Base color painted model

Macchi 202 Folgore

Cockpit

Messerschmitt Bf-110G-2

Cockpit

B-25J Mitchell 'Glass Nose' - Part 2

Doors

Italian Light Civilian Car (Open Top)

Finished model

Churchill Mk. III AVRE Combat Engine

Finished model

SBD-5 Dauntless Limited Edition

Finished model

P-51K Mustang

Overhead

Messerschmitt Bf-110E

Clear Parts

Mirage F1.B

Sprue sample

T-90A Russian Main Battle Tank

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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.

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Box Art

Caravelle French Airliner
Review Author
Ron Bell
Published on
December 2, 2016
Company
Round 2 Models
Scale
1/96
MSRP
$25.99

The Kit

The Caravelle was the world's first short/medium-range jet airliner, first flying in 1955, and was produced by the French Sud Aviation firm. The Caravelle was one of the most successful first-generation jetliners, selling throughout Europe and even penetrating the United States market, with an order from United Airlines. The Caravelle established the aft-mounted engine and clean-wing design that has since been used on a wide variety of aircraft.

Cover

Lockheed Blackbird Beyond The Secret Missions

Book Author(s)
Paul F Crickmore
Review Author
Timothy Gidcumb
Published on
November 30, 2016
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$50.00

From the Publisher

In 1986 Paul Crickmore's first groundbreaking book about the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was published. At that time, the Cold War was at its height and the SR-71 was an integral element in securing crucial intelligence from all parts of the globe. The highly sensitive nature of its missions couldn't be compromised, and it wasn't until the end of the Cold War that the operational exploits of this incredible aeronautical masterpiece could be openly written about.

Kit Contents

CBU 103/104/105 WCMD
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
November 30, 2016
Company
Videoaviation
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$10.62

Most people around modern airplane models are aware of the cluster bomb dispensers that have been used for a while now. They are basically carriers of many smaller sub munitions that open and spread the smaller bombs over a wider area. In this case, the WCMD (Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser) is a tail kit for cluster bombs (CBU-87, 89 & 97) which convert the normal cluster bombs by adding a different tail unit to allow corrections to trajectory based on wind changes allowing for more accurate dispersal. They were first dropped from a B-52 in Afghanistan in 2002. They are currently use on F-16C and F-15E.

Videoaviation.com has issued a set of these munitions. The set comes with front and back parts for four bo0mbs and two sprues of lugs for the attachment points. Also included are decals to cover the bombs and also red remove before flight tags.

Product packaging

F-15 Wheels
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
November 30, 2016
Company
Res-Im
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$3.50

Building 1/144 can be great fun, but sometimes older kits need a little boost to bring them up to the standards we’ve come to expect from newer (but more expensive) kits. A case in point is the LS 1/144 F-15, which has a couple of things which could use improvement.

The wheels on the LS kit are correctly sized in diameter, but they look like ATV tires. They’re too wide, and the sidewalls are rounded. So the Res-Im tires are a pretty good improvement. There’s a comparison photo below.

I started out to do this review on the Minicraft F-15, but the tires are molded onto the landing gear legs. Too difficult for me, especially in this small scale. See the picture below to see the Minicraft LG.

Once I had the F-15 almost complete, painted, decals installed, I was ready to do the landing gear. I usually save the gear until late in the build to prevent damage to the parts when I handle the plane for decals.

Resin parts

SH-3H Sea King Seats with Safety Belts
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
November 29, 2016
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$8.99

Hasegawa’s 1/48th scale Sea King is a wonderful kit and there have been a few releases of aftermarket for it but nothing lately. Quickboost and Aires surprised us with one of their latest releases, a pair of pilot seats in the Quickboost line as replacement for the kits seats.

The set comes with two casting blocks which contains the seats and two side rails each. There are instructions included also. Assembly is maybe 10 minutes worth. Cut the seat from the casting blocks and sand the bottom even with the bottom of the seat. Carefully cut the two side rails loose and glue in place.