The remarkable and acclaimed movie, loosely based on actual events, starred Matthew Modine, Sean Astin, Harry Connick JR, Billy Zane, Eric Stoltz, D.B. Sweeney and John Lithgow. A number of real B-17s were located for filming with some of them being airworthy. With so few real planes available and with such dramatic action required, a number of model miniatures, of differing scales, were required for filming.

The model here is one of the beautifully constructed large scale versions. It measures approximately 12 ½ feet long and 3 ½ feet tall. The wingspan is a very impressive 17 feet. The wing sections are removable for transportation.

25703 is the tail number for "Mother and Country", the B-17 memorably featured in the film. The crew of the Memphis Belle tease the crew of Mother And Country - all rookies who have never seen combat - the night before their fateful mission. Luke, the co-pilot of the Belle (played by Tate Donovan), trades places with tail gunner Clay (Harry Connick Jr) during the mission to Germany, and takes down a Messerschmitt fighter only to see the defeated craft crash into the Mother and Country.

As the right wingman of Memphis Belle, Mother and Country and her rookie crew can be seen close-by as the squadron made their way to the target over Nazi-occupied Europe. This aircraft would have been used throughout the aerial combat sequences on approach to their factory target, right up until her unfortunate demise as she is sheared in half by the damaged German ME-109.

This stunning model is highly detailed as you would expect for a creation this size. A fantastic representation of the Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress, there are 3 crew inside the plane with each visible through their respective windows. Each character is accurately represented by a 12 inch puppet. Detail here is maintained with each wearing a brown leather style jacket, flight cap and oxygen mask. There is a bombardier at the front, a top turret gunner and a left waist gunner.

The nose art features a proud Bald Eagle beside a flowing Stars and Stripes. The exterior detail to the fuselage is incredible, right down to rivets, fuel spills and dirt. The side of the fuselage bears the unit identification markings of the 324th Bomb Squadron - DF - and the letter S, their individual aircraft identification letter.

The model has undergone some sympathetic restoration after being in storage since the movie wrapped. This specialized work was overseen by one of the UK's leading model makers, Robbie Scott. He was assisted by Steve Onions and Nigel Blake, both of whom worked on this very model during its original creation.

Click play on the video below to see the model's fully functioning engines in action!