Profile Photo
Mike Maynard
53 articles

Stinson RQ-1 XR3Q-1 RELIANT

April 30, 2015 · in Aviation · · 11 · 2.7K

Only one Stinson served with the US Coast Guard, being commissioned during 1935, serving until 1941. The Service used the aircraft as a flying "Radio Test" bed for long distance aerial radio communications, a novel idea in the 1930's.

The plastic kit is an old 1970's era kit offered by AMT and designated as the SR-9 model in 1:48 scale. As the USCG flew an earlier version, the SR-5, I had to replace the kit's gull wing with a flat wing with rounded wing tips. I dug into the spare parts box and used the old 1:48 scale Piper Cub wings modified for the Stinson. As they were pretty close it was just a matter of fitting them to the fuselage with the appropriate struts. I also had to cut new windows and a new door to make it a little more prototypical. The model was air brushed with Tamiya paints and detailed with decals I printed from my computer. The RDF loop and roof antenna are made from brass.

Reader reactions:
7  Awesome

7 additional images. Click to enlarge.


11 responses

  1. Mike, don't know the type, but thanks for the introduction. A great looking build.

  2. I love obscure subjects! Nicely done.

  3. Great looking model Mike…..I do favor those Coast Guard subjects.

  4. another fine one mike

  5. Nice build of a rarely seen kit. Good job.

  6. Wonderful build Mike.

  7. said on April 30, 2015

    Good job Mike , you should think about doing a in progress photo shoot so that we can all see that hoodoo that you do so well !

  8. I never knew Reliants flew with a wing like this. The first thing I think of when someone says "Reliant" is that gorgeous tapered wing with the quirky thick section about 1/4 span. (And a big round engine!) The Cub wings look like they were made for it. Kitbashing at its finest! (I also like the color scheme. Yellow winged pre-war planes are always fun.) Great job on it!

  9. Great subject and a nice modeling too!

  10. Cool looking build, Mike, quite exotic ! Well done

  11. Mike,
    Knowing what the old AMT kit looked like, makes this all the more impressive. Outstanding workmanship on this beautiful model

Leave a Reply