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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.

Book Author(s)
David Mitchellhill-Green
Review Author
James Kelley
Published on
Company
Pen and Sword Books Ltd
MSRP
$28.95

Adolf Hitler invaded Western Europe in May 1940. After breaking through the supposedly 'impenetrable' Ardennes, Erwin Rommel was at the forefront of the Wehrmacht's audacious drive through France. Rommel, who had no prior experience leading an armored division in combat, moved with such speed and nerve that he frequently surprised French units by arriving far earlier than expected.

Crossing the Meuse River, we follow Rommel—in what he referred to as 'practically a lightning Tour de France'—as he pushed through northern France to the English Channel. His spectacular victory at the coastal port of Saint-Valéry-en-Caux was crowned by the capture of Cherbourg.

Following the armistice, Rommel was involved in reenacting certain battles, such as crossing the Somme, for the documentary Sieg im Westen (Victory in the West). This is the story of Rommel and the 7th Panzer Division—the so-called 'Ghost Division'—in France, 1940.

Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
Company
AOA Decals
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$24.50

AOA Decals has provided IPMS/USA reviewer corps with a wonderful decal set for low-viz options (Part 1) for the US Navy H-60 Seahawk family that covers the SH-60B, SH-60F, HH-60H, and MH-60R variants, and includes MH-60R options for the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Danish Air Force. This 1/35th scale decal sheet of Low-Viz Seahawk Family, Part 1, covers the following squadrons:

SH-60B:

  • HSL-43 Battle Cats (2011)
  • HSL-48 Vipers (2013)
  • HSL-51 Warlords (2011)

SH-60F:

  • HS-5 Nightdippers (2012)
  • HS-11 Dragonslayers (2015)

HH-60H:

  • HS-5 Nightdippers (2012)
  • HS-11 Dragonslayers (2015)

MH-60R:

Book Author(s)
First World War Aviation Historical Society - Managing Editor: Mick Davis
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Cross & Cockade International
MSRP
$91.86

The non-profit UK based group known as the First World War Aviation Historical Society, that publishes their journal, Cross & Cockade International, four times a year. Issues are available as printed as well as digital copies (or both). A new magazine, Contact!, is now available in both print and digital download. The Society also provide a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publish WWI themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS USA. This Journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front.\The Autumn 2024 journal of Cross & Cockade International features a color painting by Dugald Cameron of a pair of BE2as and a Maurice Farman Se.11. All are with 2 Squadron RFC in 1913 at Upper Dysart aerodrome, about 3 miles south of Montrose, Scotland.

Review Author
Joe Staudt
Published on
Company
Agora Models
Scale
1/8
MSRP
$1,599.00

I expect that all of us have seen ads from various companies for large-scale, highly detailed kits that can be purchased as a monthly subscription. One of those companies is Agora Models, which is based in the U.K. They recently offered the IPMS the opportunity to review one of their kits, and I had the immensely good fortune to be chosen to do the review. I was allowed to choose the kit I wanted to build, and as a life-long car modeler and lover of classic vehicles, I chose their 1/8 scale 1961 Jaguar E-Type. The kit contains over 500 parts, has working headlights and brake lights, windows that roll up and down, and opening hood, doors, and trunk. The steering wheel turns the front wheels, and the brake pedal operates the taillights. The completed kit is over 22 inches long.

Because of the complexity and the unique format of this kit, I will be doing the review in several parts. This first part will cover the “unboxing” and the building of the first 3 packages of the kit.

Review Author
Joe Staudt
Published on
Company
Atlantis Model Company
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$24.99

The Chevrolet Nova was everywhere in the late 1960s. Your grandma may have had a 4-door sedan for getting the groceries, your parents may have had a station wagon as the family car or a 2-door for your dad’s daily commute, and the high school down the street may have had one with a raised rear suspension and Keystone Classics. They could be had with everything from a basic in-line 6-cylinder to a powerful V-8. As a result, many people of a certain age have fond memories of these vehicles, and kit manufacturers have done a fine job providing us modelers with numerous kits of this subject. One of the latest is this 1/32 scale offering from Atlantis Models of a 1969 SS 350. The 350 V-8 was the largest engine you could get on the Nova that year, and it was rated at 300hp.