Customer Reviews

Revell B17G Flying Fortress 1:48 Scale

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This B-17G model kit is a Monogram, now Revell-Monogram, classic. It is a huge model that is fun to build. The kit has been around for a long time and is the only 1/48 scale kit available of this magnificent World War II bomber. The interior, engines, guns, and landing gear have plenty of detail for the novice and expert modeler alike. The kit also includes a bomb cart, 4 bombs and a few aircrew figures for display purposes. The instructions are straight forward, the decals are the normal Monogram-Revell quality, a little thick but fairly decent. The decals allow for two different paint schemes, either olive drab over neutral grey or an all natural aluminum finish. A nice brochure with photos and tips on how to build a diorama is also included if one desires to make a diorama to display the finished model. Plenty of aftermarket decals and other accessories for the B-17 are avialable through online hobby retailers like Squadron.com, MeteorProductions.com and SprueBros.com, to name a few. I built my model just using a set of aftermarket decals, with some hand crafted details and an airbrushed finished paint job. The completed model more than met my expectations. Most of the pieces fit together very nicely. I had to apply some putty along the bottom edge of the wing to fuselage joints and to one edge of both waist gunner windows. Other than that everything came together quite well. I am more than likely going to purchase another one soon and hang the next one from my ceiling.

I am so glad the old Monogram kit was reissued by Revell-Monogram.
I stubbornly resisted its allure when first issued, in favor of 1/72nd
scale subjects. Then, my eyesight began deteriorating, Hello, 1/48th
and 1/32nd scale.

At first glance, this kit is daunting. It's complexity and wealth of details are amazing. This kit is much more complicated than just add glue and shake the box.

The 26-inch wing will force the use of glue clamps. I had spoken of the utility of glue clamps in the review of Testor's SR-71, but this kit demands them. The interior bulkheads were a concern; I remembered the early Monogram efforts in the 1960's with fuselage halves not fitting flush, just to accomodate a single cockpit bulkhead - fit was SUPERB, however. Be forewarned that the fuselage joining will require intense concentration; all those interior components have to fit just-so for a seamless closure. Watch where you place your fingers because of the many areas requiring glue when cementing the fuselage together.

Monogram did its homework. Kit engineering is nearly flawless, and the instruction sheets are a joy to behold; all those little pieces are clearly sketched and their locations are unambiguous.

The cockpit, navigator quarters, and bombardier's perch are very
detailed and fortunately quite visible through the transparencies. The clear plastic parts are suitably thin and crystal-clear. The waist gunners, ball turret, and tail gunner finally get their moments in the sun.

Strangely, although bombs are supplied and delicate scribing detail the bomb bay, the fuselage has the bomb bay doors in closed position; that was remedied with a razor saw. Scratch-building then attached the bombs to racks, bomb bay door hinges and retract linkages. Then, I added the ammo belts, oxygen bottles, and intercom units with attached wiring. There was a lot of extra busy work, but a kit this impressive deserves the attention.

The kit is molded entirely in silver-grey; I have never regarded that
shade as realistic for bright metallic finishes. I chose OD and grey, and used aftermarket decals. I also purchased another kit, and it will use metal cladding for a realistic finish.

The project consumed easily 120 hours over a span of six weeks. I am now posed with a huge problem: I have 1/72 scale bombers being harrassed by squadrons of 1/72 scale FW's, 109's, Zeros, and Tonys. Will the Revell-Monogram 1/48th scale bombers encourage me to build squadrons of 1/48th scale enemy interceptors? You betcha!

Next up is my final 1/72nd scale effort, the B-36 "Magnesium Cloud", another giant by Revell.

this model is very well done details, easy, and pretty durable. Make sure you follow all the directions because i mixed up on some. The bad thing is how the directions are written for two thing its says for you to build but not how to put it in good thing is the two turrets are easy to put in. Overall well done model and good Durability

I wouldn't call this model 'a toy'. All stations are authentic and to scale. If you're studying WWII, this would be a nice addition to your collection. I really wouldn't say it's for kids!

Excellent quality of molded parsts which is typical of Monogram and Revell models. It is painted and just abouat ready for final assemble in the next few days. Plan on doing the B29 next.....: )

This kit's molds have been around for a long time and despite that it is still a great, highly detailed model. The interior is super detailed and fairly accurate for the scale. Problem is that most of it is not visible as is. You'll have to be creative with some battle damage if you want to see any of it. This kit is in 1/48 scale, so a man in that scale is about 1.5 inches tall. This kit is huge then! It will take up alot of shelf space. And remember this is a model kit. You will need to paint, build and finish the kit. It's really for display and will be a most impressive sight in your collection but it will take alot of time and work to make it so. It is not a toy to play with although there are moving parts. As a child my first one was just slapped together and played with, but did not last too long as some of the small parts (guns, turrets, wheels etc) are fragile even in this scale. But my intent then was for a toy, not a display piece.

Overall a modeller will have a great time with this kit, and you mostly know that already if you build models regularly. For the novice, this is a hard kit to get started on, it's way too busy. But with some experience you'll be able to make a beautiful model even without many aftermarket parts.

The main problem I had was with Amazon itself. I searched for "visible B-17" as Revell-Monogram has recently reissued that classic. That version has a clear half of the fuselage to display the interior, a great concept that they didn't repeat with some of the other classic models. Regardless, this kit came up on the search and I jumped on it. However I did not read through the description and ordered this instead. Again, this is NOT the VISIBLE B-17 kit even though their search took me there.

Returning the kit was a very odd experience. I printed the return label and shipped the kit back. Then Amazon charged me approximately $7 each to return when the total amount was about $7. Still not happy with the way they handled that. I somehow have a credit but have been unable so far to use it, doesn't show up when I check out. So beware with any returns to Amazon.

I just got mine today and it is amazing. The model is huge naot as big as the B-29 by revell but its still pretty big i cant wait to start work on this i just have to wait untill my paints and glue arrive

This model is awesome. Google up some images of dioramas others have produced and you'll get the idea of it's potential. Worth every penny and hour spent working on it. Check out the following for and example: [...]

I already had one of this, but was lost many years ago. The plastic parts seems to be translucent and the detail is very good, inside the box you can find a full color sheet with tips about building dioramas and nice pictures. I made the purchase for storage and future building, but can say it's a good product!

This is great airplane - a lot of small details inside and outside. My 11 years old son liked it very much ! I will definitely recommend to buy it. Delivery was fast. Very satisfied !