The Little World

And split on the horizontal plane, not the vertical. This form of model design is not as common as the vertical, but in this case I think it is perfectly logical.

The Martin B10 has a sinuous body – and the proportions remind you of the Handley Page Hampden or the Dornier Do 17-K. The amazingly large rear gunner’s compartment is the real stunner – but if you google up the type you’ll discover some with even more amazing full-length greenhouses that must have been hell to maintain.

The part I still don’t understand – and I’ll need to do a great deal more research – is that gunner’s position that features what may very well be a control wheel and two footplates to stand upon. I can understand the seat and seatbelt and the .30 machine gun – I can understand the somewhat strange canopy – but the thought of flying the thing from back there seems impossible.

At least the landing gear is satisfactorily sturdy – the legs click-lock into their position and you just seal them with cement. The nacelles are some of the best I’ve seen.

The engines are a tight fit – so much so that you’ll end up sanding down the rocker covers to fit the assembly in. The Chinese version has smaller engines than the Argentinian one so you get to carve off all the rocker-cover fairings round the engine cover.