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.

Review Author
Mike Van Schoonhoven
Published on
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$10.06

Model Art Magazine is a monthly magazine that covers aircraft, armor, ships and car modeling. Model Art started releasing magazines in 1966 and has evolved from there over the past forty eight years.

The October issue starts off with several small articles which include the IJA/N Airplane Illustrated and a build article on the Tamiya 1/35 WW1 British Tank Mk. IV Male. This features a beautiful diorama and photos of a Mk. I, Mk II and Mk. IV and a opened up MK. IV.

The main article this month features the IJN Carrier Akagi shown through models in the different configurations of it's career. This article consists of thirty two pages and utilizes several 1/700 scale models and one 1/350 models. Most of the configurations are of the single flight deck, but one model is of the "Three flight deck" version. This aricle consists of multiple color photos and many helpful tips on making the most accurate looking Akagi.

Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
Add On Parts
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$12.31

These shutters make a very nice diorama accessory and are a nice addition to building windows.

The package includes 10 cast resin parts, 2 pairs each of 5 deferent shutter styles. The styles include two pairs of louvered wood shutters, two pairs of metal shutters, and two pairs each of 3 different wood style shutters. Each set of shutters includes two shutters molded in the closed position, as if closed over a window. All but one of the shutter sets includes center astragals over the joint between the two shutters. The astragal will need to be dealt with if the shutters are cut apart and placed on each side of the window in an open position. The pair of shutters measure 1-3/4” tall by 1-1/16” inch wide, or 5 feet tall by 3 feet wide at 1/35 scale.

Book Author(s)
John F Winkler; Illustrator: Peter Dennis
Review Author
Al LaFleche
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$21.95

In the months before the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Pennsylvania and Virginia had disputing claims over the trans-Appalachian area that would become southern Ohio and Kentucky. This area had been ceded by the French at the end of the French and Indian War, aka the Seven Years War. Of course, the native people, the Shawnee, Mingo, and their allies including members of the Delaware, Miami, Ojibwe, Kickapoo, Ottawa, Potawatomi and Wyandot, also contested the rights to his land.

In time, the colonists allied with each other and sent militias to take the land under the leadership of Virginia’s governor, John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore (Lord Dunmore). The regular armies, i.e., the Redcoats did not participate to any great degree in this campaign which culminated in the Battle of Point Pleasant at the convergence of the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers near present day Charleston, WV.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$18.95

Ross, you and your company do it again…. Thanks to SAC for developing a metal gear set for this new kit; and thanks to the IPMS leadership for sending it on!

These stronger, metal versions of the kit’s gear, continue the “form/fit/function” replacement mantra. Short-run plastic is a bit soft, so metal gear becomes crucial with the larger kits. In the case of the buckeye, the nose gear is an offset single-arm strut, which makes the metal even more appropriate.

Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
Add On Parts
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$12.31

The kit includes approximately 325 ceramic tiles prefinished with a light terra-cotta color. The color of the roof tiles is nicely mottled and would be ideally suited for Southern Europe or Mediterranean buildings. The tiles in this sample are much lighter than the illustration on the package.

There are 3 shapes to the tile - the typical field tile, a shorter field tile, and a shape with an extended edge for a roof eave or cap. There are few bubbles in the casting, some chipped edges, and some flash that can easily be chipped off. All these add to the nice texture of the tile. The ceramic material is very fine grained, integrally colored so any chipping will blend in, and can easily be trimmed with a hobby knife or sanding stick. No instructions are provided.