Masking 1

F-14D Tomcat, Part 2 - Airframe and Weapon Construction

left tail unfinshed

Alpha Jet A/E

Wing root dry fit

De Havilland Mosquito FB Mk VI: The Build - Part 2

Finished 5

SE.5a Hispano Suiza

Finished and painted model closeup

Tales from the Apocalypse, The Traffic Guard

Sprue 2

Avro Vulcan B.2

Underside

Space Shuttle Orbiter & Boeing 747 Egg Plane

Right Front

Studebaker US6-U3

Build Front Quarter

Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.L Late Production w/Winterketten

Finished Bottom

Tempest Mk V Series 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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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.

Packaging

Me 163B Seat with Safety Belts
Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$8.50

Quickboost’s latest item is a detailed seat, with the harness installed, for the Meng 1/32 Scale Me 163B. All you need to do to use this seat is paint to it, remove it from the pour stub, and install it. This seat is well worth the investment, as it will save you the time of building a seat with harness. In person, it looks a lot better than under a digital camera’s lens.

This item is, like all Quickboost parts, worth every penny!

Thanks to Aires for providing IPMS/USA with this review set and to the IPMS/USA leadership for passing it my way!

Cart Package

Shopping Cart
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Hauler
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$7.25

There’s not a lot of military history for this kit. It’s a pretty standard European-style shopping cart. I have pushed a bunch of these around stores in Italy when I was TDY at Vincenza. From my experience working at Kroger’s I know that the American version has a different wheel setup and a shelf below the main basket.

This kit is a marvelously done piece of photoetch. Everything except the push bar, which is done in resin, is on one fret. The basket is one piece with the legs attached. The wheels and axle supports are separate pieces, and there’s a chain which attaches to the push bar. I remember that this chain hooks into a dispenser outside the store, and you put a coin in the dispenser to get your cart. When you’re done, return the cart, and you get your coin back. That’s one way for the store to make sure you don’t leave the cart out there in the parking lot. And if you do, some kid would probably take it back to get the coin.

Box cover

Panzerhaubitze 2000 German Self-Propelled Howitzer
Review Author
Robert Head
Published on
Company
Meng Model
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$84.99

The Panzerhaubitze 2000 is one of the most advanced self-propelled howitzers in the world. The vehicle utilizes a large number of chassis parts of Leopard 1 MBT and Leopard 2 MBT. It is powered by the MTU MT881 engine which provides excellent mobility and is armed with a Rheinmetall 155mm L52 gun with an advanced sight and fire-control system. 60 rounds are stored vertically on board in a horseshoe arrangement. Its automatic shell-loading system has realized automatic management of all ammunition. This vehicle entered German Army service in 1998, and then into armies of Italy, the Netherlands and Greece. The Croatian Armed Forces (COA) recently completed a purchase agreement for 12 former Bundeswehr vehicles to fulfil their NATO requirement.

Box Top

Hot Rod Hydro
Review Author
Jim Stepanek
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$25.95

Revell hit a real winner with the Hot Rod Hydro kit. Very little flash and the parts fit very well.

Engine: The Hemi engine goes together extremely well. I opted to pull a dual quad intake manifold from the parts bin rather than use the 6 carb set-up in the kit.

Trailer: The trailer was slightly warped so I used very warm water to try and straighten it out. Nicely detailed, but it lacks lights. Parts bin came in handy.

Interior: Interior panels are very well engraved. Getting the side panels glued in gave me a few minutes of frustration because of the tight fit. Once in though, the panels look real nice.

Package

Panzerfaust with Box
Review Author
Eric Christianson
Published on
Company
Hauler
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$15.99

The Panzerfaust ("armor fist" or "tank fist") was an inexpensive, single shot, recoilless German anti-tank weapon of World War II. It consisted of a small, disposable preloaded launch tube firing a high explosive anti-tank warhead, and was operated by a single soldier. The Panzerfaust was in service from 1942 until the end of the war.

Hauler, a small company out of Czechoslovakia, continues to add to its list of quality aftermarket and modeling supply products; this time with a package of Panzerfaust weapons complete with two cargo boxes in 1/35th scale.

The package contains a small PE sheet, a small sheet of decals, a sheet of instructions and a single baggie containing all the resin parts, including eight Panzerfausts. My sample arrived with one of the two delicate ‘rope’ handles broken off of each of the two boxes.