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
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
The Bodi
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$21.43

The Bodi’s Wounded German Soldier is a beautifully sculpted figure with a very natural pose and extremely sharp detail. The figure is modeled holding his wounded left arm and stands about 5 ft. 8 in. tall. The box art shows the soldier under the watchful eyes of a U.S. Jeep driver and passenger, also The Bodi figures. The Bodi is a Hungarian company that produces resin figures sculpted by Krisztián Bódi in 1/35 and 1/48 scale.

The kit comes in three pieces - body, head, and left hand. The figure is molded in a medium gray resin with some minor flash at the end of the sleeve and on the back of the figure’s neck. Flash between the two legs will need to be trimmed away. Mold seams are visible on the outside of the leg. The mold seams are not apparent on the upper body, or somehow cleverly concealed in the seams of the figures tonic.

Review Author
Mike Van Schoonhoven
Published on
Company
Ampersand Publishing
MSRP
$9.95

Military Miniatures in Review is an 80-page, full color, perfect bound, bimonthly magazine. Regular features include new product announcements, book reviews and figure reviews.

One of the first things that notice about this magazine is the construction. It has very thick front and back cover with the pages being bound together with glue. All of the photographs are in color and very sharp and clear. One note of interest is they way that the articles are written. They are written as if the person that is writing them is talking to you, some with a little tongue and cheek humor, a somewhat different approach from many of the magazines that I read.

Review Author
Greg Wise
Published on
Company
Hasegawa
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$45.00

History Brief

The A6M2-N floatplane was developed from the Mitsubishi A6M Zero Type 0, for the purposes of supporting amphibious operations and defending remote bases. It was based on the A6M-2 Model 11 fuselage, with a modified tail and added floats. This aircraft was the brainchild of Shinobu Mitsutake, Nakajima Aircraft Company's Chief Engineer, and Atsushi Tajima, one of the company's designers. A total of 327 were built, including the original prototype.

The Product

My sample came in a standard size box featuring attractive box art. The contents were well packaged and included; 9 grey plastic sprue, 1 in clear, 1 instruction sheet and 1 decal sheet. This kit has been around for a few years now and has been re-released with differing decal options.

Review Author
John Shimek
Published on
Company
AMC Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$27.00

The Willys Jeep is probably the most recognized vehicle during World War II with production equaling 660,703 from 1940 through 1945. This model by AMC models represents a unique variation in its use during the war. It was used to travel on the railroad system with the addition of modified wheels in Europe by some U.S. Army transportation battalions, and in the India Burma theater by British Commonwealth troops.

This model by AMC models is a full resin kit with the addition of a PE windshield screen, grab handles, and clear acetate for the glass. The model comes packaged in a sturdy box with all 31 parts contained in Ziploc bags. There is one decal sheet included of an allied star for mounting on the front hood. Included in the kit is a resin display base of railroad tracks. I

The instruction sheet is one small sheet of double-sided print comprising 5 steps to build the model and suggested painting of the vehicle.

Review Author
Mike Van Schoonhoven
Published on
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$10.95

Model Art Magazine is a monthly magazine that covers aircraft, armor, ships and car modeling. Model Art started releasing magazines in 1966 and has evolved from there over the past forty eight years.

The September issue starts off with several small articles which include the IJA/N Airplane Illustrated and a build article on the Trumpeter 1/35 Soviet JS-7 Heavy Tank which includes a walk around on a actual vehicle in a museum and the history of Russian and American heavy tanks.

The main article this month features tools. What modeler doesn't like tools? The article consists of thirty three pages of pictures of tools and a brief description of what it does and price. The tools in the article range from colored pencils, files, trimmers, drills, solvents, lights, sandpaper, saws, tweezers and punches.