KIT #:	FR 0043
PRICE:	~$40.00 plus shipping
DECALS:	Two  options
REVIEWER:	Scott Van Aken
NOTES:

HISTORY

Prior to the release of this kit, Williams Bros. released the B-10. It was what you would today consider a short run kit and it took skill to make it into a nice model. This particular kit was initially released in 2020 under the Azur label and they did the USAAC B-10 boxings. The FRROM edition is specific to China and Argentina. It has a different upper wing and engines to the other boxings so you cannot do a US B-10 or the Dutch planes.

Unsurprisingly, the build starts with the interior with a number of items to be added to the interior sidewalls. This includes instrument panels for which there are decals for instrument faces. Next are the upper and lower gunner's positions and the pilot's cockpit. Note that there is a photo etch fret that includes seat belts for all of these. There is also a wing spar built into one of the bulkheads, which will be handy when attaching the wings.

A nice engineering move is that the fuselage is split into upper and lower halves. This eliminates the difficulty of dealing with an upper centerline seam as that area is corrugated. This also means a separate fin along with the horizontal stabs and tail piece.

Wings are upper and lower halves for each side. The gear wells need to be built up and this includes the main gear legs. Engines are nicely molded and when installed and the wing halves closed, you have different forward cowling sections depending on which markings option you are using. There are small protrusions around the engine nacelle that will need to be removed as well.

With a complete airframe, the clear pieces are attached. I highly recommend getting a masking set for these. In the final steps, wheels, exhaust and various antennas are added. There are also tiny p.e. hand holds and tip light shades that I'm fairly sure most of us will not attach due to their size. Note that not all the p.e. or plastic parts provided are actually used in this build.

The instruction booklet is in color and nicely done. Two options are provided. One is a Chinese plane in overall olive green. The other is from the Argentine Navy. It is overall pale aircraft grey with yellow upper wings. It carries the light blue/white rudder and elevator stripes along with the large wing walk markings, making it the more colorful of the two. The large decal sheet is nicely printed and should prove to be quite thin. I recommend picking up a canopy mask set for this one.

CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES