Was the Aurora kit so bad at that time that builders ignored the Monogram kit faults?
Oh GAWD, yes... First, it wasn't 1/48th scale, it was closer to 1/40th... The canopy was one big piece of hazy plastic, pilot/gunner were mummified figures' heads & shoulders molded into the top of the (non)cockpit.. The engines' jugs were some kinda wavy lines stamped into the front of a closed-cowl front , cowls themselves were flat rather than curved on the front edge, the gear doors were molded in the closed position with the peg-like lumpy struts poking out of holes in the bottom of the fuselage pod and booms, although there was a stand..
It was almost completely smooth with few panel lines, way out of scale control surface "trenches" and all the markings had "Idiot outline" locators molded into the plastic... There was no radome or interior parts for it, no tanks, the 20mm barrels were molded into the sides and the turret .50s had barrels the size of scale 37mm AT guns... I had one parked next to my 1st Monogram Widow for a VERY short spell...The Aurora kit got "fire-crackered" within a day of completion... I bought it because of the price though... It was, IIRC, about 2.99 when the Monogram kit was released at about 5.50... The only thing it had in common with the Monogram kit was that it was molded in black styrene...
The few fit- faults of the Monogram Widow weren't even noticeable (IMNSHO) compared to the Aurora P-61... The WW2 Aircraft Recogniton/ID models of the P-61 (the black "silhouette" models made of Bakelite) were more detailed than the Aurora kit...
It's not often I can recall a kit's details with this much clarity after 35 or so years, but the Aurora kit is an exception... Absolutely horrible kit, even by 1969's standards...
Today, it'll cost you about 175.00 to own if you want it complete in box and mint (Read: Collector s only)... Saw a "builder kit " on Ebay for 24.99 though it's been rifled through and re-bagged in zip-locks... Heh, the Revell release is only 16.99 new...
All said, that old Monogram kit is still a nice one, warts & all...