Detail 1

The Bride of Frankenstein

4

The Crew of "Stugna-P" Anti-Tank Complex

Cockpit

Messerschmitt Me410A-1 High Speed Bomber

Assembly

P-51H

Engine Front

Henschel Hs-129B-2/RIII - Part 1 - Cockpit, Engines, and Fuselage

Turret Ring

German Heavy Tank Sd.Kfz.182 King Tiger (Porsche Turret)

Three blokes

Hawker Hurricane Mk I

HEMTT Left Side

MIM-104B Patriot Surface To Air Missile PAC-1

Sprue 2

GAZ-03-30 Ambulance

Armor Figure 2

Diorama: Here is Snickers, help yourself please

Previous Next

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

USS California: A Visual History of the Golden State Battleship BB-44
Book Author(s)
David Doyle
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Ampersand Publishing
MSRP
$32.95

This is Ampersand’s first nautical book, a new series that promises to focus on US capital ships of World War II. It follows the format as David Doyle’s “Flying Wings” and “Consolidated B-36” books, but is in hard cover. Ampersand got their start in 1993 when Pat Stansell distributed a free issue of Military Miniatures in Review at the IPMS Nationals in Atlanta. Ampersand joined forces with HobbyLink Japan in 2008 and have continued to expand their military AFV publications ever since.

Package

XF5U-1 Flapjack Landing Gear (KH)
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$17.95

Scale Aircraft Conversions has released a nice set of replacement landing gear for the Kitty Hawk 1/48 Vought XF5U-1. The eleven parts supplied include the tail gear, main gear, torque links, and main gear retraction arms. A side by side evaluation of all the SAC parts shows the similarity with the kit parts. There are no supplied instructions; you simply swap out the kit provided plastic parts with the new white metal items. You do need to be very careful to assure proper alignment on all three axes. The SAC landing gear may need to be slightly adjusted to be straight (a benefit of using metal is that you can bend it slightly). Smooth jaw needle nose pliers work wonderfully.

Box Art

1966 Chevy Fleetside Pickup
Review Author
Jim Stepanek
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$25.99

The 1966 Chevy Fleetside pickup by Revell was screaming for some old school modifications.

Engine

The 283 ci engine was bored out and I added a high rise manifold with 2 4 barrel carbs and chrome finned valve covers. It’s wired and plumbed.

Interior

Kit interior was pretty basic but that’s the way it would have been in 1966. Door panel and dash engraving was very crisp and easy to detail paint. I tossed the bench seat and added bucket seats and a console. A polished aluminum steering column was made with a gear shifter and turn signal lever added. The interior is also flocked.

Body

Smooth, crisp lines and no flash. Emblems and door handles are provided on the chrome tree. I decided to leave them off for this old school custom. Front and rear pans were rolled and holes drilled for lights. Grill came from the parts box.

Product packaging

SAAB J 21 A-3 Landing Gear
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$16.00

Scale Aircraft Conversions has released replacement landing gear for the excellent Pilot Replicas 1/48 SAAB J 21 A-3. The 13 parts supplied include the nose gear, main gear, torque links, and main gear retraction arms. A side by side evaluation of all the SAC parts shows the similarity with the kit parts. Ross McMillan has combined two parts by securing the nose gear wheel fork to the nose gear, eliminating a potential point of failure. There are no supplied instructions; you simply swap out the kit provided plastic parts with the new white metal items. You do need to be very careful to assure proper alignment on all three axes. The SAC landing gear may need to be slightly adjusted to be straight (a benefit of using metal is that you can bend it slightly). Smooth jaw needle nose pliers work wonderfully.

Cover

Polish Wings 20: Yakovlev Yak-1, Yak-3, Yak-7, Yak-9
Book Author(s)
Wojciech Zmyslony & Wojciech Sankowski. Illustrator: Thierry Vallet
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$28.99

Wojciech Zmyslony and Wojciech Sankowski author the latest in Mushroom Model Publications’ series of aircraft used in the Polish Air Force. This volume’s focus are the piston engine Yak fighters deployed by the ‘People’s Polish Air Force’ during WWII and the late 40s.

The front and back covers are by Marek Ryś of a Yak-1b, one of three aircraft adorned with a presentation inscription.

I counted 177 black and white photos along with 2 color photos of museum aircraft. Thierry Vallet contributes 42 color side views as well as top and bottom views as appropriate. Colors are even called out with Russian AMT and US FS numbers. The great part of these color side views is they are backed up with period photos of the aircraft that is being portrayed. Wojciech Zmyslony and Wojciech Sankowski also include two tables (see below) that detail the date, unit, aircraft, markings, and pilot.

The Table of Contents focuses on the following sections: