Nick Hooper won the Albion Alloys Trophy at this year’s Scale Model World – Telford for his remarkable build of an old 1970’s AMT kit. He also won Gold – Class 25 – Civil Aircraft – this is a popular category and Nick was up against some very good modellers so well done.

Here in his own words is a long list of improvements and corrections. – truly a “silk purse from a sow’s ear”.

Stinson Reliant SR-9F ‘Gullwing’
Kit: 1/48 AMT Reliant (1970’s moulding)

Corrections:

• Missing fabric-over-stringers structure added to upper fuselage;
• Shape of flaps (topside) corrected;
• Engine cowling bulges enlarged and relocated further forward.

Enhancements:

• Dashboard, control wheels & rudder pedals replaced with scratch-built items;
• Numerous cabin additions made – seat belts, door handles, window winders, door pockets, passenger grab straps, seat-back pockets plus a selection of passenger travel items (holdall, blanket and camera);
• All glazing replaced with clear styrene (windscreen heat formed to shape);
• Replacement boarding steps made from brass micro-tubing & aluminium sheet;
• Fully scratch-built Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior radial engine;
• New metal propeller boss made and kit propeller blades reshaped;
• Replacement main wheels, tail wheel & fork, landing lights and exhausts.
• Control surfaces cut out & re-attached with typical ‘on-the-ground’ deflections;
• Rib-tape added to wings & fuselage using embossed aluminium foil tape;
• Fuel fillers and breather pipes added (upper surface of wings);
• Navigation lights and modern-day aerial fit added.

Finishing:

• The model depicts Rick Rezabek’s Stinson Reliant (NC-18425) after it had undergone a complete restoration in the early 2000’s. This restoration included returning the aircraft back to its original 1930’s, black & red paint scheme. [Coincidently, AMT’s kit scheme also features NC-18425 but as the aircraft appeared in the 1970’s when it sported a (not quite so attractive) white & gold scheme];
• The model was painted using Revell ‘Fiery Red’ enamel and Tamiya Semi-gloss black lacquer. The silver pin-striping was achieved through the use of 0.25mm silver decal ‘lines’. The ‘teardrop’ shapes (on the engine cowl and both wheel spats) were created using layers of silver and black decal sheet, hand-cut to shape. The remaining markings are a mix of home-brew decals and aftermarket serials;
• Finally, to achieve the high-gloss finish, the whole model was treated to several coats of Pledge floor polish (a variant of Johnson’s ‘Klear’).