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
Al LaFleche
Published on
Company
Matho Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$6.60

Thanks to Mathomodels for this sample.

This is a kit of two average sized wooden pallets used in transporting any number of products by way of some type of fork lift. They would be at home in a base camp, as debris in a modern setting, or in the bed of a truck. With some creative cutting of the parts, they could be displayed as broken or disassembled.

This small resin kit is packed in a zip-lock bag attached to a peg hangar. It includes 8 resin parts to make two compete wooden pallets that scale out to about 32 X 48 inches. Parts are cast in gray resin. At first glance, there appeared to be a very fine wood grain pattern, but this was lost to a coat of primer. There are two upper portions and six bases/legs. There are no instructions, but assembly is completely intuitive. Simply cut the pour plugs and put a tiny drop of superglue to attach the legs at the outer and middle slats.

Review Author
Gordon Miller
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$23.99

The 1955 Panel Truck is considered to be a part of the F100 Series that lasted up until 1956. It was a sturdy and reliable vehicle for the blue collar workers of the day. I decided to build a vehicle around the same look, with the custom parts added, to a truck that closely resembled my uncle's truck for his catering and restaurants needs. He meant a lot to me and I was very excited to see this kit available for a build on the reviewer's board. There are a few panel trucks out but not many and this one looked very good from the box art. It's rated at a skill level 2 and has just 93 pieces in it. When I opened the box and inspected the contents thereof I seen that it could be built only one way, and that's the way it looks on the box. It is molded in white. So, for me that's a plus. The chrome was impeccable and cut from the sprig without any problems. The kit was without any mold injection marks and did not have any flash to it what so ever.

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$2.99

Czech manufacturer Quickboost continues to expand its aftermarket line of simple details that enhance the look of your models.

This time the aftermarket piece is the very distinctive muzzle of the Mk 103 cannon, with its “organ pipe” look, a difficult piece to reproduce in injection molded parts.

The parts are finely molded, with all the pipes –and gun opening- being hollow. There are no bubbles nor are defects of kind and the attachment point to the pouring stub small and easy to remove.

The parts are a simple “drop in” replacement to the plastic parts. I only added a small piece of metal rod (copper) to strengthen the connection point to the nose of the Me-262.

This is a very easy and simple way to enhance your next model. Recommended.

I would like to thank Quickboost, AIRES and IPMS/USA for the review sample.

Book Author(s)
Angus Konstam, Illustrated by Peter Dennis and Alan Gilliland
Review Author
Steve Zajac
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$18.95

Osprey Publishing’s latest edition in their Raid series looks at sinking of the HMS Royal Oak by German U-boat U-47 in 1939. From the website: "At the outset of World War II, Scapa Flow was supposed to be the safe home base of the British Navy - nothing could penetrate the defences of this bastion. So how, in the dead of night, was Gunther Prien's U-47 able to slip through the line of protective warships to sink the mighty Royal Oak? This book provides the answer with an account of one of the most daring naval raids in history. Drawing on the latest underwater archaeological research, this study explains how Prien and his crew navigated the North Sea and Kirk Sound to land a devastating blow to the British."

Review Author
Ben Guenther
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$59.99

I am no expert on the Ford Model T cars, but by using the internet I have found out several things. The Model T was the first affordable car that opened car ownership to the American middle class, which was due to the assembly line production method that reduced car prices. The Model T's made in 1913 were priced at $525 for a runabout, which is another name for this model car. 170,211 Model T's of all types were made in 1913 and this was the last year in which you could get a color choice. The colors being black, gray, green, blue and red. The first Model T was made in 1908 and production lasted for 17 years. Even today the Ford Model T is a name that is recognizable to a majority of American car owners as there are still several thousand of these cars that are still running. If you go to most car shows you will still usually find one or two Model T's on display.