In my “Post Script” video “The Advantage of a Ten Food Ceiling”, I explained how my older builds served as a record of my earlier techniques and a source for comparison to where I am now.  While the comparison is personally interesting, that doesn’t mean that the same can be said when viewed by others.  Indeed, the B-29, shown in the video, is a prominent centerpiece for all the other aircraft that are hanging from the ceiling and my 1977 attempt didn’t fit the part.  Additionally, the B-29 has always been my particular favorite of all the WWII heavies.

The Monogram B-29 was issued in 1977 when Monogram was undergoing huge change.  Founding President Jack Besser had been replaced by Tom Gannon.  Gannon was production and bottom line oriented.  His goal was to double the quantity of new models issued per year.  The Monogram B-17 was the last kit to be issued under Busser’s leadership.  The subsequent 1/48 bombers from the B-24 on, were done while Gannon was president.

I built the Monogram B-29 twice when it was first issued in 1977 ... At that time ... I had simply accepted that the only scribing technique was into the plastic ... after all ... that was just the way things were done.  That limitation makes it extremely difficult to render clean lines through a variety of substructure materials.

Now a days ... I scribe into the final finish, which completely eliminates any consideration of what’s underneath.  This allows an easy way to fill and contour over the fit issues of the large bombay doors.  The end result is a much more cohesive structure ... with very fine and clean lines.

The Monogram B-29 has been released a number of times over the years under several different labels.  If possible, I would suggest using either the original or first reissue kit.

These two kits were from Revell Germany and the molds were starting to suffer a bit.

These last two releases were molded in China from gray styrene.  The molds seem to have been reworked and the detail is not as sharp.  However, these kits provide the Hamilton Standard props.

Below is a link to the original instruction sheet from the first 1977 release.  You will see that it is much more complete when compared to the abbreviated sheets that were included in each subsequent reissue.  There is also a link to the original Shep Paine diorama sheet that was included in the kit.