RGBenson ZM F-4S pt 2 completed 4

F-4S Phantom II: Part 2, Completion

First sprue

Stuart M3/M3A1/M3A3 Light Tank

Tail detail

Fw-190A-2 Jabo Bunny Fighter Club

Assembly

F-104A/C

In Progress Interior and Fuselage

Part 1 - Waco CG-4A Glider

Wiring detail

Gatchman II New God Phoenix plus LED kit

port rear quarter view

Hurricane Mk IIb Trop

Completed kit 6

M109A2 Self-Propelled Howitzer

Assembled with pilot

Q-Men JF-20 Mighty Dragon Q-Plane Series 01

Right-front

1959 Cadillac Eldorado Hardtop

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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.

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Packaging

MiG-15 bis Canopy
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Brengun
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$6.80

This is a pair of vacuformed canopies for the Eduard MiG-15. It’s great that you get two, because the Eduard kit is a double, so you NEED two.

I was working on the Brengun PE detail set for the Eduard MiG-15bis, when Dave made this canopy set available for review. I begged and pleaded a little, and they sent it to me.

The Brengun detail set makes a number of changes to the cockpit interior of the MiG. And this canopy is a wonderful add-on to that detail set.

The Eduard canopy is nicely molded in clear styrene. But the Eduard canopy is therefore much thicker than a vac-form canopy.

Packaging

C-119 Landing Gear
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$13.95

Scale Aircraft Conversions provides a nice set of metal landing gear for a number of aircraft. I jumped at the chance to get the SAC gear for the C-119 because it looks spindly, and I need all the help I can get to keep my models intact.

The SAC parts are very good copies of the kit gear. The other wonderful thing about the metal gear is that if you have a little trouble getting alignment as you install the parts, you can tweak the metal parts into alignment without breaking them.

Installation was just like the kit instructions say, and the wheels fit onto the SAC gear legs perfectly.

Overall Assessment.

Highly recommended. The parts fit nicely, they are stronger than the kit parts, and you don’t have to paint the SAC metal parts to make them look like metal parts.

Many thanks to Scale Aircraft Conversions for the review item and to IPMS USA for the chance to add strength to my Dollar Nineteen.

Box Top

SAAB 91 Safir B/C/D
Review Author
Chris Smith
Published on
Company
Tarangus
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$49.00

Introduction

Seeing the end of WWII in sight SAAB decided to design an aircraft for the civilian market. That design, the Safir (Saphire), started as a three seater with a 147 HP Gipsy Major X inline engine. Subsequent versions had horizontally opposed four cylinder engines of 190 HP (B/C version) and 180 HP in the D model. The chief designer A.J. Anderson had previously worked for Bucker hence this aircrafts strong resemblance to the Bestmann trainer. The Safir was purchased by several air forces. The subject of this build is a SAAB 91D model operated by the Finnish Air Force, one of ten D models purchased by Finland. Several were purchased for the civilian market. A total of 323 Safirs were built.

Package

U-453 Camouflage Masking Set
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Gator Masks
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$15.00

Kenny Loup and Gator Masks and More have been around for a while supplying masking sets for ships and planes as well as Gator Grip Glues. For this review, we are looking at a masking set for U-453 in 1/72 scale for Revell’s excellent U-boat kit. U-453 was on active duty from 1941 to 1944 when it was sunk. The boat served in the Mediterranean Sea and carried a unique camouflage scheme that went with that locations. The ship had splotches of darker gray (Dunkelgrau52) which were hard edged along with an inverted V on the conning tower.

Inside the package you’ll find a long (over 3 feet) of precut vinyl masks, a picture of U-453 and instructions. The vinyl material is yellow and cut precisely to the blotches needed and the inverted “V” on the tower. There are masks for both sides. The profile drawing exactly matches the cut outs and the instructions give all the needed guidance plus contact info if there are questions. You can see by the pictures the size of the masks.

Package

US Navy Wheel Chocks (Modern)
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Hauler
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$8.50

Brengun has produced a detail set of modern US Navy Wheel Chocks. With all the 1/32 scale kit out there, these would make a great display item. The set consists of 8 nicely cast resin pieces. Four of these are the blocks, two are the rails and the last two are two tiny locks for the rails. The tread patterns and lines on the blocks is very well defined. The rails include the toothed pattern used to lock the chocks in place just like the real item. The lock are very small so caution will be needed.

Preparation of the set requires removal from the casting blocks. The large pieces are a snap. Be careful removing the rails. The resin is strong. I used a photoetch razor saw and slowly worked it off with no issues but patience is needed. Same goes for the locks. Due to the casting process, you will need a little clean up on the channel where the rail passes through. I used a sharp knife and micro file and it cleaned right up.