Interior 2

1965 Plymouth Belvedere I

Weapons Bays

F-35A Lightning II

Internal Braces

Japanese Battleship IJN Kongo Retake

Left Front Side

Soviet S-51 Tank w/Self Propelled Gun

Towing Gear

AH-1G Cobra

Left-rear, above

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

Right front

IDF Merkava Mk IIID

Port side

Project 661 Anchar (NATO reporting name Papa class)

4

German Type G4 Partisanenwagen

Finished Figure 5

US Infantry on Board

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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.

Cover

Modelling Luftwaffe Jets and Wonder Weapons
Book Author(s)
Brett Green
Review Author
Paul Mahoney
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$39.95

This is the newest title in Osprey Publishing’s Modelling Masterclass series. Written primarily by Brett Green (author of several other Osprey books and webmaster of the Hyperscale website), this book covers several model builds of Luftwaffe jets, as well as some historical information.

The book itself is in a very sturdy format. The covers are thick, glossy, and hard, and they enclose over 180 pages of text and photos. The pages are spiral bound, so this book lies completely flat when opened to any page – a very nice feature if you are using this reference at the model desk. All the pages are of medium-weight paper, and in a satin finish. All the model photos are in full color, and there are also many black and white photos in the historical sections.

There are 7 chapters in this book, as well as tables at the end listing references and available kits of the subject.

Cover

F9F Cougar Walk Around
Book Author(s)
Ken Neubeck
Review Author
Rick Bellanger
Published on
Company
Squadron Signal Publications
MSRP
$18.95

Squadron has done it again. They have provided us with another volume included in their outstanding Walk Around series. This particular one deals with the F9F Cougar and all its variants. It is written and laid out in the typical Squadron Walk Around fashion.

The book introduction starts with a brief but comprehensive history of the development and deployment of the Cougar. There are tables that show the differences between each version and a section on the different nose and canopy variations. The rest of the book is high quality black & white and color photos with captions. The majority of pictures are color. All photos have a very comprehensive caption that explains what you are looking at. I would say that half the photos are from display aircraft and the other half from archive photos.

Detail Packaging

U.S. Victory Posters
Review Author
Roger Carrano
Published on
Company
Archer Fine Transfers
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$6.95

Once again, Archer Fine Transfers is out with another awesome product which will be helpful to the diorama builders. This particular sample is the U.S. Victory Posters set. It consists of twenty Victory Posters of the WWII era which include posters like the “I Want You” poster to the “Victory Garden” poster, and even some posters that the younger crowd has probably never seen. Some are serious and some have a mild comedic effect about them. They definitely reflect the mood of the times. These posters can even be used in the interiors of models as pin-ups.

The set is in 1/35 scale and is made with waterproof inks. This becomes very important because the major difference between this product and the usual transfers that need to be burnished is that these posters will have to be cut out and glued on. Mildly diluted white glue is enough to make them stick to almost anything, and after drying a coat of clear paint or varnish should hold them down indefinitely.

Transfer Packaging

Modern U.S. National Insignia
Review Author
Roger Carrano
Published on
Company
Archer Fine Transfers
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$6.95

Archer Fine Transfers has and always had the best and largest variety of transfers than any other company. I would venture to say over 90% of us in the scale modeling hobby have used an Archer product in one way or another. Some modelers I have met only use transfers and will use decals only when it is absolutely necessary.

Archer’s transfers are always of the highest quality and detail, and so simple to apply. However, there should be a high degree of concentration when applying them to the model because any movement while burnishing the transfer will ruin it. Whenever possible, I always cut out the particular transfer that I am going to apply from the sheet because it is very possible that another transfer, too close to the one that is being applied, can accidently adhere itself to the model. This is one of the downfalls, but very easy to avoid. Also, with transfers there are no do-overs, so proper placement of these transfers is of utmost importance.

Box Art

USS New York LPD-21
Review Author
Rick Bellanger
Published on
Company
Gallery Models
Scale
1/350
MSRP
$199.98

At the IPMS Nationals this summer I had the opportunity to see the latest and greatest of Gallery Models/MRC's products. I was given the opportunity and pleasure of being allowed to do the review of this kit provided by MRC/Gallery Models and IPMS/USA.