Landing Gear Strut Hole- Fix Complete

Bf-109G-14 Profipack

Left-front

Gloster Gladiator, Limited Edition

Finished Model - Left Rear

German Leopard 2A6 MBT

Right Side

FW-190A-5 OVERTREE

Finished model

PBK-500U 500Kg Unified Gliding Cluster Bomb

Wing surface detail

T-38A Talon 'Holloman AFB' (Premium Edition)

Pic 6

SH-60B SeaHawk

Parts E & F

BMW R69 Motorcycle year 1956

Finished model

Rotachute Mk I

Nose Gear Closeup

F-35A Lightning II

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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.

Product Picture

P-38 Lighting Aces 1942-43
Book Author(s)
John Stanaway
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$22.95

Osprey Publishing continues to expand the Aircraft of the Aces series with the installment of P-38 Lighting Aces 1942-43.

This book is well researched and has plenty of black and white pictures, including several images of aircrafts with very decorative nose-art or ‘teeth’ in the engine cowlings. All of the depicted aircraft have the Olive Drab over Neutral Gray camouflage scheme.

The book is divided in the following sections:

  • Introduction
  • Lockheed’s Hot Rod
  • Get Yamamoto!
  • New Guinea – The fighter pilot’s war
  • Twin-Tailed Dragons of the CBI
  • Mediterranean Action
  • The Mighty Eight

Each section is virtually an independent monograph and the book could be read in any order.

Product Picture

M48A3 Mod.B
Review Author
Keith Pieper
Published on
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$60.00

A new release in Dragon’s Black series of modern armor the M48A3 Mod.B is a welcome option over the aged Tamiya M48A3 kit from decades ago. Hopefully the drawbacks and challenges of the old Tamiya M48A3 have been corrected with this new release.

Build Notes

Before starting, the Dragon kit has modest cast hull texture; so if a rougher cast texture is desired, glue the hull top & bottom together first adding parts A3, A4, D1 & D3. The mounting pad for D17 & D18 bumper will need to be built up to support the extended double bumper. You may also want to assemble the F13 & F20 Turret upper & lower along with F10, F11, & E1before adding casting texture. Proceed to add cast texture before starting Step 1.

Product Picture

BRE Datsun 510
Review Author
Jim Stepanek
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$24.95

What a wonderful and fun kit to work with. There was very little, if any, flash on the parts.

Engine

The little 4 cylinder engine comes with some speed parts and goes together extremely well. I decided to install a small block Ford V8. Surprisingly enough, it fit right in.

Chassis

The chassis features nice detail and crisp engraving. Exhaust is a separate piece as are the front & rear suspension systems. The front suspension has several tiny parts to be glued together and are very fragile. Once installed on the chassis, the front suspension is strong.

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Imperial Japanese Army Artillery Type 41 Mountain Gun "Infantry Regiment"
Review Author
Tim Hortman
Published on
Company
Fine Molds
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$69.00

Fine Molds has recently released two new-tool versions of the WWII Japanese Army Type 41 75mm Artillery. This boxing differ only slightly, and this review represents the slightly modified gun with a smaller shield and a crew of 4 figures in poses transporting (pulling) the weapon kit # FM39 Imperial Japanese Army Artillery Type 41 Mountain Gun “Infantry Regiment”. The smaller shield meant a lighter and more easily transported weapon – for the more mountainous terrain.

This is an all new effort by the folks at Fine Molds and is not the old tooling of the gun, which was done is white metal. The kit contains four total sprues molded in tan plastic: two for the gun, one containing the crew figures, and the final sprue contains the personal gear and weapons of the crew. There are also four strings which represent the tow lines, and a rather large decal sheet.

Product Picture

Yamaha YZR500 'Sonauto Yamaha 1988' (OWA8)
Review Author
Jim Coatney
Published on
Company
Hasegawa
Scale
1/12
MSRP
$75.00

From 1973-2002, the Yamaha YZR500 led four 500 cc Grand Prix riders to ten separate world championships. One of the most famous riders to take the helm of the YZR500 was France's Christian Sarron. For the 1988 season, Sarron rode for the Sonauto-Yamaha team, scoring 149 points to earn a fourth-place finish overall.

Hasegawa’s offering of the YZR500 is a re-box of an earlier release, as a limited edition with new decals and new brake parts. There are 139 parts included in the kit, including a clear windshield, two rubber tires, four metal screws, a metal spring, and two colors (black and clear) of rubber tubing. The body panels and wheels are molded in white, while the other sprues are in a medium gray. Ten of the parts are not used, and there are two options for brakes (steel or carbon). The kit comes in a typical top-opening box, and the sprues are bagged in groups by color. There is also a very nicely printed decal sheet