Chain Project

MIM-104B Patriot Surface To Air Missile PAC-1

Same gap in tail

Yak-28PP Brewer

Sprue sample

T-90A Russian Main Battle Tank

Quartering views

HMS Illustrious

All included parts

WWII US Army Kitchen Truck

Painting Guide

Benz Patent-Motorwagen 1886 with Mrs. Benz & Sons

Fuselage all upright

Bf 109 G14/U4

Front view

IDF Sho't Kal Gimel Type II

Sprues

F/A 18A+ USMC VMFA-232 RED DEVILS LE

Left side

Focke Wulf Ta-152C-11

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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.

Detail Parts

Boeing B-47 Landing Gear
Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$16.95

Heavy, appreciative thanks to Ross at SAC for providing IPMS USA this review set. And to think I volunteer to do these reviews… what a cool way to practice the hobby!

This set is one of SAC’s more simple upgrades. The Hasegawa B-47 is at least 45 years old as a kit (I believe 1968), and is still the only game in town if you want to build one in 1/72nd scale. Shape is spot-on, the wheel wells and bomb bay are potential superdetail areas (as the basic structure is there), and the overall presence is almost perfect. Recent upgrades from a certain Polish resin maker include new engine nacelles, a new, more detailed cockpit, and a new canopy (which is too flat and thick on the original model). A LOT of weight!

This means one heavy bird for the landing gear to handle. The mains can take it, but from personal experience the outrigger gear will snap off. Will is the key word…

Detail Part

AV-8B Harrier II Seat with Safety Belts
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$8.50

Quickboost’s latest resin ejection seat is a 1/48th scale offering for Hasegawa's 1/48 AV-8B II. The seat comes as a single gray casting and is perfectly done in Quickboost's normal gray, pinhole-free resin. Prep is simple – cut the seat off the casting block and sand smooth.

I included photos of the built kit seat (which is decent), but the resin seat and its belts are a definite improvement. The seat fits right into the cockpit. If you consider that adding a set of PE belts would costs a few dollars, buying this seat will fix the belt issue and improve the look of the seat which occupies a large percent of the cockpit.

Another hit from Quickboost and definitely recommended. My thanks to Quickboost and IPMS USA for the opportunity to review this seat.

Detail Parts

Aircraft Warning Cones
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Aerobonus
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$12.00

Airline warning cones...those orange cones we see all summer long in parking lots and just about everywhere. These are also used around aircraft, and Aerobonus has created another great diorama item in both 1/48 and 1/32 scale.

There are twelve parts to each scale – six bottoms with cutouts and six cones. Strangely, two of the cones are hollow and four are solid in each set. Not a problem. There are also decals with four different variations:

Decal Package

Space Shuttle Tile Decals
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Warbird Decals
Scale
1/100
MSRP
$29.95

Warbird Decals is known for its aircraft decal line, and now it is making new strides into real space subjects.

Upon opening the ziplock bag, you find two letter-size decal sheets which includes lower surfaces and upper surface/rudder tiles, and one single page with a 4-view drawing of the Space Shuttle with a decal map. The decal sheets provide extra decals, but the instructions do not tell you what for (more on this later).

I built the Tamiya Space Shuttle a few years back. You can find a review of the kit at http://web.ipmsusa3.org/content/space-shuttle-atlantis. It is a nice kit, but certainly has room for improvement, mainly due to the lack of tile detail in the lower surfaces.

These decals are very glossy and conformed to the surface perfectly, without needing to use any decal solution. They were easy to move around for good alignment, too.

Parts Package

Douglas DC-3 Landing Gear
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$10.95

The Aircraft

The DC-3/C-47/Li-2/L2D1 (Tabby) were built in considerable numbers; the aircraft type has stayed around a LONG time, and they’ve been everywhere. The first DC-3 was built in 1935 as the Douglas Sleeper Transport, and there are a number of them still flying.

A C-47 is the first aircraft I ever got airsick in, in 1968 on our way to Gulfport, Mississippi.

The Scale Aircraft Conversions set

The SAC set for the DC-3 consists of 5 parts, all in white metal. There are two main gear legs, which use the kit wheels, two retraction arms, and a tailwheel assembly. These parts exactly match the Roden parts.

Painting

A little detail painting to get the oleos brighter is all this needs. The DC-3 used metal gear legs, and the SAC parts look great.