Welcome to IPMS/USA Reviews

Introduction: The primary organization of the IPMS/USA Review website is by IPMS/USA National Contest Class. Within each Class there are sub-menus by kits, decals, books, etc. The Miscellaneous Class is for items that are not class specific or that cross two or more classes.

IPMS/USA Members: We encourage you to submit reviews, both here and to the Journal. To volunteer for membership in the IPMS/USA "Reviewers Corps" and submit your own reviews, please read the Guidelines For Submitting Product Reviews.

Manufacturers, publishers, and other industry members: IPMS/USA is pleased to offer your company the opportunity for product reviews. All product reviews are performed by IPMS/USA members, and are posted in the publicly-accessible section of our website. With very few exceptions, we perform full build reviews of new kit releases, aftermarket products, and supplies. If you would care to provide product samples for review, please contact the IPMS/USA First Vice President.

To learn more about IPMS/USA, please see our About Us page.

Review Author
Bradley Moreland
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$99.00

Another review of another ICM kit - and I can’t get enough of them! This time I am working on the ICM 48326 Marauder Mk. III in 1:48 scale. As always, another beautifully detailed kit with many pieces. ICM has some of the best detailed aircraft kits around, and they are always a joy to work on. The Marauder is no exception!

Unboxing

This is a massive kit with 8 sprues molded in their usual light grey, 2 in clear, and 1 decal sheet. The instructions are just as clear, beautiful, and easy to follow as I have come to expect and look forward to from ICM. They have 3 possible paint schemes to choose from on this one, all with a lighter shade of green on the top of the aircraft and beige on the underside, with decals to match the specific color palettes.

Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
Company
Academy Models
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$15.00

Academy/MRC has released a new boxing of the Rafale M in 1/144th scale. From Scalemates.com, the original molds were created by Revell-AG in 1999.

In the Box

The kit is enclosed in a top-opening box and comes with four gray sprues and one clear. Instructions are well illustrated and easy to follow, and contain 12 steps for assembly.

There are four marking options for this kit for the Aeronavale (Naval Air Arm of the French Navy). The markings are as follows:

Review Author
Tomasz Menert
Published on
Company
Special Hobby
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$34.00

From the Manufacturer’s Website

The de Havilland Mosquito was a versatile twin-engine aircraft that was one of the best aircraft of World War II. Not for nothing was it called the ‘Wooden Wonder’. It was used as a night fighter, fighter-bomber, bomber, reconnaissance, anti-ship or special transport aircraft. The first generation of Mosquitos was powered by Merlin engines with single-stage superchargers. In the spring of 1943, two-stage Merlins with higher performance at higher altitudes were installed in the Mosquito. This resulted in the PR Mk.IX reconnaissance version and the B Mk.IX bomber. They were produced in limited numbers, as they were replaced in production by the mass-produced PR Mk.XVI and B Mk.XVI versions, equipped with a pressurized cockpit. The performance of the PR Mk.XVI version was so high that enemy fighters could hardly threaten it. The PR Mk.XVI reconnaissance Mosquitos operated from the British Isles and Italy over the whole of Europe.

Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$20.00

Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has provided the IPMS reviewer corps with a set of 1/48th scale metal landing gear for Great Wall Hobby’s Su-27. These parts are drop-in replacements and provide a more robust landing gear set given its metal properties.

In the Package

The metal pieces are packaged in a clear blister package with cardboard backing. No instructions are provided.

Review Process

The metal landing gear set is used as drop-in replacements for the kit parts as noted:

  • Nose Gear: E4, E13, E18, E19, E20, E23, E29,
  • RHS Gear: E44, E54, E55, E60, E66, E68, E69, E77, E81, E79,
  • LHS Gear: E45, E53, E56, E59, E65, E67, E70, E76, E78, E80,

The metal used is malleable and has some give to allow for any minor bending if needed. Also, seam lines will need to be cleaned up prior to painting just like the plastic kit parts.