Fuselage

Soko J-22 Orao

Left

Toyota AB Phaeton

Kit Figures

Beobachtungspanzerwagen Sd.Kfz. 251/18 Ausf. A

Main gear

Harrier GR.7/9

Various kit parts on sprues

H-19 Rescue Helicopter

Intake manifolds

Fiat 806 Grand Prix, Part 1

Paint Masks

T-2 Buckeye "Anniversary Markings"

Front

Nakajima B5N2 Type 97 Model 3 Kate “Folding Wing”

Finished 10

I-16 Type 10 WWII China Guomindang AF Fighter

Completed right side view

Bf 109F-4

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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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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

T-6 Texan
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Platz
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$43.00

The North American T-6 Texan was the premier advanced trainer through World War II and later. It was also used as a FAC (Forward Air Control) aircraft in Korea and Vietnam. The AT-6 was also known as the SNJ by the US Navy and the Harvard by the RAF. 61 countries have used some variant of the Texan. If you can’t find markings that interest you, just keep looking.

My personal attachment to the T-6 comes from my friend Tom Kelly, who gave me a ride in his T-6G. We went to Oshkosh for the Air Rendezvouz in 1986. You get a really respectful greeting when you arrive in a warbird, even if you’re only in the back seat.

Box art

57 Chevy Funny Car
Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$26.99

This is a very nice kit. Simple enough to be the first ‘glued’ kit for someone moving up from snap-kits, but also a well-made kit that more experienced modelers can build into a great scale model. The kit’s one-piece body and one-piece frame are both very nicely molded parts.

Tom “Mongoose” McEwen is a drag racer best known for is legendary races against Don “The Snake” Prudhomme. McEwen’s “Mongoose” moniker even was a reference to Prudhomme’s “The Snake”. In 1968 McEwen introduced a new funny car based on the iconic ’57 Chevy. With runs of less than 6 seconds, this car laid claim to being the fastest ’57 Chevy in the world.

Package

Vampire FB. Mk.9 Pitot Tubes

Review Author
Perry Downen
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$5.00

A Thank You goes to Aires for this item to review and to IMPS/USA for allowing me to do the review.

Nicknamed the Flying Wheelbarrow by some, the de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was designed and developed during World War II. It entered service with the RAF in 1945, a little later than the Gloster Meteor. The Vampire was in front line service until 1953 and was finally retired in 1966. During that time it served with the RAF, the Royal Navy and numerous other countries around the world. In total, almost 3,300 Vampires were built.

A couple of years ago Trumpeter released a 1/48 FB Mk.9 version of the Vampire. See Pablo Bauleo’s excellent review of this kit. As Pablo mentions there is no pitot tube supplied with this kit.

Victor Boxart

RAF Strategic Bomber Victor B.2
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Great Wall Hobby
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$59.00

Britain had the V Bombers, Valiant, Victor and Vulcan, from the 1950s through the 1980s. They were large bombers designed to carry the large nuclear weapons of the 50s, and they served the RAF well, with the Victor and Vulcan serving as aerial tankers and the last Vulcan tanker retiring in 1984.

This model is of the Victor B.2 bomber version of the aircraft. The bomber was never used in combat; the Valiant bombed Suez in 1956 and the Vulcan bombed the Falklands in 1982. Victor tankers participated in the “Black Buck” missions in the Falklands, with 11 Victor K.2s needed to get one Vulcan to the target, Ascension Island, and return, a round trip of 6,800 miles.

The Victors were designed to carry a stand-off nuclear missile called Blue Steel. This was to be replaced by the US designed Skybolt missile, but that program was cancelled.

Package

Metal Gun Barrel Set - Jagdpanzer IV/70(V) Lang
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$20.00

Tamiya has recently released a great kit of the Jagdpanzer IV/70(V) (Stock 35340). This detail set is designed to enhance an excellent kit.

This whole detail set is meant to improve the gun, and only the gun. It provides an extra sprue to build the gun breech –in plastic, and provides an aluminum turned replacement gun.

The breech/loading mechanism builds together beautifully and without any fuss, as can be seen in the pictures. The metal barrel is flawless and incredibly smooth. So smooth that actually the paint peeled off the first time I painted it. Make sure to use a primer.

If you add this detail set, you are instructed to not install the torsos of the crew or they will interfere with the gun. The kit itself is designed in such a way that you can remove the upper hull after the kit is finished, I guess to be able to see the cannon detail. Or you can keep the hatches open and admire the detail if you have a flashlight.