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.

Review Author
Keith Pieper
Published on
Company
Bronco Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$59.95

The Beast

As the SU-152 is known as one of the stops on evolutionary scale for the KV-1 chasis before it was overshadowed by JS-Series.

As a newbie to Bronco kits, I was pleasantly surprised to open the box to slide molded sprues, 3 bags of individual linked track sprues and a sprue of clear modular interior & exterior periscopes.

Upon inspection of the instructions, there are multiple sprues of similar looking parts. Watch for the grayed out “Do not use parts” listed as similar looking parts on the same sprue can lead to using the incorrect parts, confusion, and loss of functionality.

Scanning the instructions further reveal Bronco’s engineering of a working articulating torsion bar, suspension, a full gun carriage, semi complete driver station, partial interior, and an partial upper engine box.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$14.95

Eduard has started making resin sets and has started issuing weapons sets. This set contains the parts for six Mk. 82 bombs with the early airbrakes. It consists of 24 resin parts with each bomb being 2 parts. This will allow more versions of the bombs to come out. There are also two types of fuses for the front of the bomb. The set also includes all needed decals and instructions. Molding is top notch with very nice detail on the air brakes and also the attachment lugs.

Assembly is started by cutting the bomb body and the tail from the sprues. The more square the cut here, the better the assembly. Each part is squared and glued together. I had to use a little putty on the body seam. I cleaned this with lacquer thinner and got a good seam. Painting is simple as the body is olive drab.. The fuse is silver. I elected the longer ones. The decals apply well. Make sure they don't fold over. A wash and flat coat and the bombs are done.

Book Author(s)
Chris Goss
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Specialty Press
MSRP
$19.95

KG 40 was the only long range maritime unit of the Luftwaffe. V Gruppe was the only long range fighter Gruppe within the unit. That alone makes the study of their operations an interesting topic.

As part of the Battle of the Atlantic, U-Boats transiting the Bay of Biscay became pray of RAF bombers. As a response measure, KG 40 activated a heavy fighter unit (Junkers 88 C-6) to intercept the bombers. As a response the RAF deployed the Beaufighter and later, Mosquitos into the bay. The Luftwaffe counter the move by deploying single engine Fw-190 fitted with long range tanks (from 8/JG2), but eventually, the sheer number of the Allied aircraft established air superiority over the bay.

The book has the following chapters

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Aerobonus
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$8.00

Aerobonus continues their excellent diorama releases with a US Navy Torpedo loading cart. I searched the Internet and found out it was also used to load bombs. The kits is molded in four parts of Aires dark gray resin. There is the main body which is molded in one piece. There is a sizable pour stub to remove but it is all on the bottom and easy to remove. There is one sprue which contains both handles and a insert for the center with molded in straps. The handles are very thin and fine and they need very slow careful removal to make sure they don't break. The resin is good to work with and with some patience, I removed them slowly and sanded the parts off. The insert goes into the center easily. The handles are left and right so make sure they spread enough to get a weapon between them. I glued them in and called the build finished.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$6.50

Quickboost has released a set of pitot tubes for the Hobbyboss 1/48th scale F-105. This set is a single sprue of three pitot tubes cast with covers on each side to protect them. The usage is simple; cut the needed pitot tube off and attach to the model. I show it in the photos below beside the Revell kit I also completed for review. There are no seam lines -- so cut, glue and paint.

Whether you have broken a pitot tube off, or want to prevent it, this is a nice set for that purpose. And you get three pitot tubes, so there is a reserve. This is a recommended set. My thanks to Aires and IPMS/USA for the review sample.