Command building

Space: 1999 Alpha Moonbase

Finished model

Dutch Walrus Submarine

Cockpit Floor

Blue Max Pfalz

32 N27 subassembly install

Battleship USS Missouri BB-63, Part 3

Finished with Academy

Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II

Working on an F-4 on the deck

Deck Crew Aircraft Maintenance

Finished Model - Right Side

T-33 JASDF Hamamatsu AB

Tail detail

U-2A Dragon Lady

Completed kit 2

F/A-18C Special Edition – Chippy Ho! 2009

Cockpit

ERA-3B Skywarrior, Part 2

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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.

Box Art

Harley Davidson FLSTFB Fat Boy Lo, Part 2 - Assembly
Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/6
MSRP
$375.00

Part 1 of the Tamiya Fat Boy review describes the background of the Fat Boy motorcycle and the Tamiya kit contents. This Part 2 Review describes the assembly of the Tamiya Fat Boy kit.

This is a fantastic kit! Not only is the Harley Davidson Fat Boy an iconic motorcycle, assembling this kit is one of the best modeling experiences I've ever had! The engineering and detail is phenomenal, the fit and finish of the parts are excellent, and the assembly, while complicated, goes together very well. The kit is a joy to build!

Background

The Harley Davidson Fat Boy is the latest in Tamiya’s series of 1/6 scale motorcycle kits. This is a large, multimedia kit with plastic, metal, rubber, diecast, and photoetch parts. This review also includes Tamiya’s Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Lo Detail Up Parts Set, item 12655 (MSRP $96.00).

BoxArt

Westland Whirlwind
Review Author
Greg Wise
Published on
Company
Trumpeter
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$49.95

History Brief

The Westland Whirlwind was a British heavy fighter. Designed by Teddy Petter from the RAF's specification drawn up in 1937, the Westland Aircraft Company produced a single-seat, twin-engined monoplane, prototype which flew on 11 October, 1938 with Whirlwind production starting early the next year.

It was the RAF’s first single-seat, twin-engined, cannon-armed fighter and a contemporary of the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane. The aircraft’s small tube fuselage with its 'T'-tail was an advanced design for its time and the entire plane was built of stressed-skin duraluminium2. The pilot was seated in one of the first 'bubble' type canopies, giving the pilot an almost 360 degree view, and the low forward position of the wing gave the pilot excellent visibility.

Box Package

Flightline Universal Box (3)
Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Aerobonus
MSRP
$9.50

Thanks to Aires for providing IPMS USA this set of diorama items for review… We appreciate your support, and thanks to IPMS USA leadership for allowing me to review this item.

One area that seems to have been lacking in the modeling world are diorama accessories. Oh sure, you can get deceased cows, dogs, humans, burned-down buildings… but “where is the aircraft support equipment”? For sure there are some companies out there who deliver, but… we need more!

Enter Aires Aerobonus…. Continuing their esoteric addressing of what can be done with resin casting and a bit of effort…

Package

USA Air Compressor
Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
Mirror Models Ltd.
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$15.95

The kit is a 1/35 model of a USA Kellogg Air Compressor used during and after WWII. The kit makes a nicely detailed little accessory for dioramas or vehicles. This kit is from Mirror Models, Ltd. Of Ireland, who produce plastic model kits and accessories.

The compressor kit contains two full models in the package, and comes on two sprues of taupe or a gray/tan plastic. The plastic seems a little soft. Many of the parts are quite small and have very fine detail, such as the pulleys and drive belt, part K15. Some of the parts have fairly large sprue connections that require care removing them from the sprue and need some extra cleanup. The sprue connectors seem large but the actual connection points are fairly thin.

Package

Sea King AEW Radar Cover

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$12.00

First: Thanks to Aires for providing IPMS USA this really fantastic item to review! We appreciate your support; thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for allowing me to review this item.

This upgrade consists of two parts; the swing boom which sets the radome away from the aircraft, and the actual radome itself. A note about what this is; the Airborne Early Warning Sea Kings in the Royal Navy were a stop-gap measure to provide additional radar early warning to the RN fleet of impending low-level cruise missiles or fighters attacking the fleet during the Falklands/Malvinas war in 1982. Their intent was to stand off a distance from where the ships were and provide the outer net of warning.