Finished L2D1

L2D Type Zero Transport & C-47 Skytrain

Upper carriage

8 Inch Howitzer M1 WWII

The Mole

The Mole from "Thunderbirds"

Cockpit

R.A.F. Victor K.2 Tanker

Tools for Opening the Speed Brakes

MiG-21 SMT ProfiPack

Botton Wings Decaled

Halberstadt CL.IV (Rol.)

Completed Left Front

#10 Danica Patrick Aspen Dental Ford Fusion

Finished Model - Right Front Closeup

Blue Max Pfalz

Finished

Challenger II Desertised

Complete 7

German Military Car 170V 1937

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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.

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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.

Product

Bombarda Maggiora ad Acetilene da 320
Review Author
Rick Taylor
Published on
Company
Vargas Scale Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$59.95

Introduction

Necessity is the mother of invention. Once the combatants in the Great War settled into the trenches, the Italians faced a desperate shortage of heavy artillery. To help fill this need, Demetrio Maggiora invented a short range 320mm (12.6 inch) mortar powered by acetylene gas. The acetylene was generated in canisters like a miner’s lamp. The gas was transferred into a spherical combustion chamber where it was ignited to launch the projectile. The mortar was muzzle loading and had a very short range – just enough to reach the enemy trenches. It was first used in the Second Battle of the Isonzo in 1915 and was only in service for a short time until more capable weapons became available.

Review

Vargas Scale Models from California USA specializes in interesting and unique subjects from World War One and the Interwar periods in 1:35th scale. All are CAD designed and 3D printed in resin. Sales are direct to the modeler on eBay.

Box Cover

Yakolev UT-3 (3rd Version)
Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
Company
Croco Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$52.96

History

The Yakovlev UT-3 was designed as a training aircraft to offer instruction to pilots of multi-engined aircraft, gunners, bombardiers, and radio operators. Construction was mainly of wood, with fabric covering and some steel tubing. Imported French Renault 6Q engines were used on the prototypes, but production models probably had a Voronezh MV-6, a Russian copy of the French powerplant. The prototypes first flew in 1938, and some were equipped with armament, 7.62 mm machine guns and bombs, but production models were unarmed. Production began at two plants, No. 272 at Kazan, and No. 135 at Leningrad. Only a small number, around thirty, had been produced when the authorities decided to use combat aircraft for this type of training, so further production was cancelled.

Parts

Detail-up Parts: McLaren MP4/2C ’86 Portuguese GP
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Platz
Scale
1/20
MSRP
$35.99

An available set for the Platz/NuNu McLaren MP4/2C is part Ne00001 and is made for kit PN20000. Included in the set are:

  • Four decal sheets covering carbon fiber additions
  • One decal sheet with lettering
  • One decal sheet for additional coloring for the car in orange and yellow
  • Two photoetch sheets with many extra parts
  • One stencil and metal sticky sheet for replicating heat shields
  • One chrome sprue of connectors

Also included are multipage instructions and these were done perfectly. Each step in the aftermarket package matches the steps in the kit instructions so as you go along, check both sheets.

Box Art

McLaren MP4/2C ’86 Portuguese GP
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Platz
Scale
1/20
MSRP
$51.99

A little background about the car the kit represents:

It was the MP4/2C that McLaren introduced to the 1986 F1 Grand Prix. The McLaren MP4/2 was designed by John Barnard for the 1984 season. The McLaren MP4/2C was the updated version powered by a TAG-Porsche 1.5 litre V6 twin turbo engine with carbon monocoque chassis. A. Prost and K. Rosberg were the drivers. Rosberg ran a one-off livery in yellow/white, different from the common red/white livery, and was successful in attracting the attention of the fans and had a huge promotion effect.

The kit gives you markings to make the car driven by either driver. Looking at the kit, there are 80% new tooled parts to produce the car as in the 1986 Portuguese Gran Prix and includes details such as the suspension and cockpit, as well as the TAG-Porsche V6 twin turbo engine.

Product

A-10A/C Brrrrrt…to the Future
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Twobobs Aviation Graphics
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$15.00

TwoBobs has been producing decals for modern planes for a long time and has tons of superb decal sheets available. Several of the latest sheets deal with the 1/48th scale A-10 Warthog and this sheet, 48274 is titled, “A-10A/C Brrrrt to the Future”, and provides markings for three A-10’s- two A versions and one C version. The markings cover: