Rear fuel tanks

Russian Medium Tank T-55

Completed Model

De Havilland Sea Venom FAW.21

Photo 8

AD-6 Skyraider "VA-65 Tigers"

Aircraft on flight deck base, opposite.

F/A-18C US Navy, Swiss Air Force, Finnish Air Force & Topgun

Completed model front

M4A1 Sherman Profipack

Driver's position

FT-17 French Light Tank

Finished 3

P-40 E Warhawk "Claws and Teeth"

Completed kit 3

Arnie Beswick's "The Super Judge" 1969 Pontiac GTO Funny Car

Part Replacement Policy

Model T 1913 Speedster with American Sport Car Drivers

Assembly 3

Tupolev Tu-141 Strizh

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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.

Packaging

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Machine Gun Set - Browning M2 Aircraft .50 Caliber Barrels with Flash Hiders
Review Author
Chris Gibson
Published on
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$43.00

The 1/32 B-17G by HK Models was a kit that I really wanted to get my hands on, and last year I finally acquired one. I have been waiting to build it, slowly getting aftermarket pieces for the kit. When I had a chance to review the Master Model .50 cal. brass machine gun barrels, I jumped at it.

The package contains 13 turned-brass barrels, 13 brass cooling jackets with drilled holes and 4 brass flash suppressors. Right out of the package, I could see these were of very good quality. When I compared them to the kit barrels it was no contest; the kit barrels were so crude one would think that HK made a mistake. First, they were too thin. Next, they had 4 different lengths, and finally, the blast suppressors looked like cones on the ends. The Master Model barrels are about as perfect as you can get and the quality is first rate.

Package

P-40B/C Seat with Wide Lap Belt Harness
Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
Company
Ultracast
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$5.46

Ultracast has released a series of four highly detailed resin seats for early P-40s.

This seat (#48255) correctly represents the early style curved back seat that was installed in both pre-war and early-war USAAF Curtiss P-40 B/C fighters (as well as D and early E models). It comes packaged in a zip-lock bag stapled to Ultracast’s familiar folded card. The seat is cast in a light tan color resin and comes on a small casting block with a minimum amount of casting flash that is easily removed with a sharp #11 blade.

The review sample was first airbrushed with Mr. Color Interior Green and details were hand brushed with Vallejo acrylics. As the photo below shows, the finely details cast into this seat come alive when painted.

This seat is a fast and cost effective way to add detail to the cockpit of any current 1/48 scale P-40B/C kit on the market. My thanks to Ultracast for providing the review sample and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review it.

Package

B-58 Hustler Pitot Tube
Review Author
Rob Booth
Published on
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$7.50

Master Model is a scale model metal detailing parts manufacturer located in Poland. Their lines include exquisitely detailed photo-etched and white metal replacement parts for aircraft and ships in the most commonly produced scales.

Master has produced a replacement nose pitot for the venerable old Monogram B-58 Hustler kit. Chances are that if you are tackling this aging kit, you’ll want some aftermarket goodies to dress up and/or supplement the old, brittle plastic parts where possible. The turned metal pitot is a clean plug-in replacement for the kit plastic part.

BE2 Cover

RAF BE2 / BE2a / BE2b: Centenary Datafile 163
Book Author(s)
Paul R. Hare
Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
Company
Albatros Productions, Ltd.
MSRP
$19.00

History

This book gives an extensive history of the BE2 biplanes acquired by the British military beginning in 1912. By the standards of the day, the BE2 was a very modern type, with wing warp lateral control, conventional biplane structure, and enough power provided by a 70 hp. Renault water cooled V-8 engine swinging a large wooden propeller. Unlike other contemporary types, the BE2 had an impressive performance, with a maximum speed of about 70 mph and a stalling speed of 32 mph., while most other types seemed to be only capable of full power flight at minimum speeds.

Box Art

Submarine I-365
Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Aoshima
Scale
1/350
MSRP
$54.50

After building the Aoshima rendering of the Imperial Japanese Navy Cruiser Submarine I-16 a couple of years ago, I was interested in reviewing this release of the I-365 Transport Submarine. I took one photo for this review showing the two submarines side by side to show a size comparison of the two. Like the I-16 kit, the I-365 went together well, for the most part, and should not present too many challenges for modelers with some experience in dealing with small parts. The level of detail on the deck is good, but if I were building this for a competition, I would likely invest in a wood laminate deck and possibly photoetched rails.