Cockpit - 3

Fokker Dr1 Triplane

Chain gun and nose sensors

AH-64A “Gray Camo 2003”- Limited Edition

Completed wings

Yak-28P "Firebar"

Front Low

Pz. Kpfw. V Panther Ausf. G "Last Production"

Build 1

F-4E/F Phantom II

5

1970 Plymouth Duster Funny Car

130

McLaren MP4/2C ’86 Portuguese GP

Fuselage

Airspeed A.S. Horsa Glider Mk.1

Completed side view

Garbage Truck

Front

SAAB JA 37 Viggen

Previous Next

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.

Decal Packaging

P-51 Mustang Decals Part 1
Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
January 19, 2012
Company
Lifelike Decals
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$20.75

Recommended for the exquisite 1/32nd Tamiya P-51D kit, Lifelike Decals’ latest decals are beautiful markings and options to rival those included in the kit.

Typical of Lifelike, there are four aircraft included on the sheets. The instructions are printed on two A4 single sided sheets and one half A4 sheet. The first one is the cover and the plan views. The inside sheet includes the historical data and the research used to determine markings. The smaller third sheet is a stencil sheet.

Decal Packaging

Nakajima Ki-44 Decals Part 3
Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
January 19, 2012
Company
Lifelike Decals
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$19.50

Want a variety of marking and painting options for your Hasegawa Ki-44? Well, Lifelike Decals has exactly what you are looking for on this sheet. It features four aircraft in four distinct paint schemes and marking options.

The instructions are printed on two single-sided A4 sheets in full color. The first page is the cover and the back with the plan views of the subject aircraft. Interestingly, the second aircraft is not shown in the plan views. The other page includes the history and the research used to determine the markings. This is one of the things that Lifelike Decals does better than most manufacturers, in that they show you where they got the research and the logic behind the color call-outs. They don’t even pretend that they know all the answers but give you, the modeler, the information to do with as you please.

Decal Packaging

Nakajima Ki-44 Decals Part 2
Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
January 19, 2012
Company
Lifelike Decals
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$19.50

This is the second decal sheet that Lifelike has released for the Hasegawa 1/48th scale Nakajima Ki-44 Tojo. This particular sheet is unique with the inclusion of a bunch of aircraft with kill markings on the sides.

The decals themselves are printed by Cartograf, so they are very thin and in perfect register. The decals are included on three sheets. The first and largest sheet contains everything but the kill markings. The second sheet is a small sheet that includes ‘scratched’ number ‘2’, which is perfectly executed, and the kill markings. To show you the level of attention to detail, there is a third sheet that is a correction sheet for the one set of kill markings that is finer and better executed than the previous sheet. Well done, Lifelike.

Decal Packaging

Nakajima Ki-44 Decals Part 1
Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
January 18, 2012
Company
Lifelike Decals
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$19.50

Lifelike Decals has always produced some fantastic decals with awesome marking options. This latest decal sheet is designed for the Hasegawa Tojo kit. Typical of Lifelike Decals, this sheet contains four marking options of three II Hei and one II Kou. All the aircraft have the yellow identification stripes on the wing leading edges for that little splash of color.

Detail Parts

Bf-109F Stabilizers
Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
January 18, 2012
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$8.50

I like to articulate my flight controls, but I can never get it to look just right. The biggest hassle is the curved portion on the flight controls themselves. Quickboost offers a solution. Molded in light grey resin with no blemishes, a Bf-109F rudder and two elevators with rounded leading edges are now offered as a solution to that problem.

You will have to cut the horizontal tail surfaces and bevel the attachment area, but this wasn’t too difficult. I did this with Dymo tape and a scribing tool. Once the part was removed, the parts were trued up and then the bevel was done with a round file. All this ensured a proper fit. I pinned the elevators to the plastic piece to allow me to install and adjust the elevators to the same angle. Everything is relatively easy and within the realm of most modelers.

I elected not to use the rudder at this time, but the same process would be used for it as well.