Decal Details

Henschel Hs-129B-2/RIII Wings, Cowlings and Things!, Part 3

Factory detail 3

Ruined Factory with Base

Holes drilled

TR-3E Triangular UFO

Painted

F-104A/C

Rear detail

M3A3 Bradley CFV, Standard Edition

Left front

Roland C.IIa Late

Bayonet figure front

WW1 Italian Infantry in Armor

Completed right side

Arado Ar 234B-2/S3

Cabin detail

Kittyhawk UH-1N

Front

Battlestar Gallactica SD (Super-Deformed) Viper Mark 2

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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

Supermarine Spitfire Mk. VII
Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
Company
Italeri
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$22.00

History

No modeler of World War II fighter aircraft can possibly be unaware of the background of the Spitfire, so no discussion will be provided. Over 30 different Marks and variants of the Spitfire were produced before, during, and after World War II, and nearly all of them have appeared as 1/72 scale kits at one time or another. Of the long-wing Mk. VII, injection molded kits have been issued by Hasegawa, Jay’s Models, and a resin kit from CMR. Italeri’s kit, issued in 2012, is a welcome addition. I have built the Hasegawa kit and it is excellent, and the Italeri kit will be interesting competition. I have not seen the other two, but I understand from reviews that they both are very good kits.

Box Art

Reggiane RE-2002 Ariete
Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
Company
Sword Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$32.99

History

The Reggiane RE-2002 shows its ancestry, as its designers were obviously influenced by the Seversky P-35. The original RE-2000 was first flown in 1938, and since the plane had some problems, the majority of the RE-2000’s were exported to Sweden and Hungary. A few were used by the Italian Navy. Reggiane attempted to improve the design by installing a German DB-601A-1 liquid-cooled engine, resulting in the RE-2001. It was accepted by the Regia Aeronautica, but shortages of German engines, plus the fact that the same engine was used in the Macchi C.202 Folgore, restricted production to 252 aircraft. To keep the production lines going, Reggiane redesigned the plane for a third time, using a 1,175 hp Piaggio P.XIX fourteen-cylinder, intending the type mainly for the close support role. A bomb load of 1,433 pounds could be carried in a fuselage rack.

Product Package

Punch & Die Set
Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
CB Model Products
MSRP
$45.00

This latest tool from CB Model Products is one of the best yet. This high precision punch and die set consists of 12 hardened steel punches and a clear acrylic/metal guide plate assembly. There is a desiccant included to help keep the rust off the metal parts. These pieces are contained in a compact plastic case with a nice hint and procedure sheet.

The steel punches are machined with a slight angle. These punches are designed to be used on up .030 styrene. The punches come in .040”, .051”, .058”, .069”, .080”, .088”, .101”, .110”, .119”, .127”, .140” and .151”. That should take care of most needs in 1/72, 1/48, 1/32, and 1/35th scales. You may want to wipe the parts down with some WD-40 and a rag to preserve these delicate parts for the long term.

Box Art

EA-18G Growler,VAQ-141 Shadowhawks Limited Edition
Review Author
Phil Pignataro
Published on
Company
Hasegawa
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$36.99

The EA-18G Growler is the US Navy’s newest ECM aircraft, replacing the venerable Grumman EA-6B Prowler. Now in service with several squadrons, the EA-18G provides our military forces the latest hardware for electronic warfare. Boeing modified the basic two-seat FA-18F Super Hornet for the ECM mission by adding numerous antenna, sensors, and stores, and by removing offensive items such as the 20mm cannon. To produce a model of this machine, Hasegawa essentially did the same. They took their basic FA-18F Super Hornet kit and added sprues with all the relevant pieces to produce the G model.

Parts Package

A-4 Skyhawk Antennas
Review Author
Roger Carrano
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$4.25

As mentioned in a previous review, Trumpeter’s new kit of the 1/32 A-4 Skyhawk is one of the better kits that Trumpeter has recently come out with, and what Quickboost did for the Air Scoops of Trumpeter’s A-4 kit is what Quickboost also did for the upgrade of the antennas for the A-4 kit.

Quickboost’s antennas kit consists of five different types of antennas in a light grey resin and can also easily be “picked” off of the sprue and sanded so as not to hurt the design of the part. The antennas are so precise and real looking that they do enhance the look of the model. However they are very, very fragile and should be glued to the kit as one of the last parts to assemble, especially if there will be a lot of handling before completion.