Nose view

TF-104 Starfighter

Resin Lower Hull

Knox Class Frigate Detail-up Version

Cockpit detail and fit

E-2C Hawkeye 2000, USS Ronald Reagan

overall finished

Alpha Jet A/E

ngine Cowling

Henschel Hs-129B-2/RIII Wings, Cowlings and Things!, Part 3

Sprue running gear

M48A3 Mod.B

Right rear

MiG-21F-13 Fishbed

Roof revisions

1940 Ford Fire Chief Car

bottom view

Confession Before the Flight

Finished Front Left

U.S. Scooter with Sidecar

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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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Cover

Model Art Modeling Magazine, #44, Summer 2012
Review Author
Luke R. Bucci, PhD
Published on
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$21.50

Model Art No. 44 is devoted to Super Dreadnoughts – battleships from the beginning (HMS Dreadnought in 1907) to the US Navy’s Iowa class (the last operational dreadnought). As usual, in this issue there is extensive historical information along with kit builds of examples. The magazine itself is A4 size – somewhat longer and less wide than standard US 8.5 x 11 inches. There is a centerfold with the full-sized cover art of the Yamato firing a full broadside and Tamiya’s 1/350 Yamato model.

The coverage starts with a 14-page pictorial on Zvezda’s 1/350 HMS Dreadnought, the battleship that lended its name to describe the world’s most powerful weapon at that time. A beautiful kit, with pages of how to build the kit.

Next up is the ultimate Super Dreadnought – Tamiya’s 1/350 IJN Yamato. 20 pages showing details on building the kit (in late 1944 fit). Again, a beautifully built model.

Cover

M151 MUTT In Action
Book Author(s)
David Doyle
Review Author
Dave Koukol
Published on
Company
Squadron Signal Publications
MSRP
$18.95

Tracing its origins back to a set of 1950 requirements for a replacement for the M38 family of vehicles of World War II “Jeep” descent, the M151 Military Utility Tactical Truck (MUTT) became the primary ¼-ton tactical vehicle of the United States Armed Forces until the advent of the HUMMWV in the mid-1980’s.

In the course of 80 pages packed with 220 photos – mostly color – and a handful of line drawings, author David Doyle captures the genesis and service life of this legendary military vehicle. Although “In Action” in name, plenty of detail photos and narrative are provided of the vehicle in various phases of development, assembly and maintenance – a modeler’s treasure chest!

Operational photographs and narrative capture the MUTT’s service in numerous configurations, conflicts, and theaters of operation, including Vietnam, NATO and PACOM exercises, Beirut, Grenada, and others.

Figure

Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot – Battle of Britain
Review Author
Jack Kennedy
Published on
Company
Ultracast
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$18.00

This is the sixth Ultracast figure I have had the honor of reviewing and I can honestly say that each one is better than the last. This figure of a Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot is no exception.

It is sculpted by my friend Mike Good. He has a world reputation as a sculpture of pilots in every scale, and I believe I have painted every one of them.

This piece is cast in hard tan resin in five parts that fit perfectly. The engineering is superb in that the pieces are pegged in such a way that there is no way to fit them wrong.

After removing the casting blocks and minor cleanup of seam lines, I assembled the parts and mounted the figure on my favorite working block, a medicine container. I like this method because it affords me a surface to hold onto once the figure is CA glued to it, and after the painting it is easily removed from it.

Box Art

T-34/76 Mod. 1943, No. 112 Factory
Review Author
Michael Novosad
Published on
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$59.99

History

The T-34 tank series proved to be quite a nasty surprise for the Germans after their invasion of Russia in June of 1941, and eventually influenced the design of future German armored vehicles. So impressed were they with its capabilities, the Germans actually considered building their own version of the T-34. The Russians built the T-34 in several factories during the war, many of which needed to be relocated to avoid capture by the advancing German armies. Maintaining commonality in the vehicle became a challenge. As with most military vehicles, actual combat revealed the need for changes and improvements in the base design. The T-34 was no exception. Initially, the factories focused their efforts on supplying the needs of the military without attempting to include too many improvements in the T-34. Nonetheless, improvements were made.

Cover

M551 Sheridan Tank Walk Around
Book Author(s)
Chris Hughes
Review Author
Bart Cusumano
Published on
Company
Squadron Signal Publications
MSRP
$18.95

When I’m not building in the era of World War 2, I’m doing Vietnam subjects, which made the choice to do this review quite obvious for me. Just about all my modeling buddies are familiar with or have a number of these Squadron/Signal Walk Around books. If you’re one of the few modelers who are not familiar with these titles, you should be - and this latest volume on the M551 Sheridan is no exception.