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 Morton
Published on
Company
Tiger Werke
MSRP
$10.50

Tiger Werke Resin’s latest entry making modelers life easier is the “Glu-Budy”. As with almost all their products, the Glu-Budy is cast in a light gray, urethane resin and requires neither assembly nor painting. [However, you do have to take it out of the box. :)]

This lightweight resin glue/paint holder will help eliminate that dreaded problem of the errant tipping of your modeling supplies. The “Glu-Budy is sized for square bottled modeling supplies (glue, panel line accent colors, decal solutions, etc.) from various providers (Tamiya, Mr. Hobby, etc.) This item has one square orifice and another round one sized for 10ml paints or other finishing supplies (Testor's, AK Interactive, etc.)

Tiger Werke Resin also has another Glu-Budy (#35227) that features two square receptacles should one prefer. Anyone (that would be all of us) who has ever tipped over a bottle of glue or paint can appreciate the utility of either Glu-Budy. You may want several....

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Foxbot
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$24.13

Let’s face it, British aircraft are pretty standard as far as camouflage goes, however, they sometimes exercised some individualism in personal aircraft. This release from Foxbot decals deals with just that.

Inside of the resealable baggie, is a single sheet of 8.5 x 11 heavy stock paper folded in half to provide some protection. The instructions are printed in full color and feature the profile view for six aircraft. On the backside of the instructions are stencils and the color callouts using FS numbers, Humbrol, Model Master and AKAN paints. The plan view is also shown with both the A and B scheme.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Foxbot
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$24.75

The Il-2 Sturmovik is THE iconic Russian aircraft for me. It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t maneuverable, but it was a deadly ground attack aircraft. It could take a lot of punishment and was produced on larger numbers than any other aircraft in history. So you know it had to have some colorful markings. Well thanks to Foxbot we have some examples to add to our collections.

Packaged in a standard ziplock baggie, the decals and instructions are protected from moisture. The instructions are printed on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of high-quality paper folded in half. This provides strength to protect the decals from bending. They are printed in full color and feature EIGHT aircraft, two single seaters, three modified single seaters with the gunner in the exposed back, and three of the later model with the enclosed rear gun position. So, there is something here for every modeler.

Review Author
Kenneth Pasquinucci
Published on
Company
Platz
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$37.99

The BMW M3 E30 was built in 1991 to compete in the under 2.0 liter class of the German touring car championship. They started with a BMW 318i, modified the body and did heavy work to the 2 liter engine to get just over 300hp. The car ran in the Class B. The car was fast and easily took over some of the bigger cars in Class A. The car went on to compete in the world touring car championship, the British touring car championship and the Japanese touring car championship.

Review Author
Joe Staudt
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$52.99

Henry Ford’s Model T revolutionized America. It’s low price and simple mechanics made it affordable and practical for ordinary people to own a car. The flexibility of the Model T’s platform also spawned a host of other applications that allowed businesses and municipalities to make the switch from horse-drawn vehicles as well.

This kit shows a prime example of that flexibility. While the Model T fire truck may not have been capable of supplying all equipment needed to fight a major fire, it did provide a means of getting some basic firefighting equipment to the scene much more quickly, buying critical minutes in emergency situations.

ICM has been releasing a host of Model T subjects in both 1/24 and 1/35 scale in recent years. Again, the Model T’s basic platform allows them to spawn multiple kits off of a core set of tooling, and the result is a bonanza for the hobby.