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.

Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
March 4, 2011
Company
Aviaeology
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$11.89

Editor's note: This review combines two (2) decal sheet products from the manufacturer and this explains the double title. The sets are listed as:Stock #: AOD72007.1 (Hurricanes) and AOD72011 (Mosquitos) and priced at $11.89 and $8.89 respectively. Canadian dollars and US dollars are at approximately par value at this writing.

Review Author
Fred Amos
Published on
March 2, 2011
Company
Minicraft Model Kits
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$34.99

The UH-60 Blackhawk is the primary transport helicopter for the United States Army and Air Force. The UH-60 fills almost every need for transport, search and rescue, re-supply and even armed combat. The UH-60L is the National Guard version of this machine.

The Kit

Minicraft Models has had a niche market in helicopter models. I have built the 1/48 CH 46 Bull Frog and I was very impressed. When I received the Blackhawk kit I tore into it right away. The first thing I noticed was a date embossed in each tail boom of 1985. Well that dates it for me.

There is, of course, a bit of flash around the small parts but they are not insurmountable.

Review Author
Walt Fink
Published on
March 2, 2011
Company
Revell, Inc.
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$23.00

Monogram’s re-released their 2002 Camaro kit as a two-in-one offering in the “Motor-City Muscle” series, with decals and extra parts for a stock SS or Z28, or optionally, the 35th Anniversary SS Edition. It’s molded in white plastic, and for the most part is a pretty easy build, though scraping mold lines from parts as well as cleaning up edges and mating surfaces will go a long way to help things fit better.

Planning the build: on my sample, dry-fitting things at the beginning of construction revealed that both the front clip and rear bumper were a little too wide for the body shell, so rather than waiting to attach them until final assembly as the instructions specified, I glued the front to the body shell first and faired it in so the parts matched. I reasoned that I could still assemble all the interior stuff later….turned out I was almost correct (read on).

Review Author
Tom Pope
Published on
March 2, 2011
Company
Revell, Inc.
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$21.00

Introduction

When Monogram released the T’rantula in 1968, I was interested - another Tom Daniel design of a cool but hot rod. Problem was, I would have had to mow an extra lawn or two for the money (probably a whopping $3 or $4 back then) since my budget was quickly spent on Vietnam era aircraft and armor kits that I could watch on the news. I was pleased to see Revell re-release this kit in December 2010 so I could finally satisfy my curiosity.

My thanks go out to Revell for re-releasing and providing this kit for review and to IPMS USA for letting me do the review.

Book Author(s)
Chris Goss
Review Author
Perry Downen
Published on
November 18, 2021
Company
Crecy Publishing, Ltd.
MSRP
$36.95

This is the latest book from Chris Goss published by Crecy Publishing covering the air war between England and Germany. Gross has written several books on this subject some of which include: The Luftwaffe Bombers’ Battle of Britain, The Luftwaffe Fighters’ Battle of Britain, and Brothers in Arms.

The Luftwaffe’s Blitzis a hardback book measuring 6-1/4” X 9-1/2” and contains 264 pages. It comes in a high quality, semi-gloss paper cover. The book contains many never before published black and white periodphotographs. Each photograph is accompanied by a block of text explaining the action or activity seen.