Overview

The molds for the 1/48 scale Revellogram B-29 were born of Monogram’s loins more than 30 years ago, in 1977. Needed or not, Eduard has seen fit to bless us with a huge amount of detail for this monster of a kit. The truth is, Monogram did a pretty good job of detailing kits during this time, so Eduard may have their work cut out for them. Let’s take a look and find out.

The Envelope Please

The Eduard Big Ed set is full of goodies for the 1/48 scale Monogram/Revell B-29. It consists of 8 individual products packaged into one heavy envelope. The items are:

I’m going to be taking these sets one at a time, comparing them to what comes OOB in the kit. I’ll be rearranging the order of the list above, but I’ll cover them all.

49616 Self Adhesive Interior

This is by far the largest of the sets. It consists of three frets, one of which is self adhesive and pre-painted. There are more than 140 pieces in this set, which doesn’t surprise me considering the amount of space at the front of the B-29. No space is left untouched. The set includes everything from pre-painted instruments and panels, to seats, seat frames, cabinet doors, desktops, and more. To be fair, Monogram did a pretty good job on the panels and such back in the day, but the detail packed into this PE is super nice. The fact that you can’t really see anything behind the pilot and copilots seats may have you asking, “Is it worth it?” Well, I can’t answer that for you. All I can say is that it’s definitely an improvement over the kit’s stock flight deck.

49634 Rear Interior

This set consists of two frets, one of which is pre-painted. Included is an entire makeover of the dorsal gunner compartment. Again, this will probably be hard to see. It sure looks nice though. Sometimes the instructions for these sets can be a little bit vague, but this one appears to show each part location quite clearly. With all this business in the interior, I’m thinking a set of vacuform canopies will be in order. Though, that’s another story.

49617 Seatbelts

This pre-painted set consists of the 44 pieces needed to complete 10 sets of belts. They look to be Eduard’s typical seat belt, only done up on a fret specifically for the B-29. The printing is crisp, as usual, and the colors look good: typical Eduard quality.

48743 Undercarriage

This is another huge set. It consists of two large frets of about 50 parts each. This is pretty much a complete skin for the inside of the bomber’s wheel wells. If there is a weak point with these old kits, I’d have to say the wheel wells are usually it. They are very visible, which makes any improvement really stand out. Wheel wells are incredibly intricate and dynamic places in an aircraft, and they should look like it. There are new skins for the wells and the doors, along with bits and pieces for the gear legs themselves. This set will really add to the model.

48744 Exterior

You know all those little inspection panels, access hatches, antennas, and other stuff on an aircraft? Well, that is what we have here. It’s a bunch of little pieces on one single fret. Yes, there are some larger pieces, like the ignition harnesses. For the most part, this set has a lot of tiny parts for the outside of your B-29. Little bits like this can drive you mad but boy, do they look good when they are in place. The exhaust panels alone are exquisite and will add loads to the model.

48746 Bomb Tails

This is a single fret containing 36 pieces for the 12 bombs in the kit. You get a one piece fin unit and two fuse props for each kit assembly. The fins are tedious work but look great once installed. As with the seatbelt set, I’m not sure why this is specifically earmarked for the B-29. This fret could be used anytime you needed to enhance some weapons.

48763 A-Bombs

The A-Bombs in the Monogram kit are decent, but they could definitely use a lot of help. This single fret contains roughly 50 parts and certainly makes the kit’s bombs shine. As always, you are dealing with some tiny parts here, but the end result is well worth it. It really turns them into little displays of their own; well worth the time invested.

EX367 Masks

This two-sheet mask set gives you all the little pieces for the canopy and the wheels. You will need some liquid mask in spots, but that is not out of the ordinary. As far as the tail gunner position and the fuselage blisters go, you’re on your own as there is nothing included for them. No big deal, you can handle it. We managed for years without these things, but they sure are convenient.

Conclusion

That’s a lotta stuff! I have to say, I’m quite impressed with the detail shown in the sets. I expected Eduard quality, and that’s what I got: a whole lot of Eduard quality in one package. If you’re into detailing your kits, these sets are really wonderful.

I can’t possibly give you an in-depth review on all this brass and stuff without an in-depth build, so be on the lookout for a Journal article in the future. I’m thinking she’s going to have to be a cutaway. I may even install some lighting. Why not? It’s not like I’ll ever build another one!

I’d like to thank IPMS/USA for the review opportunity and Eduard for providing such a consistent and great product.