Finished

Ki-21-1b 'Sally' with Pilots and Ground Personnel

Finished kit, right

U.S. M1 57mm Anti-Tank Gun

Left-front view

A6M2b Zero Fighter Type 21 "341st Flying Group"

Deck installed

KFK Kriegsfischkutter – WWII German Multi-purpose Boat

Finished

Siebel Si204

Underside

Bf 109E-7 trop Weekend

Osprey Ramp and Floor

MV-22B Osprey

Part detail

Lockheed P-38J Lightning

Sprues

Merkava Mk.3 BAZ with Nochri Dalet Mine Roller

Right front

Su-27 Flanker “Shark Teeth”

Previous Next

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.

Label

MiG-15 and MiG-15 bis Gun Barrels Set, Antenna Base and Pitot Tubes
Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/72

With Tamiya release of the MiG-15 and the Trumpeter release of the MiG-15 family the weakest parts of the kit are the guns and the fragile pitot tube. If you are like me and you have a hard time keeping these items round when cleaning off the mold lines then this is for you. There are six exquisitely machined brass pieces included in the set. There is no clean up. Simply drill holes where the parts go, prime and paint.

The best part is a two piece 37mm cannon barrel. The two part barrel is a work of art. Simply insert the one piece into the other. The fit is phenomenal. It gives you the look of the real thing. Something the plastic kit parts can only hint at.

The other two gun barrels are simple and effective. They are the perfectly sized.

The antenna base is unique in this set. It is simply inserted into a drilled hole.

The other piece is the pitot tube. It is beautifully machined and will add the strength and durability that I need on a jet.

Package

F-4C Interior Photo Etch
Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$24.95

Eduard has perfected the art of the pre-painted instrument panels. I can’t even paint the instruments as good as they pre-paint. If you haven’t used them you really should try them.

The newest addition is designed for the new Academy 1/48th scale F-4C. The single sheet fret is a nickel plated sheet with all the instrument panels and side consoles for both the front and back seats. These parts are self adhesive and designed to be added directly to the kit parts. You will have to sand off the molded on detail but that is simple enough to do with a sanding stick.

The self adhesive is definitely sticky but I still use super glue to hold the parts together and Future in the bezels to add the sticking and to replicate the glass. The set is simple to add and the visual impact is amazing.

Setail Set Parts

IAI Kfir Pitot Tube and AOA Probe
Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$5.00

I recently have started to build jet aircraft and I’ve noticed something, pitot tubes typically stick out of the nose a significant amount. This causes an issue with bending or breakage. The other thing that I have had an issue is removing the part from sprue. It is a pain in the butt to get rid of the excess plastic and retain the round cross section. That doesn’t include the mold lines on the part. How do you deal with all that? Easy, turned metal barrels.

Master Model turns out some of the finest turned metal barrels out there. I’ve used them before and they fit and look amazing. This release designed for the newest Kfir kits by Kinetics, AMK or Wingmaster.

Package

F-4D Phantom II (Late Version) Cockpit Set
Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$37.50

Packaged in a plastic vacuformed package in typical Aires style, this set is designed for the Academy kit. Granted the F-4D has not been released yet but it is probably the next release from Academy. There is a lot of resin inside the packaging. The photo etch fret is quite nice.

Molded in light grey resin the resin displays impressive detail and immaculate casting. The biggest piece is the cockpit tub with the side controls molded in place. This is impressive to say the least. I do wish that Aires would embrace the pre-painted instrument panels. That is in no way a ding on this set. The sandwich type panel will be quite nice and hard enough to see under the glare shield. What is nice is that you are provided with an extra side controllers for both cockpits just in case they get broke in transit.

Box Art

T-33 JASDF Hamamatsu AB
Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
Company
Platz
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$51.00

Platz Hobby’s latest boxing of their very nice 1/72 scale Lockheed T-bird kit provides an impressive array of decals to finishing the model as one of six different Japanese Air Self Defense Force T-33s based at Hamamatsu airbase. The license-built T-33s, along with AT-6 Texans and T-34 Mentors, formed the backbone of the JASDF’s training command at this historic air training base. Sixty-eight T-birds were in service at Hamamatsu in the mid-1950s, and they were among some of the most colorful T-birds to be found anywhere at the time.