1:72 B-29 Super Fortress

A pioneer from the Marianas and a machine from the summer of 1950

When the bombing of the Japanese islands from the Marianas got under way in the fall of 1944, the aircraft with serial number 42-24614 was among the first Superfortresses to land on the newly captured islands. Its nickname combined a girl's name with the epithet of a Pacific pioneer, and the letter T in a square on the vertical tail surface gave away membership of the 498th Bombardment Group. The data captures it in its condition of January 1945, that is in the period of the heaviest daylight raids from great altitude.

The second subject comes from a different era. The machine 44-27326 flew in August 1950 with the 325th Bombardment Squadron of the 92nd Group and its name was a play on the name of a state. Five years lie between the two aircraft, along with the change in the role of the heavy bomber from the main weapon of a strategic campaign into a tool for supporting ground operations.

Building recommendation

• the unit marking on the tail is the largest element of the sheet; lay it down first
• on the flat areas of the tail a decal softener is applied only lightly
• degrease glossy silver bases beforehand; fingerprints hold under the film

The package holds decals only; the model itself has to be bought separately. The markings fit ordinary 1:72 Superfortress kits. The later of the two aircraft has plainer markings and personal decoration of the nose recedes with it, which is typical of the period it comes from. A personal name on the nose is not missing from it either, though, so even the later machine remains a particular example with a story of its own.