Completed Model

Junkers Ju88S-1/3 ‘KG 66’

On base with oil drum for scale

FT-17 French Light Tank

Completed 2

Nakajima Ki-84 Type 4 Hayate (Frank) Combo

Tail detail

F/A-18E Super Hornet

Quarter view

F9F-8 & F9F-8P Cougar

Skiff Mounted

USS Midway Pt 1: Hangar Bay Deck

PE and Decals

Texaco Doodlebug

Small gap in the nacelle and wing.

Dornier Do 217J-1/J-2

Completed Kit

Merkava Mk.3D Early

Cockpit assembly

DeHavilland DH-82a Tiger Moth

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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.

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.

Box Art

HMS Montrose Type 23 Frigate
Review Author
Mark A. Dice
Published on
Company
Trumpeter
Scale
1/350
MSRP
$69.95

Background

The British Royal Navy has a long and proud tradition of Frigates in its history, dating back to the 1740’s. Smaller than a ship of the line, they were the workhorse of the British Royal Navy during the age of sail, combining a long range and the ability to operate independently, and performing a wide variety of missions more economically than the larger ships of the line.

In the modern British Royal Navy, the Frigate performs many of the same missions. Primarily designed as an anti-submarine warfare ship, they also perform convoy escort and independent patrols, hunting pirates and protecting sea lanes for merchantmen.

Cover

Tanks of Hitler's Eastern Allies
Book Author(s)
Steven J. Zaloga
Review Author
Mike Van Schoonhoven
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$17.95

Much has been written in regard to the tank battles that happened on the eastern front with heavy emphasis on either the Germans or the Russians. This book looks into the smaller countries and the vehicles that were used during this campaign. By reading the book, you find out that some of these countries were not true allies to Germany. Many were forced to side with Germany and some tried to get out of this "alliance" but were drawn back in through kidnappings of their family members and other strong-arm tactics.

This book is clearly written and easy to follow. There are many black and white period photographs, color artwork, line drawings, cut-away drawings, and charts of the vehicles.