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
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$9.95

THANKS VERY MUCH to our friends at Eduard for sending IPMS USA another of your huge line of resin aftermarket kit improvements, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for sending it on to me to review….

This is a specialized iteration of the Sniper targeting pod as carried by the Harrier Mk 9. Included in the set are the pod body, forward sensor section, three clear resin parts ( three protective glass fairing covers), and a photoetch set with four brackets and two different end plates. Also included are two separate resin sets of delicate but strong sway braces, and a separate block resin bracket for a different lot number of pod. There is also a decal sheet to finish off!

Detail is fantastic; the avionics cooling scoop is hollow, and the pod fore/aft section mounting bolt recesses are very well done. Eduard have listened and included excellent instructions on all their most recent releases with color and assembly details.

Book Author(s)
Steve Ginter
Review Author
Ben Guenther
Published on
Company
Ginter Books
MSRP
$14.95

Ginter Books has been producing books geared towards modelers for many years now, starting with various naval aircraft and later branching into Air Force aircraft (hence the Air Force Legends subtitle). There is always a short history on the development of the aircraft in mention followed by test and photos that highlight various aircraft systems that would be of interest to the modeler, ending with a short review of the plastic or resin kits of said aircraft.

Book Author(s)
Pavel Turk & Miloslav Pajer
Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Japo Publishing
MSRP
$98.00

This book arrived and I must say that I was impressed from the outset. The quality of the book and the material contained inside is typical JaPo. The title sounds like it is just about the Czechoslovak unit, No.311 Squadron, but this book is about a whole lot more than that.

The B-24 was the most produced American airplane in WWII. Its use by Coastal Command is better known in England but not so well known in the US. The use of the Liberator as a precision bomber in the US has overshadowed the vitally important mission of U-Boat patrol. This book fills that void.

JaPo is well known for packing their books with a plethora of information. This one is no different. There are 320 pages of text, photos and color profiles. There are 550 photos with a number of them in color. The 70 color profiles are really impressive and show the differences in turrets, radar, antennas and anti-shipping ordinance.

Book Author(s)
Dariusz Karnas
Review Author
Perry Downen
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$11.99

Mushroom Model Publications provided this book for review and we thank them for that.

The Gloster Gladiator holds the distinction of being a “first” and a “last”. It was the first RAF front line fighter with an enclosed cockpit and the RAF’s last biplane fighter. Flown for the first time in September 1934, just eight months before the Germans first flew the Bf109, it entered service with the RAF in February 1937, the same month the Bf109 entered service for Germany. The Gladiator did not last long in the air over Europe and England. However, it did see action around the world in the service of many countries during World War II.

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Riich Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$49.99

This is a new version of many Riich Universal Carrier’s and is the Airborne Version. The Universal carrier was changed to reduce its weight to enable it to be carrier in the Hamilcar Glider. This included removal and reduction of the armor plate and removal of all unnecessary equipment.

I had built the Tamiya Universal carrier many moons ago and I thought that was a great version but this excels in every area and now I must go and buy the other version of the Universal carrier released by rich.

The kit contains

  • 7 sprues molded in light grey styrene
  • 1 clear sprue
  • 3 Photo Etch sheets
  • 32 springs
  • 1 decal sheet
  • 1 instruction booklet.

Construction

The kit is includes a lot of unrequired parts as these are for the standard Universal carrier.