Cutting Edge 1/48 B-29 Corrected Cowlings

Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

While Monogram's venerable 1/48 B-29 kit is still the best injection-molded 1/48 B-29 kit out there (okay, it's the only one), it does have some flaws. One of the most noticeable flaws is with the engine cowlings, which are too square when viewed from the side. Additionally, the oil cooler intake on the face is the wrong shape and size. While there are other problems with the Monogram kit (the gear doors and exhausts, mainly), the cowlings really stand out and a corrected replacement will greatly help the finished appearance.

Cutting Edge has done some careful research and measuring of real B-29 cowlings to come up with this simple correction. The set comes with four new cowlings with slightly open cowl flaps (separate actuators for the cowl flaps are also included). These new cowlings accurately capture the shape in profile and feature a correctly sized and shaped oil cooler intake. There is not much work required here, just trim the back edges of the cowlings and replace the kit parts.

With the recent release of some great nose art decals from Meteor Productions, updates to the Monogram B-29 kit are going to be a welcome sight. These replacement cowlings will really help the Monogram kit look much more accurate. My thanks to Meteor Productions for the review sample.