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
Robert Folden
Published on
August 31, 2011
Company
Pegasus Hobbies
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$12.95

Pegasus Hobbies is a small model company that, while geared mostly towards war gaming, has produced some very nice models over the past few years. I’ve built a few of their models, so when their new Panzer 38T came up for review, I jumped at the opportunity.

The Pegasus Hobbies Panzer 38T kit actually contains two full kits. Each tank comes in 27 pieces on 4 sprues. Since the model is aimed at gaming, construction is very simple, with the entire suspension, road wheels and sprockets, and tracks molded as a single piece. Detail throughout the model is crisp, and while it may be a bit over sized, this helps later with weathering. The only real downfall to the molding is that the main and machine guns are solid and need to have the ends drilled. [Not the hardest task, yet the machine guns do take a steady hand to drill]. Additionally, there are no decals included in the kit.

Book Author(s)
David Wragg
Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
August 30, 2011
Company
Pen and Sword Books Ltd
MSRP
$32.50

The Story

This volume is a newly developed account of the naval war between the United States and its Allies against the Japanese from 1941 through 1945. Since the author and publisher are British, it naturally follows that there is a subdued emphasis on the British and Commonwealth participation in the war, a good thing since this topic has not been covered in a lot of detail over the past few years. In a little over 200 pages, the author condenses the topic to the point that it isn’t really a comprehensive history, but instead a series of chapters dealing with specific issues and events associated with the war, along with his interpretations of the causes and effects of these events.

Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
August 30, 2011
Company
Fisher Model and Pattern
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$49.95

Fisher Model & Pattern has released a set of parts for the newly re-released Space Shuttle in 72nd scale. Parts included are single-piece resin parts and include

  • 3 Shuttle Main Engine Nozzles
  • 2 Orbital Maneuvering Nozzles
  • 2 Aft Control Thruster Housings

This item is so new that a set of instructions was not yet ready to be included with the review sample provided, but as the note that accompanied my sample stated, “It isn’t all that hard to figure out where they go.”

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
August 30, 2011
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$74.95

Eduard continues to lead the pack in taking older kits and upgrading them with PE and resin upgrades. In this case, we have the Academy MiG-29A, which in its own right is an excellent kit, with several items added to bring the basic kit to the next level. In this case, Eduard’s own PE instrument panel and detail set, combined with their in-house “Brassin” resin upgrades. Oh yeah, there is also one outstanding decal sheet included with no less than five variants to finish your model; Two Soviet, one Polish, one Czech Republic, and one Iranian. All are in register, and make for quite a variety of color schemes. The decals also include a comprehensive stencil suite, including missile and launch rail details. Outstanding!

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
July 4, 2020
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$15.95

Master Models has created a superb replacement for the venerable M61 Vulcan cannon found in so many planes. The set consists of 6 perfectly turned brass barrels with hollowed out ends, a machined brass ring a machined center barrel and a set of photetched pieces to bring it all together.