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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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
Ben Guenther
Published on
July 4, 2020
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$53.00

On July 21, 1969 the Apollo II astronauts landed on the moon fulfilling President Kennedy’s pledge to land a man on the moon before the decade was complete. Project Apollo was a massive federal program that sparked new technologies, new ideas, new rocket designs and engines that led to this event. Five more flights to the moon resulted in landings that furthered our understanding of that satellite and confirmed new theories on its origins. Apollo captured the imagination of that generation and ones that came after of what could happen when a nation set goals and achieved them.

Review Author
Perry Downen
Published on
October 3, 2011
Company
Platz
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$24.99

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Platz for providing this kit to IPMS/USA and to them for allowing me to review it.

The A-4 Skyhawk originated as a private venture design under a team headed by Ed Heinman. When the US Navy began looking for a replacement for the AD Skyraider Douglas Aircraft presented their new design. The Skyhawk went on to be one of the most successful post-WWII aircraft to serve the US Navy. A total of 2,960 A-4s were built in many variations and they flew in the service of as many as ten countries.

Review Author
Mike Hoekstra
Published on
October 2, 2011
Company
Happy Medium Press
MSRP
$21.95

This is my first go-around with Sci-Fi & Fantasy Modeller. I’d heard of the magazine/publication, but never had the opportunity to look at one up close in my area of the country. I must say that the first thing that immediately caught my attention was that this is not a typical “magazine”, but more of a soft-cover book. The materials for the publication are very sturdy with the pages made of very heavy paper stock, pretty much guaranteeing that this will be around for years as a reference or inspirational item.

Review Author
Mike Hinderliter
Published on
October 2, 2011
Company
Airfix
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$44.95

My son was really excited when he saw that a model of the Stratos 4 was being put out by Airfix. He is an avid Anime fan and wanted us to build this model together. Before the kit even arrived, he had already brought out his DVDs of the Stratos 4 series. The Stratos 4 series was done by Studio Fantasia and Bandai Visual and directed by Takeshi Mori. The story is about the comet defense system that was formed when, 50 years earlier, scientists discovered that a group of comets was on a collision course with the Earth. The defense system comprises a two-tiered plan – the primary a space-based comet blaster group and the secondary a ground-based meteor sweeper group. The idea is for the space-based Comet Blaster ships to blow up the comets and the ground-based meteor sweeper group cleans up any chunks that remain too big from the initial explosion.

Most of the series follows the female pilots of the ground-based units that are on Shimoji Island in 2024.

Review Author
Tom Moon
Published on
October 1, 2011
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$9.95

These sets of masks are for the use in painting the model without painting the clear glass windows and lamps. The masks are made of a vinyl type of material and are different from the yellow “Tamiya” type of tape. Because they are of this vinyl type of material, they are much stiffer, but do allow you to place them fairly easily. However, it became a task to remove them without popping the glass out. There is a two part mask for the windshield that allows for a depiction of a dirty windshield that has been wiped clean by the windshield wipers. This worked very well and does make the weathering process easier.