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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.

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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.

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Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Platz
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$28.95

The Aircraft

The Kawanishi N1K2-J Shiden (Violet Lightning) was codenamed “George” by the Allies. Development was interesting in that the Shiden was developed from the N1K Kyofu (Strong Wind / Rex), a floatplane.

The Shiden was heavily armed, with 4 x 20 mm cannon in the wings. It was considered the equal of the Hellcat, and could hold its own with the Corsairs and P-51s. As a bomber interceptor, it was hampered by poor rate of climb and inadequate engine performance at high altitudes.

The prototype flew in 1943, and the type entered production in January of 1944. Production never exceeded 83 per month (April and May 1945), and only 423 were produced before VJ day.

There are 4 surviving Shidens, one at the Naval Air Museum at Pensacola, one at the USAF Museum near Dayton, one at the Champlin Air Museum (on loan from the National Air and Space Museum), and one at Shikoku, Japan.

Review Author
Bill Kluge
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$37.95

For years Aires has been keeping us detail freaks supplied with upgrade sets for the latest contemporary state-of-the-art kits from the major manufacturers. Now they’re providing us with upgrades where they’re really needed – for older models with interior details that have been surpassed by the quality of more modern kits. That’s exactly the case with this F-14A set.

The Academy kit has been around for quite a while, and its interior details, while perhaps adequate for its day, are sorely lacking by today’s standards. This set goes a very long way towards turning the Academy kit into a first class representation of the real thing.

Review Author
Perry Downen
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$6.95

Thanks to Quickboost for this review sample and thanks to IPMS/USA for allowing me to review it.

This little gem easily exceeds the quality and detail of the seats found in the older P-39 kits. I wanted to look at Quickboost's offering compared to one of the newer P-39 kits. The kit I used for comparison has a seat with fine detail and very little, if any, clean-up. The particular kit I used also comes with photo-etched seat belts.

Quickboost's seat is cast in gray resin and is free of flash or casting bubbles. The casting has great detail with sharp edges, great buckle detail, and even some stitching can be seen on some areas of the straps. Speaking of the straps, these lay across the seat naturally with a relaxed drape to them. However, the shoulder straps appear to be wider than the actual seat belts and are actually wider than the PE belts of the kit's seat.

Review Author
Greg Wise
Published on
Company
MiniArt
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$55.00

The Product:

The bombed out 2 story building on an abandoned cobblestone street haunted by tramcar poles and rail track is just what the doctor ordered. However other options included are two styles of street lamps, two door styles, picket fencing with gates, ladders, benches, tables, windows with latches, and many other miscellaneous items

Featuring 176 parts with 3 large vacuformed styrene panels that carry the building structures and the base, that measures 14” X 9.5” in size. All the parts are very nice and have excellent detail.

MiniArt offers free building and painting tutorials on their website.

The Build:

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$12.00

The October publication of Model Art Modeling Magazine focuses on 1/35 scale German World War II armored reconnaissance vehicles. The magazine also includes new kit reviews, modeling tips, and new kit and item releases. As is typical for Model Art, the magazine measures 182mm by 258mm (about 7 and 1/8 by 10 and 1/8 inches), and is printed on thick, glossy paper. The production quality is high with these magazines, and just over half of it is printed in color with black and white pages interspersed throughout of the issue. Just in case this is the first review of a Model Art magazine that you are reading, understand that the entire magazine is printed in Japanese with only an occasional English subtitle for those of us who are monolingual, or are just unable to read Japanese text.