Wow we have we been excited about this one! Vintage tags are where our heart lies, and the B-17 is about as awesome as it gets. This is a special tag cut from a remarkable aircraft that has served in a variety of roles since leaving the Boeing Factory in 1942.
41-9210 was delivered to the USAAF in May of 1942 and was used by Honeywell to develop the C-1 autopilot for the B-17 and for instrument approach work. After its time with the USAAF it was sent to the University of Minnesota and was used for training. It then found its way to Canada and later to Bolivia, where it was a cargo hauler. In the 1990s it was rescued, flown back to the US, and restored to military spec. The aircraft (a project at that point) was purchased by Paul Allen in the 2000s. It is currently in storage awaiting restoration to flyable status once again.
We acquired the aft fuselage/tail cone off 41-9210 last Summer. The tail cone was removed from the aircraft during its restoration to military spec just after arriving from Bolivia. It still had some remnants of the blue/white paint that was part of its livery when flying in South America. Our tags were cut from this aft fuselage/tail cone and come in 10 variants (see below).
This run will feature tags that pay homage to this aircraft’s use in Bolivia and tags that honor its initial configuration and current restoration to flight status as a militarized B-17E. The Super Tigre / Bolivian tags will come with a card featuring its livery while in Bolivia and a tag featuring a civilian configured B-17, and the USAAF tags will come with a card featuring a silver USAAF B-17E and a tag with a military B-17E.
This listing is for the Bolivian Super Tigre tags. The USAAF tags are listed on the homepage. All combos and sets are listed on the USAAF listing.
Variants:
The Super Tigre (Bolivian) tags come in 6 variants: Painted, Partially Painted, Raw Printed, Raw Laser Etched, Riveted Printed, and Riveted Laser Etched. The Painted tags feature the original blue paint that was on the aircraft in Bolivia. These tags have the MOST paint of any variant. The partially painted tags have original paint but to a lesser extent than the Painted tags. Both the Painted and Partially Painted tags are laser etched. Both these tags are very limited.
Like the USAAF tags, the remaining 4 Bolivian variants (Raw Printed, Raw Laser Etched, Riveted Printed, and Riveted Laser Etched) come either printed or laser etched. The printed tags are much higher contrast and are stunning. The Laser Etched tags are more subtle with a shiny silver etching.
The backs of the Bolivian tags will come with the Bolivian registration (CP-753) on the back along with the tail art / name “Super Tigre.”
There ya have it. There isn’t a lot of B-17E material out there, and we are super pleased to bring this aircraft back to life and share it with you. This run is limited to 600 tags. Some variants are very limited. Also, the roundel and Super Tigre back art will only be available for the first week following release.