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.

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$6.50

Quickboost continues to provide simple, yet effective, ways to improve the Italeri Hurricane Mk. I. This set is named “antennas,” but it covers the radio mast, pilot step, and pitot tube.

The parts are finely casted in cream-colored resin, easy to release from the pouring stub, and they would automatically enhance your model. The only minor drawback is that the pilot step has a bit of flash, though it is very simple to clean up.

These parts designed to be drop-in replacement to kit parts. There is no need for any cutting or sawing of kit parts and it is very simple to use the replacement ones.

Recommended to modelers of any level who have minimal experience with resin parts.

I would like to thanks Aires, Quickboost, and IPMS/USA for the review sample.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Round 2 Models
Scale
1/3200
MSRP
$24.99

Star Trek. Like a lot of people my age (the other side of 50), I was raised on the show and then the long running reruns. Of course, you have the movies, Deep Space Nine and more. The series is as iconic. This kit represents a Romulan D’deridex class ship which appears in STTNG series which aired between 1987 and 1994. This kit was first released by AMT a number of years ago and has become scarce in the last few years, so the rerelease is welcome. And there are improvements!

Review Author
Luke R. Bucci, PhD
Published on
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$14.00

ModelArt No. 848 July 2012 monthly update features modeling tools and supplies. As always, the format is close to 7x10 inches in size, and the printing and reproduction quality are excellent. Model Art’s text is almost entirely in the Japanese language, and most feature photos are in color. The usual sections follow and are listed by their topic:

Review Author
Greg Wise
Published on
Company
MiniArt
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$77.00

History Brief

The Mercedes 170V was very popular passenger car when released, and was built in both sedan (hard top) and cabriolet (convertible/soft top) forms from 1935 until 1942. Once pressed into military service, they became popular as staff cars. The factories survived WWII, then from 1949 until 1952 the Type 170V was produced once again and became instrumental as a commercial offering, taking the company from the ashes after the war.

Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
Company
Modelshack
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$21.00

Initial Impressions

This upgrade and conversion set addresses inaccuracies in the venerable Lindberg kit No. 72544, the Curtiss Goshawk, and allows a conversion to a BFC-2 or a correction to the F11-C. The Lindberg kit is still widely available, although it is out of production.

The parts are cast in light gray resin and include a replacement engine, one-piece cowling, cockpit parts, wheels and wheel pants/spats, propeller, gun sight, fuel tank, and vacuformed clear plastic windscreens and canopy. An excellent set of instructions accompanies this set and includes references, decals sources, and online extras, such as decal artwork and a rigging diagram. Everything is contained in a plastic bag.

This set immediately got me fired up, unlike many conversion or update sets. The instructions and materials are well-presented. There was no sense of trepidation, dread, or self-coaching with this one!