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.

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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.

Book Author(s)
Linda Kush
Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$24.95

Thank you to John Tintera of Osprey Publishing and the IPMS Reviewer Corps for allowing me the opportunity to review this very intriguing aspect of U. S. Navy history. Author Linda Kush is a superb writer, bringing an excellent balance of engaging stories to historical facts.

The Rice Paddy Navy is the unofficial name for the 3,000 or so USN sailors, officers, Marines, and a few other branch members detailed to the Sino-American Cooperative Organization, also known as SACO. Author Kush’s father was a SACO veteran, and this is the first description of this little known operation since the memoirs of the commanding officer, Captain Milton “Mary” Miles, were published in 1967.

Review Author
Greg Wise
Published on
Company
Hobby Boss
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$46.99

History Brief

The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank built in 1931. Only twenty four tanks were completed. None of these tanks would ever see combat; instead, they were used as training aids or in other capacities. This was the first tank produced at the KhPZ factory in Ukraine. The same factory was later responsible for the amazingT-34 and T-54 Soviet tanks.

The T-24 was a well-armored tank for its time; its main armament was a 45mm gun. In addition, there were four ball-mount 7.62mm DT machine guns, one located in the top turret, two more in the main turret, and one in the hull. The T-24’s problematic engine and transmission ruined any future hope to put the tank in service. However, the suspension system was a success and was used in the Soviet Union’s first purposely-built artillery tractors.

Review Author
David Wrinkle
Published on
Company
Zvezda
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$26.50

Initial construction of the ZIS-5 truck began in 1933, and ultimately the Soviets produced a million examples of this cargo truck. Wartime shortages of raw materials necessitated much of the truck body to be made from wood. The normally stylish/rounded fenders were simplified to the simple, squared-off examples represented here. I’m sure many of these trucks made the grueling winter crossing of Lake Ladoga to keep Leningrad supplied during the three-year siege by the Germans.

Review Author
Mike Van Schoonhoven
Published on
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$24.50

Auto Modeling is a quarterly release from Model Art Magazine. The magazine is chock full of pictures of builds in progress, line drawings, and photos of the actual cars themselves.

This issue focuses on F1 series racing from the 60’s. Included are several articles written about the champion machines of this time period. Also included is what appears to be an article about the drivers from this time period. Unfortunately for most of us, the article is in Japanese.

Included is a new kit review article. These show the actual model under construction to completion. As with the rest of the issue, this is accompanied with a multitude of photos. In this issue, they cover one motorcycle, two cars, and some type of racing spaceship.

Even though the majority of the text is in Japanese, I think that fans of F1 racing would still enjoy looking through the pages at the wonderful models illustrating the articles.

Review Author
Mike Van Schoonhoven
Published on
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$13.50

Model Art Modeling Magazine is a Japanese publication that is released monthly. The text is mainly in Japanese with some English subtitles throughout. One attractive feature about these magazines is the high quality of the photographs and the models that are used.

The March issue of Model Art Magazine is slightly different from their normal monthly issues. This issue consists of new kit reviews. They review a little bit of every type of kit to encompass all modelers. For instance, they review the Italeri 1/72nd scale Sunderland Mk. I and the Trumpeter 1/48th scale A3D Skywarrior as an example of some of the aircraft that were reviewed. For the AFV folks, there is a review of the Meng 1/35th scale A39 Tortoise and the Cyber Hobby 1/35th Super Heavy Tank out of the 4 AFV kits that were reviewed in this issue. For the ship folks, there are two reviews, and one review for the car guys – a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-27.