pesky ejector pin marks

Tecnokar Trailer with 20' Tank

Figure with leather-brimmed hat, front

USAAF Fighter Pilot WWII - 8th Army (European Battlefields)

Turret breech details

IJA Type 4 Light Tank “Ke-Nu”

On Deck

McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II - The Finale, Part 3

Close view of cockpit / engines

Lancaster Mk.1B - Part 3 of 3

left tail unfinshed

Alpha Jet A/E

Photoetch placment

FW-190A-5

Suspension 1

Sd. Kfz, 251-8 Ambulance

Paint

Texaco Doodlebug

Adding manufacture logos to tyres

Nisseki Trust Porsche 962C Limited Edition

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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.

Box Art

Apollo 11 Command/Service Module
Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$47.99

Dragon has provided an excellent rendition of the famous Apollo 11 Command/Service Module (CSM) in 1/48th scale. This kit can be viewed as a companion kit to Dragon’s #11008 LEM kit. Together, they make an awesome pair!

Dragon advertises that this kit is a “Delicate Apollo 11 CSM w/display stand.” While the appearance of the model gives one the impression that it is, indeed, “delicate,” in truth the model is rather robust. The manner in which the parts fit together lends considerable strength to the model and one need not be concerned for any “delicacy” issues during assembly.

Cover

USMC Aviators - Marine Corps Airmen in the Pacific 1941-1945
Book Author(s)
Gregory Pons
Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
Company
Eden Mili-Arts
MSRP
$49.80

USMC Aviators is the 3rd book written by Gregory Pons, and was released on May 22, 2012. The previous two books were 8th Air Force, American Heavy Bomber Groups in England, 1942-1945 and 9th Air Force, American Tactical Aviation, 1942-1945.

This hardback book of 191 pages contains both color and black & white images. Originally written in French, the English language version of the book was translated by the author and David A. Reid. All of the images and documents contained in the book come from reliable sources, including the author’s collection, photo albums of veterans, and U.S. Government archives.

Parts Package

Hurricane Mk I Self-Adhesive Detail Set
Review Author
Dave Koukol
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$29.95

Inarguably one of the greatest things since sliced bread is Eduard’s series of prepainted, self-adhesive photoetch detail sets. Their recent release for the Tamiya/Italeri Hurricane Mk I is certainly no exception.

Two frets of precisely engineered and etched media, accompanied by a small acetate sheet of gunsight glasses, capture a slew of detail enhancements for the cockpit, radiator, engine, main wheel well, and other areas.

As always, the cockpit detail is the crown jewel of the set. Instrument panel, gunsight frame, seat, side console, boarding door, and harness detail are magnificently and delicately captured. Colors are convincing and compliment Polly Scale British Interior Grey Green quite well. Fit of the PE to the styrene parts is, as usual, impeccable. Instructions are very clear and complete.

Parts Package

Hurricane Mk I Masks
Review Author
Dave Koukol
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$10.00

Once again, “birdcage” canopies have met their match in the form of an Eduard mask set. This recent release from Eduard saved many minutes of precious benchtime by providing perfectly-sized and crisply-die-cut masks for the 14 clear windscreen and canopy panels, not to mention the landing light lenses and wheel hubs.

I highly recommend this mask set to all modelers building the Italeri/Tamiya 1/48 Hurricane – it’s well worth every penny of the investment.

Thanks to Eduard and IPMS/USA for the review sample and for the time saved on an epic build!

Parts Package

Hurricane Mk I Landing Gear
Review Author
Dave Koukol
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$11.95

SAC’s recent release of their 1/48 Hurricane Mk I Landing Gear for the Italeri/Tamiya kit has been most timely and welcome. With over 40 years of modeling under my belly-eclipsed belt, it’s safe to say I’ve destroyed every set of injection-molded Hurricane landing gear I’ve ever built – and that’s quite a few. I was concerned about that with my latest Hurricane build – until this little set of jewels arrived in the mail.

Although nothing exotic, this set appears to be a recasting of the kit main gear struts and braces in fine white metal, and the tail wheel strut appears to be a net-new part. Detail is comparable to the kit originals, but the real value comes in the struts’ strength. Heading down the stretch during the build and photographing and handling for the review, I had no worries that the gear would hold its own against my oafish pawing – and I was right!