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
Michael Novosad
Published on
November 30, 2021
Company
Afterburner Decals
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$20.00

Background

Three modelers form the talents behind Afterburner Decals. Geoff Martin, Burtonsville, Maryland; Scott Brown, Houston, Texas; and Shawn Hull, Las Vegas, Nevada. They started this business though their love of US Military jet aircraft and the lack of decals for contemporary and past markings. In addition, Shawn Hull runs shull24.com resin accessories for modern jets.

One of their goals and founding principles is to listen to their customers and give them what they want. They do not consider themselves to be "experts", but rather are willing to rely on the people that they know to provide inspiration and guidance on appealing topics. The vast majority of references are provided from outside resources.

Review Author
Roger Carrano
Published on
July 1, 2011
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$36.95

In Eduard’s ordinary fashion, they once again bring to life the cockpit of the AV-8B with the Night Attack interior. They have incorporated in their Photo Etch, new side panels with small boxes of instruments and throttles that resemble the real thing. Colored placards are placed around the cockpit to bring out true realism and a small sheet of film is used for the clear screen over some of the instruments readouts. Colored pieces for the instruments are also provided to apply over the panel for exact realism. There are also a lot of other small gadgets to add to the cockpit, such as mirrors and handles, and they are easy to fold and put in place.

Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
September 23, 2021
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$3.99

Quickboost now catalogs a set of detail parts for Tamiya’s 1/72 Focke Wulf Fw 190 A-3 kit that will make it easy for modelers to place the rudder in an off-center position. Set QB 72 311 provides a casting block containing three separate (but identical) rudders. Detail is crisp, with recessed panel lines that match those found on the kit parts (because, it appears Quickboost actually removed that part from the Tamiya kit, added a V–shaped edge to fit against the fin and cast three of the rudders in resin). Since the rudders of most Fw 190s are nearly identical, these parts should be of use on a number of 1/72 Focke Wulf kits marketed by other companies.

Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
October 5, 2021
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$3.99

Quickboost now offers a set of separate stabilizers and elevators for anyone wishing to build the 1/72 Tamiya Focke Wulf Fw 190 A-3 with dropped elevators. The parts are cast in the typical Quickboost medium gray resin that is both flexible and resilient. Detail is crisp, with recessed panel lines that are curiously close to those found on the kit parts. It looks like Quickboost started with the Tamiya kit parts, cut them apart and added a groove in the stabilizers so the elevators will fit properly in whatever position the modeler desires. There is a little flash is on each stabilizer that is intended to protect the cast parts from damage or deforming when being removed from the molds. This flash is easy to remove with a #11 blade after the parts are separated from the casting block. No instruction sheet is included in the package because it is obvious what to remove and what to use.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
June 27, 2011
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/400
MSRP
$10.95

A huge “thanks!” to Alain at Dragon for providing IPMS/USA this kit. I was under the impression this would be a review of one of their famous 1/400 prebuild die-cast models… WRONG! This was a full-fledged build! This is the first of their new series of model aircraft which are to be built, not pre-made with Tampo markings…

Nobody does this scale like Dragon… Impressive off the bat; on to the model…