Nose

Short Sunderland Mk. I

Image 17

USS Carl Vinson

Left-rear, above

F-15C MSIP II "California ANG 144th FW"

About to join halves

De Lorean - Back to the Future Part II

Finished model of Tiran 4 late

Tiran 4 Late Type

Panel Line Preshading

J7W1 Shinden - Final Construction and Painting - Part 2

Finished model

Bf-109G-6 (Early)

Right front low

M-109A2 155mm Self-Propelled Howitzer (DOHER)

Complete 15

Rumpler C. IV Late

Figure Finished Side

RAF Pilot (1960’s)

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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.

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Cover

TANKART Vol. 2 WWII Allied Armor
Book Author(s)
Michael Rinaldi
Review Author
Dave Koukol
Published on
Company
Rinaldi Studio Press
MSRP
$29.95

“How the heck did he do that?” A polite version of one of the most often-asked questions in the scale modeling culture. With the proliferation of modeling blogs and videos available on the internet, as well as generations of printed reference material, it seems a rare occurrence when a scale modeling reference in print form hits the market with such great impact and acclaim.

It’s déjà vu all over again – Michael Rinaldi’s TANKART Vol. 2 WWII Allied Armor is just such a work, following close on the heels of the amazing TANKART Vol. 1 WWII German Armor. Batting 2-for-2, the author seems to be on quite a roll, with TANKART Vol. 3 Modern Armor’s forthcoming release eagerly anticipated.

Parts Package

Spitfire Mk.I Seat With Belts
Review Author
Ken McDevitt
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$5.00

Motivation for Review

After taking a 1-year hiatus from modeling, I wanted to start back with a build that would be of strong interest for me. That is the Spitfire, and I decided to do 1/144, 1/72, and 1/48 builds in the Mk.IX series. For the 1/72 version, I choose the Airfix Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc. For me, one benefit of being in the IPMS Reviewer Corp is to request items in which I have a personal interest, and since I had acquired all of the prior mentioned scaled Mk.IXc model kits, I thought that the Reviewer List might be able to provide me with replacement detailed parts for my builds. I was right, and this review is for the second of the few parts that I have been able to obtain. I remain on the lookout for other parts. (Note: the 1/32 Spitfire scares me right now. But I am hoping that once I finish the 3 scales I have now, that I will be ready for it.)

Parts Package

Spitfire Mk.IX Landing Gear
Review Author
Ken McDevitt
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$11.95

Motivation for Review

After taking a 1-year hiatus from modeling, I wanted to start back with a build that would be of strong interest for me. That is the Spitfire, and I decided to do 1/144, 1/72, and 1/48 builds in the Mk.IX series. At this time, the excellently reviewed: 1/48 Eduard Spitfire Mk.IXc late version was released. For me, one benefit of being in the IPMS Reviewer Corp is to request items in which I have a personal interest, and since I had acquired all of the prior-mentioned scaled Mk.IXc model kits I thought that the Reviewer List might be able to provide me with replacement detailed parts for my builds. I was right, and this review is the first of the few parts that I have been able to obtain. I remain on the lookout for other parts. (Note: the 1/32 Spitfire scares me right now, but I am hoping that once I finish the 3 scales I have now that I will be ready for it.)

Box Art

’55 Chevy Badman Funny Car
Review Author
Jim Stratton
Published on
Company
Monogram
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$22.75

This 1/24th scale 1955 Chevrolet hardtop is another re-release of an older model designed by Tom Daniel for Monogram Models. As you may know, Tom Daniel designed 87 model cars for Monogram between 1967-1976. Most of his kits can be built in an evening or two, and this one is no exception. There are only 68 parts in this kit. It can be built straight from the box for an attractive model, or extra time can be spent in detailing the engine compartment if that is what floats your boat. The interior is decent with racing seats, a 2-piece roll bar, etc. However, once the red-tinted windows are in place, nothing of the interior can be seen, anyway. There is some compromising of detail – Monogram used the body and chassis from another release of the ’55 Chevy and, as a result, the molded exhaust pipes and muffler are still present on the chassis. This is in spite of the racer having header pipes attached that exit out the sides of the chassis.

Box Art

Da Vinci's Flying Machine
Review Author
Ron Bell
Published on
Company
Academy Models
MSRP
$19.00

The mind of Leonardo DaVinci must have been an interesting place. There's an entire museum in Milan full of his art work, architectural and biological drawings, and working models made from his original plans for a wide variety of machines, and Academy has released a series of spring-driven working models based on these. The subject of this review, his Flying Machine, contains a series of gears that drive two bird-like wings up and down. Of course, it doesn't actually fly, but it was an attempt to understand how birds do.