Martin’s B-10 was revolutionary for its time. It was the first American all-metal monoplane bomber in service with fully enclosed crew compartments, a gun turret, and retractable landing gear.
Azur-FrRom is a planet that orbits in the MPM/Special Hobby system, and its kits are similar to those companion brands. The plastic parts have excellent surface detail but need cleanup on most edges. Excellent photo-etched metal (PE) parts are supplied for seat harnesses, hand holds, and some sort of contraption that sits on top of each exhaust pipe.
The fuselage is molded in upper and lower halves, thus avoiding seams in the corrugated construction on the top and bottom of the main structure. The clear parts are good. The interior parts include three seats and platforms, control columns and consoles. Instrument decals are provided. Placing some of the details inside the rear cockpit is a bit tricky. But in the end, most of the interior detail is difficult to see through the complex greenhouse canopies.
There are a few parts on the sprues that go unused. These are mostly alternate exhaust arrangements for other versions. Azur-FrRom has released two other boxings of this kit, one for Argentine and Chinese aircraft, and another for Dutch and Argentine B-10s. This issue has markings for two U.S. Army Air Corps bombers.
Building the kit was routine until it came time to place the wings on the fuselage. The kit provides a central spar that is enclosed in the fuselage, and the ends of the spars are designed to slide into slots inside the upper and lower wing halves. Flanges at the wings’ roots are designed to fit inside the fuselage, but if the spar is cemented firmly into the fuselage, it doesn’t allow the fuselage to flex enough to get the wing flanges in. I ended up chipping plastic away from the spar where it was glued to the upper fuselage to provide more room for the flanges to move.
I’m not sure if they are flash hiders or cooling vanes, but a PE panel attaches to the top of each of the two plastic exhaust pipes. Four tiny PE supports are supposed to be added to each panel. Each support measures 1 x 2.5mm and is almost impossible to handle even with the finest tweezers. I managed but I wonder how!
I painted my B-10 with Mr. Color lacquers. I lightened bright blue (C65) with white to match the Air Corps blue fuselage and cowls, and used yellow (C329) for the flying surfaces.
The colors on the kit decals are not as saturated as they should be, and the decals themselves are thin and rubbery. Be careful handling them as they can get snarled up if you move them too much. I recommend applying a coat of Microscale Liquid Decal film to each item before use.
I spent 22 hours on the little B-10 – a little more than usual trying to improve the fit of the wings. It’s not a kit for beginners due to the hard-to-handle PE, but it turns into a handsome aircraft, especially in its mid-1930s livery of blue and gold.