Finished Left Rear

T-34/85 "No. 112 Factory Production"

2

US M1240 M-ATV MRAP

Finished

D.H. 98 Mosquito NF Mk. XXX "Night Predator"

Cockpit

R.A.F. Victor K.2 Tanker

Trautloft's G2, JG54 1

Bf-109G Royal Class

Conning tower

German U-XXIII Coastal Submarine

Finished 2

Her Majesty’s Estafette

Sprue Set 2

Tauchpanzer III Ausf H Smart Kit

Intakes and Trunking

F-35B Lighting II STOVL

Cabin seats

"Pave Hawk" HH-60G, Part 1 Interior

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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.

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Box Art

Street Section with Wall
Review Author
Jeffrey Brown
Published on
Company
MiniArt
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$15.00

This review is of the MiniArt Street Section with Wall, a part of their diorama series of bases for armor models. Like the other section I built in an earlier review, this was also pretty easy to build. When weathered, this looks nice when finished.

First, you get a sheet of very soft plastic to use as the base with a cobblestone street and some sidewalks. This has some very well done details with the cobblestones and sidewalks. The base is marked off for where you will put the wall, as in the other diorama.

Now, this one is fairly easy and simple to build. It comes with a tower you have to build, but like the other dioramas they offer, this is an optional piece. I, for one, plan to use the manhole cover and drain from the other review I did to complete the street scene. I will also add some rubble and dirt.

Box Art

Diorama with Park Wall
Review Author
Jeffrey Brown
Published on
Company
MiniArt
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$15.95

This review is of the MiniArt Diorama with Park Wall, part of their diorama series of bases for armor models. It was a pretty easy build, and it looks nice when finished, but it did take some work and some modifications to make it look good.

First of you get a sheet of very soft plastic to use as the base. This has some very nicely done details with the pathway and some small rocks in the road. The base is marked off for where you will put the wall.

Box Art

Bf-109E-3 and Detail Sets
Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$39.95

Brassin Detail Sets

Eduard’s Bf-109E series has released all the variants of the Emil. This is the first time, other than the Royal Class, that the E-3 version is available. The Profipack release is typical Eduard quality with the suitable extra items, such as photo etch and masks. While a good deal and adequately detailed right from the box, what happens when you add all the Brassin items designed for the kit? Well we are going to find out.

Box Art

Lockheed-Martin TR-1A
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$19.95

The Aircraft

The TR-1A is/was a development of the famous U-2. The U-2 is a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft with multiple sensor arrays, allowing photo, radar, electronic, and signals intelligence. The original U-2A was developed for the CIA by Lockheed, using a fuselage from the F-104 and extra-long, glider-like wings. This allowed the U-2 to fly at altitudes well above those which could be reached by any other jet aircraft. The U-2’s ability to fly over any area with impunity ended with the development of the Soviet SA-2 Guideline SAM, which shot down Francis Gary Powers over the Soviet Union in 1960 and Major Rudolf Anderson Jr. over Cuba in 1962.

The TR-1A was put into production in the 1980s as a tactical reconnaissance aircraft. It is identifiable by the two large sensor “superpods”, one on each wing. It is identical with the U-2R, and all TR-1s have been redesignated as U-2Rs. The U-2R is larger than the original U-2.

Detail Packaging

Junkers Ju-52 Military PE Set
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$17.99

The Aircraft

The Junkers Ju-52/3m was a continuation of the Ju-52/1m. The 3m stands for three engines (dreimotoren), the 1m stands for one engine (einmotor). The prototype was built with one engine, but it proved to be badly underpowered, so two more engines, one on each wing, were added.

The other feature of the Ju-52 was the corrugated skin on the wings and fuselage. The idea, originated by Junkers in World War I, was to add strength to the aircraft without adding weight. The Ford Trimotor used this, too. Although it worked, the corrugations added drag. It can also be an additional task for the modeler when filling seams.

The Kit

The PE set consists of two frets of PE. They seemed to be set up so that one covers the interior, the other the exterior. Some of the parts are prepainted, and some are left in “natural” brass.