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
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Hauler
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$10.50

Hauler has provided another addition to the great Diorama releases. This is a 1/48 Scale U.S. Safe from Pre - WWII period.

Included is:

  • 13 resin parts
  • photoetch sheet
  • small decal sheet
  • instruction sheet

The detail quality is great; The parts are very delicate parts that need careful removal from the resign bases. I did manage to lose the small resin safe handle. So I had to make one myself

The Assembly is quick and easy.

Please be careful with the Photo etch interior parts as they need to be assembled as tightly as possible to slide into the safe opening.

Next is the painting then adding the decals. The Decals did tend to roll up and were hard to place due to this. The addition of the gold bars were a nice touch.

Thanks go to Hauler for providing this kit to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Caracal Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$13.99

Caracal Models provided these great decals for the Valom 1/48 Kit release of the Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander aircraft.

Included is

  • One sheet of decals
  • One Instruction sheet

The decals are of the best quality and printed by Microscale for Caracal Models.

The decal sheet provide decals for four different Markings options.

  • The British Parachute Regiments Freefall team Red Devils aircraft
  • The Heridean Air services aircraft
  • Aurigny Air Services aircraft
  • Armed Forces of Malta Aircraft

The instruction sheet is well detailed and includes color details.

The decals are awesome and will add a lot to the Valom Kit which I have now ordered to allow me to use these in the future. I will do the Red Devils aircraft as I have seen this one in action a few times in the past.

Review Author
Mike Lamm
Published on
Company
Brengun
Hauler
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$19.00

Brengun, based in the Czech Republic, is known for producing a range of photo-etched and resin accessories for airplane models. They also produce a small number of 1/72nd and 1/144th model sets in both plastic and resin. One of their resin kits is the T-62 Main Battle Tank in 1/144 scale.

The T-62 entered service with Soviet Union in 1961, and remained in service with the former Soviet Union until the early 2000s. Originally, designed as an upgrade to the T-55 series of tanks, the T-62 was the first tank armed with a smoothbore gun and replaced the T-55 as the standard tank of the Soviet army. While the T-62 is no longer in service with the Russian army, it is still commonly seen on today’s modern battlefields in Syria and Yemen.

Book Author(s)
David Grummitt Illustrator: Claudio Fernandez, Mark Rolfe, Slawomir Zajaczkowski
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Guideline Publications
MSRP
$24.99

Guideline License Publications has unveiled a new series, Warpaint Armour. Instead of a monograph on a single aircraft, this series will contain a series of articles that focus on tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles that shaped pivotal moments in the history of modern warfare. Warpaint Armour will showcase articles by a team of experts utilizing the latest research. Each article features historical photographs along with color pics of museum displays or renovated AFVs from World War I to the current day. Each volume will feature eight focused articles and a modelling gallery, showcasing some of the finest models that have been seen in Miltary Modelcraft International over the last decade. Each article will also include specially commissioned color profiles in conjunction with Acrylicos Vallejo model paints.

Book Author(s)
Marek Dubiński, Tomasz Basarabowicz
Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$25.00

This illustrated photo album includes over 120 B&W pictures of the Kaiserliche und Königliche Eisenbahn-Bau Kompanie unit (German Imperial Railway Construction Company) which operated during early stages of WW1 in the Western Galicia, now southern Poland. The railways are mostly narrow gauge.

The book uses black & white photographs to illustrate various construction or repair projects by the K.U.K in Western Galicia during the early WWI years between 1914-15. Captions are provided with each of the photos to describe the location and content of the photo. The photos are clear, and many show damaged bridges being built or repaired with descriptions of various construction methods and materials. A brief, but detailed outline of military operations provides context for the projects.

The railway projects are organized in these towns or areas:

General Outline of Military Operations in Western Galicia between August 1914 and mid-September 1915