot and copilot side-by-side in the cockpit, unlike the Azur/Frrom boxing which is for a single pilot in a narrower setting. The two molds do look as having a lot of commonality.

NC/NR14267 was acquired for the 4^th (and last) Ellsworth Antarctic expedition of 1938/9, and accomplished just one significant flight. It was previously an executive transport but was adapted for the Antarctic flight with extra fuel tanks, skis, and surely a number of other mods. Externally some windows were blanked and what it looks like accesses to refueling caps can be seen in photos. Loop and wire antennas can be also seen. There are a few photos on the Net, not really much, mind you, and none of the interior that I know of. The added tanks can be vaguely glimpsed in one photo and look similar to the long-range tanks used on Roscoe Turner’s Boeing 247. Once acquired this plane can bee seen on wheels while already wearing the “Ellsworth Antarctic Flight” legend, before swapping them for the skis, so modelers could depict it as such, circumventing the mods for the ski version if they wished.

I am familiar with the almost identical Azur/Frrom kit and with other Special Hobby short-run offerings, so I knew already were to start: cleaning ejector towers, sanding matting surfaces to avoid gaps and thin those trailing edges, thinning the cowl trailing edge, making the interior more accurate and adding some missing details (as an example, landing lights under the wings and nav. lights). Other parts can be improved by replacing them (like the exhausts) or refined. The engine is ok and will do for most modelers, but it looks a teeny tiny generic and a tad flat now that we can access much more detailed resin and 3D-printed ones. The prop needs a small modification to adjust to reality. A window needs adjusting in width for this plane (and may be other airframes too). These are just examples of what it can be done to help the kit a little, if so one wished.

First we need addressing some minor issues. The window where the arrow points is rendered much smaller on the molds, and had to be enlarged:

Thus:

 If you are looking at references, please face them with some healthy skepticism. This is a render on Air Magazine, a very nice publication, but this drawing contains a few details that need revising. The font for the text along the fuselage was actually decreasing towards the tail (see the second photo at the beginning). No curtains for this fella, as they were removed; no fancy executive transport anymore but utility plane. The belly antenna was removed. The wing lights are too far forward. Photos strongly suggest the text on the fuselage was red (as in the Gamma "Texaco 20" antarctic plane) and not black:

 

 

 

And the counterweight fairings continue under the control surface. The kit has only two parts, but they are more like the ones in the prototype, unfaired, which is incorrect for this plane, you will need to fabricate a second pair: 

 This plane had long-range tanks in the forward cabin. A glimpse can be seen in one photo where they look akin those on the Turner Boeing 247 racer, so those were fetched from the WB kit:

Glued:

Have to remove the many ejector pin towers from inside the fuselage, wings and stabs:

The trailing edge of the cowl needs careful thinning from inside:

The engine in the kit is not bad, but the model could make with a bit more of realism, so a Small Stuff engine is adapted. No need to glue the valve covers to the cylinders as they will hit the thick walls of the plastic cowl. Here tanks and engine are given a gloss black base for the metal color:

Those strips for the fairings to slide into each other are not present in the Antarctic flier, they need to be very carefully removed. These pants will need modifications to accept the skis:

The prop in the kit has the molded counterweights pointing straight forward, which is not correct:

In the natural position they followed the plane of the blades, thus displaced in regard to the boss:

They are excised and replaced by styrene discs:

The trailing edges need rasping:

Because the molding process introduced a minute deformation (exaggerated in the drawing):

Wing and horizontal tail halves glued, most parts off the sprues, discarded bits to the right:

The narrow cockpit version of the Delta had eight seats, but the wide cockpit version had usually six.

It's academic anyway because this plane's cabin was completely modified: 

Parts washed. Pant halves glued (they will need quite a modification for this plane). The location of the wing lights is drilled:

 Now, the kit does not provide a bulkhead separating the cockpit from the cabin, but this being originally an executive plane, I very much doubt that it didn't have one. One is depicted in the loose rendition on the ad posted above. Therefore a cockpit bulkhead will need to be fashioned:

Lazy modelers as explained above can depict this plane before and after the skis. In this photo the decreasing font size towards the tail can be appreciated too:

Of note is that in this 4th expedition (1938/9) an Aeronca K was also carried on the back of the vessel Wyatt Earp. It was ceded by Vanderbilt, because what is a little plane between millionaires after all. Here it is for entrepreneurial modelers, but afaik, no kit exists of this plane:

 Back to the Delta. Now the million-dollar question some of you have been anxiously waiting for: did this plane have a restroom? In its executive transport capacity I am sure it did have one. But in its transformation for a much rougher environment with the predictable concerns for weight and practicality -not to mention that it carried aboard survival equipment and provisions for weeks- most likely got rid of such luxuries. Bucket is it, I am afraid, perhaps a glorified one, as Ellsworth was after all a millionaire used to Ritz Carlton standards.   

I think this is a nice kit, although some details seem a bit simplified. The fact that the cockpit seats are almost the same (just a slightly lower back) than the cabin seats is unlikely, but it's a minor thing. The cabin seats won't be used, as Ellsworth comments on the number of items stored in the plane, and the flights were to be crewed by him and the pilot:

That is supposed to be a Venturi, rather simplified too. It will be replaced with an aftermarket item. As well as the Pitot, looking a bit chunky. The only used part will be the loop antena:

Some questions arise at this point that impact the build. 

1) The floor in the kit is located too high, so that prevents you from opening the cabin door unless you lower the floor (as I did on the Azur/Frrom rendition).

2) No photo of the interior of this plane could be found, we only know of those additional fuel tanks and Ellsworth note on the amount of gear.

3) So is either leave the door as it is molded closed, or lowering the floor and open the door to a cabin with some generic gear. 
 

These are supports for the wheels, came broken, same as the belly antenna. None are used in this instance anyway: 

Lowering of the floor to match the door height begins by removing the small locating tongue in it and gluing the floor a few millimeters down the groove where that tongue was supposed to lock: 

These airscoops (this plane had only one, not two, on the left side of the nose) are molded solid, someone was lazy:

They are carved for a more realistic look:

The tanks look like a good fit:

Starting to paint a few things:

 

A dry fit of the Small Things engine. Looking better than the more simple in the kit:

The door is cut open. The instrument panel is dressed up with aftermarket dials and the seats are given belts:

The lowering of the cabin floor worked as planned, leveling it with the door opening (dry fit):

 We know that this particular plane had some windows blanked. In photos it looks as if the clear material has been replaced by metal sheet. If that is the case, the metal would be seen from inside, and therefore be painted that color instead of the general interior color. This sounds logical enough and I think I will do so. 

 Working now on the skis. There is no photo I can find of the tail ski, so I am extrapolating. The main skis had a cover on the fore half past their supports that needs to be fabricated:

Looking at photos of this plane, the kit's prop looks undernourished (to the right). The hub is too slim and it's missing the collar bolts. Another one is made:

A bit of basic painting. A beige tone was chosen (not rendered accurately by the camera) as this was previously an executive transport:

Carving now the instep for the skies:

I just ordered the masks for this kit. Thanks to president stupid tariffs and through no fault of the vendor, I ended up paying much more than the usual. When will president stupid and his brown nose enablers  understand that is the US population who pays the damned duties/tariffs? Again, this is just a drop in the ocean of criminal stupidity that characterizes this corrupt and incompetent administration. 

The fuel tanks are cut to fit the height needed and glued in position:

The cockpit parts are added. The new prop is dressed. Modification of the pants begins by excising front and back areas:

And adding some styrene that will be contoured later:

 

Supports are inserted to later anchor the fore and aft ski struts:

These are the windows that are blanked in the Antarctic plane. All of them are being replaced by hand-made ones from acrylic sheet, as unfortunately not many manufacturers achieve really clear windows without optical distortion. The kit windows are ok if don't bother with the interior, but if you put seats or anything else in the cabin as in this case and you want them to be seen, you may need better windows:

Instead of butt-gluing the kit's parts, the exhausts are drilled:

And stacks are fabricated from metal tube:

 Work on the landing gear proceeds (dry run):

Now, regarding that little part (most likely a counterweight) that the kit only provides two for the upper surfaces (four are needed, as the same feature is under the stab). The instructions inaccurately situate them mid-way, I think only the prototype had then in that place:

 

While the others had the counterweight sliding up and down into a triangular fairing much closer to the stab tip. Only when the elevator was all the way down will the counterweight actually show a bit above the fairing:

 So, don't use the kit's parts, just fabricate four little triangles and glue them in pairs opposite to each other above and below looking at photos to measure the distance from the tip.

Painting some things that may be "stored" in the cabin:

 They are having trouble organizing their equipment:

Blanked windows covered with aluminium. Cabin and cockpit glued together, test of fit, and after some scraping of the floor and rear bulkhead (exactly as I had to do with the Azur/Frrom Delta) ready now to close the fuselage:

The interior is glued to one side. As per usual -and to avoid having to stuff the fragile interior previous to airbrushing- a piece of tape is applied from inside against the cabin door, to be removed after painting with sharp tweezers:

Fuselage ready (seams still need to be dealt with). The right wing -as with the Azur/Frrom kit I previously built- needed a wedge to elevate the curve of the airfoil for it to match the fuselage's. The canopy is given the customary bath in acrylic floor polish:

 After that correction the wing goes on without a hitch. A sliver of styrene is glued to the fuselage where the canopy seats to the right to compensate for a gap in the fit. It will be later sanded down to the needed size. That is preferred over filling the gap with glue:

Surprise! after gluing the horizontal tail the hinge line is all wrong! Quickly detaching the parts and now looking forward to having to sand the roots to the proper angle. Sigh...:

The horizontal tail parts are sanded at the root to obtain the proper angle -in the process obliterating the locating little tongue- and re-glued. The canopy is added, as well as the conduit on the spine (after sanding it down a little) and the U-shaped air exit on the left of the nose:

The elevator counterweight fairings, the aileron trim tab and the covers for the aileron linkages are fabricated and added:

Metal tube is used to build a replacement for the somewhat chunky kit's Pitot. Two are made, just in case. The leading edge of the left wing is drilled to accept it -at the end of the build:

Nav lights at hand:

There is a panel that looks very much like an escape hatch on the cockpit roof. This will be simulated with a painted decal. It will help in part to disguise the seam between the canopy clear part and the fuselage. Immediately after that seam the loop antenna and the small mast of the wire antenna will be located:

 

Holes are drilled in front of the stab (for the support bar) and on the left Karman following photos, as well as the wire antenna anchoring hole on the fin LE. 

Tape is applied around what will be the blanked windows (two on the right and one on the left), which are puttied over to be later sanded flush with the fuselage skin:

In spite of being present in the box art and photos, Special Hobby omitted two conduits/battens that run under the wing center section. These are added from styrene stock:

The ski pants are glued, the transparencies masked, and a coat of primer is airbrushed:

Small detail... the intake on top of the cowl does not have a vertical face:

 

But it is slanted instead: 

so it is sanded to shape and then slightly hollowed again with a small drill bit: 

 By the way...

The base for the metal color is airbrushed and the "wood" part of the skis is given a general tone, later to be brushed on with reddish-hue tones of oil paint:

Aluminium paint is airbrushed. Skis are already given their oil washes with warmer tones:

Clear coat on, masks off, ready for final assembly and decaling:

The wire antenna and nav lights are added. Decal paper is painted of different hues of aluminium, and following photos blanked window covers are cut from it and added. The same method is used for the walkway. Some little teardrop-shaped fairings seen in photos are glued too:

A view of the decal sheet produced by Arctic Decals. Lettering, as discussed above, is rendered red, in consonance with the practice for other Deltas and based on photos: 

This and other Deltas had a compartment after the left fuselage window row. This is simulated once more with a decal:

More details. The escape hatch for the pilots and the cabin ventilation louvers are added:

Cowl, engine, exhausts and carb intake on:

The home-made skis are on:

Still to go are the loop antenna, Pitot, Venturi, prop, door and decals. 
 

 

To be continued...