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
Tim Hortman
Published on
November 3, 2011
Company
Platz
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$31.00

The Japanese F-2A fighter is loosely based on the General Dynamics F-16, and if one did not know any better, you would think that is what you were seeing. The F-2A is the single seat fighter of the Japanese Air Self Defense Force (JASDF).

This sheet is in Platz’s NBM21 Decal line – “Natural Born Modellers” and arrives in a clear plastic package slightly larger than the standard decal sheet we have come to expect.

This great set of decals shows the 50th Anniversary scheme of the F-2A from Tsuiki Airbase 8WG 6SQ in 1/72 scale. The decals were printed in Italy by Cartograf and are in perfect registration, and seemingly contain every stencil mark on the real aircraft! I am not joking here, folks – there are a ton of decals on this 6x9 inch decal sheet!

Review Author
Tim Hortman
Published on
November 3, 2011
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$42.95

Mitsubishi J2M RAIDEN – Imperial Japanese Navy Interceptor Fighter is the newest book in the series of Profiles by Model Art. This is #11 in the series and is my personal favorite to date. This softbound book contains 136 pages and is jammed packed with vintage photos, line drawings, and color profiles of the aircraft, as well as some color photos of a surviving Raiden.

The Mitsubishi J2M Raiden was code named “Jack” by the allies during WWII. It was intended to be an interceptor to counter the threat of high altitude B-29 raids over the home islands. This publication covers the Raiden development and design changes throughout its short operational history.

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
November 3, 2011
Company
Revell, Inc.
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$15.95

This kit is molded in light blue, black and chrome parts. It has 59 parts and is being marketed as “snap tite.” The kit has no engine, but the oil pan and the transmission are present.

The fit is good for the most part. I only had trouble with the chrome parts fits. I was not able to get them to snap, and some of the chrome parts (like the tanks) have sizable gaps.

I put together the chassis and wheels, then checked for misalignments. I only had to add a small shim to one of the suspension parts to get all the tires to touch the ground. I painted the chassis/wheels assembly flat black and the cab in “true blue.”

This is a good kit for a kid getting into the hobby, or a grown-up who just wants a break from more complex builds. I had fun putting this kit together and it was a great break from other projects. The only downside is that some of the chrome parts didn’t fit well, but it is nothing that some modeling skills couldn’t overcome.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
November 3, 2011
Company
Pegasus Hobbies
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$65.95

Steven Spielberg's 2005 remake of War of the Worlds took the original 1953 version and upgraded the already excellent special effects using today's technology. In my opinion, the movie was okay, but the effects were excellent, and central to that were the Martians and their tripods. Pegasus Hobbies has already issued the Martians and has now followed up with this kit of the tripod. And what a kit it is!

The kit is 93 parts including an excellent base of a destroyed street and buildings. The capture cages and lenses are clear. The top of the tripod is smoky clear. All the parts are perfectly molded, with no flash and petite engraving. There is an option of building the kit with the laser arms attached as it is first seem in the movie or building it with the cages underneath the back end and the eight tentacles coming out. I chose the former for this build as I love the look of the arms/claws protruding from the top.

Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
November 1, 2011
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$40.00

It seems that when a new kit hits the market, it quickly is followed by a flood of aftermarket detail sets. Fortunately, Aires understands that kits purchased today may not reach the workbench for some time, so they also continue to release aftermarket sets for kits that many of us have in our stash (or that we have not yet added to that inventory). Set #2158 is a glowing example of that. Trumpeter’s 1/32 MiG 3 kit has been on the market for a few years now, and Aires recently released a highly detailed mixed-media cockpit set to add considerable detail to that kit. The detail in this set’s resin components, as is normal with Aires sets, is crisp, delicate and complex enough to make the MiG’s cockpit quite convincing. Those parts are cast in Aires’ typical gray resin and, as usual, there are no pinholes or excessive flash to worry about (just a thin sliver of flash here and there that comes off easily).