Finished

Messerschmitt Bf109E Sept. 1940

Wing fold - tail attach

E-2C Hawkeye 2000 VAW-115 Liberty Bells “Sayonara Atsugi”

Cockpit Floor

Hurricane Mk.I "Fabric Wings"

Top

Manned Research Submersible SHINKAI 6500 (Upgraded Thruster Version 2012)

Decal and Paint options

Bell Airacobra P-400

Brengun 1-32 S-100 CamCopter Decals a

S-100 CamCopter

Rigging Guide

Japanese Carrier Junyo

Left Front View

Japanese Airfield Fire Extinguisher

Complete

US Scooter

6

Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor

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.

Package

F-15C Eagle Cockpit Set
Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$21.50

Thanks to Aires for this stunning bit of resin; Even though this was a second generation F-15 model from Hasegawa, this kit is over 20 years old and has been in need of an upgrade to the cockpit. Aires provides just what is needed to strengthen the presentation of this model.

Once again it is easy to see the level of detail Aires provides; how they do it is beyond my abilities, but they do. The basic cockpit tub is a phenomenal casting; all the required details are there. The same goes for the avionics bay located aft of the cockpit. As a reminder, this aircraft is pre-MISP (an avionics upgrade to bring AAMRAAM and other capability to the jet), so the black boxes and other bits are appropriate for the Icelandic markings. (If I remember correctly from my time at 17th AF in USAFE, the 56th birds received their jets from the 36th at Bitburg before MISP started; someone correct me if my old memory has faded that much).

Box Art

Sepecat Jaguar Wheels and Paint Masks
Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$7.00

A quick “thank you!” to Aires for providing us with this set; once again the excellence of your products is readily apparent!

This is a very simple swap out for the Hasegawa Jaguar wheels. As you see in the side by side pictures, the outside rim detail is much more refined than the almost 30 year old wheels in the kit. The brake assembly on the back side (which is not on the kit wheels) is just phenomenal for this scale.

The masks are olive green and semi-flexible. My past experience with these masks are that they work very well… when you use them correctly! (Mask the tire, not the wheel.) That may seem obvious, but I’m getting older, ya know.

Set Contents

MHU-191 M Munition Transporter with Aero 58 Adapter

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Aerobonus
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$15.00

Thanks to Aires for catering to the AMS in all of us; we appreciate your support!

This will save a lot of scratchbuilding time for those who are into dioramas or weapons; the MHU-191 M munition transporter with aero 58 adapter is used for transporting weapons; unfortunately I could not find what type of weapon is used with this adaptor; I did find this excerpt from a Naval ordinance Manual: “The Aero 58A skid adaptor holds a single weapon of up to 30.5 inches in diameter; it can be used wihtthe MHU-125/# platform skid and MHU-126/M munitions trailer”.

Bottom line: it’s Navy, use it accordingly!

An excellent diorama accessory in the Aerobonus range; pretty soon we’ll have to build additions to our homes to handle the miniature flightlines and flight decks we are building!

Thanks again to Aires/Aerobonus and to IPMS USA for this review item.

Box Cover

F-35A Lightning II
Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Italeri

Thanks very much to Model Rectifier Corporation (MRC) for providing IPMS USA this kit. Up front, I determined to send this item as part of an effort to provide some of the “New kits” to our deployed personnel in harms way, through our POC at IPMS USA, and full credit definitely goes to our long-time supporters at MRC. That means this will be an “In-box” review of this kit.

I was at Edwards AFB, CA about two months ago and observed (mostly heard) firsthand the test birds flying. Extremely interesting to watch and noisy, as they are claimed to be louder than the F-22 if that is possible! Nonetheless, a great opportunity and I was pleased to actually see them fly.

Box Art

EA-18G VAQ-135 Black Ravens Limited Edition
Review Author
Matthew Cottrell
Published on
Company
Hasegawa
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$52.99

Aircraft History

The EA-18G Growler is an electronics warfare aircraft developed in the 2000s for the US Navy as a replacement for the ageing EA-6B Prowler. It shares 90% of its components with the F/A-18F Super Hornet, saving time and money in development, construction and maintenance for the fleet. The Growler has been in operational service since 2009, and saw combat for the first time over Libya during Operation Odyssey Dawn in 2011. In addition to the US Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force has also recently announced plans to acquire 12 EA-18Gs.