Monogram B-17G Flying Fortress Model (1:48 Scale)
 
Despite several pre-war cancellation attempts, Boeing’s four-engine behemoth went on to become the workhorse of the 8th Air Force and the iconic US bomber of the war. Renowned for its toughness, the “Fort” proved to be the plane that could brave the clouds of flak, weather the vicious fighter attacks, absorb the damage, drop the bombs, and bring the men home. Today, the B-17 remains a beloved symbol of America’s war effort and one of the most popular aircraft of all time.
 
It’s somewhat surprising that after all these years, we still have only two 1/48 B-17 kits, the 1975 vintage Monogram B-17G and the 1978 Revell B-17F (supposedly a near-copy of the Monogram kit). Rumors have abounded for years of ne,w tooled kits coming from any and all of the big names, but so far nothing has come to fruition.
 
Monogram’s B-17G was an instant classic when it was released. A beautifully molded, highly accurate kit, it won fans with its impressive size (the wingspan is 26”) and also its high level of interior detail that allowed builders to recreate almost every crew station inside the bomber.
So which B-17G variant is it? In short it’s an early G version, without the staggered waist gun positions or the Cheyenne tail turret. It does feature the bulged “cheek” windows on the nose which some of the very early G aircraft did not have, but those were often retrofitted in depots anyway, so pictures of the actual aircraft you’re going to build will be needed if you’re after absolute accuracy.
 
The Model box has some wear; the model kit appears untouched.