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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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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.

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Review Author
Chad Richmond
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$14.95

Not too long ago, Trumpeter gave us a brand new, scribed 1/48th scale A-37 to play with and Scale Aircraft Conversions were not very far behind with a white metal landing gear to help support all of the added nose weight to prevent a tail sitter.

There are six total parts on two frets, with the nose gear being separate, The way they are cast makes cleanup of the parts much easier than the plastic kit parts. And, I must say they are every bit as clean and accurate as the kit parts. A cheap and welcome addition to the Trumpeter kit. I highly recommend this gear replacement.

My thanks to Scale Aircraft Conversions and IPMS for the review sample.

Review Author
Rick Bellanger
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/200
MSRP
$32.95

Eduard has come out with several photo etch sets for the 1/200 Scale, Merit, USS Hornet CV-8 (kit# 62001) and this is one of them. Part 5 provides detail parts to upgrade the 5 inch main guns and the Quad 1.1 inch guns.

For the 5 inchers, there are new man rails, gun sights, seats and elevation and training wheels. You also get new mount stands. For the 1.1 inchers you get detailing for the breeches, sights, seats and a new floor for the gun tub.

Assembly is straight forward but a tad fiddly. There are a bunch of tiny parts that need to be bent and shaped. The seats for the 1.1 inchers require several complex bends that took a while to get the correct shape. Some of the small parts are hard to hold and glue at the same time.

Review Author
Rick Bellanger
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/200
MSRP
$32.95

Eduard has come out with several photo etch sets for the 1/200 Scale, Merit, USS Hornet CV-8 (kit# 62001) and this is one of them. Part 4 provides detail parts to upgrade the 20 mm Oerlikon AA Guns.

The set includes a large sheet of photo etch with a lot of little parts. You get new gun shields and brackets, sights, forward and aft ammo drum covers with handles, elevation wheels and a harness for the gunner. Also included is a new deck (nice looking non-skid) that the guns sit on. You get two options one with the expended ammo canister and one without.

Assembly is straight forward but extremely fiddly. There are a bunch of very tiny parts that need to be bent and shaped. Most of the small parts are hard to hold and glue at the same time. This makes for a time consuming and sometimes aggravating assembly. Thank you Eduard for providing extra parts. There are only 30 of these mounts so pace yourself accordingly.

Review Author
Rick Bellanger
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/200
MSRP
$34.95

Eduard has come out with several photo etch sets for the 1/200 Scale, Merit, USS Hornet CV-8 (kit# 62001) and this is one of them. Part 3 provides detail parts to upgrade the ships boats and life rafts.

The set includes photo etch parts to upgrade the three gigs and three personnel ship boats. Also included are parts for the life rafts.

For the rafts you get new flooring, brackets and strapping. These make a nice assembly and easy to attach to the hull when finished.

The personnel boat parts include new flooring, engine covers, man rails both forward and aft, lift rings, cleats, steering gear, anchor, hatch cover and a flag staff.

The Gigs include cleats, rails, boat hooks, new midship cockpit and after cockpit flooring and details. Also included are new man and hand hold rails, hatch covers and steering gear. A nice feature is the throttle/ shifting lever for the engine.

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$6.50

This set consists of six resin replacements for the gear doors of the recent Airfix A-4B Skyhawk kit. The new doors are one-for-one replacements of the kit parts.

The parts are cast in a tan colored resin and are delightfully thin. All six doors are attached to a single casting block, but the attachment points are very thin and easily removed. Once removed the only clean-up is to lightly sand the edge where the parts were connected to the casting block. I painted the parts with Tamiya paint which adhered with no problem and was pleased just how well the details popped out with a light black wash.

This set is highly recommended as a nice upgrade to a great little kit of the Scooter.

Thank you to Aires for the review sample and to IMPS/USA for the opportunity to review it.