7

Russian Medium Tank T-34/85

Fuselage interior

Riders in the Sky 1945 Limited Edition

Option 1

Typ 320 (W142) Soft Top, WWII German Staff Car

Standard Tail Comparison to V-tail

Beechcraft Bonanza F33

Cockpit

Mickey Thompson’s Challenger 1

Torso/Arm Detail - Right Side

Lost in Space Robot B-9

Finished model

AH-6M/MH-6M Little Bird Night Stalkers

Overall Finished Model

AF-2S Guardian "Submarine Killer"

Step 18

M792 Gama Goat Ambulance

Construction details 8

StuG.III Ausf.G Late December 1944

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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 Top

Panzer II Auf. F North Africa
Review Author
Dekker Zimmerman
Published on
Company
Academy Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$44.00

Boom. And just like that a Academy Panzer II model kit landed at my door. So The adventure begins. I have built many models of armor but was not a fan of early German subjects. This kit looked interesting and as a new molded kit I was curious what new technologies have been used on this kit. This review will read like bullet points for easy reading.

Un-Boxing

The box itself has very nice art on it. Paint call outs on the side have seven manufacturers listed and are a big plus in my book. The manufacturers are: Humbrol, GSI Creos, Life Color, Model Master, Revell, Vallejo and AK. The kit is a skill level 4 (out of 5) and is clearly marked on the box. The box itself is top opening and very stout.

Front Cover

I-16 Rata, The Fighter That Saved the USSR
Book Author(s)
Oleg Pototskiy
Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
Company
Kagero Publishing
MSRP
$49.95

Background

This book provides a very complete history of the development of the Polikarpov I-16 fighter series. It actually goes further than that, as it also explains the political and economic conditions in the Soviet Union after the 1917 Revolution, when the Tsarist Russian government was replaced by Trotsky’s Communist regime in the twenties and thirties. The author goes into extensive detail explaining how the Soviet economy was going through very severe changes, with violent repression of anyone who was even suspected of disagreeing with the system. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people were slaughtered during this process, and many more were imprisoned for extended periods, but some were still allowed to work on whatever projects they had been working on.

parts

F-4B Phantom Metal Landing Gear
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$17.95

One of SAC’s (Scale Aircraft Conversions) latest gear is set 48402 for the wonderful Tamiya F-4B in 1/48th scale. The set has wonderfully cast metal parts to replace all the gear struts, retractions cylinders and other parts. They are drop in replacements and was I ever glad to get them for review and here’s why. I recently moved for work including 400 built models. During the move, my F-4B took a hit and broke off one gear leg. SAC to the rescue!

To start, I removed the tire from the broken gear leg and cleaned out the hole in the bottom of the fuselage making sure the new leg fit which it did with no issues. A quick clean up with sandpaper and then I primed with Tamiya fine primer, let it dry and painted the leg white. I added the tire, gave everything a quick gray wahs and glued it in place paying attention to angle and the like. Once dry, you would never know it was broken.

Cover

Into the Iron Triangle

Book Author(s)
Arrigo Velicogna
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$29.95

The Vietnam War, in my opinion, is not covered as well as many other conflicts both in the written word and in some cases modeling too. Arrigo Velicogna covers one of the parts of the war not talked about frequently and that is Operation Attleboro. This operation was not well detailed until recently and as late as 2018, it was poorly covered. The time frame involved is November 2, 1966 through November 23, 1966. These three weeks are analyzed thoroughly.

Text

Long Live the Brushes
Review Author
Phillip Cavender
Published on
Company
AMMO by Mig Jimenez
Scale
NA
MSRP
$11.50

Introduction

Another item added to Ammo by Mig Jimenez’s line of products for the modeling community is their new item, the “Long Live the Brushes” described as a soap for the cleaning and care of your brushes. From the product web page, the items description states.

“The product is capable of removing acrylic, enamel, lacquer paint residue. In just two steps you can extend the life of your brushes.

  1. Moisten the brush with water and rub the hairs on the surface of the soap until it foams.
  2. Once the paint residual has been removed, rinse lightly and shape the hair. We advise properly cleaning your brushes after each use and store in a protective case.”

Also, available on Ammo by Mig Jimenez’s YouTube channel is an instructional video narrated by Manuel Gil. This video can be found at: