Left front

IL-2M & Panther D - Two-in-One Kit

Finished

Messerschmitt Bf109E Sept. 1940

Markings

Ki-46III, Command/Recon Plane Hyakushiki (Dinah)

Completed overhead view

SP-2H Neptune "New Patrol Scheme" Limited Edition

6 Wing panel lines

Su-27C Flanker, Part 2 - Painting and Finishing

Cannon Covers Closed

Part 2 - Henschel Hs-129B-2/RIII Wings, Cowlings and Things!

Fasteners

Ford GT40 Mk.II ’66, Part 1

Pack 10-Final Tire Installed

1961 Jaguar E-Type, Part Four

Finished 2

RN R Class Submarines

Completed 2

L1500S German 1.5t 4x2 Cargo Truck

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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.

Cover art

Air Modeller #30, June/July 2010
Review Author
Clarence Wentzel
Published on
Company
Air Modeller
MSRP
$13.00

Air Modeller magazine was new to me when I volunteered for the review. I was very impressed. This is a 64 page high quality, modeling magazine without any advertising. The magazine seems to cater to the detail conscious modeler. This issue includes five detailed build articles:

  • Split Personality F-104G – Part One.
  • Handley Page Halifax B. Mk II Series I – Part Two.
  • CAC Boomerang
  • Ultimate Spitfire
  • Curtiss H-75 A3

The magazine also contains an article on new releases, as well as an article showing photos from recent model shows.

Box Art

Ship Accessory Sets - Boat & Davit Set for Destroyers and Small Ships
Review Author
Bill Kluge
Published on
Company
Fine Molds
Scale
1/350
MSRP
$18.00

Rumors have been circulating over the past several months that Fine Molds would enter the 1/350 ship model market with a new offering of a Fubuki class destroyer. These appear to be confirmed by the fact that several on-line retailers now offer pre-orders on the Fubuki class DD Ayanami. If potential buyers are curious as to what the quality of this new vessel will be like, they need only take a look at either of these new accessory sets now offered by Fine Molds.

Box Art

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk Wheel Bays
Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$15.50

Anyone who knows me will tell you my favorite airplane is the Curtiss P-40 and I have a closet full of kits to prove it. One of them is a 1/72 scale Academy kit that I had allotted to the maybe-someday-stack because of conspicuous problems with the way Academy molded the P-40’s fuselage quarter windows. Well, now Aires has (or ‘have’, if you are reading this review in Canada or the UK) added a set of accurate P-40 well bays to their line of resin detail parts, and they’ve brought to my attention another problem area that needs addressing. The kit’s wheel bays are just as inaccurate as the shape of the quarter windows. Fortunately, Aires has done a nice job of solving that problem for me and has led me to move the kit to a higher position in the stack.

Box Art

USS Independence LCS-2 Part 2 - Final Assembly
Review Author
Ray Byers
Published on
Company
Cyber-Hobby
Scale
1/700
MSRP
$32.95

Construction started with the stand and a visit from Murphy. Following the kit instructions, I drilled out holes #3 and #6 and cemented in part Z1. The instructions label the base as Z2 but it is marked Z1, not a big deal, it is obvious what’s what. When I tried to set the lower hull on the stand it did not fit. The pedestals should be installed in holes #4 and #5, NOT holes #3 and #6 (so much for starting with something easy).

Construction was straightforward with no real problems. Some areas that could be better are listed here:

Box Art

French Air Force Dewoitine 520, MS.500, NC.900, DH-82 Tiger Moth, Ki-43 Oscar
Review Author
Tim Hortman
Published on
Company
Dutch Decal
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$20.00

When I first “signed up” to do a review of these decals, I wasn’t familiar with the company, or what would be on the sheet. I was interested in the Ki-43 markings, as I find myself building mostly Japanese aircraft recently. When the package arrived, I was very pleasantly surprised at what I saw!

PT Decals sheet #48002 covers some captured WWII Axis aircraft in French service. The decal sheet itself is very well done with markings for all the aircraft listed below. The decals are all in perfect register, and appear to be of the highest quality on the market today. The lower right of the sheet reads “Pierre Tilley / Dutch Decal 2010; Produced in the EEC”

Included with the decals is a very nice, full color fold out with profiles of each of the aircraft represented on the decal sheet (see the accompanying photos to get a better idea of how great this set of decals really is!)