Completed Model - Rear

Marvel Comics The Amazing Spiderman Volkswagen Beetle

8 TBF Completed

TBF Avenger

Left rear

USAAF Boeing B-29A

Finished 109G

Bf 109G-10 Mtt Regensburg Overtrees

Complete Right 2

CF-188A '20 Years of Service RCAF'

Completed kit, left-rear, above

Bf-109G-6 Erla

Left front

Roland C.IIa Late

Weathering completed

Pz.bef.wg. 35(t) German Command Tank

view of finished model

Sd.Kfz. 1381 Geschutzwagen 38 H fur s. JG.331

Head-on photo.

Russian Heavy Tank KV-85

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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.

Product Packaging

OPFOR Superpack - Resin and Decals
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Twobobs Aviation Graphics
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$50.00

Creators

From Bob Sanchez at Twobobs Decals and Mike Reeves at TwoMikes Resin comes an instant classic – the IPMS/USA 2012 Nationals OPFOR Super Pack. Why list the Nationals? This item was only offered at the Nationals and sold there. A few were sent out afterward, but as of now, this item is gone, never to be released as a package again.

Let's open the tube and see what's inside. First, there is a comprehensive 24-page color book detailing the OPFOR program of Adversary and Aggressor aircraft programs, TOPGUN, and the history of the entire program. There are also full-color diagrams and painting instructions for the remainder of the contents.

First up is four resin pods including:

Box Art

Neubau-Fahrzeug Nr.2
Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$24.99

I will start this review by stating that the new Dragon release of the German Neubau-Fahrzeug is a well-engineered, fun to build kit that goes together nicely to produce a very realistic replica of the “new construction vehicle”. My assembly time was short as there were no fit issues, and I probably spent more time researching this vehicle than anything else, but more on that later. The slide mold technology being utilized by Dragon allows for the front idler wheels and road wheels to be single-piece items, but with an impressive amount of detail for this scale.

Detail Packaging

MiG-29 Pitot Tube
Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/48 and 1/32
MSRP
$5.50

1/48 Pitot – AM 48 060, $5.50
1/32 Pitot – AM 32 048, $8.00

Thanks very much to Iwona and Piotr at Master Model for providing us these review items, and thanks also to IPMS/USA for passing them on to me for review.

Like all Master Model (MM) pitot tubes, these are “gems”. I used the 1/48 version to upgrade my Eduard MiG 29 build from earlier this year. At the time of the original build, I ground down a piece of wire for a pitot; didn’t do a great job, but it fit the bill. Now, here comes Master Model with their jewelry-quality brass version. Had to do it!

An instruction card is included as part of the packaging, containing excellent drawings and clear instructions on “how to do it”. Other companies could follow suit…

Detail Parts

MiG-21SM/M/MF Fishbed J Pitot Tube
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$10.00

From Master Model in Poland comes a well made add-on to Trumpeter’s 1/32nd MiG-21 kit (although I think it might work on the older Revell kit, too). This set is a replacement pitot tube consisting of two brass parts and a set of photoetch fins for the probe.

The two pitot tube parts are sleeved and fit into one another perfectly. There are also locating holes for the fins and even two extra fins (which I needed when I lost one). I assembled the part and attached the fins. The fins are fiddly but look great one attached and you can see how much finer the detail is than the kit part. Once assembled, the base from the kit is used and a slight bend is induced in the probe to align it.

Overall, an excellent improvement to a nice kit, and at an excellent price. Highly recommended. My thanks to Master Model for the review item and IPMS/USA for the chance to review it.

Box Art

Audi R8 Spyder
Review Author
Jack Kennedy
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$27.99

When I was in Montreal a couple of years ago for the GrandPrix, I saw an Audi R8 and went nuts over it. I sure wish I had $164,000 to get one. I got the next best thing, the new Revell kit of this car.

When I opened the box, I was surprised by the number of parts. Upon looking at the very complete and well thought out set of instructions, I knew I was in for a fairly easy build. This is the first 1/24 kit I have built in many years and I was really impressed with the quality of the parts since I last built one of these cars.

The build was very straightforward with the engine being built first and then the interior. All of the parts fit beautifully. I had sprayed all of the parts with Duplicolor automotive primer grey. I actually used this grey for the interior color. I also used Duplicolor for the body of the car.

The suspension was a treat to build. I don’t know who engineered this kit but they sure knew what they were doing. The suspension even steers.