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.

Review Author
John Noack
Published on
Company
UMM-USA
MSRP
$6.95

If you read my review of UMM’s 0.8mm Beveled Tip Chisel, you’ll have a general idea of the quality of these fine tools. That being said, UMM offers a wide variety of chisel shapes – 14 different tip shapes and sizes by my latest count. UMM 35 is a 2.5mm (0.10 inch) chisel blade affixed to a high quality plastic handle. The tip on this tool is elliptical, and while it will perform a wide variety of tasks (ejector pin removal, opening intakes, etc.) one unique use for the tool is for figure modelers to create or emphasize clothing folds. My figures are cartoonish and I’ll probably never get to that point but the tool is perfectly sized and shaped for my purposes.

Our thanks go out again to UMM-USA and John Vojtech for his generous support to the review team here.

Review Author
David Wrinkle
Published on
Company
Brengun
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$9.60

I was intrigued by this model offered by Brengun that would be a great piece to add with your Japanese ground-based aircraft display base. My hopes are that I will eventually have an opportunity to try the 1/48 scale version of this accessory.

Typical with Brengun’s other releases, they provide the end user with some extremely nicely cast parts molded in a darkish grey resin. If there were any imperfections, they were not noticeable to my eye. I found the parts delicate buy not fragile. The resin was reasonably pliable making removal from the pour stubs easily achievable with a little patience. I can’t overstress to double, triple, and quadruple check the instructions before removing the parts. I had a small oops where I removed and discarded a small portion of the support frame. Thankfully I was able to recover my error with a scratch-built pump mount.

Review Author
Tom Choy
Published on
Company
Twobobs Aviation Graphics
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$15.00

Between April to October of 2018, several F-15Es from the 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron (the "Panthers") deployed to an undisclosed location in the Middle East to support Coalition Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, tasked with striking Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria. While deployed, the Panthers completed nearly 2,000 missions, over 10,000 flying hours, employing more than 500 precision-guided munitions in support of US Central Command operations. On their return to Lakenheath at the end of the deployment, the aircraft were seen sporting some very striking nose art and mission markings.

Since 2001, TwoBobs decals has built up a reputation for high-quality, well-researched and detailed decal sheets with a focus on modern US aircraft. This decal sheet focuses on some of the more prominent Panthers from the OIR deployment.

The airframes on this sheet are:

Review Author
Jim Stratton
Published on
Company
Fundekals
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$18.00

Opening the package of decals you will find two large sheets of beautifully printed markings for no less than nine Corsairs These aircraft include mostly F4U-1A’s with markings for two F4U-1D’s and one late war FG-1D. There is no instruction booklet included in the package. However going to the Fundekals website you can download the instruction booklet as a PDF file. I call this an instruction booklet as it is comprised of 24 pages of Color and B&W illustrations and photographs of each of the aircraft covered on the sheet. Also in the booklet are precise instructions pointing out the various differences in each of the covered aircraft. A detailed history of each covered aircraft and its pilot is included. A really nice touch was a page covering the various different antenna arrangements. Covering, as they say, “Some stuff you might not have known”. Another page explains “New research on insignia colors in the Solomons. 1943-1944”.

Book Author(s)
Artur Juszczak and Dariusz Karnas
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$11.99

This tome is the second in this new series, Single. This series format consists of a 4-view colour profile, scale plans, and photo details of a single variant; in this case the PZL P.11c. MMPBooks are distributed in North America by Casemate Publications. You won’t find an introduction or background summary, as this series dives straight into the drawings, illustrations, and photographs.

Artur Juszczak has illustrated over forty books for MMP. Some of these titles include the following: Boulton Paul Defiant (MMP Yellow 6117); Hurricane Ace Josef František: The True Story (MMP Blue 9); Henschel Hs 123 (MMP Orange 8114); and Fighters over France and Low Countries (MMP Red 4).