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.

Review Author
David Horn
Published on
February 5, 2021
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$11.50

The P-51K is basically the same airframe as the P-51D with a few differences. Other than being manufactured in Dallas Texas, the only visible difference is the cuffless Aeroproducts propeller instead of the “Cuffed” Hamilton Standard propeller. The two blade differences can be seen in a photo from Trumpeters P-51B kit and the Quickboost propeller. This set is designed to work on the Tamiya P-51K/Mk.IV Mustang, which I do not have yet to show what the Tamiya kit propeller looks like.

The propeller set comes in a sealed bag with picture of the parts and what portions to trim. This is the extent of the instructions which is all that is needed for this simple set. The resin is flash free and zero bubbles for a flawless surface. There is a small part of excess resin at the tips of the propeller blade that needs to be trimmed and sanded flush. This excess portion helps ensure all the necessary resin reaches the propeller tip and does not leave a void.

Review Author
David Horn
Published on
February 5, 2021
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$6.00

Tamiya set the standard with their 32 scale F-4 Phantom II kits and these still dominate the market with their attention to detail. While being on top of the modeling empire, the leaders do lack at times in details and the nature of injection molding that makes some detail difficult, if almost impossible. Quickboost came to the rescue with this little gem that will close out the leading edge of your Phantom tail. In 1/32 scale and on top of the model, this is a highly visible addition.

The replacement vertical tail vent comes in a sealed bag with picture of the parts and what portions to trim (on one part) and a reference to what part number it replaces on the kit. There are two identical vents in the package so depending on how many Phantoms you have, one set could last a while. This is the extent of the instructions which is all that is needed for this simple set. The resin is flash free and zero bubbles for a flawless surface.

Book Author(s)
Bruno Schmäling in collaboration with Jörn Leckscheid
Review Author
Dennis Tennant
Published on
February 13, 2021
Company
Aeronaut Books
MSRP
$69.99

This first volume of a multi-volume set is going to excite a lot of people. In addition to the photos and color plates of these aircraft, historic documents such as flight rosters, vintage newspaper clippings, hand-drawn sketches and flight line photos are included in this highly visual presentation of German WWI aircraft markings.

Book Author(s)
David Campbell; Illustrator: Johnny Shumate
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
February 13, 2021
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$22.00

Osprey Publishing continues to expand its “Combat” line, this time with an installment of the Soviet Soldier vs Finnish Soldier during the so-called “Continuation War”, which lasted from 1941 to 1944.

This conflict started a few days after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, when Finland attempted to regain territories lost during the Winter War of 1940. Shortly after the fast advance of the Finnish Army, the military actions turned into trench warfare, with front lines mostly stable until the Soviet Army launched an offensive in 1944, in which the Finnish stopped the Soviet advance but were forced to seek an armistice and switch sides.

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
February 5, 2021
Company
Brengun
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$7.50

When the A-4B Skyhawk was designed, provisions were made for it to use RATO rockets to give it a short deck-run launch (if carrier’s catapults were unavailable for any reason). One RATO bottle could be mounted on each speed brake giving an additional 9,000 lbs. of thrust for five seconds. The bottles were fired electrically and upon burnout were jettisoned hydraulically from the cockpit. While this capability was never used by the US Navy, in Vietnam, the Marines took advantage of this capability when launching A-4s from short airfields.