Interior of tank

Tiran 4 Late Type

Finished model, right-rear

Pz. Beob.Wg.II Ausf.C

KI-100 finished model

Kawasaki Ki61-1 & Ki100-1 & Metal Figure Limited Edition

Finished Model rear

1969 Nova SS 350

Fuselage sprue

Lockheed U-2C

Complete 16

Rumpler C. IV Late

Kit parts

Tales from the Apocalypse - The Heroine / She

Decals

Siebel Si204

Cables & Pulleys Installed

US Army LeTourneau CarryAll LS Scraper

Guns Puttied for F.1

De Haviland Hornet F.1

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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

Mobile Barriers
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Brengun
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$6.15

OK, here’s a diorama accessory for aircraft or armor, or any other idea you can come up in 1/144 scale. How about N Gauge railroading?

The product is a set of 6 metal barriers with legs and connectors, so you could make a hexagonal pen, or put 6 of them against a wall with a 2X2 setup and the wall is the 4th side.

There was a time when I wished we had those barriers for the static display aircraft at my Guard unit’s air show. In spite of the “NO SMOKING” signs prominently displayed around the aircraft, there was one guy who lit one up. Right under the wing of an F-14. Next to the fuel tank. Well, it was a shady spot. I called him on the “no smoking” rule, and he was going to put his cigarette out in the nicely provided butt can. Except this can was actually for overflowed fuel from the wing tank, and if I hadn’t physically restrained him, he would have burned himself and the aircraft. And possibly me too.

Box Art

F6F-5 Hellcat Late - Profipack Version
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$35.00

Eduard's latest release in their Hellcat series is a F6F-5 late in the Profipack set which contains lots of photoetch, resin wheels, a masking set and the sprues needed to make a late version. The set also comes with five olive sprues and one clear sprue which have wonderful panels lines and the lapped seams in the fuselage. The photoetch has one brass fret and one colorized one with lots of cockpit parts including a wonderful dozen for the instrument panel alone. The kit also has an excellent decal sheet with markings for four planes:

  • VF-12 (or VBF-12), USS Randolph, May 1945
  • LCDR T. Hugh Winters, VF-19, USS Lexington, October 1944
  • VF-29, USS Cabot, January to March 1945
  • White 115, "Death and Destruction", Multiple Pilots, VF-83, USS Essex, May 5th 1945

There's also all the needed stencils. There also options for open/closed canopy, bombs or rockets and extended or retracted tail hook.

Box art

VW Rabbit
Review Author
Jim Stepanek
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$24.95

Very little flash and the parts fit very well on this kit. I had thought about trying to fit a V8 engine but the car is just too small.

Engine

The little 4-banger engine is very well detailed with all the parts fitting extremely well.

Interior

Interior panels are very well engraved and cry out to be detailed.

Body

There’s no chrome on the body. I made the mistake of masking all the window frames and painting them with black chrome when all that really needs to be done is paint the edge of the glass. The body is in beautiful shape right out of the box. I used HOK marine blue to get a pretty close to factory color.

This really cool kit to work on and Revell needs to be commended for their craftsmanship. Thank you also to IPMS for allowing me to review this kit.

Book cover

Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Guns of the Soviet Union
Book Author(s)
Mike Guardia
Review Author
Marc K. Blackburn
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$17.95

Osprey Publishing is a publishing house that has dominated the casual military history market for years, publishing dozens of military history titles every year. Their long running New Vanguard series continues with the exploration of Soviet era armor with a volume on self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. As is typical of these volumes, it is packed with color profiles, black & white photographs and a smattering of contemporary color photographs. As the title of the book suggests, this volume provides a broad overview of basically anti-aircraft artillery on tracks.

The chapters are arranged topically, by vehicle type:

Cover

Windsock World War Centenary Vol.31, No.1
Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
Company
Albatros Productions, Ltd.
MSRP
$15.00

Windsock WWC Spring 2015 is the first edition of Volume 31. The cover carries a banner celebrating 30 years of this publication. This edition provides readers with what has come to be expected…a variety of expert information on WWI aviation history, aircraft modeling, articles by expert aircraft model builders, technical references and up to date information on recently announced hobby products related to the Great War.