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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.

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Book Author(s)
Jim Sullivan
Review Author
Mike Van Schoonhoven
Published on
Company
Squadron Signal Publications
MSRP
$18.95

As quoted from Squadron/Signal Publications: "In Action books, despite the title of the genre, are books that trace the development of a single type of aircraft, armored vehicle, or ship from the prototype to the final production variant. Experimental or "one-off" variants can also be included. Our first In Action book was printed in 1971."

In the mid to late thirty's the U.S. Navy was looking for a new high speed, high altitude fighter. Chance Vought brought their design to the competition, the XF4U-1. The Navy was impressed with the design and Vought started on the prototype. During one of the flight tests the XF4U-1 reached a speed of 405 mph and this impressed the Navy enough to order it into production and thus was the beginning for one of the most famous fighter aircraft to come out of WWII.

Review Author
Mike Hoekstra
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$24.99

Mention the Rat Fink and any car enthusiast, or fan of 60’s Kustom Kulture, will immediately think of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s infamous anti-hero to Mickey Mouse. Revell originally issued the Rat Fink kit character in the early/mid 60’s and has seen fit to reissue the kit again.

Book Author(s)
Jake Melampy
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Reid Air Publications
MSRP
$39.95

Reid Air Publications has issued a new book and the winners are anyone interested in the F/A-18 A/B/C/D Hornet! For those of you unfamiliar with the series, Jake Melampy has written his series of books detailing specific airframes. F-16's and F-16's and others have been detailed before as well as others but the newest covers the entire series of the F-18's. The format of the books starts with the cockpits and works its way back to the wings, vertical stabilizers, horizontal stabilizers, fuselage and landing gear and finishes with all the ordinance used by the Hornets.

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Plusmodel
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$20.00

If you are looking for a unique addition for your next 1/48 scale aircraft diorama, please allow me to direct your attention to the plusmodel offering of a scooter and sidecar. The kit comes with decals for a US Army scooter, US Navy scooter, as well as an airfield service scooter. The kit is simple and builds up with relative ease as long as you have some experience with small photo-etch items. I would highly recommend this kit to anyone wanting something unique to sit next to their 1/48 scale aircraft.

Although no manufacturer is mentioned for this kit, it appears to be a Cushman scooter manufactured during WWII, as these small vehicles could be used in place of larger ones, and manufactured much cheaper. This particular offering includes a sidecar, which was capable of holding additional items such as tools or ammunition. The company plusmodel released this item in 1/48 as well as 1/35 scale, and with and without the sidecar.

Book Author(s)
Mark Stille
Review Author
Greg Wise
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$18.95

Beautifully illustrated with specially commissioned artwork, this book offers a creditable account detailing the key rival battles between the Battlecruisers of the Royal Navy and the Kaiserliche Marine at the height of World War I. This book covers these opposing Battlecruisers and where they first met in January 1915 at Dogger Bank in the North Sea. The author explains why the battle was a tactical victory for British although neither side lost any of its Battlecruisers. He details the main differences in the designs in the British and German ships and how these two sides responded quite differently to this first engagement. In the book you’ll find out how these differences came into play during the battle of Jutland in May 1916, where of the nine of the British Battlecruisers committed, three were destroyed, all by their German counterparts. Five German Battlecruisers were present and only one of these was sunk.