The B-17 Flying Fortress is arguably one of the most influential aircraft designs in history. More than 12000 B-17s were produced during its production run with the first prototype taking flight on July 28 1935. Approximately a third of those produ ced were lost in combat. Despite a theoretical performance inferior to the other primary Allied strategic bomber the B-24 the B-17 was generally preferred over the other craft by U.S. crewmen.This model is built to precisely replicate the image of t he B-17G the final and definitive variant of the series with thousands built. Tremendous attention to detail and a finishing color scheme to match the drab olive scheme used by several U.S. Army Air Force squadrons makes this model an essential comp onent of any collection