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.

Cover

Model Art Modeling Magazine, #826, August 2011
Review Author
Gary Telecsan
Published on
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$12.00

The August offering from Model Art Modeling Magazine starts off with 44 pages of photos and text (in Japanese, with an occasional English subtitle) dedicated to the F6F Hellcat, with reviews of Eduard, Hobby Boss, and Monogram kits, among others, from 1/144th scale up to 1/48th. A wealth of close-up photos showing trouble spots and finished kits is available for aficionados of this aircraft.

Next comes 5 pages of information about Japanese Navy destroyers, illustrating differences from 1933 through 1945 with photos of 1/700 kits for illustration. This is followed by several pages of walk-around detail shots of a JASDF H-21, very useful for modelers of this subject. This appears to be a monthly feature, the H-21 being August.

Cover

Model Art Modeling Magazine, #40, Summer 2011 Special Edition
Review Author
Gary Telecsan
Published on
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$18.00

This special Summer edition from Model Art Modeling Magazine is primarily dedicated to the IJN Myoko-class Heavy Cruiser. Fully 99 pages of the total 136 are devoted to photos, history, and kit reviews. Included is a magnificent set of 1/350th scale plans for the Myoko, and builds in 1/350th are reviewed for Myoko, Haguro and Nachi illustrating not only differences in sisters in the same class, but changes and upgrade through the years. A 1/700th review of a build of 4 cruisers is included with photo coverage and a number of pages devoted to the aircraft carried by this class from pre-war through to the end. There is also pull-out art work, and wartime photos to match kits reviewed.

The new kit section reviews CVE-73, a Japanese carrier, and the Revell SS Oriana in some detail.

Box Art

J-20 PLA Stealth Fighter
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$12.95

The J-20 is a prototype of the Chinese fifth-generation fighter. It is called a stealth fighter, and it has many of the characteristics of a truly stealthy aircraft, including occluded intakes, an internal armament store, and radar-absorbent outer skin. As it is now configured, most experts say it isn’t truly stealthy as the engine exhausts are not low-observable technology for either IR or radar. There is speculation that new engines and exhausts will be added after the airframe has moved further toward production.

The prototype flew in January of 2011. Dragon’s kit is now available 6 months later. That’s fast work.

The Kit

At first look, this is a simple kit, but the box art states that it’s for skilled modelers, age 14 and over. It’s nicely molded in flash-free gray plastic with 3 sprues of parts, the canopy, and a tiny decal sheet.

Decal Set Packaging

F-18C Centennial of Naval Aviation (CONA) VFA-122, VFC-12 Decals
Review Author
Tim Hortman
Published on
Company
Twobobs Aviation Graphics
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$14.00

Two Bobs Aviation Graphics continues to release decals to celebrate the special paint schemes that the US Navy is using to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Flight (Centennial of Naval Aviation, or CONA). Each decal sheet contains markings for these special aircraft and a 3” sticker with the CONA official logo. Two Bobs actually has an official licensing agreement with the Navy to bring these decals to us in the hobby world! As always, this Two Bobs release features decals which are thin, crisp, and in perfect register.

Decal Set Packaging

F-18C/E Centennial of Naval Aviation (CONA) VFA-106 Decals
Review Author
Tim Hortman
Published on
Company
Twobobs Aviation Graphics
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$14.00

Two Bobs Aviation Graphics continues to release decals to celebrate the special paint schemes that the US Navy is using to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Flight (Centennial of Naval Aviation or CONA). Each decal sheet contains markings for these special aircraft, and a 3” sticker with the CONA official logo. Two Bobs actually has an official licensing agreement with the Navy to bring these decals to us in the hobby world! As always, this Two Bobs release features decals which are thin, crisp, and in perfect register.

This decal sheet covers two VFA-106 Gladiators Hornets from NAS Oceana seen in December 2010.