Welcome to the IPMS/USA Reviews site!

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 John Noack, IPMS/USA 1st VP.

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

Book Author(s)
David Baker
Review Author
Hub Plott
Published on
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

This book contains 88 pages, 63 black and white photos, 16 color photos, 18 color profiles, 6 color maps, 5 black and white maps, and 2 tables. It covers war plans, policy, manufacturers, and the Strategic Air Command (SAC) from 1945 to 1990, and is divided into four chapters.

The bulk of this book covers the development of new weapons and aircraft, and how that led to the changes in US tactics, strategy, and doctrine. The changes were needed due to the ending of WWII and the developing Cold War along with the advent of nuclear weapons. These, coupled with the rapid development of jet aircraft, meant that the newly formed USAF would need to modernize its organization of squadrons, war planning, and overall approach on how to manage conflicts of the future. In addition, there were new, more powerful weapons along with lower numbers of more technologically superior aircraft than those that were used in WWII.

Book Author(s)
Friedrich Georg
Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$39.95

"Hitler’s Miracle Weapons: Secret Nuclear Weapons of the Third Reich and Their Carrier Systems, Volume 1: The Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine" is a meticulously researched exploration into one of history’s most intriguing and chilling periods. Authored by historian Friedrich Georg, this volume delves deeply into the development and deployment of secret nuclear weapons by Nazi Germany during World War II. First published in 2003, this review copy was released as a new edition in December 2024.

Review Author
Tomasz Menert
Published on
Company
ICM
MSRP
$12.99

In The Box

The ICM WWI German Aviation acrylic paint set contains six bottles, 12 ml each. The paints are water-based. The box contains the following:

  • White (1001)
  • Black (1002)
  • Blood Red (1046)
  • Light Earth (1056)
  • US Dark Green (1072)
  • Deep Sky Blue (1076)

The ICM website states that this set is best to be used with #72111 and #72121. These are WWI kits from ICM in 1/72 scale: Fokker E.IV and Pfalz E.IV fighters.

Application And Experience

The following instructions on how to use the paints can be found on the side of the box:

Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
Company
Yahu Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$6.99

Yahu Models has provided the IPMS reviewer corps with a 1/72nd scale instrument panel detail set for the Fw-190D that will fit into the Tamiya, AZ, and IGB kits. This set also includes photo-etch (PE) details for the side instrument panels and seat warning placard.

In the Package

The instrument panel (IP) detail set is enclosed in a plastic bag with two photoetched IPs already assembled and one PE etched sheet for side panels and a seat warning placard. The parts come packaged in an individual Ziploc bag and cardboard backing which also has instructions printed on it.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a nice detail set to upgrade your Fw-190D instrument panel in 72nd scale. The close-up picture shows off the minute detail printed on the PE parts and the fidelity at such a small size is amazing.

I want to thank Yahu Models for providing the Fw-190D instrument panel set and IPMS/USA for allowing me the opportunity to review.

Highly recommended!