Revell-Monogram's 1/48 scale B-17 is 30 years old now. The kit caused something of a sensation when it first appeared and it set new standards in accuracy and the amount of internal detail included. As Scale Models put it in their December 1975 review "...some of the finest moulding detail yet seen, this must be one of the classics of the kit industry".

So how does '70s classic stand up to scrutiny 3 decades later? When you open the box of Revell-Monogram's 1/48 scale B-17, and have paid so little for such a big 'plane, your expectations aren't high. But the more I looked at the details, instructions and the kit itself, the more I found myself surprised to see how such an old kit can be so nice.

Contents

The kit includes 5 sprues, 3 molded in silver, one in black, and one in clear for the windows. The kit has a total of 148 pieces, and should have a size of 19 3/16" by 25 15/15" according to the box - which I can confirm by looking at the size of the beast in the box!

I don't know how many panel lines and details are on the real thing but by looking at the pics, you can see that there are a lot of details on the wings and fuselage. The same goes for the interior and the wheels.

Decals

The decals look nice, and include markings for the Chow Hound and the El Lobo II

Instructions

I had to find something wrong with them, so I paid close attention and noticed that they mentioned to paint all of of the interior aluminium - but the problem is that the details inside include gauges and wires etc., which I doubt were also aluminium.

Problems

Unfortunately, not many options are given when building the kit and a little fixing up will be required if you want it to be in-flight since there are no separate bomb bay doors and the wheels are designed to be lowered. Also, many parts are molded on and not separate for you to glue on - that's something I find a little disappointing, so I guess I'll have to cut them open and do some scratchbuilding.

Conclusion

This is a very nice kit recommended to everyone who models aircraft or would like to have a change from figures and AFVs. I usually have a hard time with the fit of the fuselage, so I checked it out the fit between the halves is perfect! Revell have also included 5 figures and a bomb cart. If I've missed anything you would like to know, please feel free to pm me.