Front right

SAAB JA 37 Viggen

Top right side

Sd.Kfz.179 Bergepanther Recovery Vehicle

Sprue C

Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.1

Finished

F-86A 'Advanced Kit'

Sprue Tree D

De Lorean - Back to the Future Part II

Chassis Assembly

Ford GT

Underside assembly

Yakolev UT-3 (3rd Version)

Exhaust

De Lorean - Back to the Future Part II

Left front

P-2H Neptune JMSDF

Completed cab with operator

Hitachi Zaxis 135US Excavator

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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

I-16 Type 10 WWII China Guomindang AF Fighter
Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$41.95

This Polikarpov fighter, developed in 1934, took a lot of its design ideas from the then-revolutionary Gee-Bee racing airplane of the same period – that is, the largest engine that could be fit into the smallest airframe. Adding retractable landing gear and four rifle-caliber machine guns and you had the miniscule I-16, a staple of the Soviet air force through the early part of World War 2, almost 10,000 being manufactured.

These tough little aircraft served in other forces as well, most notably in the Chinese Guomindang, where they pitted themselves against the more nimble and far more numerous Japanese fighters of the period. How they fared is another story.

Front Cover

Armored Personnel Carrier M2/M3/M4 Half Track
Book Author(s)
Sławomir Zajączkowski
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Kagero Publishing
MSRP
$24.95

The Topdrawings series specializes in line-drawings of a given subject in each booklet. The 84th installment in this series is devoted to the always popular M2/M3/M4 Armored Personnel Carrier Half-Track.

This booklet has 4-View for the M2 (early, mid, late production), M2A1 (early and late), M3 (early and late), plus color profiles of M2A1, M3, M4A1 (4-view color), and even an M9 in French Service.

The booklet also includes a brief description on the overall history of the AFV and each line drawing has an explanation as to what was modified from the previous block series.

If you are looking for detailed drawings of the M2/3/4 half-track, this book is your destination.

Highly recommended.

I would like to thank Kagero Publishers and IPMS/USA for the review sample.

Product Picture

Kawasaki Ki-45 Kai Ko/Hei Toryu (Nick) - Fuselage and Cockpit - Part 2
Review Author
James Binder
Published on
Company
Zoukei-Mura
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$140.00

Part two begins the major work on the cockpit and fuselage interior.

As with all ZM kits you are building the entire interior of the aircraft. Full cockpit, center section, and rear gunner position.

The build in this part starts with the center section using the cockpit and center floor and adding in the fuel tank assembly. Forward and rear bulkheads are added along with the wing spar. This spar is not just a short piece either it’s the entire spar assembly for both wings and acts as a fuel tank cover for what turns out to be a lower tank. Lower fuel tank side supports are added along with the alerion linkage rod then work on the cockpit begins. I chose to add to this kit the ZM Photo Etch so some of the cockpit pieces will be switched out for etch. It’s a small addition as there isn’t much PE but it really adds to an already amazing kit.

Box Front

P-47 Razorback

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Platz
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$17.50

The Aircraft

The Republic P-47 was one of two very successful fighters flown by USAAF pilots and were built at Farmingdale, Long Island in New York State. Until the P-51 came along, there wasn’t a more successful American escort aircraft and tactical bomber than the P-47.

I’ve been a fan of the P-47 ever since I found a copy of Robert S. Johnson’s “Thunderbolt!” in my high school library. This kit contains markings for 4 aircraft, and I decided to do Walker “Bud” Mahurin’s razorback. Bud was the first American pilot to become a double ace in Europe (10 victories) and wound up with 19.75 victories. He was shot down over France in May of 1944, rescued by the Resistance, and returned to Britain. Because of his knowledge of the French Resistance, he was transferred to the Philippines, where he shot down a Japanese bomber. Later he flew fighters in Korea, where he got 3.5 MiG-15s, making him the only fighter ace with victories in Europe, the Pacific, and Korea.

Box Art

M109A7 Paladin Self-Propelled Howitzer
Review Author
Dan Brown
Published on
Company
Panda Hobby
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$69.95

The M109A7 is the latest version of the Army’s long serving 155mm self-propelled howitzer. First debuted in the 1960s to replace the M44. This newest version of the M109 sets out to upgrade many of the systems that allow a faster fire rate even with the increase in armor. There are also a number of parts that this vehicle now shares with the Bradley fighting vehicle allowing for cost savings in production and supply logistics. This new kit from Panda Hobby is the first kit of the newest member of the M109 family in 1/35 scale.