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
Ben Guenther
Published on
June 20, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$4.75

Quickboost has provided the modeler with the means to show his Corsair model not with static elevators, but have them deflected. Cast in the usual fine grain resin, the only flash is on the stabilizer and that is on purpose to ease the extraction of the cast parts from the rubber molds. This flash is very thin and quite easy to remove, posing no problems. A razor saw and a pair of snips is all that is required to remove the parts from the casting gate. Quickboost has provided a drawing on the filler paper that shows what has to be removed.

Book Author(s)
John A Griffin and Anthony L Stachiw
Review Author
John Ratzenberger
Published on
October 19, 2021
Company
Aviaeology
MSRP
$60.00

The full title of this book is: Early Canadian Military Aircraft, Acquisitions, Dispositions, Color Schemes & Markings: Volume 1, Aircraft taken on strength through 1920 with credits to the authors above and also illustrations by Andrew Tattersall (aircraft) and Terry Higgins (maps).

This is the first volume of an intended series which will cover all Canadian military aircraft taken on strength from 1920 through 1938 -- there are 58 such aircraft, and this volume covers the first seven. It's easier to visualize the contents if you know the "taken on strength" date is effectively the first date a particular type is brought aboard, and not just the date individual aircraft were received. The first seven types were taken on strength in 1920 but many aircraft of a type arrived after that date and served through 1929.

Book Author(s)
Jose Fernandez
Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
June 20, 2011
Company
Stratus
MSRP
$23.00

The Story

Although many companies in France produced fighters during the interwar period, Nieuport manufactured two landmark fighters beginning with the end of World War I. The Ni-D 29 biplane fighter appeared at the end of the war, and was produced for the Aeronautique Militaire during the twenties, as well as in several foreign countries. Export models were also sold to Belgium, Italy, Siam, Argentina, Spain, and Sweden. By the mid twenties, it was obvious that a replacement would be needed soon, and Nieuport then developed a high wing monoplane replacement, the Ni-D 62 series, many of which were built with a small stub wing, making it sort of a biplane. There were numerous variations in the production models, with differences in powerplant, wing arrangement, and fuselage structure. These were first built for the French, but later, many were sold to Spain, Romania, and Brazil. These aircraft served for many years, some being used as trainers as late as 1940.

Review Author
Clarence Wentzel
Published on
June 18, 2011
Company
Zvezda
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$4.95

Background

I’m sure that everyone is aware of the Messerschmitt Bf-109 series of aircraft. The F model entered production in November, 1940 and differed from the previous “E” models by using a more powerful version of the DB 601 engine and featuring a more streamlined nose cowling. Armament consisted of two nose mounted machine guns and a cannon shooting through the engine crankshaft. Many of Germany’s top aces preferred the F model over the earlier E or even the later G and K models. I recommend Lynn Ritger’s two books from SAM Publications for reference purposes.

The Kit