Scratchbuilt Lead Drop Tank Straps

F6F-3 Hellcat Profipack Kit

Side view

Time Machine Mark IV (Back To The Future III)

Finished Top Close

Israel Main Battle Tank Magach 6B Gal

Finished model

Boulton Paul Defiant Starter Set

Rear View

Russian Self-Propelled SU-152 [April 1943 Production]

Finished model of Type 92

Type 92 Jyo-Sokosha Tank

Completed turret

M6 Heavy Tank "Black Label Series"

Assembled and painted aircraft - rigth-front, above

CM.170 Magister

Finished Left

U-Boat Type IX C (U-505 late)

Tree

Soko J-22 Orao

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.

Windsock Cover

Windsock World War Centenary Vol.30, No.2
Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
Company
Albatros Productions, Ltd.
MSRP
$15.00

Windsock WWC Summer 2014 is the second issue of Volume 30…and/or the second edition of the first centenary year of Albatros’ rebranded publication. It provides readers with a substantial amount of WWI aircraft modeling information and both historical and technical reference. An extended FRONT LINE NEWS section leads into the regular columns: OUR READERS GALLERY (Featuring two very well-built Nieuports) and LOGBOOK ENTRIES (Reviewing 4 new titles) before getting into the meat of this issue. What follows is a 3+ page article (complimented by multiple color photos) about an impressive large scale radio-controlled Avro 504K powered by a fully operational 1:4 scale Bentley rotary engine that makes this unique combination fly as well as it looks!

Boxtop

Soviet S-51 Tank w/Self Propelled Gun
Review Author
Eric Christianson
Published on
Company
Trumpeter
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$64.95

Trumpeter has released the only 1/35th scale rendition of the rare Soviet S-51 Self-Propelled Gun, mating a modified KV-1S chassis with a 203mm heavy howitzer. The kit brings together parts from their excellent KV-1 series along with all-new molding for the gun and upper deck to create a positively Russian-looking brute.

Developed by the Grabin Central Artillery Design Bureau (GAU) in 1943, the S-51 passed trials successfully in the spring of 1944, but never entered mass production. Among the more interesting problems uncovered was the tendency for the S-51 to move to a lateral displacement when firing due to the inertia caused by the high line-of-fire design. At roughly 55 tons, that must have been something to see. Also, since the elevation angle was relatively small and the recoil so strong, the nine-man crew were not able to stay on the vehicle when firing.

Box Art

Battlestar Galactica (35th Anniversary Edition)
Review Author
Dave Koukol
Published on
Company
Moebius Models
Scale
1/4105
MSRP
$69.99

Background

Airing in 1978 and 1979, with a brief return in 1980, the original Battlestar Galactica (BSG) television series laid the foundation for a follow-on series of books, games, and reimagined series of television shows chronicling humanity’s struggle to survive after the Twelve Colonies of human civilization were all but wiped out by the treacherous cybernetic Cylons in the attempt to rid the universe of human life. Despite the limited run of the original TV series, BSG has remained a popular franchise among Sci-Fi fans for three-and-a-half decades.

In honor of the 35th anniversary of the original series (TOS), Moebius Models has released a series of kits depicting craft from the 1978 production, with the flagship being Galactica herself.

Skytrain Box Art

C-47 Skytrain with Paratroopers
Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$39.00

Thanks very much to Revell for providing IPMS/USA this re-release… This is a timely addition to their catalog for D-Day interest (Was it really 70 years ago?) or just those of us wanting to build a C-47! We appreciate your support; I also provide the usual thanks to IPMS/USA leadership for allowing me to review this item.

This is the venerable C-47 originally released by Monogram in 1978, now molded in China and carried by Revell. The original Monogram copyright on the lower exterior wing now says “China 1978”, and a stamp with that information was also used on the inside of the kit in white ink… Molded in Dark olive green and clear, this kit has survived the test of time, to include releases of a DC-3 version, and later an AC-47 gunship with later minigun fit. No flash, and fit (with the exception of that noted later) is great.

Wheeliant Package

F-14A Wheels and Tires
Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Wheeliant
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$9.50

Thanks to Aires for providing IPMS/USA this wheel set for review… As ALWAYS we appreciate your support, and thanks to IPMS USA leadership for allowing me to review this set.

About 20 years ago I never thought we would be living in the age of such cool resin parts… and then I receive this set for review. The “Oh cool” factor (some call it ‘wow’) is very high here.

The Hobby Boss F-14 appears to be a great kit. One area that needs a bit of picking up the bar on is the wheels and tires. Enter Aires Wheeliant!

Inside the Retro-red slip cover are 8 wheel halves, and four tires which have been pre-flattened to a proper level for high pressure tires. Also included (at least in this package) was a length of copper wire to add brake lines. Absolutely a great idea!