IPMS/USA Reviews Website

Nissan Skyline GTR

Review Author

Jim Stepanek

Published on

September 15, 2015

Company

Tamiya

Scale

1/24

MSRP

$38.00

I’ve heard and read about the quality of Tamiya models and now I’ve built one with only a couple of disappointments.

Engine

The six cylinder engine is has twin turbo chargers. There’s a pair chrome plated and a pair just plain white plastic. The plain one doesn’t even show up on the instruction sheet. All the parts fit extremely well and are well engraved.

Chassis

The chassis features nice detail and crisp engraving. Exhaust is a separate piece – again, one chrome plated and the other plain white plastic. Front and rear suspensions are multiple piece units that get glued in separately. The gas tank is even a separate unit.

Interior

The interior was a major disappointment. While the dash and seats are wonderfully engraved, there is virtually nothing engraved on the side panels. No door handles. No window cranks. No power window buttons. Nothing!

Porsche 911 Turbo

Review Author

Jim Deck

Published on

September 15, 2015

Company

Revell, Inc.

Scale

1/24

MSRP

$24.95

This is a Level 2 kit and contains 87 pieces. The kit is molded in white, chrome, clear, and clear red plastic. The instruction manual is typical Revell with drawings and pointers.

This kit looks a lot like the Monogram kit I built on my grandmothers back porch in the 70’s. Some web snooping has led to this being linked to the 1976 Monogram release but I couldn’t tell you for sure. What I can tell you is that this kit goes together really well with no real vices. The window fit could be better but I got around that issue with a bit of pressure and strategic gluing. Unfortunately the glue gave up its hold during final assembly. Next time I would cut off the door windows. The engine is only a few pieces but detailed enough to look good. A more accurate and detailed painting guide for the engine would have been nice though. The interior is well done with multiple pieces and decals for the individual instruments. The chassis is basic with few parts just like the real thing.

Building the WingNut Wings AEG G IV

Book Author(s)

Author: Ray Rimell Illustrator: Ronny Bar

Review Author

Frank Landrus

Published on

September 14, 2015

Company

Windsock Datafiles

MSRP

$40.00

Ray Rimell starts it off with “A steep learning curve…. Building one of the WNW AEG kits is not for the faint-hearted…” This is the fourth Modeling Special that WindSock has done and like the three that preceded it, it is simply amazing. If you have any intention of buying the WingNut Wings AEG G. IV, or for that matter any AEG G. IV, you will want this book. The rest of Ray Rimell’s quote tells you why: …but with patience and care the results can prove simply spectacular!”. Illustrated with over 230 photos, this 60-page (card covers get it to 64) guide provides a great supplement to the WindSock Datafile 51 on the AEG G. IV. Ronny Bar provides six color profiles as a ‘pull out’ centerfold with short descriptions of each profile.

Paint Thinner for Enamel Paints

Review Author

John Noack

Published on

September 14, 2015

Company

Squadron Products

MSRP

$5.00

While at this year's National Contest and Convention, Jeff Johnston of MMD-Squadron was kind enough to provide several sample sizes of this new product. As implied in the name, the thinner is designed to work with all brands and types of enamel paints. While my paint collection isn't extensive enough to prove this, I did try the product with several brands of paint (Testor's traditional ¼ oz bottle, their 1 oz Model Master, and an old Humbrol tin). The instructions state to mix a 3 part paint/2 part thinner ratio for gloss colors, and 3/1 for flats. I tried these ratios for airbrushing and found them to work great. I typically use Testor's Lacquer Thinner (black can) for much of my enamel and lacquer spraying. The Squadron product dries a little slower, which may help to level out the paint layers a bit more – or the airbrush gods were smiling on me the day I tried it out. Who can say <grin>.

GBU-49

Review Author

Paul R. Brown

Published on

September 14, 2015

Company

Eduard

Scale

1/72

MSRP

$9.95

The GBU-49 is an American laser guided bomb consisting of an Enhanced Paveway II GPS/INS-equipped guidance section and a 500 lb. bomb. It is one of the weapons of choice for the MQ-9 Reaper and is often carried by USAF F-16s with two GBU-49s on triple ejector racks on the middle wing pylons.

The set consists of two bomb bodies with the tail fins and guidance sections molded as single pieces except for the seeker head (resin) and the nose and aft guidance fins (photo-etch). Two options are provided for the seeker head, one with the seeker head exposed and the other with the plastic ground cover in place. I chose to use the heads with the cover installed as I plan on displaying the bombs on a parked, but armed aircraft.