Rear Right

FW-190A Night Fighter

Landing gear

53 Foot Smooth Side Trailer with Reefer

Left Front View

MV-22 Egg Osprey

Wheel Sprue

GAZ-03-30 Ambulance

Finished Kit 3

T-2 Buckeye "Anniversary Markings"

Stern

RMS Titanic Centenary Anniversary

Finished model

P-51 Mustang w/Rocket Tubes

Finished hull

British Holland Class Submarine

Mercury capsule

Redstone Rocket with Mercury Spacecraft

Finished

Bf-109G-14 Profipack

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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.

Package

Spitfire Mk. XVI Gun Bays
Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$19.95

This set contains I sheet of Phot etch parts and 21 resin parts. These parts are used to add complete and very details gun bays to the kit which has no detail in these areas. The addition of these really does add a great display of the guns and the bays to an already very detailed kit.

As with these kits from Eduard there is no flash or other imperfection. The detail of the parts is exceptional. The parts once removed from the mold base are ready to install

A great price for such fine additional detail for the already fantastic Eduard kit.

Thanks to Eduard for providing the detail set, and to IPMS USA for letting me review it.

Box cover

SAAB J32B Lansen
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Tarangus
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$115.00

The Kit

The SAAB J 32B Lansen was the fighter variant of the initial A 32 Lansen. The Lansen ‘Sport’ featured a more powerful engine with afterburner and upgraded armament, including four 30 mm ADEN guns vs. the four 20 mm Bofors guns on the A 32A Lansen. Two features quickly identify the A 32A from the J 32B: The J 32B sported an afterburner exhaust and open gun ports. The A32A featured electrically operated doors covering its 20 mm guns. The larger 30 mm guns in the J 32B provide a distinct profile bulge in the lower nose area along the nose gear, but it is a feature that is not always as easily seen. As opposed to the A 32A production run of 287 aircraft, the J 32B totaled only 120 aircraft which served from 1958 through 1973. The J 32B airframe was modified into six J 32D target tugs and fourteen J 32E ECM aircraft that both served into 1997.

Box Top

Nissan Skyline GTR
Review Author
Jim Stepanek
Published on
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$38.00

I’ve heard and read about the quality of Tamiya models and now I’ve built one with only a couple of disappointments.

Engine

The six cylinder engine is has twin turbo chargers. There’s a pair chrome plated and a pair just plain white plastic. The plain one doesn’t even show up on the instruction sheet. All the parts fit extremely well and are well engraved.

Chassis

The chassis features nice detail and crisp engraving. Exhaust is a separate piece – again, one chrome plated and the other plain white plastic. Front and rear suspensions are multiple piece units that get glued in separately. The gas tank is even a separate unit.

Interior

The interior was a major disappointment. While the dash and seats are wonderfully engraved, there is virtually nothing engraved on the side panels. No door handles. No window cranks. No power window buttons. Nothing!

Box Top

Porsche 911 Turbo
Review Author
Jim Deck
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$24.95

This is a Level 2 kit and contains 87 pieces. The kit is molded in white, chrome, clear, and clear red plastic. The instruction manual is typical Revell with drawings and pointers.

This kit looks a lot like the Monogram kit I built on my grandmothers back porch in the 70’s. Some web snooping has led to this being linked to the 1976 Monogram release but I couldn’t tell you for sure. What I can tell you is that this kit goes together really well with no real vices. The window fit could be better but I got around that issue with a bit of pressure and strategic gluing. Unfortunately the glue gave up its hold during final assembly. Next time I would cut off the door windows. The engine is only a few pieces but detailed enough to look good. A more accurate and detailed painting guide for the engine would have been nice though. The interior is well done with multiple pieces and decals for the individual instruments. The chassis is basic with few parts just like the real thing.

Front Cover

Building the WingNut Wings AEG G IV
Book Author(s)
Author: Ray Rimell Illustrator: Ronny Bar
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Windsock Datafiles
MSRP
$40.00

Ray Rimell starts it off with “A steep learning curve…. Building one of the WNW AEG kits is not for the faint-hearted…” This is the fourth Modeling Special that WindSock has done and like the three that preceded it, it is simply amazing. If you have any intention of buying the WingNut Wings AEG G. IV, or for that matter any AEG G. IV, you will want this book. The rest of Ray Rimell’s quote tells you why: …but with patience and care the results can prove simply spectacular!”. Illustrated with over 230 photos, this 60-page (card covers get it to 64) guide provides a great supplement to the WindSock Datafile 51 on the AEG G. IV. Ronny Bar provides six color profiles as a ‘pull out’ centerfold with short descriptions of each profile.