IMG_0915

Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu (Nick) Part 1

Parts

Short Sunderland Mk. I

Finished Left Rear

P-3A Orion

Ready for Paint

Churchill Mk. VII

Finished model of ’32 Ford Coupe

ZZ Top Eliminator

Completed chassis

URAL 4320, APA-50

Figure 1 front

USMC Tank Crew [Modern]

Clear Parts

Bristol Beaufort Mk. I, Bombing Raid, (Part 2)

Primed

Leopard 2A6 with Crew - Armed Forces of Ukraine

House_Interior

Vosper MTB 74 with Crew (Part 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.

Box Art

Iron Man 3 - Mark 16 - Black Stealth Suit "Nightclub"
Review Author
J.R. Sharp
Published on
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$10.99

Being a huge Iron Man fan, when I saw the new Dragon 1/24 scale kits, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them. The kit that I was able to get for this review is the Mark 16 “Nightclub” armor kit from Iron Man 3.

Sadly, I have not had an opportunity to watch the movie, but I will say that being a fan of darker colors this is now my favorite set of armor worn by Iron Man. Opening the package, I was greeted with just a few parts: a head, two arms, two legs, two torso halves, and three base bits. This kit was gonna be insanely easy to build!

Box Art

B-47E Stratojet - Air Research and Development Command
Review Author
Mike Kellner
Published on
Company
Hasegawa
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$59.95

Boeing's B-47, the first American jet bomber, was ordered in April 1946, and first flew in 1953. Although thought to be a good-looking plane, it had a few shortcomings that shortened its service life, including limited weight movement due to its landing gear configuration and uncomfortable crew conditions.

Hasegawa's B-47E kit comes in a big box with a nice painting on the top, and it includes decals for two aircraft of the Air Research and Development Command. The plastic is light gray, and as this release is a reissue of a vintage kit, it sports raised rivets and panel lines. There are many sink marks, including ones on the seat backs, wing roots, wheel wells, bomb bay doors, and fin. The kit features a one-piece canopy plus a positionable boarding ladder, crew door (with nothing behind it), and bomb bay doors. A bomb load is also included.

Packaging

Crew AH-1 Cobra
Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Aero Line
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$12.81

Finally, somebody has made figures for the helicopter models in 1/48 scale. Aero Line’s latest release is marketed as a Cobra crew. As far as I know there have been no previous US Army helicopter pilots available in this scale.

Packaged in a vacuformed shell, Aero Line has created two beautifully cast figures molded in light gray resin. The instructions are on the back of the insert card. There is no actual color callout, just the color profiles. The instructions show the flight suits in a Vietnam-era olive green like the two-piece flight suit of the time; however, with the way the figures are molded, you could easily modify them by removing the upper pants pockets and painting the flight suit in the sage green color of the one-piece and no one would be the wiser.

Package Contents

A-1D (AD-4) Skyraider cockpit set
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$40.00

Aires continues it release for the recent bounty of 1/32 Skyraider with a cockpit set for the Trumpeter AD-4 kit. The set consists of 7 gray resin parts, all of which are perfectly cast. One of these, the gun sight, is not used for the Trumpeter kit. The set also has a photoetch fret with 26 pieces with the instrument panel and seat belts making up the majority. Lastly, there is a film sheet with the instruments printed on it and having parts for a gun sight which is also not used.

Package

Lancaster B Mk.1/Mk.III Landing Flaps
Review Author
Perry Downen
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$32.95

My thanks to Eduard for furnishing this photo-etch set for review and IPMS for allowing me to do it.

The Avro Lancaster of World War II fame can trace its linage back to the twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Manchester saw a lot of action in the early months of World War II. However, it was underpowered and generally did not meet RAF expectations. Using the Manchester as a starting point the Avro engineers increased the wing span, replaced the two Rolls-Royce X-24 Vultures with four Rolls-Royce V-12 Merlins, lengthened the fuselage and redesigned the tail. The results was a bomber with impressive performance and excellent flying characteristics. Its top speed was 282mph at 63,000 lbs. and its landing speed was 95-100mph using the old split flap design set to full down.