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.

Book Author(s)
Jon Diamond
Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
August 15, 2020
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$22.95

Jon Diamond is an accomplished author with a number of published books to his credit. His previous works include “Stilwell and the Chindits”, War In the South Pacific, Invasion of Sicily, Invasion of the Italian Mainland, Anzio and Victory at Cassino, and now MacArthur’s Papua New Guinea Offensive 1942-1943. These and other books by Mr. Diamond are published by and available through Pen and Sword.

The Japanese strategy was to threaten northern Australia by capturing Port Moresby. In this publication Mr. Diamond lays out the strategy that MacArthur put forward to thwart this Japanese plan. The text that Mr. Diamond provides is comprehensive in its coverage of the theatre of operations, the impact of the geography in which the campaign took place, and a study of the commanders and combatants involved in the fighting.

Book Author(s)
Przemysław Skulski; Colour Profiles: Andrzej Olejniczak; Scale Plans: Dariusz Karnas
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
August 15, 2020
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$35.00

MMP was founded in 1996 by Roger Wallsgrove, to publish "Mushroom Model Magazine". This quarterly modelling magazine was developed from "Mushroom Monthly”, a club newsletter which ran from 1985 to 1995, achieving a world-wide reputation for quality articles, fearless and honest reviews, and a great sense of humor. From 1997 the magazine was produced in collaboration with Robert Peczkowski and Artur Juszczak (Stratus), which meant a big leap in print quality and design. MMP expanded into book publication in 1999, and since then they have built up a list of books on aircraft and aviation, naval, military vehicles, and military history. MMP Books are distributed in North America by Casemate Publications.

Review Author
Will Kuhrt
Published on
August 15, 2020
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$19.95

Thank you to Phil and Bill for all that you do managing and providing review opportunities!

Recommended kit: Wingnut Wings

Reviewer’s Comments

I do not own any WW kits, and due to the high demand for the now defunct company, the prices have soared. A good friend was kind enough to loan me his Gotha G.1 kit for the purposes of comparing the SAC landing gear to the kit parts.

This landing gear set from SAC is a direct replacement for the kit parts. The white metal casting is superb as is usual for SAC, but a few parts did have a little bit of flash, which was very easy to remove. The kit consists of 12 parts. Three parts need to be removed from their pour rod (see photo).

Review Author
Will Kuhrt
Published on
January 4, 2022
Company
ICM
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$67.99

Thank you to Phil and to Bill for all the work that you do!

History

In the end of the 60s the Mikoyan Design Bureau developed the world’s first interceptor fighter with a speed of Mach 3—the MiG-25. At the same time high-reconnaissance bomber modifications were developed and designated the MiG-25RB. Using the MiG-25RB frame, the strike anti-aircraft Mig-25BM was produced in 1977. It had a new nose with radar and four anti-radar X-58U missiles. These planes served in the Soviet (later Russian) Air Force. From ICM.

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
August 12, 2020
Company
OKB Grigorov
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$45.00

OKB Grigorov has provided a very unusual kit in the form of a British post war Paper Tank. The Nuffield Assault Tank A.T.3. Which was one of 9 various of a design proposed by Nuffield. As a Paper tank it was only a design and never left the drawing board.

Included is:

  • 142 resin parts
  • one photoetch sheet
  • one instruction sheet

The detail quality is great; The parts are very delicate and need careful removal from the resin bases. The instructions need a lot of experience to work with to get a great model.

Some of the parts were a little twisted but can be corrected if you’re careful.

The assembly is good but needs a little patience and time to get the running gear built correctly. Also, the resin tracks are very fragile, so this needs a lot of accuracy to get them fitting and looking right.

There were a few gaps that needed filling.